Obese babies

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  • megsi474
    megsi474 Posts: 370 Member
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    All my babies were fat. Like between 20-25 pounds at 4 months fat. Their height percentiles were just as high as their weight, so our pediatrician never had an issue with their size. If they had been in the 95th percentile for weight and 25th for height, that would have been one thing but they overall were just big babies. By the time they were 3, it had all melted off and not a one of them today could even be thought of as overweight. When I see chubby babies, I don't think a thing of it. It's far too early to be concerned about it before you see what their eating and activity habits will be once they're past the formula/breastmilk/baby food stage.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    Wow.. I guess anyone who bottle feeds is also a bad parent based on that indicator alone then too huh?? Ridiclou! There'sa ton of reasons why someone woudl't breast feed. Ranging from ignorance to medical reasons to inability. Bottle fed babies are not overfed. Babies do not eat unless they are hungry. You can't force feed a baby! (go on.. try it.. see how much they cooperate lol) My son ate so much so fast he used to throw his entire bottle back up and scream for more. I had to put cereal in his bottle at 2 weeks just to get some sleep and space between bottles (was also shunned by the peditrician for doing this, but I know my son and i knew what he needed. Doctors don't know everything)

    I do think that children and teens are obese becuase of the food choices offered by their parents. but I also know that judging that based solely off of a weight shared by a parent is absurd and without knowing what is going on with the child is absurd. I had someone tell my my son was "getting chunky" a few weeks ago actually.. Yea.. he had a small belly. It's totally gone now and he's 2 inches taller. ( i mean come on he barely keeps his 30x32 pants from falling off! how i that fat at 6 ft2???) people are ridiclous!
  • Salt_Sand_Sun
    Salt_Sand_Sun Posts: 415 Member
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    Formula causes babies to be overweight. They are overfed.

    Wrong.

    Very wrong. Both my babies were formula fed and neither were overweight!! Babies eat when they are hungry. I know I'm not the only one that had a baby refuse a bottle/nipple when they were done. You can not force feed a baby. well you can, but tthat would be a completely different topic orf abuse!!
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    My child was measured at the 125 percentile within weeks of her birth.

    FYI by definition no one can ever be at "125th percentile".
  • calibriintx
    calibriintx Posts: 1,741 Member
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    All 3 of mine were 22-24 lb at that age and stayed that way for a long time. They were exclusively breastfed. Formula causes babies to be overweight. They are overfed. 18 lb is still small for a 1 yr old theyre generally closer to 22-25. I know a lot of people with 30odd lb babies at 1 and its shocking to me because my kids didnt hit 30 lbs till they were three. My 5 1/2 yr old is barely over 40 and hes 47 inches tall.

    Cool story. 10/10 for judging. My exclusively breastfed baby was probably the fattest infant in 100 miles. Maybe I was lactating formula and not breast milk? Just no. Different babies grow at different rates. True story.
  • ncahill77
    ncahill77 Posts: 501 Member
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    My child was measured at the 125 percentile within weeks of her birth.

    FYI by definition no one can ever be at "125th percentile".

    There are actually multiple methods of statistical average calculations and 125% percentile is indeed very possible.
  • ThisCanadian
    ThisCanadian Posts: 1,086 Member
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    My child was measured at the 125 percentile within weeks of her birth.

    FYI by definition no one can ever be at "125th percentile".

    There are actually multiple methods of statistical average calculations and 125% percentile is indeed very possible.

    But to my knowledge no child is categorized as being above the 100%, which is what she was referring to.
  • tehboxingkitteh
    tehboxingkitteh Posts: 1,574 Member
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    I was over 10 pounds at birth. I was the smallest of my siblings. I also had a huge baby, and so did my siblings.

    My child looked like the Michelin man before perfecting walking. She has visible 6 pack abs. Guess I did something wrong, according to your ligic? :flowerforyou:
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    My son was 9lbs 9 ounces and 22 inches when he was born.. I don't remember how big he was at 1 year right now, HOWEVER it would not shock me if the number was in the high 20s or low 30s. He's never been fat or obese. He was always off the height and weight charts the doctrs tried to fit him into. His peditrician did tell me he was overweight when he was a baby, but I disagreed. My son was hungry. He ate a lot. He is stil hugnry and he still eats a lot. He is active. he is healthy. My friends kids are all half the size my son was at their age.. I think they all look small and like they need to eat more.. bu they are healthy and a healthy size/weight for thier age. Our thoughts are skewed by our own experiences.

    As a baby he was chubby.. normal chubby like a baby is supposed to be. However by your post, my son was obese and i should be ashamed. I know what your point is.. but think before you judge.

