Thank you, OP.

Just giving another data point here. Our kids were all big babies, almost 9lbs. Our ped actually told us to stop feeding our first so much because she was in the 90th percentile for weight. But I didn’t really listen, because a couple of things- she would scream until she went purple, for the bottle until she was full. But was content and happy once she was full. Maybe it’s partly her personality, because when she wants something, she really wants it. The other thing is that DH and I are both naturally thin, so we weren’t worried she was going to obese. Both kids ate everything as babies/toddlers. Our first went crazy for sweets- although I limited sweets for her.

Then around age 2.5, both kids got incredibly picky, and lost interest in eating. They got skinny. And it’s a struggle getting them to eat enough. So I’m glad I got weight on them when I could. They eat tons of fruit and are good with certain veggies like green beans, broccoli, corn, and raw carrots. But I have trouble getting them to eat more caloric and fattier foods. Those are limited to things like buttered pasta and Mac and cheese and mashed potatoes but in small amounts. I cook and prep almost all their meals. Our first is now in the 10th percentile for weight, and it’s a daily struggle getting her to eat enough! And now our ped is saying we need to get her to eat more. Our 2nd is skinny too, but at least on the tall side.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The child psychiatrists at our hospital have started looking at behavioral interventions for kids who are overweight as well (we give a lot of drugs that cause weight gain). They were looking at younger kids, but they found exactly the same thing. Food restrictions didn’t work at all. Therapy and cognitive interventions for kids and parents didn’t work. Teaching parents new, healthy recipes didn’t work. The only thing that worked was adding more fruits and veggies and increased exercise.

Wow so weird child psychiatrists would recommend then what is apparently horrible parenting, disordered thinking, and a cocktail for eating disorders, according to a couple commenters on this thread.

Nope. Unless in explaining the diet they recommend avoiding grapes and bananas because they are fattening and call an eight pound baby fat. That’s the disordered part. You can’t possibly be this confused.

Sorry where does OP call an 8 lb baby fat? I’ll wait

The first sentence of her OP. This is literally what she said: “Our DD was always big. Born over 8 lbs, never left a drop of milk in a bottle, and ate well as soon as she started solids.“

I cannot believe you are still debating this.

Even OP admits she had disordered thinking, referring to having to overcome her “diet” mentality.

Big doesn’t mean fat. It means big. It’s bizarre that you’re translating “big baby” to “I thought my baby was fat” and “I vaguely understood from pop culture that some fruits are too sugary to be healthy” as “disordered thinking.” You legitimately seem mentally unwell.

+100
PP, I hope you are able to get help for your problems. At a minimum, please take a break from reading this thread. Perhaps come back and re-read it next week with a clearer head.

My plane is delayed this morning, and I am entertaining myself by reading this thread. I had a big baby... he was only 6.5 lbs at birth because he is a twin, but he weighed 22 lbs at 6 months and 30 lbs at 12 months. He was a very big baby with a very big appetite!

What problems? What help? Why are you listing various weights during your baby’s lifetime? And how the heck do you have those numbers memorized?

I would say those numbers are pretty memorable. All of the nurses were like "holy moly, you've got a BIG baby." I just mentioned the anecdote because "big baby" does not mean "fat baby" and weight obsession.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cured????

Your poor child.

My child was diagnosed with a medical condition. She no longer qualifies for that diagnosis. I personally found it helpful to think of it in those terms. Being “fat” is something we criticize as unaesthetic or a moral failing. Those are things I would obviously reject when applied to my child. But I accept that she qualified for the medical diagnosis of having childhood obesity and I also understand that it is treatable. Maybe this framing will help other parents whose children receive this diagnosis. That’s why I offer our story: in hopes that it helps.

Thank you for sharing. How old is your DD? I have always battled my weight, so I did sports and other things to keep my weight in check; however, when I went into high school I realized that nearly all of my friends could eat as much as they wanted and do very little exercise - and still stayed slim - and I felt like it was supremely unfair. To further pour salt on the wound, I was rated highest in my sport because of my skill and strength, but I was told I could stand to lose a few pounds even though I was no longer fat (I was in the best shape of my life at that point).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is probably the most helpful and common-sense post I’ve ever seen about childhood obesity. I come from a family of eating disorder sufferers and your post doesn’t have that tone to me at all. Hope the backlash you’re getting isn’t stinging too bad. OPs get attacked on virtually any topic on this site for some reason. Best wishes to you and your child. Great work.

