Disagree with Pediatrician?

CalebsHabibi

My LO just had his 6 month check up. The pedi said he should stop breastfeeding so much and should replace breastfeeding with solids. He said this because my baby is in the 98th percentile for weight and was concerned. Baby is completely healthy AND happy, and has met all his milestones early. I asked how many meals should replace breastfeeding and he said 3! This doesn't seem right. I always read that breastmilk should be the primary source of food for the first year and the pedi wants me to replace 3 breastfeeding sessions per day with solids. We did 3 solid meals today and he had 5 poops when he usually only had one. He is 6 months old and weighs 22 pounds. We introduced solids around 4-5 months but we're only doing at most 1 meal per day. I feel like ignoring what the pedi says and keep breastfeeding on demand with only 1 solid meal per day until he is a bit older: 2 meals per day at 7-8 months and 3 meals per day 9-12 months. What do you guys do? Have you heard of a breastfed baby have to stop breastfeeding because he's too fat? 

amorcito27

Never heard of that before, but I am very much one to think that mom always knows best, so you should follow what you think.  You can always get a second opinion.  The good thing is that he is gaining weight and healthy so you are obviously doing something right!  If you don't trust your ped, you should look for another one though.  I have disagreed with my ped (told me my son didn't have a tongue tie - which he did and had it corrected).  The one thing I have noted is that it's much hard to "diagnose" something is wrong with a healthy baby.  I would keep doing what you are doing since it works for you and you have kept him alive and healthy this long.

nackie

That seems like odd advice from a pediatrician.  My LO is 7 months and gets three meals a day plus a snack, but that's because he's the youngest in his daycare class and he LOVES his solids.  His daycare teacher said he would start crying whenever the older babies got their lunch and he only got a bottle.  He hasn't dropped any nursing/bottles yet though, so I would say that's still his primary source of nutrition.

SmrBrd2012

Yeah, I'd ignore the ped! Meals at 6 months of age should not replace breastfeeding sessions (IMO), it should be done in addition to breastfeeding. When my son was that age, meals weren't very large. My ped was also annoying I wasn't regularly giving my son 3 meals a day by 6 months but some people don't even start offering solids to their babies until they are 6 months old (a recommendation by the AAP). It's crazy to me how peds are all over the place with food advice.

kdrn913

We're not quite yet 6 months and just started doing 2 "meals" of solids a day. She still takes the exac same amount of breastmilk though so not sure why they would tell you to replace breastmilk with food. Too young for that 

4N6s

I've always heard food is for fun before 1. 
I'm going to continue to breastfed my baby on demand and throw some food in there here and there. 

Missingchampagne

Infant obesity often leads to pediatric obesity, with eating patterns established very early on in life. If your doctor is concerned about your baby's percentile, I would try to separate the emotion from this and just deal with it objectively. You don't have to stop breastfeeding to do this, and I'm sure your doctor didn't mean to imply your baby is any less amazing, happy, or capable. You could breastfeed but end the session earlier, then pump. I've heard of parents also diluting a bottle with an ounce or two of water after 5 months, so the baby is still feeling full and you don't worry that you're cutting them off earlier than they are used to. 

I know it's hard, that's your baby and you feel protective at the implication that they're anything less than perfect, but keep in mind your doctor is ONLY talking about a percentile number. Your baby is still adorable, smart, capable, and yours to do you want with! 

amp61470

I agree with PP. 22 lbs for a 6 month old is a lot depending on height. I don't think the doctor would tell you to start with more solids if they weren't concerned for the babies health. Is this the first time LO's weight has been a concern for the doctor? 

blush64

I would not listen to this doctor. Get another opinion if you want or do what you are already planning to do. Does your doctor know anything about breastfeeding or breastmilk? It doesn't sound like it. 

Do not dilute breastmilk or formula with water to try and fill the baby up with less calories. 

I am surprised that 22 lbs at 6 months is a big deal. It isn't that much. Edit (a good weight but not what I would be calling obese)

amp61470

blush64 said:

I would not listen to this doctor. Get another opinion if you want or do what you are already planning to do. Does your doctor know anything about breastfeeding or breastmilk? It doesn't sound like it. 

Do not dilute breastmilk or formula with water to try and fill the baby up with less calories. 

I am surprised that 22 lbs at 6 months is a big deal. It isn't that much. Edit (a good weight but not what I would be calling obese)

The doctor didn't tell her to stop breastfeeding just to cut down and introduce solids. 
To the original poster, I am sure you know what your baby needs however I wouldn't ignore the doctor either. Maybe start 2 meals a day? 

Missingchampagne

blush64 said:

I am surprised that 22 lbs at 6 months is a big deal. It isn't that much. Edit (a good weight but not what I would be calling obese)

This is why it's important to separate emotion from medical terminology. I've never seen a picture of this baby, I'm just going by the 98th percentile and the fact that the doctor is concerned.

Also a lot of times they worry because of rapid rate of growth, not even the percentile. Like if baby was in the 50th at their 4m visit and suddenly in the 98th, this is usually something the pediatrician will want to know more about. It could mean the baby has come to use food as a sleep tool, or source of soothing, and is eating out of habit instead of necessity. 