    Yes.. some babies are an unhealthy weight.. but you can't judge that based solely on someone stating how much thier child weights.. If I said my 14 year old is 160 pounds (he is) you'd think he was fat.. never mind that he's also 6 ft 2. (now he's not so fat right??) Also. My son has a lot of muscles, he's got very strong arms from growing up doing stuff around the house. He gets a belly occasionally and I groan, because that means he's about to grow some more.

    Of course, if a baby is tall, he will weigh more. That is not in question. This baby I am referring to was called very short, like his father, by the mother. She knew her baby was very overweight for his height, and apparently her Ped was concerned about it as well. She simply laughed it off and said that he would end up being built like his father.
    I was not rude or judgmental at all to her. I said, hey, maybe he will end up being a pro football player! She said no, and described her husband as more like a sumo wrestler.
    SHE was the one who offered up the info of how much her baby weighed after seeing my granddaughter and asking her age and weight. She was talking like her baby was normal and there was something wrong with ours because she was 'so tiny'.
    I would never come up to a mom with a bigger baby and start asking how much he weighed and comparing his weight to ours, and calling him 'Huge". I can use him as a reference, while discussing to a forum of strangers, in the abstract, but I have more manners than to say anything negative to a mother directly.


    This is much more than normal chubby.
  • SharonCMach
    SharonCMach Posts: 305 Member
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    I agree with the majority of people here, babies go through phases depending on their evolving eating habits and levels of mobility. And just because a baby is large doesn't mean they are eating unhealthy, maybe the child was just a good eater and since it was not yet able to walk, they got chunky, its normal. My daughter is 14 months old and just started walking at 13 months old. She was chunky up until she could crawl because she has been eating solids since 3 months. I made every single bit of her baby food and I believe she has had every fruit and vegetable available in the state of Georgia, lol. I'm extremely anal about what she eats and she only drinks water and milk. Now my (much too young to have a child) baby brother has a 2 year old and they let her drink coke and sweet tea out of her sippy cup all the time, she lives off of french fries and insane amounts of ketchup and frozen chicken nuggets, little debbies, fast food, etc. Even though she lives off junk food she is in the 10-15 percentile for her age in weight and height while my daughter is always in the 70-80%. My mom recently had to start buying her pediasure because she is concerned about her diet and lack of weight gain. So just because a baby is large or small you cant judge without knowing the full story.


    My son was a late walker too, :smile: he didn't walk till 16 months old. Which is probably why he weighed 32 pounds at 1 year old, and still weighted 32 pounds at 2 years old. :smile:
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    I was over 10 pounds at birth. I was the smallest of my siblings. I also had a huge baby, and so did my siblings.

    My child looked like the Michelin man before perfecting walking. She has visible 6 pack abs. Guess I did something wrong, according to your ligic? :flowerforyou:

    Did I ever say that anyone did anything 'wrong'? It was a simple observation and opening for discussion. I am not 'shaming' anyone.
    You don't have to take my post as a personal insult to you.
  • ngressman
    ngressman Posts: 229 Member
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    I was in the checkout line at a grocery store yesterday with my daughter and granddaughter yesterday, and the checkout girl asked how old the baby was. When told she had just turned a year, she was shocked at how 'tiny' she was. She weighed in at 18 lbs and 28 inches tall at her dr appt that morning. She is a healthy and active little girl with chubby cheeks and the obligatory little leg rolls. She is NOT skinny by any means,

    The check out girl then told us that her son was 10 months old and weighed 32 pounds!! Oh my goodness! I was in shock. That is the size of a 5 yr old!

    Has this become the norm for babies today? My granddaughter is only in the 10% in height and weight. She still outweighs both her mother and my other daughter when they were a yr old. (16 and 15 lbs).

    The pediatrician is not concerned at all with the baby's size, as she is perfectly healthy. She says the charts are inflated today because of all the obese babies that are throwing off the curve.

    I just cannot imagine how a 10 month old baby can weigh 32 pounds. Granted, the mother was not a small woman, and she described the father as being built like a Sumo wrestler.
    But what are they feeding this child to be able to gain this much weight? She even said the child was short, like his father, so he doesn't have extra height to account for it.

    A day later and I still cannot get this baby off of my mind. He will hit 100 pounds by the time he is 3 at this rate, and will probably be diabetic by 8 or 10.

    I don't mean to start a fat-shaming thread for a baby, so please don't shoot me. Am I alone at being shocked at this??

