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Overweight baby????



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amother


 

Post Wed, Mar 13 2013, 3:37 am
My mom lives next door and keeps telling me the baby is too big, she needs to go on a diet etc. etc. We have not been to Dr since her 2 month well/shots visit (she is 3.5months now) but back then they said she was in 100%tile but didn't mention anything about putting her on a 'diet'. It is not like we shove food in her mouth 24/7, and she basically sleeps through the night so I'm thinking that babys get chunky until they can start crawling and then it evens out. My mom insists we need to not feed her so much but we feed her on demand. Thoughts?
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ray family




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Mar 13 2013, 4:15 am
I wouldn't put a baby on a diet. are you nursing or bottle feeding? you said you're not overfeeding-w/ nursing that wouldn't be a problem. I do know pple who give their babies formula every time the baby opens their mouth- like every 1.5-2 hrs! if that's the case then I would cut back.
if you're not sure ask your pediatrician.
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In the kitchen




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Mar 13 2013, 4:34 am
If you are nursing you can feed as often as every hour and a half if baby needs, but if formula feeding not more than every 3 hours.

I don't see how a 3.5 month old can be overweight though...Hashem should help they should only be healthy!
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e1234




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Mar 13 2013, 4:48 am
I would never put a baby on a diet

my oldest was a very fat baby but now is very thin (he's 12)

my baby now is 100% but I'm happy about that

tipat chalav did tell me to go to a dietician with my 4 year old but he's my 1 really good eater and I'm not so worried
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hop613




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Mar 13 2013, 7:02 am
If you're nursing, it's impossible to overfeed your baby.

I think it may be possible to overfeed a formula baby, but I think you would know if you were - a lot of spit up, etc.

Babies regulate what they eat better than any other age group. So just take it with a grain of salt.
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rothjj




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Mar 13 2013, 5:34 pm
DO NOT try to put your baby on a diet.

Children self-regulate when left alone. Do not ruin your baby's ability to decide when he is hungry and full by trying to get him to eat less. It will set up very dangerous eating disorders later on.

That said, don't feed the baby when he is crying because he wants to be held, changed, is uncomfortable, wants to suck on a pacifier, or be entertained. First fix all the above, then if the baby is still crying, feed him!!!!! (I've heard that a low pitched cry means hunger.... you can see if this works for you). This is very very dangerous thinking, to put a baby on a diet.

Talk this over with the pediatrician too. If a baby is staying on his growth curve, do not be concerned.
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Yael3




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 04 2013, 12:40 pm
I want to add something that's being said here re "overeating". While it's true that you cannot overfeed a baby from nursing, you CAN overfeed a baby from your own pumped milk if you are bottle feeding (even if it's not formula, but your own!!)
My baby is kain ain hara 3.5 months old and she is in the 100th percentile for both height and weight. I am not concerned at all (despite my mother's comments about her weight and my husband's jokes about her not having a neck under the double chins...)
I feed her on demand and mostly pumped because she's an agressive eater and chokes whenever I have letdown.
I strongly strongly discourage "diets" for infants as others have already agreed with. Eating disorders start young young young!!
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Barbara




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 04 2013, 12:54 pm
NEVER, EVER, NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER put a baby on a diet. NEVER.* The risks are simply too great.

It is important to follow your baby's cues. Feed her when she's hungry, not when she's otherwise fussy. If she's bottle fed and gulps her food quickly, think about using a slower flow nipple. But let her eat when and as much as she wants.

* Well, maybe not "never." If your pediatrician has serious concerns, and in consultation with a nutritionist recommends that steps be taken, then it should be considered. But that's rare.
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MiracleMama




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 04 2013, 1:01 pm
Personally I would never put a baby on a diet. If you feel you need to tell your mother something, just discuss it with your ped, and then let her know "I discussed it with the ped" and there is no concern here.
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cbsmommy




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 04 2013, 1:34 pm
Barbara wrote:
NEVER, EVER, NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER put a baby on a diet. NEVER.* The risks are simply too great.

It is important to follow your baby's cues. Feed her when she's hungry, not when she's otherwise fussy. If she's bottle fed and gulps her food quickly, think about using a slower flow nipple. But let her eat when and as much as she wants.