Synnovus

I too find the advise a little odd. My DD (61/5 months) is on the lighter end of the scale and I'm advised to try getting more solids in her. So a little confused about solids being good for putting on weight or loosing weight? Both? Anyway baby's weight in itself isn't that interesting. You have to look at weight for height and baby's own growth curve. Bigger babies aren't necessarily overweight and it most certainly does not mean the same as overweight for adults. However, they might be slower with starting to roll, crawl and so on, but when they do start they usually shape up quite fast. I think activity is very important here. If a baby isn't active or doesn't get much opportunity to be active that would be a big concern. As long as baby is following his own growth curve nicely, is active (gets lots of tummy time and so on) and is happy I wouldn't be too concerned about the weight yet.

blush64

amp61470 said:

blush64 said:

I would not listen to this doctor. Get another opinion if you want or do what you are already planning to do. Does your doctor know anything about breastfeeding or breastmilk? It doesn't sound like it. 

Do not dilute breastmilk or formula with water to try and fill the baby up with less calories. 

I am surprised that 22 lbs at 6 months is a big deal. It isn't that much. Edit (a good weight but not what I would be calling obese)

The doctor didn't tell her to stop breastfeeding just to cut down and introduce solids. 
To the original poster, I am sure you know what your baby needs however I wouldn't ignore the doctor either. Maybe start 2 meals a day? 

Breastmilk or formula should be the main source of food for babies under 1. They are only supposed to start solids around 6 months. To tell someone to cut down on breastfeeding a 6 month old due to high weight gain sound like the dr doesn't know a lot about breastmilk. It doesn't have a lot of empty calories. A second opinion from another doctor makes more sense to me. 

swflJD

CalebsHabibi said:

My LO just had his 6 month check up. The pedi said he should stop breastfeeding so much and should replace breastfeeding with solids. He said this because my baby is in the 98th percentile for weight and was concerned. Baby is completely healthy AND happy, and has met all his milestones early. I asked how many meals should replace breastfeeding and he said 3! This doesn't seem right. I always read that breastmilk should be the primary source of food for the first year and the pedi wants me to replace 3 breastfeeding sessions per day with solids. We did 3 solid meals today and he had 5 poops when he usually only had one. He is 6 months old and weighs 22 pounds. We introduced solids around 4-5 months but we're only doing at most 1 meal per day. I feel like ignoring what the pedi says and keep breastfeeding on demand with only 1 solid meal per day until he is a bit older: 2 meals per day at 7-8 months and 3 meals per day 9-12 months. What do you guys do? Have you heard of a breastfed baby have to stop breastfeeding because he's too fat? 

I would absolutely NOT disregard the advice of your LO's pediatrician.  Your child's pediatrician has gone through many, many years of professional medical training to be able to provide you with this advice, so I would not take it lightly.  If you are skeptical about the advice you received, perhaps you should call the pediatrician and ask for clarification as to why he/she gave you that advice. You could also seek a second opinion from a different pediatrician.  But (and I don't mean this to sound condescending or judgmental because I'm sure you're a great mom just trying to make the best decision for your child) to completely disregard professional medical advice regarding the health of your child seems reckless and dangerous.    

satuttle1014

DD would have 4, 8oz bottles a day along with food. From 6-6.5 months she would have 1 solid meal a day then from 6.5-8months she would have 2 meals a day along with the bottles. At her 6 month, pedi said to cut out a feeding when she was 7.5 months which I thought was weird but at 8 months she started doing that herself by not drinking as much in 1 feeding and just didn't want it. DD is now 8 months and we do 3 8oz bottles and 3 meals a day. 24 oz of formula a day and about 6-7 tablespoons of food a day. 

amp61470

blush64 said:

amp61470 said:

blush64 said:

I would not listen to this doctor. Get another opinion if you want or do what you are already planning to do. Does your doctor know anything about breastfeeding or breastmilk? It doesn't sound like it. 

Do not dilute breastmilk or formula with water to try and fill the baby up with less calories. 

I am surprised that 22 lbs at 6 months is a big deal. It isn't that much. Edit (a good weight but not what I would be calling obese)

The doctor didn't tell her to stop breastfeeding just to cut down and introduce solids. 
To the original poster, I am sure you know what your baby needs however I wouldn't ignore the doctor either. Maybe start 2 meals a day? 

Breastmilk or formula should be the main source of food for babies under 1. They are only supposed to start solids around 6 months. To tell someone to cut down on breastfeeding a 6 month old due to high weight gain sound like the dr doesn't know a lot about breastmilk. It doesn't have a lot of empty calories. A second opinion from another doctor makes more sense to me. 

I would bet the doctor knows more about breastmilk then this whole message board combined. I also feel the doctor likely has a very good reason for telling the OP to cut down. It's not about empty calories vs great calories, it's about calories period. With food you know how many calories you are giving with BM you have no clue. Obviously dr has reason for concern. 

Synnovus

Actually it has been done quite a lot research on breast milk and calories and fat in the milk. The first milk (full breast) is more watery and the last milk has more of the fats. Calories in the milk are adjusted with full/empty breast and changes throughout the day. And I don't think the pedi spends most of his/her education on learning about breast milk to be honest, at least they don't do here in Norway. We have other healt personnel that are more concerned with that area. 

Sarcasm101

Synnovus said:

Actually it has been done quite a lot research on breast milk and calories and fat in the milk. The first milk (full breast) is more watery and the last milk has more of the fats. Calories in the milk are adjusted with full/empty breast and changes throughout the day. And I don't think the pedi spends most of his/her education on learning about breast milk to be honest, at least they don't do here in Norway. We have other healt personnel that are more concerned with that area. 

The difference between fore and hind milk is pretty well known and understood.

Synnovus

@Sarcasm101 and that was my point. BM isn't that different from giving food you know the calories of and you can adjust with giving more fore milk than hind milk or the other way around. Someone with knowledge about nursing should be able to tell you that.