I had this plan to take a picture of Leyna every month of the first year of her life in the same outfit. In theory, it was supposed to start out really big on her, then slowly she would start to fill it out and fit it nearly perfectly come this December. Knowing that Kendall was pretty big for his age at 1 year old, I went ahead and bought a 12-18 month outfit from Gymboree for the project.
It started out big enough…
7 days old
But, by 4 months, uhm, well, it nearly fit.
- 4 months 7 days
I snapped this one late last week to show off her teething necklace turned anklet (because the teeth, they are evil, and they are a comin’). That bumGenius Flip diaper is on it’s largest setting for the rise, 2nd largest for width.
She will be 5 months old this Saturday (I know, right?), and her 9 month sleepers and onesies barely snap anymore. Those jammies are busting at the zipper.
I was browsing for some bigger clothes for her at Target yesterday, and since I always buy a size up from what fits right now (meaning I was looking at 18 month outfits), that meant that I had to look in the TODDLER SECTION.
YOU GUYS!!! I can’t even shop for my not even 5 month old baby in the baby section anymore!
She doesn’t even fit in the crook of my arm when I feed her. Her feet hang over the side of the rocker.
She’s officially out of her infant car seat and now moved into the rear-facing Britax Marathon. That makes outings to restaurants and grocery stores super fun since she’s not yet able to sit in carts and highchairs.
There is no swaddle blanket big enough or strong enough to contain her, so we’ve spent the last 4 days NOT SLEEPING because her flailing arms keep waking her up.
I know Kendall was big, but I don’t think he was quite as big as she is.
Edited to add this pic that I *think* was snapped when he was about 4.5 months old-
sporting the same teething necklace
Okay, upon looking at this picture, I don’t know. Maybe he was just as big. I would be able to figure these things out if I kept a baby book for him. ::polishes bad mom badge::
She was 19.5 lbs at her 4 month appt. I would guess she’s at least 21 lbs by now. She’s not just chubby, she’s long, too. I swear, she’s bigger than the 1 year old in our music class.
In a tiny way, I feel a little robbed.
Oh, that’s so silly, I know. REALLY, I’m very, very grateful she’s healthy. I am. But, I sort of, just a teensy bit, feel sad that she seemed to sail through that tiny stage sooooo much faster than most babies. I feel like she went from tiny to toddler with about 2 weeks of infant sized smooshed between.
The (I guess) good news? She’s nowhere near actually toddling. She’s not even rolling. We’ve tried, we’ve worked with her, we’ve been much better about tummy time, but she’s not moving. Is it possible for a big butt and thunder thighs to physically prevent the achievement of such a milestone? I feel like she might actually crawl before she rolls over, which could be necessary to burn off some of the chub that’s weighing her down.
Kendall is 3 years old and Leyna is just shy of 5 months
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66 comments
haha! that’s what breast milk does! it creates BIG babies! hehe. You should do a photo comparison between them to see who was bigger!
Just added one!
Not always! My (breastfed) son is 20 months and 19.5 lbs!
Just found this blog!
I agree! My daughter is 8 months and is already in 18 month clothes. It is very weird seeing her wear things my eldest walked in.
hehe, my boy is 7 months and probably 14 pounds maybe…at his sitters he is more advanced than twin 9 month old boys, the sitter thinks its because the twins are so chubby that they can’t do everything yet 🙂
My 5 month old is in the 80th % for his height. It’s so difficult to find onsies that are long enough for him.
Hunter, my lo gets 50% Breastmilk and 50% Formula. He started getting chubby so I backed off his Formula by 1 ounce per feeding. Low and behold it helped in so many ways. He’s hitting his milestones and not spitting up. It’s also allowed him to fit into more age appropriate clothing although he still needs onsies for long babies.
It’s just my opinion but fat baby does not equal healthy baby. It can also lead to weight problems later in life. Some of the pictures in this thread look like the lo needs to be backed off on the amount of food she’s getting. I know I’ll catch hell for saying that but food shouldn’t equal love.
There’s no evidence to show a big baby equals a big grown up. Especially if they’re breastfeeding.
Oh my, if she were mine, my face would be buried in that adorable tummy and leg rolls ALL. DAY. LONG.
My 16 month old is 19.5lbs right now. His 12mo clothes are TOO BIG for him. And you can bet we still snap down the rises on all his cloth diapers. Just goes to show why there are ranges for normal!
