> Got an e-mail from a friend who wonders about this scenario:  baby
> born at
> 8-9, is now 3 months old, exclusively breastfed, and weighs between 17
>  & 18
> pounds and is 25 inches long.  The pediatrician wants the mom to
> start solids
> at 4 months to slow the weight gain. The mom wants research to make
> sure this
> is the best thing to do for the baby.

The burden of proof here is on the pediatrician.  I would surmise from
this "recommendation" that ped thinks that the child will be obese when
reaches childhood/adulthood.  I doubt s/he can produce any *valid*
study that states such.

More anecdotal evidence: 2 babies born to same mother 4 years apart.
First baby girl 8# at birth 23# at 3 months.  Second baby boy 9# at
birth 25# at 3 months.  When the boy was born, the little girl was 4
and already lean, though not so long.  I would even call her petite.
Now the little boy is 4 and also lean, though not tall.  Another set of
babies we know: 8# at birth at least 20# at 3 months, now 18 months and
50th%tile for weight and height.  His sister was born 1 month ago and
she was 10#s (and this is with the first little one nursing nursing
nursing during pregnancy).  I'm sure she will be another sumo.

Other ideas:
*print out the executive summaries of studies that Janice Reynolds
provided us with only this morning
*print the WHO code as well as the AAP recommendations
*put together a chart of those who have sent anecdotal information:
birth weight and length, 3 month, 1 year, etc. as appropriate.
*show pictures of other children same age, same size, and then show
pictures of that child at their current weight and size.  (My mother
did this for me when my ped told me that my 5 month old was too small.
My 4.5 yr old was also considered too small, and now he is average
weight and taller than average.)

Also, if the mother does not want to find a new pediatrician, I would
remind her that she can simply tell the doctor that while she respects
him/her, she does not think the recommendation makes common sense or
otherwise.  She could further say that given both of these studies
cited above as well as the WHO recommendations for Exclusive
Breastfeeding to 6 months, as well as an abundance of anecdotal
evidence, she respectfully declines to follow this recommendation.

It's bad advice that's dangerous to this mother-baby, not breastfeeding.

Katie
mother to 2 "too small" babies who always gets riled at the idea that
an otherwise healthy baby cannot just be its perfect size

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