# Can a breastfed baby be overweight?



## vrclay (Jun 12, 2007)

My intuition tells me no, my pediatrician tells me no but my in-laws keep harping on how "fat" our little angel is. Of course my MIL has her own set of issues surrounding my BFing because she did not. Our little guy is 19 weeks and just weighed in at 20 pounds.

Thoughts? Of course my first reaction is to tell them where to stick it but that's really not productive. And they haven't even heard about how long I hope to BF.


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## artgoddess (Jun 29, 2004)

Trust your instincts mama, you and your baby are doing great!


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## becoming (Apr 11, 2003)

I really don't think so. Sounds like you're doing great, mama!


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## kennedy444 (Aug 2, 2002)

Not in my world


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## GooeyRN (Apr 24, 2006)

Your baby is fine. It seems like you have a great supply and an avid nurser!


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## PatioGardener (Aug 11, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *artgoddess* 
Trust your instincts mama, you and your baby are doing great!









:

Congratulations!


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## susan13 (Jan 7, 2008)

We have the same issue- at two months- my son was 16 pounds and is going in for his month checkup in a couple of weeks- my guess is that he is over 20 pounds-

The greatest challeng we face is that he is so heavy to carry even when babywearing and he is also outgrowing his car seat and many of his toys- swing, jumperoo- bouncer- I am not sure what toys to try next when he hits the 25 pound mark


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## pacificbliss (Jun 17, 2006)

My understanding is that breastfed babies can not be overweight. They are always perfect


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## addis_mommy (Jul 2, 2007)

Your baby is perfect and healthy and also quite lucky to have a good nursing mama. My family is very supportive of my bfing so for me when they would say Addi was fat (she's not anymore due to the walking) I always took it as a compilment. Your mother in law is very misinformed and probably feeling guilty and a little jealous.


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## lilgreen (Dec 5, 2003)

No way. My ds1 was 20lbs at 4mos and he's perfectly healthy. He's not a skrawny kid (he's now 6), but he sure isn't anywhere near to being overweight. I figure his body was just meant to grow like that. His little brother wasn't 20lbs until his first birthday and I didn't do anything different.


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## CathMac (Jan 10, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vrclay* 
My intuition tells me no, my pediatrician tells me no but my in-laws keep harping on how "fat" our little angel is. Of course my MIL has her own set of issues surrounding my BFing because she did not. Our little guy is 19 weeks and just weighed in at 20 pounds. ...

I might be a little concerned if DC were in the 1st percentile for height and the 100th percentile for weight.

Otherwise, keep in mind that BF'ed babies gain weight differently than FF'ed babies and they shouldn't be compared.

It is also worth noting that unless a mom is pumping and feeding DC Expressed Breast Milk (EBM) then DC is largely self-regulating their appetite which means that they should be getting pretty much what they want and need (absent unusual circumstances such as a sluggish nursling or a low supply mom). In contrast, FF babies are more likely to be overfed to "finish of the bottle" and avoid waste (after all, formula is expensive) and because feeding a baby is a good way to appease them, or distract them if they are unhappy for no particular reason, this can lead to over feeding.

Chunky babies, whether BF'ed or FF'ed often slim down once they start crawling and moving around.

Of course if none of the above impresses them you can trot out the articles below. I have included brief descriptions that are somewhat self-explanatory. A word of caution though, the 3rd link is to a summary of a scientific article including a meta-analysis of data on BF babies whose moms had non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, which may affect the composition of breastmilk. You may want to omit that article if you have diabetes; or perhaps find an article that doesn't include this aspect of the study.

Hey all's fair in love and when trying to reason with the In Laws.









Doctor's Guide - Global Edition - 12/19/07
Obesity Hormone Found In Human Breast Milk
http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/4eaa2.htm
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN -- December 19, 1997 -- Leptin, a hormone that appears to play an important role in body metabolism and obesity, has been found for the first time in human breast milk.

Nutra Ingredients - 23/04/2007
Infant formula with leptin may cut obesity
http://www.nutraingredients.com/news...infant-formula Adding the hunger hormone leptin to baby formula may protect against obesity later in life, if results from a rat study can be translated to humans.

The research, from the University of Buckingham, reports that supplementing infant rats' diets with leptin resulted in adult animals that did not fat or develop diabetes, even when fed a high-fat diet.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Publishers - Online Article
Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders
Breast Feeding and the Risk of Obesity and Related Metabolic Diseases in the Child by Andreas Plagemann, M.D. and Thomas Harder, M.D., M.Sc. To cite this paper:
Andreas Plagemann, Thomas Harder. Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. 2005, 3(3): 222-232. doi:10.1089/met.2005.3.222.
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs...ournalCode=met
QUOTATION
Breast feeding is the best way to nurture healthy newborns of healthy mothers. A number of studies have shown that breast feeding may protect against the later development of obesity and related metabolic diseases. Using data from our own meta-analysis as well as studies by other groups, in this review we systematically examine the current state of evidence regarding this topic. Breast feeding, in general, is shown to be associated later in a child's life with decreased risk of overweight, decreased blood cholesterol and blood pressure, and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. _Additionally, we review data of our Kaulsdorf Cohort Study (KCS) showing, however, that these effects might be reversed when the mother is affected by a non-communicable disease such as diabetes mellitus, which alters the composition of breast milk._

Good luck, ~Cath


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## ani'smommy (Nov 29, 2005)

My babe's about the same -- and yeah, his percentiles are all about the same (as of 2 weeks, we haven't been back to the doc.) 98%


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## vrclay (Jun 12, 2007)

Thanks ladies - you've made me feel so much better.


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