Can you share a bit more regarding how long it took, how you explained it to your child, etc? This is such great info about a problem that is really common.

It took about 2 years to get outside the “obese” range. The goal was not for DD to lose weight, just to maintain while growing taller. As for telling DD, the MD didn’t pull us aside to discuss it. Basically everything in the OP, MD said in front of DD. So we have told her that the MD felt she wasn’t getting enough fruit and veg (and we still pull that out as needed, “remember Dr. Larlo said you need to eat all your veggies”). But always a focus on health. The sport part, I told her she doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to, but does have to do something, again, because Dr. Larlo said she needs it for her health. And that was a difficult and expensive process. But now that she has her preferred sports it’s a breeze. She totally sees herself as an athlete and supplements at home without being prompted to (eg stretching or doing a yoga video). That’s also been naturally reinforcing. DD gets external praise for her athletic improvement so she wants to keep investing in it.

Honestly this still seems like an eating disorder in progress. Hopefully not, but keep an eye out for it.

I haven't read all the way through yet, but this happened to me when I was 8 (the doctor talking in front of me) in the 80s. I never felt "fat" before that moment. The doctor threw out all the things I could be doing, like playing outside, like I was some lazy lump who never did anything. I think it embarrassed my mom and lead to disordered eating that I wouldn't say has even been fully resolved to this day. I also obsess about going to doctor because I fear what judgement will be thrown my way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The child psychiatrists at our hospital have started looking at behavioral interventions for kids who are overweight as well (we give a lot of drugs that cause weight gain). They were looking at younger kids, but they found exactly the same thing. Food restrictions didn’t work at all. Therapy and cognitive interventions for kids and parents didn’t work. Teaching parents new, healthy recipes didn’t work. The only thing that worked was adding more fruits and veggies and increased exercise.

Wow so weird child psychiatrists would recommend then what is apparently horrible parenting, disordered thinking, and a cocktail for eating disorders, according to a couple commenters on this thread.

Nope. Unless in explaining the diet they recommend avoiding grapes and bananas because they are fattening and call an eight pound baby fat. That’s the disordered part. You can’t possibly be this confused.

Sorry where does OP call an 8 lb baby fat? I’ll wait

The first sentence of her OP. This is literally what she said: “Our DD was always big. Born over 8 lbs, never left a drop of milk in a bottle, and ate well as soon as she started solids.“

I cannot believe you are still debating this.

Even OP admits she had disordered thinking, referring to having to overcome her “diet” mentality.

Big doesn’t mean fat. It means big. It’s bizarre that you’re translating “big baby” to “I thought my baby was fat” and “I vaguely understood from pop culture that some fruits are too sugary to be healthy” as “disordered thinking.” You legitimately seem mentally unwell.

+100
PP, I hope you are able to get help for your problems. At a minimum, please take a break from reading this thread. Perhaps come back and re-read it next week with a clearer head.

My plane is delayed this morning, and I am entertaining myself by reading this thread. I had a big baby... he was only 6.5 lbs at birth because he is a twin, but he weighed 22 lbs at 6 months and 30 lbs at 12 months. He was a very big baby with a very big appetite!

What problems? What help? Why are you listing various weights during your baby’s lifetime? And how the heck do you have those numbers memorized?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She describes her daughter as always big, including being an 8 pound baby who ate every drop of her bottle.

I thought that was a weird description too. I mean, my dd who was 8lb 14oz, is now a 5ft tall, 110lb 19 year old-not sure what OP's dd birthweight has to do with anything?

And the part about having dd 'diagnosed' as obese, makes it sound like she was making a big deal about dd's weight to doctors. While I do agree that activity and healthy diet are the best way to maintain a healthy weight, it's odd that OP is so fixated on certain things.

OP explicitly described it as the other way around. She said that, until the doctor made a big deal about her DD's weight, she didn't realize.

This is a touchy subject and so many PP's are reading whatever they can into OP's posts in order to attack her. We've got a long way to go.

Read the OP's first paragraph. She said the dr diagnosed it-dd didn't drive herself to the dr, so the mother must have brought her and brought up her weight to dr.

It's not uncommon for parents to bring their children to the doctor, for well visits and sick visits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She describes her daughter as always big, including being an 8 pound baby who ate every drop of her bottle.

I thought that was a weird description too. I mean, my dd who was 8lb 14oz, is now a 5ft tall, 110lb 19 year old-not sure what OP's dd birthweight has to do with anything?