This is exactly how both my boys were. They each outgrew the infant seat by 4 months old, which meant taking them to restaurants was a HUGE challenge because they had no place to sit. I thought they’d be in 5T clothes by the time they hit a year old. The especially maddening part was that they got so heavy so quickly, that I wasn’t able to really enjoy wearing them as much as I wanted. There is a HUGE different in trying to wear a 10 lb baby in a Moby Wrap compared to a 20 lb baby.
The good news is that they both hit a place (around 9-12 months) where they STOPPED growing like weeds. Now they’re right on target and Jonas is even wayyyyyy down on the bottom of the weight percentage now (he’s still up top for height though, which makes him look like a waify super model.) As soon as LL gets moving, all that chub will melt right off and you’ll be able to shop in the normal sections again.
Jolene has already outgrown most of her 3 month outfits at 1 month, and I suspect she’ll be just like her brothers were. I’m sorta jealous of those people who have “normal” sized babies… they’re certainly easier to carry!
Have you heard of the Woombie? Its a zippered swaddler. The Mega size goes up to 25lbs.
I know how you feel. I’ve nearly stood my 6 month old down on the floor and let go, as if she would just walk away. She’s so big I just forget that she can barely sit up.
Thank you for suggesting the Woombie. I have a big big boy (he was 15.4 lbs and 25 inches tall at his 2 month and he is still growing) and he needs to be swaddled to sleep. Lately he has been busting out of the miracle blanket because he is too long and it is getting harder and harder to tuck around him. I’m guessing our “One Size” diapers won’t last him through the first year.
Oh Yes. I know the feeling. My Ella is 8 months old and weighs about 25 pounds. Carters doesn’t even have Sleep and play sleepers that fit her. At all. Sooo she’s huge AAAND she can’t walk. So yeah. I’m like buying my chiro a boat right now.
I know! Sophia was JUST like this. I remember when she was THREE MONTHS OLD and I bought her these thermal jammies…and even the 12 month sizes didn’t fit. She’s just always been so MASSIVE. My heart breaks knowing that we’ll be in the KID SECTION this winter at this rate. On my 2 year old. KID SECTION CLOTHING. It’s horrifying.
He he-my 2 year old weighs 24.5 lbs. And I was just browsing through the baby section at Target today thinking I needed a little baby girl to put in all those adorable summer rompers and sunsuits. You did get robbed because there is some CUTE little baby girl stuff.
She is bigger than my nearly 15 month old, who is very tiny for her age (she was 17 lbs at 12 months)
I recently saw this (on pinterest of course) and had to share! Maybe you have seen it already. http://www.ericasbloggityblog.com/2011/05/0-12.html
Whoa Leyna! Slow down for your mama!
I cannot relate since I popped out average-sized babies. But I didn’t even think about the fact that you could feel robbed of that baby stage. That makes total sense!
She is quite the chubster. But too cute not to love those chubs. I had to wait for rolls 🙂
I think either side is hard. I am constantly bugging drs, trying to make sure they aren’t worried about my little girl. My 3 year old fits in most 18-24 month sized clothing. If you go by Old Navy’s sizing by weight, she could be wearing 12-18 month clothes.
My baby’s 5 months and at least 19lbs…so not too far behind. Add on the cloth diapers, and yep we’re starting with 12-18mo clothes, too. The odd thing? My older kid was maybe all of 20lbs at one year!!
(our infant seat goes to 30lbs but honestly it’s way too heavy to lug him in it anyway, and he hates sitting in it so wouldn’t be any help to u’s anyway…)
BTW have you tried the double swaddle method? The aiden + snaps blankets are nice for this. Look up “double swaddle” on YouTube for a how-to video. Even Houdini couldn’t break out of one of those. ; )
Yes, you definitely need a Woombie for the swaddling issue!
I thought my gal was the same way since I remember her being soooo chunky, but I just looked at her stats. Um, yeah, she was 21 lbs. at 1 year. So, I can only imagine what you’re going through. She’s a rolly polly ball of yummy goodness right there.
:::herkie::: GO BOOBS!
Have you tried the escape proof swaddle? You can use any blanket. We’ve found one that fits our 5 month old (20.5 lbs).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4VdZxwsu4
I have!! That Aden & Anais super big blankets won’t wrap around her enough to get it snug. I’ll try again tonight, maybe I wasn’t doing it right.
