How are some babies so chunky and some aren't?

[GuavaGirl]

Okay, this might seem like a weird question, but how are some babies so chubby and full of little baby rolls and others aren't? I mean, they all are eating either breastmilk or formula, how can there be such big fat percentage differences?....it's not like they can hog out on pizza and milkshakes, like adults can. (not saying that everyone who is a little plump eats like that...just making a point)

Is it just genetics? Does it matter what the mother eats? The amount of sleep baby gets? The ratio of foremilk to hindmilk?

I'm just curious.

[kristinas8]

I would love to know too. I've raised skinny babies on breast milk. And had a friend who's breastfed baby was so fat he could hardly move.

[Lineymom]

This is interesting to me too. You hear that breastmilk has the same ratio of calories etc... but I don't know. I have had 3 BIG babies. They start big and gain really fast, especially my youngest who is 7mo and 27lbs+

My middle child was the biggest at birth, but in 2 weeks he had already slowed down to be smaller than my oldest at the same age. I nursed them both on demand. Also, with my first it took a good 3 days for my milk to come in, w/ the 2nd I had real milk at the 2nd feeding! So it certainly wasn't the amt of milk. Now he (middle child) is 5 and 2.5in shorter than his brother was at the same age and 8lbs less! They are both tall and thin now.

My youngest extra super chunkiness I blame partially on her refusing a paci (her brothers took one) I am her paci and she nurses a lot. I have more milk w/her as a result (I still leak and didn't at this point w/ the others.)

So I guess i am saying that I have come to the conclusion that it all plays a part, genetics, frequency of nursing. I would love to know more about the calorie content of milk, if it could prehaps be altered by mom's diet.

[hakeber]

I don't know, but I would guess it has to do with metabolisms and movement.

I have a pretty slow metabolism and it runs in my family. DH has a fast metabolism and it's common in his family.

DS was such a chunk but as soon as he started getting mobile (around 7 months crawling and walking by 11 months) he thinned right out. Now at 5 yo he is such a skinny bean pole!

DD is pretty chunkaliscious. She is (like her brother) a very chilled out baby. she often wakes from a nap and just lays there contemplating the ceiling cracks and giggling to herself. She is happy to do push ups and pushes up on her legs to standing anytime anyone will let her, but she sleeps well and eats well, and is happy just hanging out. She's not a kicky, fidgety baby at all.

The only mom I have ever met that had a truly thin baby had supply issues and both she and her partner have fast metabolisms and are super skinny people. Her little boy was fidgety and squirmy all the time. He never slept (still at over 2 yo) more than two hours at a time.

[pearl2]

I have a very pleasant, chilled out 12 month-old who is tipping the scales at 16 lbs 6 oz. She is soooo tiny!

[Sharlla]

Originally Posted by kristinas8

I would love to know too. I've raised skinny babies on breast milk. And had a friend who's breastfed baby was so fat he could hardly move.

lmao, same .here
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[Norasmomma]

My SIL and I once had a talk about this, her babies are fat, like sumo wrestler fat, almost gross. She said that when she pumped milk her milk once it settled was 1/2 cream. My DD was a slim baby, and long compared to my SIL's kids, now when I pumped my milk had barely any cream and was all watery. We always joked that she had whole milk and I made skim, I'm also much more endowed than her, so it made it funnier.

I really think we make different milk. This time with my son, I seriously do make more cream, I pump every day and did with DD too, my milk is different this time.

[texmati]

genetics, and I do think that milk can have different consistancies for different moms.

Also, some babies may eat more, whether for comfort or out of hunger.

[ann_of_loxley]

Lol yeah - I have a friend whos baby was (shes no longer a baby!) an EBF baby and had so many rolls she could have easily been three babies in one! (and she was born pretty average too!)...

And then I have another friend whos EBF is just tiny. Super tiny. He was like still in 3-6 month clothing at a year of age! (but perfectly healthy)

I have big babies at birth - but they are always long and far from chunky. Big - just big all around...but not chunky.

I do think the ratio of foremilk-hindmilk does/can make a difference. That may be part of it for breastfed babies - maybe?

I also think there is a difference from breastmilk to formula. I mean - those charts with percentiles on them ...the average is based on formula fed babies. I know here its a bit concern for those breastfeeding when gps/hvs etc start to worry about your childs weight based on a 'percentile' alone. Which, is why, of course, it is very important to just know your baby is healthy based on milestones, poos, pees, etc! (cause we all know a 'percentile' is just meaninless compared to the whole picture!).

[Knitting Mama]

It would be interesting to learn more about how genetics play a role in this. My Cecilia is teeny-tiny, but then again so was I, so it doesn't really concern me. She's a not-quite 10 lb almost 3 month old. She's EBF but with supplementing with donated breast milk thanks to my breast reduction-induced low supply.