And the part about having dd 'diagnosed' as obese, makes it sound like she was making a big deal about dd's weight to doctors. While I do agree that activity and healthy diet are the best way to maintain a healthy weight, it's odd that OP is so fixated on certain things.

OP explicitly described it as the other way around. She said that, until the doctor made a big deal about her DD's weight, she didn't realize.

This is a touchy subject and so many PP's are reading whatever they can into OP's posts in order to attack her. We've got a long way to go.

Read the OP's first paragraph. She said the dr diagnosed it-dd didn't drive herself to the dr, so the mother must have brought her and brought up her weight to dr.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The child psychiatrists at our hospital have started looking at behavioral interventions for kids who are overweight as well (we give a lot of drugs that cause weight gain). They were looking at younger kids, but they found exactly the same thing. Food restrictions didn’t work at all. Therapy and cognitive interventions for kids and parents didn’t work. Teaching parents new, healthy recipes didn’t work. The only thing that worked was adding more fruits and veggies and increased exercise.

Wow so weird child psychiatrists would recommend then what is apparently horrible parenting, disordered thinking, and a cocktail for eating disorders, according to a couple commenters on this thread.

Nope. Unless in explaining the diet they recommend avoiding grapes and bananas because they are fattening and call an eight pound baby fat. That’s the disordered part. You can’t possibly be this confused.

Sorry where does OP call an 8 lb baby fat? I’ll wait

The first sentence of her OP. This is literally what she said: “Our DD was always big. Born over 8 lbs, never left a drop of milk in a bottle, and ate well as soon as she started solids.“

I cannot believe you are still debating this.

Even OP admits she had disordered thinking, referring to having to overcome her “diet” mentality.

Big doesn’t mean fat. It means big. It’s bizarre that you’re translating “big baby” to “I thought my baby was fat” and “I vaguely understood from pop culture that some fruits are too sugary to be healthy” as “disordered thinking.” You legitimately seem mentally unwell.

+100
PP, I hope you are able to get help for your problems. At a minimum, please take a break from reading this thread. Perhaps come back and re-read it next week with a clearer head.

My plane is delayed this morning, and I am entertaining myself by reading this thread. I had a big baby... he was only 6.5 lbs at birth because he is a twin, but he weighed 22 lbs at 6 months and 30 lbs at 12 months. He was a very big baby with a very big appetite!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She describes her daughter as always big, including being an 8 pound baby who ate every drop of her bottle.

I thought that was a weird description too. I mean, my dd who was 8lb 14oz, is now a 5ft tall, 110lb 19 year old-not sure what OP's dd birthweight has to do with anything?

And the part about having dd 'diagnosed' as obese, makes it sound like she was making a big deal about dd's weight to doctors. While I do agree that activity and healthy diet are the best way to maintain a healthy weight, it's odd that OP is so fixated on certain things.

OP explicitly described it as the other way around. She said that, until the doctor made a big deal about her DD's weight, she didn't realize.

This is a touchy subject and so many PP's are reading whatever they can into OP's posts in order to attack her. We've got a long way to go.

Anonymous wrote:She describes her daughter as always big, including being an 8 pound baby who ate every drop of her bottle.

I thought that was a weird description too. I mean, my dd who was 8lb 14oz, is now a 5ft tall, 110lb 19 year old-not sure what OP's dd birthweight has to do with anything?

And the part about having dd 'diagnosed' as obese, makes it sound like she was making a big deal about dd's weight to doctors. While I do agree that activity and healthy diet are the best way to maintain a healthy weight, it's odd that OP is so fixated on certain things.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The child psychiatrists at our hospital have started looking at behavioral interventions for kids who are overweight as well (we give a lot of drugs that cause weight gain). They were looking at younger kids, but they found exactly the same thing. Food restrictions didn’t work at all. Therapy and cognitive interventions for kids and parents didn’t work. Teaching parents new, healthy recipes didn’t work. The only thing that worked was adding more fruits and veggies and increased exercise.

Wow so weird child psychiatrists would recommend then what is apparently horrible parenting, disordered thinking, and a cocktail for eating disorders, according to a couple commenters on this thread.

Nope. Unless in explaining the diet they recommend avoiding grapes and bananas because they are fattening and call an eight pound baby fat. That’s the disordered part. You can’t possibly be this confused.

