Not Sure When My 10 Month Old Is Full / Worried About Overfeeding

Simone,
You sound like you are doing a great job with you daughter!! If you offer reasonable amounts of meals and make sure that any snacks and "extra" food is heavy on fruits and vegetables you will do fine. It doesn't sound like you have to worry at all about her eating "enough". Your concern is "how do I know she is done". Liquids aside from your breastfeeding whenever she wants should be water (not sugary drinks). Again, snacks of fruits and vegetables will be healthy, low calorie foods. I hope this helps. Keep up with the great job you are doing breastfeeding.
P. Jones, IBCLC
Lactation Services of Southington
www.breastfeedingservice.com

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I wouldn't worry about obesity or overfeeding necessarily at this point! It sounds like your daughter is thrivinig & doing great which is wonderful. I do agree, at less than a year, she might do well with a little more breastmilk, more than 2x/day, but I wouldn't necessarily cut back. 3 meals and 2-3 snacks is perfectly suitable for a baby that age. As long as she's eating healthy foods, you really don't have anything to worry about. The beautiful thing about babies & little ones, they stop eating when they're full. Keep up the good work :)

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It sounds like you have a very HEALTHY baby! When my son was 4 months old I switch pediatricians when ours suggested that my son was on the track to being obese. While he was chubby as a baby, he (as well as his big sister) were always in the 90th percentiles and he was a great eater. Now both of them (age 2 and 4) are healthy, tall and slender little things. My pediatrician at that time neglected to take a look at my daughter, myself and my husband for any indication at how my son's genetics might play out. There are no weight or obesity problems in either of our families, but she was "all knowing" and adament that even giving him fruit or cereal babyfood EVER was going to sentence him to obesity. AND I breastfed both of my kids! I understand the concern these days for children's weight, but in my situation my doctor was out of line and I knew it so we ditched her (there were other issues but this was the final straw). This may or may not be your situation, but just be happy that she enjoys food and try to give her healthy stuff (sounds like you are). Unless the doctor is aware of this as an existing problem in your family, I don't think that its fair to predict obesity before a child is at the walking / running stage because its true once they start walking they tend to thin out considerably. Good luck!!

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Simone,
Pretty soon your 10 month old will be running around so much that her weight gain will slow down. Our Pedi office stopped giving percentiles for ht/wt unless a parent specifically asks because they felt it was causing unnecessary stress among the parents. As long as you are offering good food choices (and it sounds like you are!) I would let her eat until she's done. Sometimes my 15 month old eats more than I do, some days she's not as interested. She was an incredibly fat baby; I had to put her in dresses all the time because I couldn't find pants that fit! Now she is walking a lot and climbing up the stairs for fun (supervised) and she is long a thin. I never thought I'd see the day! Relax and have fun introducing new healthy foods to your little one.

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Hi Simone,

If you are offering only low-fat (this includes milk) foods: cheese, yogurt, fruits, vegatables, lean meats, grains etc. and do not add butter or sugar or fry when preparing, give minimal processed foods and no concentrated sweets. (ice cream, juices, cookies, candy, etc.) then let her eat her fill. She will be fine. In other words control what she eats and drinks, not how much.

If you think this worries you, wait until she is two and seems to stop eating entirely or develops a passion for only one food which she could eat at every meal!

J. L.

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Hi - you've gotten lots of advice but I'll add my 2 cents. I agree that these percentiles aren't always useful as they will fluctuate and cause much alarm in parents. I think that you shouldn't worry about it - I bet at her 12 month she'll be more even ie 75th/75th. And once she starts walking she'll get leaner. I'm kind of surprised your doctor made it sound like a big deal rather than saying it might be an anomaly.

Establishing good healthy eating habits is absolutely essential, and I agree with the posts that said as long as she is offered healthy food at mealtimes and for snacks you are fine - little or no sugar or processed foods (ie no juice), whole grains and tons of veggies & fruit plus lean protein. I think it's far better that your little one is interested in eating as she should be! Squash and watermelon will hardly pack on the pounds! And her interest in foods is normal and healthy.