Definitely try again. Once Jack could wriggle out, we had to figure out the best place on the blanket to position him so he CAN’t get out.
Initially we put him slightly to one side of the blanket, so the final part that wraps around him is the longest. But then we had to put him in the middle of the of the blanket and that began to work best.
OMG love the chub! She’s so darn cute! And yes, I’ve heard that the bigger babies hit those moving milestones slower than their smaller counterparts. Eh, enjoy at the very least that part!!
I am seriously jealous. You are clearly making some FINE and delicious haagan daas for breastmilk and should be darn proud!!!! My just turned two year old daughter gained one OUNCE in the last six months. She now weighs 22.6 pounds. She’s two. Her entire life I’ve had nothing but the pediatricians harping on me for how skinny she is, how I need to supplement with formula (kid NEVER took a bottle, she was very very stubborn) (oh, she’s tall! 80th percentile! and skinny 3rd percentile) – and yet, too skinny for the “charts”. This has been a source of great angst for me the last two years. 🙁 I wanted a chunky baby so badly. I know you are obviously in love with your girl, regardless of size, but I can only suggest not to let her size fixate on you. She’ll likely be a slender little pixie in a year, anyway, but in the meantime, I would love to snuggle and cuddle a sweet, soft baby with some chub!! Enjoy!
Oh, I do enjoy her 🙂 She is the source of a lot of entertainment around here. I’m sure she’ll be nothing but legs by the time she’s 8, like I was. I was quite the chubster as a baby, too, I’m told. Like I said, I’m super grateful she’s healthy. I can imagine it’s stressful to worry about your baby putting on enough weight.
It looks to me like you just grow big babies. But it all evens out in the end, right? My boy did the opposite as far as growth – he was a shrimp (16 lbs at 6 months) until he started on solids, and then he bulked up rather quickly (27.5 lbs at a year). And he was exclusively breastfed – apparently I make skim milk.
I understand feeling robbed, though – I would too! :-/ But she’s such a cutie!
a friend of ours has a one year old, who is just like your little buddha baby, she wont even try stand, she only just started crawling. they weight just stops them, ironically, cos if they did got crazy active it thins them out. bless them! give it a month or two and she should slow!
I was a chubster as a baby and never crawled. I went straight to walking. I found it common when working with infants at a daycare. The chubby kiddos typically do better in the jumperoo too.
Oh my gosh she is so cute!
Have you tried this escape proof swaddle method? It might work for Leyna because all you need is a blanket. Those muslin swaddling blankets would probably be big enough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOnsKlluHIg
I did and I tried it with the muslin blankets, but they didn’t seem to wrap around her enough. I just snugged her up in a fresh out of the drier Miracle blanket, nice and tight, and I’m hoping it will get her at least half way through the night.
I absolutely think bigger babies take longer to hit milestones because there’s just MORE of them to roll over or hold up. Little Evan was a chubby baby and didn’t roll until he was almost 6 months. I thought he would NEVER EVER learn how and was having a total meltdown about it. Now he is a totally average sized 2 year old. Caroline was bigger at birth (8 lbs 5 oz) but has slowed down already to perfectly normal sized. She actually looks petite compared to the pictures of Evan at 5 months. And because she’s lighter (probably 15 lbs now?) and there’s less of her to move, she learned to roll by 3.5 months. And don’t be sad! There are still TONS of adorable toddler clothes. Go browse the Mini Boden website and rest assured dressing a girl is fun no matter what age!
I completely understand! When my son was 5 months old he filled out 12 month clothes. He is now 2 and wears 5T. It does make you feel a little bit robbed, but on the good side the toddler clothes are really cute too!
On another note, my son crawled later, rolled over later, walked later, etc. The pediatrician said that the bigger the baby the longer some milestones take because they need more muscle control to make it happen.
No matter what size clothes she wears, she is absolutely adorable!
My husband walked late because his leg rolls prevented him from doing so! The good news is the baby fat leg and arm rolls didn’t last too long and he was/is a normal sized person soon enough! He’s very thin now and we often laugh at how chubby he was as a baby.. too cute!
So yes, I think that a bit of chub can delay some milestones! Keep at it though!
PS- your kids are cutie pies!
Thanks!
