I have a 5 1/2month old that has always been at the top of the charts for weight and high for head and height. She is 23 1/2 pounds at 5 1/2 months, 27 inches. She has grown from 19 pounds, 25 inches at her 4 month checkup! The doctor said she would likely taper off soon, but he has said that each visit and that she would probaby only gain 1-2 pounds in a month if even that much. She is gaining 3-4 each month. She doubled her birth weight by 2 1/2 months. She seems happy and is hitting her milestones early or on time. Both of her bottom teeth have popped out this week too. I had to buy her 4T capri pants to fit her big legs and they are the perfect length as pants (and they are Carters so they should run big)? My husband jokes that we should put her on a diet. She is breastfeed only and eats on demand which is usually every 2-3 hours during the day and 4-5 hours at night. She usually nurses on one side only and for about 5 minutes? Anyone else out there with a baby like this? When will she really "catch-up" to her age/size?
My middle daughter was always at the top of the height and weight charts - she still is and she's going to be 9 next week! She's one of the tallest kids in her class. She's also thinned out quit a bit - the weight percentile is lower than what it used to be.
Yes, it will slow down eventually, so relax, take a deep breath and join all the other larger baby moms that cannot find clothes for their kids. :D
My son now 18 months old was at the top of the chart for the first six months of his life. He weighed 22lbs at six months and now at 18 months he is only 24lbs and right at normal. Dont worry about it she will level off when she starts crawling and moving around more.
Wow! That's some milk you are putting out! Once she's crawling and walking, she's going to burn up some serious calories. Breast milk is the best food for her and she sure is thriving on it!
My baby boy was 25 lbs at 5 months. Your story sounds exactly like mine. He is still a big (not overweight, just big) boy, but he did start to slow down around 6 or 7 months.
I have a son who is very similar to your daughter. He is above average for length and weight and he's now 2. I don't have any evidence to back this next statement, but I truly believe that he slept/sleeps better and handles germs better because there is more to him. He is by no means fat. He is solid! He follows both my family's "big babies" pattern and my husband's body type. I've also always been told that breatfed babies are typically bigger in the beginning years than formula-fed babies.
(BTW, my friend has a 12-month-old boy that is wearing 2Ts. We've typically only been 6-9 months higher in sizes. :))
Keep in mind, you'll get strong carrying her around. You don't even have to visit the gym. :) I have bigger muscles than I could ever imagine from carrying around my big boy.
If you can, try not to obsess about her size--you don't want her questioning her size/weight as she grows up. She is the way God made her. Celebrate her as she is.
Anyway, God bless you and your daughter. You're doing a phenominal job as a mom.
I'm going to echo the others. My 3 year old was like that in the beginning - at 3 mos was wearing 9 month clothes but now at 3 he is in the 75% percentile. He started to taper off between 1 and 2. His first tooth came at 4 months and by 6 months he had 4 of them. It is all normal :-) His baby brother is following in his footsteps (he's a chunky baby breastfed baby too). Big babies are wonderful!
My neice was a big baby and she started to slim down once she started walking. She had baby fat a little longer than other baby's and at 3 1/2 she still has chubby cheeks but she is right where she is supposed to be on clothes so maybe your baby girl will be able to wear thoes clothes again. Congratulations on your healthy baby girl.
I wouldn't worry about it. Breastfed babies are different than bottle feeding babies... most of the books, weight charts, docs education, etc is based on bottle feeding. The general guideline is to double weight by 4 months and triple it by 1 year. If you have a 9 lb baby like I did, that's almost 30 lbs by first birthday, not the 20 lbs you see on labels and stuff.
All my kids were 98-99% in height/weight for the first few years. I remember with my oldest, I shocked at his 4 year checkup - he hadn't gained a single pound that year! But he grew like 5 inches so he was suddenly in the 50-55% range for weight and 75% for height. By 5 years he was 50% on both. My next child was similiar... little change in weight between 3 & 4 year checkups and went from 99% to closer to 50%. The youngest is 2.5 years old, 38 lbs and wearing size 3-4 pants and size 5-6 shirts - just like the others. She'll slow down and "catch-up" next year just like her older siblings did.
Also keep in mind that once your baby is mobile, she'll burn more calories because she'll be going nonstop all day. That is when the weight gain when my kids tapered off. Heck, my one daughter didn't gain a pound between 6-10 months (even though she was still 99% for weight at the time) because she started walking at 6 months and didn't stop moving unless she was sleeping!
My kiddo didn't really start slowing down until he was 5. He was definitely a fat healthy baby (something that can be hard to remember in this culture... I have literally heard mums say how "thin and pretty" their failure to thrive baby is, and completely ignore their Peds until their baby was hospitalized).
My kiddo is also the "chub up & shoot up" kind of growth pattern kid. About a month before he's going to be gaining inches he starts doubling what my DH eats!! As a baby/toddler he'd get arm and leg rolls during this period. The poof. One day he'd go back to his "regular" consumption. He'd typically gain 1-3 inches the next month, and his ribs and vertebre would be showing. We just trusted his body knew what it needed (we were also exclusively BF).
I don't remember his exact height weight (although they're written down somewhere, although I do know he was about 35-40lbs at 2, oy, tired arms)... but at 6m he was wearing 2/3T's... At 2 years he was wearing 5ts. At 4 years he was wearing Boy's 6's. At around 5 he started slowing down, and wore Boy's 7/8's for almost 18mo. At 7yo now... he's nearly 5' tall, and about 65 lbs and is just beginning to outgrow his boy's 8's and needs 9's. Playing at the park, he's the size of the average 4th grader, and some small 5th graders.