My daughter loves to eat too, but we feed her lots of streamed veggies, fresh fruits and berries (plus of course whole grains and protein). Our pediatrician keeps saying that they lose interest in food as they become toddlers so this may happen to you as well.

I know some have suggested increasing the breastfeeding but I can imagine the downside to doing so with a 10 month old is that you may not want to carry on with an increased level of breastfeeding - that's up to you. Plus she may not take it - at 10 months my daughter refused the breast except first thing in the am, which she accepted til about 13 months and then said "no". The other thing I've read recently is that if there's real concern about obesity, if/when you introduce cow's milk, you can use 2% instead of whole.

Sounds like you are doing a great job raising a healthy, curious daughter!

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I personally would not limit her food intake. I would just make sure that everything you put in front of her is healthy. Maybe try giving her a little of lots of different things, rather than one thing she loves. My daughter can eat an unlimited amount of rice and nothing else, it seems, but I don't let her. I mix it up.

If you do this, she will stop eating when she's full.

You didn't say you did, but don't give juice. And now that the weather is nice, she should be able to get plenty of exercise.

My personal experience with my daughter is that her height to weight ratio has fluctuated a LOT. She pudges out for a few weeks, then stretches out when she has a growth spurt. It's possible that two appointments ago she'd just had a growth spurt, but this time she was measured right before a growth spurt. I'd wait until the next appointment to be concerned about her weight.

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All babies develope on their own unique schedule.
Most babies your baby's age are mowing down like little piggies.
My theory is that they are storing up for when they start becoming very active. Crawling, walking, climbing.
And when they get that moderated they stop eating .
They go from "cant get enough" to "I dont want more than five bites of anything all day"
Not to worry hon...if her meals and snacks are quality food and she is not off the charts she should be fine.
I would not encourage any sort of junk food and sweets could be extremely limited.
We offered bananas or apple slices spread with peanut butter which is one of my grandsons favorites. He is very fond of berries and loves the frozen ones..also most any fruit. Few crackers with the fruit make a nice snack. And we give him water to drink when he is not BF.
Ten months is three meals and three snacks a day. They do not have very large stomachs.
If she is wanting food then she is hungry.
I cannot remember any ten month old baby overeating by choice in my whole life.
I can recall some mothers literally stuffing their babies so they would be fat...fat babies used to be considered a sign of good parenting...( you believe that ??? LOL)
Strangely enough, when the fat babies got to be children running around they were normal size. But that was waaaay before TV, DVD movies, Computers ect. Kids played all day long and played hard...inside or out.
Well, tincture of time and this , too , shall pass.
Feed your baby if she is hungry..yes?
Best wishes and God bless

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Hi Simone,

All four of my kids were chunky babies...born close to 10 pounds, and good eaters. I definitely had to watch the snacks, and make sure that they got exercise. Once they got walking the chunkiness fell off. Now, my oldest (age 7) is so skinny that I can't find clothes to fit her. We have to buy the ones with the adjustable waists and pull them in all the way! Her three younger siblings are following suit. All are getting downright skinny. I would certainly watch the snacks and offer more fruit as opposed to crackers, but my pediatrician was always very calm about my big babies and never concerned. If you stay consistent with the healthy snacks and make sure she gets lots of exercise once she gets walking, she should be fine! Best of luck to you!

You should always breastfeed before feeding this young a baby food. Try looking at the dr sears books.

I would cut back on solids and start offering the breast more. A child who gets most of her nutrition from breastmilk is very unlikely to be obese :-)

All I can offer is that foods should be for fun and experimenting at this age and that most of her nutrition should be coming from breastmilk or formula and if she isn't getting that atleast 4x a day then she is eating too mnay solids and I would try to cut back. Another thing is that when they start eating solids they usually get chunky at that goes away once they start running around. My oldest was always off the chart for his height and weight as a baby and boy was he a chunky monkey but now at 7 he is still very tall but is thin. She could be getting ready for a growth spurt. My youngest always packs it on right before he shoots up.