* Well, maybe not "never." If your pediatrician has serious concerns, and in consultation with a nutritionist recommends that steps be taken, then it should be considered. But that's rare.


Nono. Barbara you were right the first time.

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER put a baby on a diet.

The ONLY exception is if baby has a severe medical condition like: extreme food allergies, diabetes, liver/kidney failure (chas v'shalom), diaphragmatic hernia, PKU, cystic fibrosis, etc. And then you spend LENGTHY CONSULTATIONS with a nutritionist b/c babies should NEVER EVER EVER be put on a diet.

At 3.5 months, your baby should be exclusively nursing or bottle-fed formula (or some combination of the two).

A chunky baby at 3.5 months does not equate with overweight or obese for life.

Please call up your pediatrician and tell him/her what you wrote here on imamother.
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chani8




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 04 2013, 1:49 pm
amother wrote:
My mom lives next door and keeps telling me the baby is too big, she needs to go on a diet etc. etc. We have not been to Dr since her 2 month well/shots visit (she is 3.5months now) but back then they said she was in 100%tile but didn't mention anything about putting her on a 'diet'. It is not like we shove food in her mouth 24/7, and she basically sleeps through the night so I'm thinking that babys get chunky until they can start crawling and then it evens out. My mom insists we need to not feed her so much but we feed her on demand. Thoughts?


I've seen plenty of mothers who shove the breast or bottle into their child every time it whimpers. Being fed on demand means you have to really listen well to what the child is demanding.

IMO, a 3.5mo baby (who eats normal) should be eating no more than 5 times a day.

If you and DH are tall, then it makes sense that she is heavy, because she's going to need that extra weight for all that growing in length. I've seen that, too.
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Tablepoetry




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 04 2013, 1:53 pm
I remember a nurse telling me to put my oldest on a diet as a baby. He was breastfed on demand. I didn't listen to her, though I was very young. Luckily I had read enough books to know better. He's now a very slim teen, as are most of his siblings (who were also mostly chubby, breastfed babies).
I believe in breastfeeding on demand. If you are breastfeeding, I wouldn't worry about baby being overweight. IF you are bottle feeding, make sure you aren't adding porridges (daisa in Hebrew) which I know many people do.
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amother


 

Post Thu, Apr 04 2013, 2:02 pm
My babies were all 95th percentile or above. Two of them were 99th through most of their first year.

Those two babies are now normal. I don't remember exactly...I think one is 50th, one 30th? Or something. I wouldn't pay so much attention, but my mom and mil like to know Wink

No diets. They were big. In fact, one of them were big until he hit 2.5 or so. Now he's about 4.5, and normal weight.

Don't worry. There are plenty of things you'll have to worry about when it comes to kids. At this age, weight isn't one of them. At least not for an overweight baby. Underweight...possibly.
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Rodent




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 04 2013, 3:53 pm
Don't do it. My mother was told (by medical staff, it was common at the time which is probably a similar generation to your mother having babies if that gives you any context) to put me on a diet at 4 months, I really think it has been damaging to my metabolism and eating generally as a result of it.

All of my kids have been chunkers as babies to some extent but my biggest and heaviest in their babyhood have turned into my tallest and thinnest. It means nothing, please do not listen!

My baby was 29.5lb at 7 months just for some reference. He's on the tall side too.
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oliveoil




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 04 2013, 6:00 pm
chani8 wrote:

IMO, a 3.5mo baby (who eats normal) should be eating no more than 5 times a day.


5 times a day?!

I don't know any nursing baby who eats that infrequently. We're adults and most of us eat 5 or more times a day and we can hold a lot more in our stomachs than a little baby.
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cbsmommy




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 04 2013, 6:05 pm
oliveoil wrote:
chani8 wrote:

IMO, a 3.5mo baby (who eats normal) should be eating no more than 5 times a day.


5 times a day?!

I don't know any nursing baby who eats that infrequently. We're adults and most of us eat 5 or more times a day and we can hold a lot more in our stomachs than a little baby.


A formula fed baby approximately every 4 hours. A nursing baby eats more frequently than that.
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