My kiddo was also "late" with many of the physical milestones (ummm... yeah... his body was growing so fast that's to be expected.) Slow growth allows a baby/toddler/person to get "used" to their bodies. Fast growers tend to be behind the curve. But it's not because anything is wrong... it's because they have to learn to adapt so much faster.
Mama, you are AWESOME!!! We, in the breastfeeding world, call it "Haagen Das Milk". It's high-fat, extra-caloric milk and it's totally FABULOUS!!! If it makes you feel any better, I met a 3-month-old that weighed 24 pounds and was extra long. He was the size of an average 1-year-old but could sit, it was mind-boggling to see this person that looked like he should be getting ready to walk just lay around. Don't worry about it. You aren't feeding too often, she's sleeping well (4-5 hours is perfectly normal for his age). She'll probably always be on the big end of the chart, but as long as you stick to breast milk, wait on the solids for at least another few months, and then start with healthy table scraps, you don't need to worry about weight.
Keep it UP!!!
LOL. She sounds fine to me. Its just hard on you to carry all that weight around! My son gained 4 lbs a month until he was around 9m. When your baby starts moving around more she'll start burning some of it off. Although since she has more weight, she may need some help sitting up and such.
My neice was a big baby. She was 9 lbs at birth. at 1 year she was 22 lbs. At 2 she is now 28 lbs and wearing a 3T, but she is slowing down. She's been round the same weight now for about 6m.
every kid does it differently my son was born big but gained soooooooo slowly he was almost off the chart on weight. he was only 19 lbs at a year and he is not quite 2 and pushing over 30lbs now. my son went slow to fast and perhaps your little one will go fast to slow. i was massive as a small child. and was almost my adult height by 6th grade (5'10") then i just stopped getting taller. dont worry until you really have to. If she is 60 lb one year old maybe check into t a different dr :) but i think she will be fine!
I'm just going to try and put this into perspective for you.......you are worried about the weight of your 4 month old checkup........stop it, she is 4 months old, and is going to grow fast at times, and not as fast at times. She's just a baby, babies are going to do that
My son was always in the 95% or plus percentile for his age when he was a baby/toddler. He bit me with 3 teeth at 3 months of age. He never crawled because he couldn't lift himself up but walked a 9-1/2 months. I actually had to sew his clothing because I couldn't buy anything that would fit him. He strarted to slow down at about 11 years of age. He just turned 17 and is 5'10" and weighs 160 pounds. Don't worry just make sure she learns to eat healthy. My son hates junk food. He would pick a turkey wrap over cake or cookies.
When I was in La Leche League years ago there was a little boy who was such a big and round baby I never forgot it. His thighs were SO big. I can't remember the statistics, but neither of his parents were unusually big. He grew up to be a normal size.
I would just keep track of your baby's growth along with your pediatrician and if necessary, ask about a consultation with an endocrinologist.
Congratulations on your success with your breastfeeding.
I am a fellow mom of what I call my "Buddah Baby"! Everyone gets a kick out of how MASSIVE his thighs are. I bought him some 12 month pants at Christmas(he was 6 months old) thinking they would fit, but he was never able to wear them because they were too tight on his thighs.
He weighed 10lbs, 2 oz at birth, 16lbs 11oz at 2 months, 21lbs 3ozs at 4 months, 24lbs 3oz at 6 months(27 1/4 inches) and now at 8 months, I am guessing he will weigh in at at least 27lbs at his next visit. I have just always followed his eating cues...but I swear, the kid seems like a bottomless pit at times!
He is now down to about 14oz max of formula a day and eats breakfast, lunch and dinner (combos of fruits, veggies, meats, yougart). At about 6 months, he started losing interest in bottles and formula, and gaining interest in FOOD! I would just do what she seems to want. She'll quit if she's full.
My son has also been hitting his milestones...he is now crawling! AHH!!! As long as they are happy and doing the things they should be, she is A.O.K. Oh yeah, and my son has 8 teeth already. I tell ya, he was born to eat steak!!!
And FYI, my other 2 kiddos were also BIG babies, always 90+% in height and weight and are now "normal". She will eventually slow down...although I am with ya in wondering WHEN??? LOL...this time around it is taking longer! Keep up the good work mama!
Sounds perfectly healthy. Don't worry about it.
ohhh i wish i had your problem; my kids, age 5, have been stuck on 40 lbs for 2 years now. grrr and they eat fine. your baby sounds healthy. i mean breastmilk? how much can your overdose on breastmilk :)
it's the best thing for her.
HI S., I wouldn't worry about it, especially because you are breastfeeding. Sounds like a healthy baby to me.
My son was born pretty much on time (35 weeks) and was like that from the beginning. By a month he was the size of 3 month clothes, 6 months he was in the 12 month clothes, .... It worried me but at the same time he seemed pretty happy & healthy other then an acid reflux problem. By the time he was 3 he was wearing 5t clothes, but shortly after turning 3 he slowed down on the growing and didn't hit any more growth spurts of any real differences til he was about 6 or so. His doctor said he just got all his toddler growing out of the way early, lol. He's 8 now & is the normal size for an 8 year old.
I bet she's super cute too! My 1st baby was off the charts in both height and weight and has remained there ever since. At 1, he was 31 lbs and 31 in. (2nd is off the charts in height, but 50th in weight) Babies usually have enormous amounts of growth their first year. It slows down drastically in the 2nd and 3rd year. She sounds very healthy, especially if you are breastfeeding, and it doesn't sound like she's overfeeding.
