is my baby too fat?

1588 Views 20 Replies 20 Participants Last post by Gentle~Mommy :), Apr 25, 2009

bluebabe30

Discussion Starter · Apr 18, 2009

My baby is 5 mos old and he is 20 lbs. He is in the 97th percentile for weight. Cute and chubby as can be, and already loaded with personality! He is exclusively breastfed. What worries me is that his legs frequently turn purple when I hold him upright. My ped said it is nothing to worry about, it is just because he is chubby and the pressure from holding him or resting my hip on his groin area is cutting off his circulation in his legs. As he gets older, the ped said his legs may do that when he is sitting up too, and they even may fall asleep. To me, having your legs fall asleep every time you try to sit up sounds terribly uncomfortable. My mom told me he needs solids because he just eats and eats and is never satisfied.... therefore getting fat from all the nursing. I told her that theory is bunk and doesn't even make sense. Others have told me he needs to be on a schedule, and cut out the comfort nursing. I don't even know how I would do that, because he sleeps with me and I hold him a lot..........Anyway, I was just wondering if there is anything I can do for him to help his leg problem?

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Disco Infiltrator

· #2 · Apr 18, 2009

aw, he sounds so cute and lovely, and you should be proud that you grew him! The solids being more filling than breast milk is SO full of bunk. And personally I wouldn't give up the comfort nursing relationship for all the gold in the world.

I'm guessing that he'll thin out once he starts crawling, and as long as he doesn't appear uncomfortable, I wouldn't worry about the leg thing.

bubbamummy

· #3 · Apr 18, 2009

If he's on the 97%tile then he is still within the 'normal' limits. My thought was that if they went above the 100%tile or below the 5th then there was a possible issue.

tanyam926

· #4 · Apr 19, 2009

nak

my baby is 7 months and 20 lbs but he's been 20 lbs since he was 5 months, all my kids have been super chunky at this age and now my older boys are tall and lean.

my baby has incredibly fat thighs but his legs never turn blue or purple when he is upright, sitting up, etc. so i can't compare but if you are worried about his circulation and you don't think the dr. is addressing your concerns you might want to get a 2nd opinion.

i love chunky babies, they are too cute!

kalamos23

· #5 · Apr 19, 2009

Fwiw, DD was 20 lbs at 4 months and 24 lbs at 6 months EBF. She is literally an inch off the charts abover the 95% line for height and weight. She started crawling at 6 months and is only 27 lbs at 9 mo, still EBF, so they DO start slowing down in weight. 5 mo was when she was the chunkiest - enjoy the rolls!

The4OfUs

· #6 · Apr 19, 2009

2

My DD was 19 pounds at 4 months, 21 pounds at 6 months, and 25 pounds at a year (she was also off the charts tall at that point, at her 6-month visit they projected it to the 108th percentile of height

). My pediatrician told me that she might crawl or walk late because she had more mass to lug around and learn to balance

: (which she didn't, she walked at 11 months), but otherwise said nothing that I should be concerned about. As soon as she started walking, she thinned out a lot. She'll be 3 at the end of June, is still in the 90th+ percentile in height, but has dropped to the 75th percentile in weight, and they're not worried abotu that either - she's a happy, healthy, active girl. I wouldn't sweat it unless he seems to be in distress about his legs, and then I'd just switch positions, but I wouldn't cut back on nursing or start solids early.

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lach

· #7 · Apr 19, 2009

My daughter was 7lbs at birth... and 20lbs at 4mo! At 1 year? 23lbs. She's almost 2 now, and 26lbs, and very tall. I believe she's just under the 75th for weight, and 95th for height.

I wouldn't worry too much about it right now. BF babies tend to chunk out early on, while FF babies tend to chunk out a little later. Unfortunately, the charts that peds use were developed back when almost all babies were FF, so BF babies are often off the charts early on, when in fact they're pretty normal for a BF baby. But it all evens out by about 1 year.

I read somewhere that the AAP is going to produce 2 charts soon: 1 for BF babies and 1 for FF babies, because they do grow differently and right now "normal" is the FF babies chart.

Kirsten

· #8 · Apr 19, 2009

I think all babies are so different - different build, different genetics, different needs for comfort nursing, different rates of growth. I hate that doctors make moms worry over babies who are low OR high on the chart. Mine were always low (only one of my three hit 20 pounds by their first birthday; all were breastfed) and when dd1 was in the 5th percentile, they had us waking her up at night to feed her. I didn't have any gut feelings that there was a problem, but the docs sure made me feel there was. When dd2 had the same slow growth, I knew not to worry as dd1 was fine at four.

