Hi Everyone,
My baby was born weighing 7 lbs 9 oz. He's now exactly 6 weeks old, and I think he weighs nearly 12-12.5 lbs! That's almost a pound a week and I read that the average weight gain should be about 8 oz per week. I'm breastfeedig and I read you can't overfeed a baby, but he's huge weight gain is concerning me. I've been feeding him on demand and that could mean every 2 hours to every 4 hours. He's not really on a schedule. The past few nights he'll go about 4 hours then wake up every 2 hours after that. During the day he usually wants to eat every 2 hours. My biggest concern is that he's using me as a pacifier since he will not take a pacifier.
ANy advice?
Thanks everyone!
Thank you to all that responded to my request.
I'm still concerned about my baby's weight, as at his 2 month check up he was 13 pounds 11 oz, in the 90th percentile for height and weight. But the doc says he's healthy and not to worry about it.
We're feeding every 3-4 hours now and he'll sleep 6-7 hours at a time at night so we only do 1 night time feeding around 4ish which is a great improvement from our 2-3 hour nights before.
He takes the pacifier now, when he's in the mood. I can't always rely on it, but it does help him when he's sleepy because he gets very fussy when he's tired.
Thanks for all your responses!
Children cannot overeat. They are not programmed to overeat....that's the fun for the rest of us to deal with (eating out of boredom, stress, ect). I once talked to a registered dietician and she had never seen an 'eating disorder' in any child under 8.
J.,
I guess I have a little different take than other answers. I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old and I can say that the 2 year old would have ate all day if I let him. The problem is that he liked to snack when he was breastfed (and still does with food). I wasn't worried about his weight (as he stayed underweight), but I was more concerned about my sanity. He was using me as a pacifier. So, I put him on a schedule of eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hrs during the day. No longer than 3 hrs unless it was at night. The goal was to get in enough feedings during the day, that he slept longer at night and it worked. He slept thru the night at 8 weeks and stopped using me to pacify him during the day because he was full at each feeding. I also didn't feed him and put him to sleep. Instead, I did a feed then wake time and then sleep time. That way he wasn't using nursing to put himself to sleep.
As far as overfeeding, I don't think that is a problem with breastmilk, but what might start happening is fussiness. If they are full, but still eat, they tend to get really fussy. It's hard to tell what the fussiness is about (hungry, full, or tired), but eventually you learn their signals. Hope that helps a bit.
H.
It is all good. It is best that breastfed babies not take a pacifier as his sucking stimulates milk production.
Anyway, my daughter gained weight very well through 4 months, then tapered off and percentage weight started dropping.
Breastfed babies tend to gain better at the beginning and then lean out because the breast milk adapts to their needs.
Don't worry, sounds like all is well. You can't overfeed an exclusively breastfed baby. Baby will only eat when baby is hungry.
He is absolutely perfectly fine. My oldest was 9.4 at birth and 16 pounds at his 4 week checkup. Eating every 2-4 hours is perfectly normal. You are doing nothing wrong.
One thing to keep in mind - the 'average' figures are just that and are based on data from millions of babies, so remember that there are lots that are on either end of the spectrum. Its true, you really can't overfeed a baby.
Having said that, my friend's little boy (currently almost 8 months old) was 7lbs and change when born and almost 20lbs by 4 months old. Yes! He's a happy and healthy little boy though, he just got a lot of his growth spurts up front. = ) My newest DD, now almost 7 months old, was 8lbs 2oz when born, lost weight and now weighs over 19lbs! Since all the books say that the 'average' baby will be around 20-22lbs at 1 year, both of our kids are well ahead of the 'average'. So don't fret, it will all even out over time.
My first DD was so chubby as an infant I thought she was going to pop some days! In the 90-98 percentile for weight (but not for height, she's short like me), I was worried that she was 'too fat'. The doctor told me not to even concern myself with things like that until after age one. And now, at 4 years old she is stocky and sturdy, but actually quite slender, so it all works out. (The biggest change in her weight started once she was walking/running on her own.)
So, I would say, enjoy your chubby baby - I say a fat baby is a happy baby! (and a happy momma as he starts to sleep even longer periods through the night.)
Good luck!
i don't have anything to offer that hasn't been said. babies are different and those scales and charts are junk! feed your little one on demand! he'll eat when he's hungry and he'll suckle for comfort when he's not. he knows what he's doing! i think kids are going to be the size they are meant to be no matter what we do. offer the breast anytime he likes. when he's big, offer him nutritious foods at predictable times of day. let him choose what to eat. over the week, kids just seem to manage to get the right amounts of the right stuff in them. Enjoy him!!!
