Baby too Fat?

Question

My 7 month old is 21 pounds and 27 inches long. She drinks about 6-7 ounces of formula every 4 hours. She eats a jar of baby food 3 times a day and still wakes up for a bottle at night. The nurse said she is too fat and that i have to be carefull about her weight she can develop juvenile diabetes. But she looks normal too me she is a little on the chubby side. But arent chubby babies normal? Do i have to put her on a diet?

Answer 1

My 7 month old is 21 lbs, 27 inches and eats the same as yours minus the middle of the night feeding.
My doc was getting worried a few months ago but now that he is older he's slowing down with his growing and moving alot more.
I'd try to drop the nighttime feeding - it's hard with a hungry baby though! It took us three nights before my baby slept through the night.
I wouldn't put her on a diet. I give my baby water in between bottles and try to only give him 6 oz. bottles. That seems to help curb his appetite. Also those Gerber puffs fill him up and are really low calorie.
Chubby babies are CUTE!!!!

Answer 2

I would not say too fat. A large baby perhaps, but are the doctor or nurse telling you her weight and height percentile? If they are proportional or even close to proportional, there is no problem.

Your baby's daily diet doesnt' sound unusual- except for the nightime feeding. She seems to be getting enough to eat during the day so the nightime feeding could be a habit at this point and not actual hunger. If you had to change anything about your baby's diet, consider knocking off that night time feeding. Give her water if you have to. Soon she will just keep sleeping, because who wants to get up for water?

Also, if she's taking solids fine, once you up the amount of solids, the amount of formula should be coming down, to where your baby could be taking only about 16-24 oz of formula by the time she's about a year. There are many more calories in formula than most baby veggies and fruits- not that you should be necessarily counting calories, but you can see where things will begin to level out.

Diet is not a word you want to use for an infant, and I would not say at this point you need to worry about juvenile diabetes. Just focus on making the small changes and she'll be just fine.

Answer 3

no no diet. she is normal. Also kids tend to slim up a little when they start walking.

if you will go to

http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/usefultools/l/bl_percentiles.htm

an put in her details you get

At 7 months:
your child is 21 pounds, and that is
at the 95th percentile for weight.

your child is 27 inches, and that is
at the 62th percentile for height.

Notes on percentiles:
Percentiles are the most commonly used clinical indicator to assess the size and growth patterns of individual children in the United States. Percentiles rank the position of an individual by indicating what percent of the reference population the individual would equal or exceed. For example, on the weight-for-age growth charts, a 2-year-old girl whose weight is at the 25th percentile, weighs the same or more than 25 percent of the reference population of 2-year-old girls, and weighs less than 75 percent of the 2-year-old girls in the reference population.
Please keep in mind that your child's percentile doesn't really indicate how well they are growing. A child at the 5th percentile can be growing just as well as a child at the 95th percentile. It is more important to look at your child's growth over time. If you are concerned about your child's growth, talk with your Pediatrician.

Also remember that children between the ages of 6 and 18 months can normally move up or down on their percentiles and the nurses and drs go by a chart that has been averaged and does not take into accout things like large bone frame or small bone frame. So even if she seems large it could just be her genes showing early. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

5

Answer 5

My seven month old daughter is 20lbs and 27 inches long. And she is perfect in every way to me. Try not to focus on the babys weight so much, it is a shame that the nurse had to put worries in your head. As long as you know in your heart that you are not overfeeding her that is all that matters, i am sure she is just beautiful. Chubby babies are the best, just open up any baby magazine and all you'll she is chubby babies. I am a mother of two girls and my four year old was a chubby baby and know she is a normal weight for her age. She really thinned out. So, enjoy your baby the way she is and never think anything is wrong with her.

Answer 6

Ask your doctor, if you are concerned, but I can tell you that this nurse does not know what she is talking about. Children do not develop juvenile-onset diabetes from being overweight, that is just adult-onset diabetes. Juvenile- and adult- onset diabetes are two separate things. It is not just a matter of when the disease develops, the way that it manifests in the body and the treatment options are different too.

As a previous post said, as long as your baby's growtj curve is in the same percentile she was born at, there is no need for concern. Here is a link to a good growth chart - I have a printed copy that we can track our baby's weight on at home in between doctor visits.

Answer 7

That doesn't sound out of control. But I'm not a doctor. I'd get a second opinion.

I have a giant baby...so maybe I'm wrong...but If I was concerned about childhood illnesses linked to weight issues...I'd see a few doctors and see what the general concensus is.

The nurse sounds like she's being a little severe...see what the doctor says about it.

My son is just about four months and he's almost 17 pounds and he's 25 inches long...and he's only on breast milk...so I'm sure when we get him on solids, he'll be huge! But he doesn't look like a fatty (like his mamma) he just looks big, tall and big...maybe a little chunky around the middle...but no more so than any other baby...He's just a big boy.

Maybe you just have a big tall baby too...get a second opinion before you start depriving your baby of good nurishing food.

PS - it's disturbing to hear the word "Diet" associated with an infant...that is a word for middle aged moms like me, supermodels and olympic atheletes...no baby should be on a "diet".

Answer 8

The biggest thing is to look at her growth on her growth chart. Is she following her normal curve, staying basically in the same percentile? Has she had a big jump say from the 40%tile to the 90%tile? My youngest weighed 20 pounds at 4 months old, but was an ounce shy of 9 pounds at birth. He followed his growth curve, and still is. A big jump one way or another may be cause for some concern. My middle boy was the opposite..he was big at birth and then when I quit nursing him he quit gaining weight, and had a huge jump down on his %tile. He had to be put on high calorie shakes 3 times day. It is really something to discuss with your Ped. NOT the nurse. Talk to your ped. about it. If he/she is not concerned about your baby's weight, then you shouldn't be either.

Answer 9

my son is 9 months old and weighs 24 pounds and the doc says that he is healthy and normal and that he is developing fine. He is actually doing things ahead of other children his age and personally i have noticed that chubby babies tend to do things faster than skinny babies, from the professional stand point that is cause the chubby babies have the healthy fat to develop and grow. Children need fat to grow, and be normal and they should not be put on a diet that is dangerous and can hinder them for life. At one year you can start to "control" what he is eating.

Answer 10

She is not that BIG, I have known soe friends babies to be more than that at that age. Dont starve her, she is eating what she needs, if she was eating 2 jars 4 times a day that may be differant the only thing you can try is mixing ceral to her jared food, but that is not really necissary. She will be walking & crawling in no time & then they thin out, my son was 25 lbs at 1 year he is almost 2 & 21lbs he is so active. Dont worry yourself,she is fine