My 5Mo Is 30Lbs, Should I Be Concerned?

You've got some good advice here. My opinion is this: I think you should talk to his doctor. They are truly the only ones with the true knowledge of what is average, above average and dangerous. My son is 7 1/2 months old and he's at 20 lbs & 27 3/4" long. Dad is 5'11" @ 240 lbs & I am 5' 5" @ well we won't say. I just had a baby so I'm still carrying some of that weight around. :>)

Good luck.
T.

It does seem a bit high... My son is 4.5 months and 16 ounds and I have a friend whose son is almost 6 months and he's almost 20 pounds.

Hi S.,
My daughter will be 3 in July and is a little over 40 inches tall and weighs 34.5 lbs. My hubby is 6'3" and has a sister who is 6' tall. I come from average stock. Your son sounds like a big boy! If you are concerned, talk to your pediatrician.
L.

Hi S.,
I come from a family of giants. I'm the "little" one at 6' tall! My younger (boy) cousins both weighed over 40 pounds when they turned 2 - they are now grown up, and one is 6'10" and 250lbs and the other is 6'7" and 240lbs, so there was a reason they were so big at as babies and toddlers! I don't remember what they weighed as babies but they were always way over all the growth charts. They both learned to walk late but by the time they were old enough for pop warner football, there were no issues. =)

So... it's something to talk with the doctor about but unless the doctor feels your baby is abnormal, I wouldn't worry. You might just have a future NFL star on your hands.

Hi S.. It was me who mentioned about your son's weight. If you go to http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/growthcharts/set1clin...
and print out the chart, you can see that your son's height is about the 100% for his age, and yet his weight is WAY higher than that.

I didn't mean to say anything to worry or scare you. I just really think it's something you should talk with your doctor about. Good luck!

My son is also a big boy. He was about 30 pounds at 5 months old and he looked like a little bowling ball. There are also big people in my family and my doctor says my son will probably be near 7 feet tall when he is fully grown. You should ask your doctor but don't lose sleep over the size of your precious big boy! When he learns to walk he'll probably slim down. Save the clothes he wears now because he'll probably fit into them again later!

WOW - that is a big baby...my 22-mth old is about 22 lbs & 33 inches tall...but your son is definitely long for his age as well, so that's definitely a factor.

How much did he weigh the last time the Dr. saw him? If he seemed to indicate there wasn't a problem, then I wouldn't be too worried. Are you breastfeeding, any solids yet, formula only?

Thyroid is the only thing I can think that may be "out of whack" if there isn't any other cases of large babies in your families. I'd start asking around - my niece was quite large from about that age on (not 30 lbs, maybe about 20 lbs at 6 mths), but her mom was also a large baby. As long as she was progressing "normally" in the other areas of development, she never worried about it. Every kid is definitely different - I know 3 year olds who still haven't hit the 30-lb mark. :)

Definitely take care of your back! :)

HI!
I would check with your pediatrician first to see if there are health issues but let me reassure you of something. My son at 6 months old was 25 pounds...in the next five years he only added 25 pounds & now at 7 he is a sturdy but not fat young boy...with lots of energy & muscle. If you were to look at the BMI index for kids...it doesn't take into account the height...according to the index my son is over-weight...the doctor looked at him & said NO WAY!!! My son is very tall & very sturdy. So, check with the doctor & then watch what nature does.
C., Clayton
PS Both my kids were big babies but my oldest was the biggest at 6 months.

If you know his weight at birth and check ups, you can get a growth chart and plot his percentile. (match his weight to the curve) this is important, because as some with a very large child, I was also concerned and the doctor said that for the most part if the growth rate/percantile stays consistant there isn't much to worry. For example, if your som started out at a little above 100th percentile and is still around the same spot, the chacnes of a problem are smaller. Also my doctor said to remember that the percentile are a tool to help us, but they are not something to live by or judge a child by.

Anyway, I would definately make your appointment, you don't want to miss check-ups, and ask your doctor about it.

Try not to stress :-)

S.:

My son is almost 11 months old and is 30 pounds. He has always been a big guy. The important thing about regular visits with the dr is that they chart his growth curve against the standard curve - what they are looking for is not that it matches the curve but that it is actually curving at all. For my son his "curve" was going at 45 degrees but then finally started to curve a little. The dr said at 12 months she would see if it was curving a little more because at 12 months the curve starts to level off. I'm not sure of what health concerns there are for big babies - my dr has never really mentioned any specifics as she doesn't seemed overly concerned. The dr is your best source of info on this one. Good luck!

Are you breast or bottle feeding?

I'd listen to your doctor on this one. Some kids gain a lot of weight before they grow but I'd ask the doctor where the child is on the growth chart and if there's anything you should be looking out for.

If you have specifics about weights, heights and ages about the other babies in your family, I'd bring those with you to the doctor. It will help the doctor determine what to be concerned about versus what is "normal" for your family. The babies in my family (except me) have traditionally been taller and slender. Fortunately my daughter's doctor has never been concerned about this but I used to hear concern about it from friends and even family members who are familiar with this trait.

If his weight is in proportion with his length and you are following current feeding guidelines, there is probably no problem; especially if some of your relatives are big. Even if his height/weight are not in proportion, don't worry unless your doctor tells you there might be a problem. Babies tend to get chubby right before they learn to roll, sit and crawl. Once they get mobile, they thin out a little. Do let your pediatrician know that you are concerned so he can address your fears.

