Can a baby grow too fast?

DS3 will be 6 weeks old in 2 days. He weighed 3.73kg at birth. He is now about 6kg. We weighed him at home. We're due another official weigh next week.

I get the impression this is huge. A friend's baby was a similar birth weight and at 4 months is 7.4kg.

i'm just wondering if something could be wrong. Bub is breastfed, feeds every 2-3 hours, has lots of wet/dirty nappies.

Nup - all good! You are doing a brilliant job and should be so proud!

I don't think so. He sounds like a perfectly healthy chubby bub. My kids all had pretty huge growth spurts early on. They just grew and grew until about 12 months and then really slowed down for a long time.
My friend just recently had a baby (he's 9 weeks) and sounds to be a similar size. He was smaller born, but has grown a similar amount. He's also fully demand breast fed, and pretty frequently.

Good milk you've got there! Sometimes they will initially put on a heap and then they slow down a bit. DS originally put on a heap but now he's thinned down heaps and been in the same clothes for ages!

He's breastfed yeah? I think it'd be more of an issue if he was on formula but don't quote me.

The extra weight is probably cuteness. I suffer from the same problem xxx

Congratulations. You have a fat baby. They're the best. xo

Thanks. I was starting to think metabolism problems.... I am a little paranoid.

Could the quick growth contribute to digestion pain? We're still getting the tummy pain screams :( well, I assume it's tummy pain.

We had tummy screams with both kids. Formula and on boob. Some kids just do it. It's awful but there's not much that can be done unless it's confirmed reflux.

I promise you it gets better. But there isn't much you can do. Just cuddle and try not to stress. As I think this makes it worse for them xxx

We had big growth early on, and tummy pains. We found that block feeding helped - feeding from the same breast over 3-4 hours before switching. If you look up "lactose overload" on the ABA website, there's a good article on block feeding.

You could consider block feeding if there are signs that you have an oversupply. Are there? Going there without other indicators can actually lead to down-regulating your supply so you have the other problem with not enough. Usually, if babies are getting too much it comes out again, copious poos and or vomiting.

Do you have a health professional you can talk to? If you feel something's not right, then go with your gut and follow up with someone. It's hard, because no-one else knows him like you do, so they can only guess and extrapolate from their own experiences.

I talked to my IM. She has suggested lengthening feed times to at least 3 hours, except for the ratty evening times.

he's started snacking and I want to stop that, if only to get more sleep at night .

with regard to the wind pain, I keep getting contradictory advice - give up dairy, coffee, chocolate etc; food has nothing to do with it. He's had chiro and acupuncture to help with it. I wonder if it's just part of growing, but I'm cutting out dairy for a few weeks anyway.

i assume I have an oversupply. Milk fountains out like a shower head. His latch can get lazy because he doesnt have to work for it. I correct the latch but we're both covered in milk multiple times a day. I'll try stretching out block feeds as well. He had a couple of huge poos and chucked all over me today. He was upset so I put him on the boob. He cries, sucks, cries, sucks, then settles/snoozes.

I also try to express every day so DH can give him the last evening feed so I can get a head start on sleep. That doesnt always work when I dont express until evening, like this evening.

What will you do if you stretch out feeds and he's upset? It's common advice to mums, but it can often make things harder.
It is normal for babies to come to the breast if they're feeling uncomfortable and unhappy, so it's not a bad thing to do, most of the time. Sometimes babies can get a bit too much milk in this way, though, but with other signs that this is going on. On the other hand, having more frequent, smaller feeds may be one way babies cope with this.

You'll figure it out xo

I overate a bit tonight too. It was that piece of pav I just didn’t need. Now I have a gut ache - when will I ever learn? I think I’ve got a bit of what your little one has - it’s like a smorgasbord for him. All the good stuff right there. Feeding from the same side as often as he likes for a *block* of 3 hours usually helps. Then swap boobs. This is called ‘Block feeding” The thing is it works (down-regulates your milk supply) and then when it’s worked you need to go back to offering both sides (some people forget that - that it’s a response to a problem and then when the issue is solved you go back to *normal*

I should have said - he has rarely wants both sides. He feeds one side per feed for about 15-25min. The only time I offer another side is, if in the evening, he's whacking one breast and squawking. Most of the time, he'll pull off a breast at the end of a feed and there will still be milk in it.

i thought i'd tried block feeding, but I havent done it over 3-4 hours. He's had the left breast at 6:30 and 8:20 tonight. He's now unsettled - it could be wind. I've expressed 100ml from the right & split that into bottles of 60 & 40ml for DH to offer later.

i was getting upset be being told my baby is huge and worried there was something wrong with him. I tested negative to GD twice whilst pregnant and DS3 seems healthy. I just dont want to be doing anything that harms him.

Wind pains can be tough. Poor little mite. It's great that DH is helping out with the night feed - having support like that is wonderful.

Sounds like you need to give block-feeding a go :) As MadB has said, it is normal for him to want to suckle more often. Breastfeeding is about so much more than food. It's about thirst-relieving, pain-relieving, nourishment of their mind, body and soul, lowering stress and anxiety levels... So much. All of this from you, from being at your breast :D When he gets upset, he will turn to you for comfort. Yes, you can provide this in other ways (rocking, patting, singing, walking, cuddles) but sometimes a good nurse is a bit easier. Anyway, just something else to think about when you're trying to work out how your little man works!

Keep asking questions xx

ETA - just saw your post. If people comment on your "big baby" just smile and tell them big babies rock. Cuz they do :)

He's not too fat at all :) my first ds was 7.4kg at 9 weeks. Ds3 is was born 2.4kg and is only 4.2kg now at 9 weeks. Point is, babies come in all shapes and sizes just like us. If he feeding well and happy then he's just perfect.

No. Way. He's not too fat. What rubbish. I wish my kids got that big. Huge babies are seriously the best.

Some babies are just very good at putting on weight :) DS1 was little, and stayed little (although he put weight on steadily), DS2 chubbed up well from the day he was born. In fact, we thought DS2 was a big little boy, until DS3 appeared. He started off at 4.5kg and never looked back - the fat rolls from head to toe were beautiful. Now at 14 months he's a solid 12.5kg, and very tall for his age. The fat rolls have reduced too. He (and DS2) are just big, solid units lol.

DS3 had some shocking wind pain at around 3 weeks. It went on for a bit, and he stopped pooing too (said to be normal for BF babies, but I figured the lack of poo + wind pain couldn't be a good combination). Anyway, I took him to a good chiro well versed in babies and almost from his first appointment he improved. His issues were a jammed pelvis and cranials - both linked to the gut somehow (I forget how exactly, but it all made sense at the time). I would recommend a good chiro (experienced in manipulating babies) to anyone whose baby is suffering bad wind pain.

Incidentally, I had GD with DS1, and no GD with DS2 and 3. All 3 were BFd exclusively for approx 6 months each.