Am I overfeeding?

[Lauren31]

DD is 4 months old and OMG she is about 18 lbs! WOW!?! She was 7'12'' at birth! She is in the 100% for height and 100% for weight and the doc said that it is totally fine (for now) I was shocked though, should I cut her feeding or what!? haha I never in a million years would think I would have such a hefty baby. Is this normal!? The doc said bc she is EBF that she would peak and then sorta plateau/slow down in growth as she gets older. He said if she was formula fed then he might tell me to cut back. Also he said if she has the same growth at 6 months I should consider only nursing every three hours hmmmm....we breastfeed on demand.... do I have oversupply? She rarely spits up but does love nursesleeping lol.

[Autumn Breeze]

NO! Do not cut her back!! Nurse on Demand. Obviously it's working!

ETA, my daughter was "huge" (to me) and around 6 months when she started trying to get mobile, her weight gain did slow, and she did even out. Now at 4.5 she's petite, about 75% for height, but only about 15-20 % for weight.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

IMHO, you cannot overfeed a EBF baby. You just cant. HAVE FUN!!! And keep up the good work!

[Mama2Kayla]

^^what she said!

Great job mama...be proud of your chubby baby

[Laneybug]

I am by no means an expert on breastfeeding but I am definitely lactation-obsessed and eat up any bit of info on the subject that I can get my hands on. my daughter is a hefty one herself and I was a little concerned about "overfeeding" too. She weighed 8 lbs 12 oz at birth and is now almost 14 pounds at 7 weeks old! She is looong, but I was concerned and the doc said not to worry. I am EBF'ing as well, and I found that her body told me when she was overfed. We had a week or so at about a month old with a lot of spitting up and it was pretty clear that she was taking in more than she could handle. This was a pretty colicky time for her and she wanted to do a lot of comfort nursing.

My solution: I eventually found a pacifier that she likes (the mam), after the soothie and the nuk didn't work. Now, she eats when she's hungry and pulls away from my breast when she's done. If she still wants to suck and doesn't want the milk, I give her the paci. I am still learning as I go, but following baby's cues and feeding on demand seems to be working, so it seems like you are doing the right thing.

[GingerNinja]

Atta girl!!

I'm the proud momma of a butterball here... born 8.6 and is now 14.1 as of 7 weeks. EBF and happy as can be.. keep on doing what you're doing and start writing up rugby contracts now.. Our babies are as healthy as can be!

[Lauren31]

oh wow... you all made me feel a MILLION times better!!! She likes her pacifier randomly so maybe she does know when she is full and all that. It's just crazy to be dressing a 4 month old in 12 month clothes!!! Plus, we are in Europe and walk EVERYWHERE so carting around my little turkey is defintiely hard work! I will ignore the doctor if he tells me to cut back next time. I always thought you can't over feed a BF baby but he said it is possible. Plus her legs are soo friggin chubby! LOL. Everyone who sees her goes, SHE'S HUGE! (Long and fat)! hahaha

[Bokonon]

I agree with the others - keep doing what you're doing!

My DD was 4 pounds at birth (6 weeks early), and almost 18 pounds at 6 months. So she went from under the chart to the 95th percentile, and now at 13.5 months, she's about 21 pounds, so around the 25th percentile. Which is exactly the pattern that my son had, who was also EBF. At 5, he's still in the 25th percentile and eats everything under the son!

When your baby's weight starts plateauing, please don't let your docs scare you because your baby is dropping in percentiles. For breastfed babies, it's totally normal and expected.

Good job, mama!

[rparker]

My daughter had pretty much the same stats (birth weight and 4 month weight) as your daughter and was EBF on demand. (And never took a pacifier.) At two and a half she is now on the bottom half of the growth chart for both weight and height. Once her activity and solid food intake increased she began growing mostly in inches not pounds. She's only gained 5 pounds from 12-31 months. (And she still nurses.) You really can't overfeed an EBF baby.

[andlee]

Agreeing with what everyone said here, I just took my LO to the pediatrician for his 2 month, and he weighs 16 lbs up from 7lb 10 oz at birth! He's over the 97th percentile for weight, and only 53rd for length. My pedi is also a lactation consultant, and he says it's great. I was really worried too, though, and mine is only 2 months!