i am sooo mad!

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-20-2004
i am sooo mad!
8
Wed, 11-10-2004 - 4:04am
I had a check up for my son yesterday and i was NOT happy with what when on. First of all he's 8 1/2 months old. He weighs 20 lbs, is 29 1/2 inches long and they said that he is on the verge of being overwieght! He's TOO young to be deciding that just yet, don't you agree?!

Second... they said that by this age he should only be taking in about 32 oz of formula a day, he's at about 36oz, they said that's too much! What the heck? If he's hungry he's hungry!!

They also said that he needs to be drinking from a sippie cup by the age of one year, and that he should start feeding himself with a spoon! I'm sorry but i don't think it's right to have to force him into doing things that he may not be ready for just yet.

He's been doing things on his own just fine. I NEVER put my hands behind his feet to help him crawl, nor did i teach him how to pull up on to furniture, or cruise along the furniture. He did all of that on his own when he was ready...

My point is, i don't think they should be giving me a deadline for him to follow. what do you all think of this?

please let me know

~Amanda~

wife to Johnny 3/15/03

mommy to Joey 2/17/04

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2004
Wed, 11-10-2004 - 9:20am
First off, I would not go on everything a ped says. Some are diffirent then others and go by diffirent guidlines.
I dont think that he is overweight, my son was almost the same weight at that age and my ped never said anyhting. I think a baby with some meat is a good thing :) They lose it all as soon as they walk anyways.
About the drinking, is he eating solids? And you are right, if he is hungry then he is hungry. I am sure he did not read the ped manual for what he needs to do at this age. I think the reason on the sippy cup is just so he does not ruin the teeth he might have by 1 year. It is just better for them to be off of it, but I would not worry if he is not off the exact day as he turns a year old. It takes time to get use to a diffirent way of drinking.
Like I said before, dont be too worried that he is not doing things as the ped thinks he should be doing them.
Kids take their time and do it when they are ready. He will know when that is, not your ped.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-05-2004
Wed, 11-10-2004 - 9:25am
Amanda,

HI! I think it's BS that they told you your son is on the verge of being overweight! I can definantely relate, my son was 17 lbs at 2 months(h was 9.2 at birth) I breastfed him and he was constantly eating, like every 1.5 hours,I couldnt give him formula because he had acid reflux really bad. His dr. was always tellling me I was feeding him way too much and to cut back, and it would ALWAYS stress me out, because I tried spacing his feedings out, and he just wouldnt have it! So, I just didn't listen to the dr. anymore about feeding my son, he told me not to give him cereal until he was 5 months, etc..i was SOO annoyed!

My son's weight was always off the growth chart and his height was always in the 95 percentile, and he's 26 months and still is! Sometimes I think dr.'s are full of it, and mom's know best. About the sippy cup and spoon feeding, every baby develops differently, dr.s' are always trying to put a timeline where they should be doing certain things ate certain ages. I wouldnt be too worried about anything, your baby sounds perfectly normal :) Hope this helped you out

Katie

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2004
Wed, 11-10-2004 - 9:31am

I read this, and it reminded me of my nephew. He was a little chunky as a baby and his pediatrician recommened he see a nutritionist when he was 9 months old. They told my sister to stop feeding him fruits and vegtables and instead feed him things like crackers and meat cubes...uh what? She told them "so you want me to stop feeding giving him as much formula, not feed him fruits and veggies especially made for babies and instead give him processed foods?


My sister stuck with what she felt was right in her heart, and now that my nephew is 17 months old, walking and at a so called "normal" weight. I think it would have made him overweight if she had listened to them. Not to agree with them, but it is best if they take a sippy cup especially at night because after a year old, the bottle will help to rot their teeth. Maybe that is what they meant? I don't know why they would say to cut his formula though...








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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 11-10-2004 - 2:04pm
I have a 10 mo. old with similar stats-actually he's a little heavier (like 4 oz.) and a little shorter (1/4 of an inch) and his ped. didn't think anything was wrong. Did your pediatrician tell you where he's at on the growth chart? I wouldn't be worried unless you were out of balance like 80% for weight and 40% for height.