    ETA, The mother said that he was actually walking, which is even more amazing. So maybe he will slim down a bit now that he is mobile. I sure hope so.
    If your granddaughter is in the 10 percentile she is tiny. Just like the pediatrician isn't worried about your granddaughters weight, I am sure the pediatrician of the other person isn't worried about his weight. Many kids when they are in the 10th percentile are diagnosed with failure to thrive, but your granddaughter must be following the growth line for her birth weight. My son is in the 95% for height and 99% for weight. He is huge compared to most kids in both height and weight. (Even though I am short and his father is too). Grandad is tall. Some uncles and aunts are tall too. He is fed the same as his younger sister, who is on the 50% for height and 40% for weight. The pediatrician isn't concerned by either. It drives me insane taking my son places because invariably someone is going to ask about his weight. All I am saying is it may not be what the mom is feeding that kid. Some kids grow at different rates, and it is no cause for concern until an older age.
  • rachseby
    rachseby Posts: 285 Member
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    Wow.. I guess anyone who bottle feeds is also a bad parent based on that indicator alone then too huh?? Ridiclou! There'sa ton of reasons why someone woudl't breast feed. Ranging from ignorance to medical reasons to inability. Bottle fed babies are not overfed. Babies do not eat unless they are hungry. You can't force feed a baby! (go on.. try it.. see how much they cooperate lol) My son ate so much so fast he used to throw his entire bottle back up and scream for more. I had to put cereal in his bottle at 2 weeks just to get some sleep and space between bottles (was also shunned by the peditrician for doing this, but I know my son and i knew what he needed. Doctors don't know everything)

    I do think that children and teens are obese becuase of the food choices offered by their parents. but I also know that judging that based solely off of a weight shared by a parent is absurd and without knowing what is going on with the child is absurd. I had someone tell my my son was "getting chunky" a few weeks ago actually.. Yea.. he had a small belly. It's totally gone now and he's 2 inches taller. ( i mean come on he barely keeps his 30x32 pants from falling off! how i that fat at 6 ft2???) people are ridiclous!
    At 2 weeks babies do need to eat every few hours..maybe you just weren't giving him enough formula. Were you expecting him to sleep through the night? I think that probably any physician in the country would advise against putting cereal in a 2 week old's bottles...
  • arains89
    arains89 Posts: 442 Member
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    Your granddaughter is small. My 10 month old is 22 pounds. In the 89% percentile for weight and 90% for height and 99% for head (LOL). That said 10% means she is small so it is not an outrageous comment. My baby is big (not at all obese) so it is not abnormal for people to mistaken her for being older than she is. Like a pp had mentioned when their height and weight are aligned you are fine. Also, my five year old son is 45 pounds. And he is average. 32 pounds would be rather small for 5.

    32 pounds for 10 months does seem overweight but I would assume that if there were a health issue then the pediatrician would intervene. Don't get so bent out of shape. I don't think being OBESE is the norm. But I do think that some babies are just naturally bigger (like my daughter). She is going to be a basketball player :)
  • Morninglory81
    Morninglory81 Posts: 1,190 Member
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    I was over 10 pounds at birth. I was the smallest of my siblings. I also had a huge baby, and so did my siblings.

    My child looked like the Michelin man before perfecting walking. She has visible 6 pack abs. Guess I did something wrong, according to your ligic? :flowerforyou:
    My first son looked like the stay puff marshmallow man from ghostbusters! He is now 3 and solid with muscle definition and not a roll in site!
  • ngressman
    ngressman Posts: 229 Member
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    My child was measured at the 125 percentile within weeks of her birth.

    FYI by definition no one can ever be at "125th percentile".

    There are actually multiple methods of statistical average calculations and 125% percentile is indeed very possible.


    But to my knowledge no child is categorized as being above the 100%, which is what she was referring to.
    No child is over the 99 percentile. To be in the 100th percentile the child would have to be heavier than 100% of the children his or her age, and that is impossible since he or she can never outweigh his or her self.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
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    I :heart: this thread.

    It's as if some of the pregnancy websites decided to merge with MFP so we finally have real vitriol. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

    I'm very entertained. :wink:
  • jrue1985
    jrue1985 Posts: 191 Member
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    The reason you hear people say to put baby cereal in their formula because pediatricians used to advise parents to start doing this as early as two weeks old. It does quite a baby and helps them sleep through the night. I did this with my son and daughters and all three of them slept through the night and none are obese. (it does not make them fat) This was a common practice some years ago and our generation of babies turned out much better than the babies I see today.

    This absolutely does not help them sleep through the night.

    ^^^^^Correct. It does NOT make them sleep through the night. MYTH.
  • Morninglory81
    Morninglory81 Posts: 1,190 Member
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    I was over 10 pounds at birth. I was the smallest of my siblings. I also had a huge baby, and so did my siblings.

    My child looked like the Michelin man before perfecting walking. She has visible 6 pack abs. Guess I did something wrong, according to your ligic? :flowerforyou:
    My first son looked like the stay puff marshmallow man from ghostbusters! He is now 3 and solid with muscle definition and not a roll in site!
  • jrue1985
    jrue1985 Posts: 191 Member
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    And, at 2 weeks old they NEED that bottle in the middle of the night that they wake up for... so WHY they hell would you try to MAKE them sleep through the night?!
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