[busymama77]

Both of my boys were big babies when they were born - J: 9lbs 10oz and W: 8lbs 14oz. J was much chunckier early on (much chunkier in the face) and W is much leaner and they were both BF the same amount of time. J didn't become lean until he started crawling and cruising. He's always been 95th percentile in height and weight. The kid is almost 4ft tall and he's 4.5yo!!!

I think it's a mix of BF/FF and genetics. My DH and I are average sized people - I'm 5'7" - 145lbs and he's 6' 205lbs.

[ShwarmaQueen]

I think there are so many factors that go into baby's size, it's hard to pin it on just one thing. DD was chubby and even chubbier the older she got, went through some lean phases and is back to the top of the growth chart. DS, on the other hand, started heavier, and due to feeding struggles (TT, high palate, weak oral motor skills, cow's milk protein sensitivity) and his high level of activity, he's a runt comparitively at 18 lbs (at 7 1/2 months)!

[rlandnl]

Originally Posted by Norasmomma

My SIL and I once had a talk about this, her babies are fat, like sumo wrestler fat, almost gross. She said that when she pumped milk her milk once it settled was 1/2 cream. My DD was a slim baby, and long compared to my SIL's kids, now when I pumped my milk had barely any cream and was all watery. We always joked that she had whole milk and I made skim, I'm also much more endowed than her, so it made it funnier.

I really think we make different milk. This time with my son, I seriously do make more cream, I pump every day and did with DD too, my milk is different this time.

My milk was literally 2/3 or more cream, my mother in law said she had never seen anything like it, and my son was and still is a skinny mini I think he had 1 roll when he was 4 months old and it went away never to be seen again lol. DH was a chunky monkey as a baby, and I was thin (almost too thin) and now roles are reversed... I don't think there is a rhyme or reason

[honeybunmom]

I think my milk was different for each kid. With dd, although she was a 9lb newborn, she only ever had a single fat roll. I was so disappointed! W/ ds, who was only 7lb 13oz, he looked like someone had stuck and needle in him and inflated him with helium within a few weeks. He even had those shoulder rolls! Dd was a spitter after every.single.meal. Ds, not so much. The first time he did spit up I was alarmed at the color . . . then I realized it was just fat. Fatty hind milk and lots of it. No wonder he was so chunky! With dd, I had an over-active let down, so, maybe she didn't get as much hind milk as ds did.

[2boyzmama]

I think it's the same reason why some of us can eat fast food every day and not be overweight, while others will be overweight no matter what they eat. It's just genetics.

Of course there are individual factors...the difference in milk has already been mentioned. Each baby has their own metabolism, will burn those calories faster or slower. Each baby has their own activity level. Illnesses will effect weight. Even just the body fighting off illnesses (in the absence of outward signs sometimes) will burn extra calories.

[sleet76]

I've had one of both---a super-chunk 18 lb 12-week old, and a skinny 18 lb 18-month old. They are/were both wonderful and healthy--active, and good eaters. They are both evening out right now somewhere in the middle of the bell curve. I don't think there's any particular reason that is easily identifiable in most cases. Mine were both breastfed on demand, and my chunky one was my only paci baby.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I've had 2 totally different babies. Both a good size at birth (8lbs 8oz, then 9lbs 1oz) but they have grown differently. DS1 was always short and chubby. He wore 24 month pants at the age of 3! DS2 has always been tall and skinny. He is 18 months and outgrowing his 24 month clothes, but luckily he is CD'ed or else his pants would not stay on. He has never had the fat rolls that DS1 had. Both breastfed babies. It is crazy to me to see how different two kids with the same DNA can be.

[javilu]

i agree - combination of factors. my son is and always has been tiny. never had a drop of formula, decent appetite, squirmy, but not ridiculous. my sister's daughter is 2.5 weeks older and weighs about ten pounds more. she has always been much larger, and she is also breastfed. i do know that my sister has a major oversupply, and her milk is super creamy next to mine. but the babies also just have different demeanors, different bone structures, and so forth. her daughter likes meat and veggies. mine prefers fruit and grains. they're just very different littles ones, and both are quite healthy, too.

[sunshadow]

With my two kids it was simply that one was attached to my breast and the other only nurses when he is actually hungry and would rather be doing something else at other times. At four months old both kids were the same length, but my daughter was 2 pounds heavier and she was born a pound lighter.

[lifeguard]

I think it is mostly genetics (assuming of course they are not being underfed or force fed). Ds is a solid toddler now but as a baby he was chubby, chubby. He started out pretty average but gained at an amazing pace. Anyway, I always joke that if he's gonna be 6'5" he's gotta start off big!