cosleeping/nursing at night leading to overeating?

luvmybaby28

I cosleep and nurse my lo to sleep.  My pedi said that I need to start upping solids and that my lo is getting unnecessary nighttime calories.  He never looks at percentiles, he just looks at thigh fat and my lo has meaty thighs.  Anyways, I looked up his stats online and he is 78% percentile for weight and 97th for height, seems perfect for a breastfed baby this age.  My thought is that if I nightweaned - which I do not plan to do at all, that he would just consume many more calories during the day.  Has anyone ever heard of cosleeping being bad because the baby is overeating?  I am so sick of my pedi making me second guess my parenting decisions with his unsolicited advice.

gdemars

I've never had our pedi say that.  But we do bring DS into our bed at his last wakeup before he wakes for the day, usually around 6ish.  If he comes to bed earlier, as he does some mornings, and he nurses more as a result, I do notice that he spits up WAY more than normal all day, especially in the am.  He comfort nurses and perhaps gets too full.

But the fact that the pedi based his decision on your LOs thighs seems a bit weird.  My DS has always had chubby thighs and the pedi has never said anything about it. BTW, DS is 20+ lbs and 29 inches long at 6 months old. 

webMistress0609

That is about the craziest bunch of crap I've ever heard. If it helps any, I was a 10 lb baby, 90 whatever percentile for weight till I was nearly 2, BF/FF on demand, & I've bordered on UNDERweight since I was an adolescent. Ari was also really chunky & had some serious thigh rolls (and ankle rolls and wrist rolls) when he was your LOs age & has slimmed down considerably since hitting the toddler stage. 

Babies slim down once they hit 12 months usually. BFing has actually been linked to less eating issues & less obesity.

Night wean when you & your LO are ready. Your pedi sounds like a total idiot, & not just b/c he doesn't agree with your parenting style. I would find a new one.  

LouiseB2001

I have to say I completely agree with Webmistress. My LO is a month or so older and she also gets an 'open all night buffet' for most of the night after she comes over in our bed. I have given it a lot of thought and would like to, in not too long, night wean her but that is solely because my back hurts from leaning over to feed her! My 'theory' is that they do not get a significant amount of milk at this time but that the sucking is for comfort mainly. This comfort is not really related to how much they eat during the day, milk as well as solids. I know that there are other ways of getting DD back to sleep, such as rocking her but at 4 am the easiest thing for *all* of us is to give her the breast. If this works for you, keep at it. FWIW my DD is almost the same, 70% for weight, 93% for height, so both pretty normal. Change pedi :-)  

ilovemygirls

hahaha...that's a good one!  I coslept w/my first because she wouldn't sleep any other way & she is only 37 lbs...at 6 years old!  She's on the charts- but barely- just a tiny thing.  My second, with whom I did not cosleep is 35 lbs at 3yrs old.  Two totally different kids.  That is just strange advice. 

jen5-03

My unsolicited advice: Your pedi is a twit.

 

anabell0920

That is crazy on so many levels. First solids before 1 do not provide nutrition just practice so no need to up his solids unless he is showing more interest and wanting more, second night nursing doesn't necessarily equal eating. Yes they are getting some milk but if it's comfort nursing it's no where near as much as when they are eating for hunger. Listen to your LO next time they are nursing and toucan hear them swallowing when they are hungry usually every 3 sucks. Where as comfort nursing it's a suck here and there and rest no swallowing for awhile. Lastly the thigh thing I have never heard of! DS doesn't have chubby thighs and never has so I wonder what he would think about him?

LittleEgypt

jen5/03:

My unsolicited advice: Your pedi is a twit.

 

Haha, that's exactly the word I was going to use.

cpmich

That is crazy.  No child should be on a diet before the age of 2.  It is also impossible to overfeed an EBF baby.  While there can be some health concerns related to weights that are 97th or higher percentile, if he is 78th percentile, you really don't have anything to worry about.  This is particularly true because your child is in such a high percentile for height -- I wouldn't even be surprised or worried if he weighed in the 95th percentile.  I would change pedis immediately.

The idea that a baby has visibly fat thighs requiring a cut in calories (without any other rationale)... just ridiculous.

hollowstar

My boy is in the 86th percentile and has big ole thighs and the only thing the doc said was that it might make shots less uncomfortable for him. She actually seemed impressed he was gaining so well EBF. As far as I have ever read (and I have read a ton on the subject) a baby can't get too fat on just breast milk. Furthermore, if your baby is WAKING UP from a dead night sleep to feed, he is obviously hungry. Many chubby BF babies grow into thin adults.

Nursing at night maintains supply (more so than day feedings) and is great for bonding. Trust your mama instincts. Get a new pedi if you have to.

Allie30

That's bizarre. Your baby doens't look fat to me. Some babies get Michelin Man legs. Others get little string beans. It averages out once they start using them to walk around on.

iris427

I think you should find a new pedi.  

KBabySmiles

iris427:

I think you should find a new pedi.  

This.

Do what you feel is right for you and your child.  

wifeandmama

That is insane.  Thigh fat>???????  Since when is that a recommended way to evaluate your child's eating habits?  Your doctor sounds like a crazy person.