I think the sippy cup thing might just be because it takes a while to learn. So maybe not rely on it but start introducing it? My DS won't let us feed him much but won't use a spoon either-can you say messy?

Taleyna

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2003
Wed, 11-10-2004 - 7:19pm
First thing tomorrow you need to find a new pediatrition.

My son passed 20 pounds at 4 months! (and I was ticked because I could no longer use the infant car seat) And at no time did anyone say he was overweight even though he had bulges on his bulges! He was nursed exclusively. He stayed in the same percentiles and eventually skinnied out.

As for the sippy cup and spoon, don't force it, but please introduce them to your baby. The earlier they get used to them, the quicker the novelty wears off. My son could "use" a spoon at a year, but it was really messy! LOL

Seriously, find a new doctor. You don't need anyone telling you that your child is to large. If he was 4 and weighed 80 pounds, then we would be talking differently, but we are not.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2003
Thu, 11-11-2004 - 1:36pm
I agree with ejk on finding a new doctor...one thing I highly don't believe in is sticking with a doctor that doesn't take time to discuss things with you but more dictates things to you. I recently switched pediatricians because they were gonna start charging 10 dollars a phone call after office hours to talk to an answering service and then talk to a nurse..that to me is just not gonna cut it. And I went thru 5 ob's while trying to decide which doctor I wanted during my first 2 pg's. Doctor's work for you! No if's and's or but's. They don't love you and they don't think about you when they go home. The important part of a doctor and you is they are there to help you understand things better...not to raise your child. The one you have sounds as if he/she is trying to do the raising.

The weight thing is not that big of a deal unless you have a huge baby like 70 lbs. by age 2. And I don't see this being a factor for you. As for the hunger..too much formula can add to weight problems..he is correct on that. But 4 extra oz. a day is not what I would consider too much formula...if he said 32 oz. and your son is drinking 46oz. then maybe I would be concerned. Something you can do though (and this is just a suggestion) is switch to giving him extra water everyday instead of the formula or even some Pedialite. Or trying substituting a meal for that feeding. Both are healthy substitutions for this. Another reason he might have mentioned it is because with your child growing and eating he is getting much more iron daily than he used to. If the Formula that you are using contains extra iron plus what he is eating...it is unhealthy to have too much. But like I said 4 extra oz. doesn't worry me. With switching to the cup..the only reason I really really recommend it is because the longer you keep them on the bottle past 12months...the harder it is to get them off. And trying to save yourself that pain is worth the cause. Whatever you decide just remember you are the parent..and the doctor doesn't have the right to try to dicate to you how your job is done.!! Good luck




iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2004
Thu, 11-11-2004 - 1:50pm
Hi Amanda,

My daughter just had her check-up. She turned 5 months 2 weekends ago and she weights at 17 lbs 8oz and is around 26 in. long. Based on her average weight gain per month of 1-2 lbs, I figure by the age of 8 months, she'll be around your son's weight or more. My doctor said she's doing just fine- she's been the 80th percentile for her weight for the last 3 months and 95th for her height, based on her age. Plus, she's been drinking almost 34oz since she was about 3 months, and he doesn't think there's anything wrong with that or how much weight she's at! I don't think my daughter is overweight and neither does my doctor, so I don't think you should be too upset about your child. As for developing, I'm going to let my child do her own thing, whether its grabbing the dog's tail, rolling over, squealing and laughting at her toys or trying to pull my hair off!

I believe all babies develop differently and not on some kind of schedule and you really shouldn't fret about your baby either based on what your doctor says. You might want to shop around for a second opinion or change doctors if you're unhappy with the one you have right now. Good luck.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-2004
Thu, 11-11-2004 - 7:24pm
Hi Amanda!

Don't listen to the Dr. That's just nuts! My son is 7 months old and weighs 24.5 lbs and is 29 1/2 inches long. He was born at 10lbs. My Dr. said not to worry about it and to feed my son when he is hungry. He also said that it is nearly impossible to overfeed a baby because babies stop eating when they are full. They are not like adults.. they don't overeat. So, I say enjoy your "little" one and just let him be :-)

Misty