Take care!

Hi S.. My son who is now 3 1/2 has always been big. He was always about a pound an inch. I didn't really think there was anything wrong with it when he was a baby. Now that he's older I know that he's just very big boned!!! His ankles and kness are just huge. He's extremely healthy and there's no problems....p/s I always got flack from my Dr until he turned 2 and that's when the Dr said oh he's just naturally big!!!!! (I knew that from the beginning)!! As a mom your motherly instinct will tell you if something's wrong!! I find that too many women try to nit pick at other women - they are caddy!! Try to not take it personal! I think that other moms sometimes can be mean!!! Your Dr will tell you if your baby tests come out bad or if there's a real health problem!!!Good luck.

Hi again S.,
I responded to your diaper post and saw the remark too. Every baby is different. My brother was bigger than your son at the same age. He was a stick by the time he was four. With my own kids, my daughter was 34 pounds on her 1st birthday (so many people told me how BIG she was etc). My son just hit 30 pounds at age three. We were worried about him, not her. Doc says every child is different. One mom talked about month to month changes. I think that's the key. If your son has always been off the charts in weight, he'll probably continue to be. My daughter has a large head circumference and has since birth - way off the chart, we can wear the same hats. Because this is her pattern, it isn't a health issue.

Please make an appointment with your new pediatrician. I think my kids were seen at 4, 6, 9 and 12 months. The new doctor can check out any trends. Keep the appointments even if your son seems perfectly healthy.

Good luck.

I don't have anything to add about your big boy, but I had little babies (17lbs and 18lbs at 6 months) and neither of them rolled over until past 6 months. :-)

Hi S.,
Weight aside, you should make up your son's 4 month check-up. The docs check lots of things at these early appointments, and the advice you were given about knowing of your son is on his own growth curve or has jumped off of it is excellent. I have the opposite issue with my son. He just turned five *years* earlier this month and is 42" and weighs 35 lbs. He is 25th percentile in height and somewhere between 15th and 20th for weight. He has stayed on his own growth curve and is and his doc says that is what matters. The doc also said that we would much rather have him at a lower percentile on his weight versus the other way around, though. Our son is healthy and strong despite being pretty twiggy. Are you certain that your son weighs as much as you say? According to the CDC, he is ~at the 97th percentile in height, but at ~31 lbs, he is so far away from anything on the percentile that I cannot even make sense of it, and I have a decently strong background in statistical analysis. Where and how did you last weigh him? Something just doesn't seem right. Bones just don't weigh *that* much. The percentile charts encompass kids both big and small boned, and his weight, if accurate, is way, way off the chart.

I have dense bone structures in my family as well and both my boys are in the 95% range for their height and weight. My 4mo old weights 17lbs 10oz and my 2 1/2 yr old weighs about 31 lbs. i'm not a dr. but i would defanately check into if being that off the charts is normal and ok. its a difficult thing as a mom to hear that your baby is "big" (i get it a lot about my youngest) but id talk to the dr. to be sure. let us know how it goes.

My son is 20 pounds at 3 months old. He's always been on the big side, though, and my firstborn grew very quickly as well, though not quite as fast as his brother is! If your son has always been big, I wouldn't worry about it, but if he was smaller or average, and then suddenly began gaining weight, I would get him into the doctor as soon as possible, just in case. Chances are, there is nothing to be worried about.

My oldest son was 17 lbs at 2 months old and was consistantly "off the charts" for his height and his weight. Hubby and I are both tall people.

As others have said if he has been consistently in the same range (with a few fluctuations for growth spurts) I wouldn't worry about it. But the best person to know would be your doctor. If the doctor is concerned you'll know it right away.

And while "distant" genetics can come back to haunt your child. I'd say look at yourself, your husband, siblings, parents and grandparents for a more accurate view of what is the average for your family. If being larger is part of the genetic make-up of those people then chances are ... your son will be larger too. If not, there could be an underlying problem. Or it could just be he's getting ready to go through a killer growth spurt and will even out the lbs with inches soon.

But DEFINITELY get in to see the DR asap. IF (and I'm saying very loudly IF) there is something out of the ordinary going on, it's usually best to catch it EARLY. The sooner something is found the sooner it can be treated.

30 pounds is too big for a 5 month old. My boys were pusing 2 before they were that big. Definately talk to your doctor. There could be a number of things causing the problem and I don't want to speculate but you really need to talk to the doctor. I'd bring a list of what he eats and how often he eats too. There could be a number of health problems caused by his weight. Good luck

I think you're already looking at the right stuff -- developmental milestones reached, family genes, etc. It does sound a little on the high side, but you'll be in for plenty more "well baby" visits in the coming months and the doc should alert you if he thinks that there's something to it.
Is he on formula? Breastfed? Started baby foods yet? Diet's always another good thing to look at, only because some babies end up being overfed (especially bottlefed babes) when parents or caregivers don't have a regulated feeding schedule.
My niece was always a little on the high side as an infant but then as soon as about 15 mos approached she started to "even out." She reached milestones fine and was (is) a happy, healthy girl.
You sound like a great mommy and just don't sweat it til you have your next checkup and can ask the Ped's opinion.
:) K.