-----Original Message-----
From: Katherine Dettwyler [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 9:35 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: From Lactnet


Didn't we just go through something like this a few months ago?  Sotos'
Syndrome is the only thing I could come up with in terms of a "zebra".
I
think it's just a big huge baby, who, like Alex, will grow up to be a
big
huge adult.  Alex is on track to be about 6'4" tall, and weigh over 200
pounds as an adult.  He was 9 lb. 2 oz. at birth -- he's always been a
big,
plump kid, probably always will be.  I wouldn't risk trying to thwart
the
child's genetic growth track through dieting in infancy.  Ridiculous.

Kathy

>
>Date:    Wed, 5 Nov 2003 22:28:33 -0500
>From:    "Susan E. Burger" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: 20 pound 3-1/2 month old
>
>Dear all:
>
>Mother has given me permission to post about her situation.  I saw her
>baby at 3 days for latch on difficulty.  His birth weight was 9 pounds
>5 ounces and his discharge weight was 8 lb 12 ounces.  He started by
>only latching onto the breast once or twice a day, and only after
>receiving about 2 ounces from finger feeding or a Haberman bottle.  It
>took about a week, but he backed his way into breastfeeding by using
>smaller and smaller amounts of expressed breast milk before offering
>the breast. When I saw him at 14 days of age he was back up to 9 pounds

>7.7 ounces.
>
>The mother called me yesterday in a panic because the pediatrician had
>given a hard time about her baby being overweight.  He's 21 pounds at
>3-1/2 months old.  The mother was not clear on his current length.  The

>pediatrician told her to start giving him water and to space out
>feedings to a minimum of four hours between feedings.  She told her
>that her baby would be developing too many fat cells and maybe the fat
>content of her milk was too high.  The pediatrician claimed she had
>never heard of a breasfed baby that had gained so much weight.
>
>It seems ot me that before one messes with a baby's diet, one should
>find out if anything is really wrong.  I want to help this poor mother
>aboid an eating disorder where none existed before by putting this baby

>on a diet without knowing whether or not this is the baby's natural
>rate of gain. Fortunately, the feeding the baby water plan didn't work
>so the mother abandoned that approach and has gone back to on cue
>feeding.
>
>So, first all of you who have seen healthy breastfed babies that have
>grown off the charts and then settled down into reasonable weights for
>their lengths as they matured and became mobile would be helpful.
>Second, I do want to give her sound advice about any "zebras" that she
>might have the pediatrician look into.  The baby did not seem to
>exhibit reflux type behavior - he was generally very relaxed and
>mellow. If you have heard of any odd conditions that may cause a baby
>to gain off the charts please let me know.
>
>I would like to know the length before concluding this baby is
>overweight, but the mother was very unclear, she thought 22 inches,
>which having seen this baby I'm sure that his length is far longer.
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>Susan Burger, PhD, MHS, IBCLC
>
>
>
>

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