Sorry where does OP call an 8 lb baby fat? I’ll wait

The first sentence of her OP. This is literally what she said: “Our DD was always big. Born over 8 lbs, never left a drop of milk in a bottle, and ate well as soon as she started solids.“

I cannot believe you are still debating this.

Even OP admits she had disordered thinking, referring to having to overcome her “diet” mentality.

Big doesn’t mean fat. It means big. It’s bizarre that you’re translating “big baby” to “I thought my baby was fat” and “I vaguely understood from pop culture that some fruits are too sugary to be healthy” as “disordered thinking.” You legitimately seem mentally unwell.

How the heck do you get that from my post?!! PP asked me where OP called he baby fat. I did that. That doesn’t make me mentally unwell. Get real.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The child psychiatrists at our hospital have started looking at behavioral interventions for kids who are overweight as well (we give a lot of drugs that cause weight gain). They were looking at younger kids, but they found exactly the same thing. Food restrictions didn’t work at all. Therapy and cognitive interventions for kids and parents didn’t work. Teaching parents new, healthy recipes didn’t work. The only thing that worked was adding more fruits and veggies and increased exercise.

Wow so weird child psychiatrists would recommend then what is apparently horrible parenting, disordered thinking, and a cocktail for eating disorders, according to a couple commenters on this thread.

Nope. Unless in explaining the diet they recommend avoiding grapes and bananas because they are fattening and call an eight pound baby fat. That’s the disordered part. You can’t possibly be this confused.

Sorry where does OP call an 8 lb baby fat? I’ll wait

The first sentence of her OP. This is literally what she said: “Our DD was always big. Born over 8 lbs, never left a drop of milk in a bottle, and ate well as soon as she started solids.“

I cannot believe you are still debating this.

Even OP admits she had disordered thinking, referring to having to overcome her “diet” mentality.

Big doesn’t mean fat. It means big. It’s bizarre that you’re translating “big baby” to “I thought my baby was fat” and “I vaguely understood from pop culture that some fruits are too sugary to be healthy” as “disordered thinking.” You legitimately seem mentally unwell.

+1

Leave OP alone, nut job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The child psychiatrists at our hospital have started looking at behavioral interventions for kids who are overweight as well (we give a lot of drugs that cause weight gain). They were looking at younger kids, but they found exactly the same thing. Food restrictions didn’t work at all. Therapy and cognitive interventions for kids and parents didn’t work. Teaching parents new, healthy recipes didn’t work. The only thing that worked was adding more fruits and veggies and increased exercise.

Wow so weird child psychiatrists would recommend then what is apparently horrible parenting, disordered thinking, and a cocktail for eating disorders, according to a couple commenters on this thread.

Nope. Unless in explaining the diet they recommend avoiding grapes and bananas because they are fattening and call an eight pound baby fat. That’s the disordered part. You can’t possibly be this confused.

Sorry where does OP call an 8 lb baby fat? I’ll wait

The first sentence of her OP. This is literally what she said: “Our DD was always big. Born over 8 lbs, never left a drop of milk in a bottle, and ate well as soon as she started solids.“

I cannot believe you are still debating this.

Even OP admits she had disordered thinking, referring to having to overcome her “diet” mentality.

Big doesn’t mean fat. It means big. It’s bizarre that you’re translating “big baby” to “I thought my baby was fat” and “I vaguely understood from pop culture that some fruits are too sugary to be healthy” as “disordered thinking.” You legitimately seem mentally unwell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The child psychiatrists at our hospital have started looking at behavioral interventions for kids who are overweight as well (we give a lot of drugs that cause weight gain). They were looking at younger kids, but they found exactly the same thing. Food restrictions didn’t work at all. Therapy and cognitive interventions for kids and parents didn’t work. Teaching parents new, healthy recipes didn’t work. The only thing that worked was adding more fruits and veggies and increased exercise.

Wow so weird child psychiatrists would recommend then what is apparently horrible parenting, disordered thinking, and a cocktail for eating disorders, according to a couple commenters on this thread.

Nope. Unless in explaining the diet they recommend avoiding grapes and bananas because they are fattening and call an eight pound baby fat. That’s the disordered part. You can’t possibly be this confused.

Sorry where does OP call an 8 lb baby fat? I’ll wait

The first sentence of her OP. This is literally what she said: “Our DD was always big. Born over 8 lbs, never left a drop of milk in a bottle, and ate well as soon as she started solids.“

I cannot believe you are still debating this.

Even OP admits she had disordered thinking, referring to having to overcome her “diet” mentality.