Hi Simone,

I don't think you have anything to worry about - especially if you baby is breastfeeding (and was exclusively so for the first 6 months). It's formula babies that really need to worry about this early obesity/over feeding as far as I've ever been told. I actually live in Ireland, where our healthcare system is a bit different - but as I have an 8 month old in the same position as your 10 month old, I thought you might like to know what I've been told.

First, once she starts to crawl and walk that weight will "fall" off her. Second, once she isn't in the 95% percentile they don't really worry - anything from 10%-90% is considered normal. Third, those percentiles are actually based on formula fed babies, and REALLY are just a guideline.

My daughter was in the 95% for weight (and 50% for height) at her 6 month check - which completely freaked me out, but I was told all the above info and told not to worry myself. When I went in again at 7 months she was in the 90% for weight and 75% for height. They are growing and learning at such an amazing rate, these things will change - I think it's most difficult to deal with our own internal paranoia (especially about weight!) But having a healthy chubby baby who eats is a GOOD thing - far worse if she were underweight. Just ensure that what you feed her is healthy and you should have nothing to worry about (eg: fruits, veggies, lean meats, whole grain breads and pastas, no stuff with added sugar or salt) She should be eating 3 "meals" a day and having snacks - all that is normal, as is the nursing am & pm (I still give in to a feed in the afternoon, but it's a quicky!)

What you are doing sounds just right - so don't stress!

All the best,
V.

I agree that there has to be a balance of really healthy snacks in a great variety - encouraging your child to experiment with many foods and textures is a good thing. There is a helpful expression about eating a "colorful diet" - getting lots of colors from many different areas. I would give her snacks that consist of a little bit of several different foods. What you did by offering watermelon and squash to balance the tofu was great. She may have been really drawn to the "stir fry" aspect, for example. Also, depending on how the tofu is processed (such as with alcohol vs. water) and also the quality of the source, too much can cause problems. That's actually what causes a lot of the soy "allergies" you hear about - it's not the soy, it's the type and the processing. Keep an eye on the sugar content of foods - the glycemic index - to stabilize her blood sugars (and yours), watch the white flour & sugar, and so on. For example, there is a huge difference between sweet potatoes and yams - although they are suitable for the same recipe, the sweet potato is much better for you because of the lower glycemic index.

The doctor may be concerned because diabetes is slated to become the #1 killer in the US by the end of 2010, surpassing heart disease and cancers. All of these issues are diet-related (including 80% of all cancers). In my business, I work with a lot of people including children who need to resolve these health issues, so I am aware of these startling and frightening statistics. It's easier to prevent them, and your doctor wants you to establish good eating practices early on. I know that other people who responded to you have had problems with their doctors, and I know that many physicians have had little or no training in nutrition. If you are aware of the problem the doctor is trying to prevent, and if you don't feel that your doctor is an extremist like the one the other post mentioned, you can keep an eye on things and make sure that your child gets plenty of exercise once she starts becoming very mobile. Don't reward her with food, but be sure to spread the food out during the day so that she is not overeating just at meals. That doesn't mean she can't have a "treat" but try to view the snacks as mini-meals with good nutritional content, and make sure they aren't loaded with natural sugar just as much as added refined sugar. Mix up the proteins, veggies, whole starches (vs. white starches which become complete sugar very quickly!) and give plenty of water or breast milk.

Good luck!

you've gotten some great responses. i just wanted you to know my second son was not on the growth chart till after 1yr of age, he was over it. today at 3 yr you can't tell. he was bf, and always a great eater. our ped told us not to be concerned about obesity, until after 2-3yr of age.
I say follow your gut. As long as you are providing healthy food options, I'm sure things will be just fine!
M.

I agree with one of the other responders, you should feed her less snacks, definitely, but also offer her the breast more, and go online and figure out what 1 serving for a child would be, I think its 1/2 cup, of each item, then don't offer her anymore. and if she's fussing, then give her the breast.

normally I wouldn't worry about a baby and later obesity, but do this time, because you said your child seems to keep going and enjoy it a lot. if you are going to give her food, try and make her snacks, fruits and veggies, that way it isn't that bad, but don't offer her a lot of crakers and fish and things like that.

good luck!

D.