So I think that we should listen to our inner voice - do YOU think he is ok, or are you worried? Personally, losing circulation in his legs and having them turn color would be something that would worry me. I'd get a second opinion.

But if he didn't have that issue, I wouldn't inherently worry about his weight at this age. Lots of people have chubby babies.

alegna

· #9 · Apr 19, 2009

Both of mine have been 20lbs at 4 months. Chunky big babies here.

-Angela

Dahlea

· #10 · Apr 19, 2009

Mine was 25 lbs at 5 months-I'm not worried. He's healthy and happy, over 6 months now and hasn't started solids yet. He's EBF on cue.

SmoothieMom

· #11 · Apr 19, 2009

He sounds adorable! Love those chubby legs

My baby is very petite, just 14 pounds at her 1st birthday.

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claddaghmom

· #12 · Apr 19, 2009

I would get a 2nd opinion and also consider alternative care such as chiropractic.

I've seen some chunky EBF babies but never heard of their legs turning purple just from a hip carry or sitting. Sometimes, babywearing with equipment that doesn't fit right can do this, I suppose.

DD was so big at birth I thought she'd be chunky, but her length is what's going off the charts. She still hasn't tipped 20lbs at 5.5 months, but she is now 29 inches long.

SparklingGemini

· #13 · Apr 20, 2009

2

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmoothieMom

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He sounds adorable! Love those chubby legs

My baby is very petite, just 14 pounds at her 1st birthday.

Yes. He sounds darling!

Oh how I love squeezable, squishy, roly poly babies!!! I wanted one sooo badly. But no....

My DD is only 22lbs at 21 months.

Enjoy your chunky monkey! I bet he'll slim down the second he starts walking and then you'll miss it!

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almadianna

· #14 · Apr 22, 2009

your baby sounds just right mama.

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foreverinbluejeans

· #15 · Apr 23, 2009

I think breastfed babies can be too chunky. One thing you might try is nursing only one breast a feeding. That way the baby gets plenty of the hind milk that is high in fat and makes the baby feel full.

User101

· #16 · Apr 24, 2009

First, moving to the general breastfeeding forum since 5 months isn't "beyond infancy".

foreverinbluejeans, I'd really be interested in hearing your sources, both on the idea of a breastfed baby being "too fat" and to back up block feeding as a means of controlling weight. I've never heard of such a thing.

SparklingGemini

· #17 · Apr 24, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by annettemarie

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foreverinbluejeans, I'd really be interested in hearing your sources, both on the idea of a breastfed baby being "too fat" and to back up block feeding as a means of controlling weight. I've never heard of such a thing.

Yes, please. I'm curious too.

I was under the impression that one of the things about breastfeeding is the ability to detect fullness. And one of the reasons FF(or bottle feeding, I guess) is linked with future obesity is because it teaches babies to ignore their inner hunger and full cues.

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butterfly_mommy

· #18 · Apr 25, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by foreverinbluejeans

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I think breastfed babies can be too chunky. One thing you might try is nursing only one breast a feeding. That way the baby gets plenty of the hind milk that is high in fat and makes the baby feel full.

I would also be interested in your source for this statement. I had to do block nursing (feeding only one side during 4 hour periods) because I had oversupply and overactive letdown and I had a very perfectly chunky babe who was 22 lbs at 20 weeks and EBF.

At a year he was 28.5 lbs and now at 15 mons he is 30.5 lbs and over 32" tall. His weight gain did slow a lot once he started crawling and he actually lost a bit of weight once he started walking. Don't worry about his weight. He never had circulation problems with his legs due to his weight.

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mamazee

· #19 · Apr 25, 2009

My daughter was the fat bf baby, always at or around 100th percentile, and as soon as she was able to run around, she slimmed way down. I think that's very common.

Tanya9025

· #20 · Apr 25, 2009

I don't really know anything about the leg siutation but I can say that I was concerned that my 3 month old is too fat. She is really a chunker...her rolls have rolls! Like you, I feed on demand (for comfort too) and she sleeps with me. Our pediatrician, as well as friends in La Leche League, said that there is nothing to worry about since she is getting only breastmilk and no formula and that those practices are best for developing good physical and emotional health.

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