could do with reassurance - gaining fast

[dahlialia]

This might be a bit rambling - I am so short on sleep LOL

DD is 2 1/2 weeks old. I've had oversupply issues since her first growth spurt/"frequency day" at one week old. We've got it mostly under control, I nurse her on one side only for a couple of hours at a time, so she is getting hindmilk and not getting green poops. The flow is fast, but she handles it well (no choking, spitting up, etc).

She has gained A LOT. From 1 - 2 weeks she gained 12.5 ounces.

I know everybody says that you can't overfeed a breastfed baby. But these are the same people who say babies gain 4-7 ounces per week.

I'm just worried that she is gaining so much from my oversupply. She still tries to comfort nurse a fair bit, but is solidly getting milk the whole time. She will reach a point sometimes where she refuses the breast and will accept being rocked or sucking on a pinkie for comfort instead.

I guess I'm just looking for others who have BTDT.

[blessedwithboys]

you're doing great! nothing to worry about, imo. bm doesn not make babies "overweight" and your LO will not "overeat".

keep up the great work, mama!

[PatioGardener]

You can't feed a breastfed baby too much You're doing great! My good friend's baby grew from 7lb at birth to 16 lb at 4 months! He was so cute! Now he is a svelt 3.5 year old.

Average weight gain is just that - an average. Some babies grow at a faster rate than others. Feeding from the breast, IMO fast weight gain is not a worry unless baby has a rare genetic disorder. Slow weight gain can be a worry if baby isn't able to transfer enough milk.

[lifeguard]

You're doing great! Ds gained 3lbs a month for the first 5 months & then levelled out. She'll only eat as much as she needs.

[MeepyCat]

It sounds like you're doing great! Really, you cannot overfeed a breastfed baby - it's hard to overfeed on demand when they're that little at all, if they're stomachs get too full, they have a funny tendency to spit the excess up (which doesn't hurt them, btw - some babies are spitters - just it's really hard to cram in more calories than they actually use).

My son grew really fast at the outset too. He leveled off around nine months, and stayed the same weight (while shooting up) until he was about 1.5. He went from chubby baby to lanky toddler, but I assure you, he was a healthy kid the whole time.

[RiverSky]

My son gained extremely quickly and I also made ample amounts of milk (I regularly pumped and stored, just to relieve my full breasts). He was born 8 lbs 10 ounces and was over 20 lbs by 3 months. He was always extremely healthy and happy, and didn't even get his first cold until he was over 2 years old. He was so surprised to wake up with a stuffy nose, didn't even know what that was. I say, "don't worry" at all. There is a huge range of normal, even amongst breastfed babies.

ETA: He was always at the 99th percentile of everything until he started to thin out when he was about 5, and now at 10, he's extremely thin for his age, fits well in size 8 clothing but is about 75th percentile for height. He's a very healthy kid.

[artgoddess]

You're doing fine. My DD was 8.8 at birth and 12 pounds at her one month check up, then 14.9 oz at 2 months, 17.8 at 4 months. perfectly healthy!

[Llyra]

My DD1 also gained very quickly in the first two months-- she was born 7 1/2 pounds, and was over 15 pounds by 8 weeks. That's almost a pound a week. It slowed down a LOT after that. She has gone on to be a tall, thin child-- she's 5 now. No worries!

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Another your doing great. I dont know if I had oversupply or not but my dd gained 8pds in 4months and ds did almost the same. Both where right around 20 at 6 months and 20 still at a year. Once they start moving around they slow way down on the weight gain.

[NaturalMindedMomma]

same thing happened to us.. no worries momma, your doing great!

[dahlialia]

Thank you all so much.

It's amazing how easy it is to doubt myself when dealing with a little one. At least she knows what she is doing LOL.

[NaturalMindedMomma]

Originally Posted by dahlialia

Thank you all so much.

It's amazing how easy it is to doubt myself when dealing with a little one. At least she knows what she is doing LOL.

I had to giggle.. My kids look at me like, "lady, I think I know what I am doing here!" HAHA

[Dahlea]

My ebf baby was born at 7, 12 and was 15 lbs at 2 months and 20 at 3. Some kids are just big. It slows down eventually (30 lbs at 6, currently 32 at 10)

[itsajenism]

My DS (born at 8lb 6oz) was 28 pounds at 9 months old... on breastmilk alone. We didn't start solids until he was one.
Once he hit 28 pounds, he pretty much stopped gaining weight for quite awhile.
Now at 4.5, he weights 40 pounds and is 45 inches tall -- so in just under 4 years he's only gained 12 pounds.

It will slow down.

[veedeepee]

My son gained a pound a week (sometimes a little more than a pound) from the time he was born at least up until the 2 month mark. There were times when I was worried about that - mostly from doing too much Googling about the whole foremilk/hindmilk imbalance thing and babies getting fat from too much sugar in the foremilk. But EVERYONE I know (including his doctor) said it was awesome that he was gaining so well.

Somewhere around the 2 month mark the weight gain slowed a little bit, and by 3 or 3.5 months it had slowed considerably. DS was 6 lb 5 oz at birth, and he was a bit over 16 lb at his 4 month checkup.

Really - you're doing great if the baby is gaining weight so well. It will plateau out at some point. You won't have a 100 lb. one year old...promise.

[readytobedone]

another "it's fine/you're doing great" from me! i was worried too because DD gained a pound a week for the first month! but like the PPs said, it all evened out in the end. she was 7 pounds, 10 oz. at birth, 13 pounds at 1 month, 16.5 pounds at 4 months, and by a year she was a perfectly average 21 pounds. she is now 28 months and just under 30 pounds.

[Bokonon]

Sounds to me like you are doing great, especially keep an eye out for OALD symptoms!

DD's lowest weight was 3 lbs. 11 oz. and she is over 14 pounds now at 4 months, without a drop of formula. When she first came home, she gained almost a pound a week for the first month.

[secondimpression]

DS was born at 6lbs5ozs, dropped to 5lbs10ozs before he started gaining at 5 days and weighed in at 7lbs6ozs at 14 days. So in 9 days, my little guy put on almost 2lbs. By 3 months, he was in the 55th percentile for weight when he was born in the 17th. Now at 5 months he's beautifully healthy and right on track developmentally. I haven't had anything even remotely close to oversupply either although I've had some issues with undersupply.

I wouldn't worry at all about her weight gain, just celebrate the adorable fatness