Oh my gooses, girl, I did a complete snort/spittake when I saw the busted out pic! Then I had an overwhelming urge to just snuggle her chubby little arms. That is my favorite part of the baby years. They’re so doughy and smell so sweet. Mmmmm…
I’m guessing the photo of him was later than that since most babies can’t sit up on their own until at least 5 monthes. And my “baby” just recently turned 30lbs. She’ll be 4 next month. But in my opinion, babies do find it harder to do all that with the extra weight.
Actually, this was the very first week he started “sitting,” meaning he stayed that way for about 30 seconds before he toppled over. Leyna does it already, too. Guess it’s easier for my fat babies to balance in their puddle of fat 😉
I’m just wondering Jill….but are you possibly waking up your baby at night and spoon feeding her bites of Snickers and Chef Boyardee? I watched a Maury episode about that and when I saw those baby thighs I just started wondering… 😉 hehe
You got me.
Jill, my son is a couple of weeks older than Leyna and is a big baby as well. He’s a bit over 18 lbs and 26.5 inches at just over 5 months. I know what you mean – I’m SO grateful that he’s healthy and that my milk provides everything he needs. But I have a friend with a 15 lb 9 month old and I held her this weekend and thought, WHEN was my baby this small?! Even when he was 15 lbs, I feel like he was a solid 15 lbs…this little girl is just so dainty. I miss the “tiny” newborn I had (9 lbs 11 oz at birth).
My son is cloth diapered as well, and I think sometimes the fluffy butt gets in the way of rolling over efficiently! Today he was out of his diaper and he rolled over from his back almost immediately. When he has a CD on, I think it makes it harder to get his legs in the right position to roll. : )
Either way, Leyna is just too precious!!
I third the Woombie.
Have you a tried a woombie for swaddling? They make them for all sized kids. http://www.thewoombie.com/
I feel your pain… my boys were 10lbs 11 oz and 11 lbs 0oz at birth… they wore 3 month clothing home from the hospital. So I never got to use half of the itsy bitsy clothing on them that I got at their showers!
My now 10 month old is wearing size 2 just to get the pants to fit around his belly! But my 2yr old went up to a size 4T then down to a 3T (where he is now) Once they really get moving, they loose all that adorable baby fat.
I know how you feel. I always would feel a little jealous of other Mom’s and there tiny light baby’s.
Holy Crap. My 8.5 month old is 15.3 pounds!! LOL!
That’s exactly how my son was. He gained around 2 lbs a month and by 6 mo he was in 18 mo clothes and out of the infant seat. I do think being bigger can delay some of the milestones. I thought he would be an early crawler since he was trying at 2 mo but it turned out to be more like 9 mo.
Just wanted to let you know you are not alone. My son was the same exact way, he just grew fast. He was in the rear facing seat by 5 months too. At his one year appointment he was 31 pounds and only gained two pounds for the entire year after (so there is hope she’ll slow down!). He was fed normally and ate as much as everyone else his age. Don’t let people get to you. You’re doing a GREAT job and she is adorable. I’m now expecting #2 (a girl) and am expecting the same exact thing. Told people if they buy clothes to not even bother with 3-6 or 6-9 since she’ll only be in them for like a week. We just have babies that like to grow big!
My 9 month old boy is 24 lbs and in 24 month clothes. Since he has started crawling he has stopped all the weight gain, but he is in 99 percentile for height (or more, the charts didn’t go higher). Pretty much a BIG boy. He was my colic baby, which was hard enough in itself. He was somewhat calmed by being held, my back paid.for.it. Thankfully he is actively crawling now so I get a break sometimes. My daughter turned 3 on May 18th. She has always been tall and very skinny….they are all different.
You mentioned having her in the sleeper for comparison. I did sort of the same thing. My mother-in-law made my daughter a “dolly” for Christmas around 6 months. Every year on her birthday I have her hold the dolly in picture for comparison. I picked the Doll cause I knew we would never, willingly, get rid of it. If I can figure out how to share it with you, I will.
Also, I went through the stage where my boy wouldn’t fit in the infant car seat and cart either. It didn’t last long since he started to sit up around 6 – 7 months. My biggest pain was the bathtub. That big ol’ boy was not fitting in a little bathtub on the sink and he couldn’t sit up in anything yet. 4 different types of baths later, I used/use the mesh seat that you strap them in. The belt is tighter than I would like and his legs hang over starting at his thigh, but at least it keeps his face out of the water and I can give my daugther and him a bath at the same time.
Oh Jill, I think I’m obsessed with Leyna haha, I love her to pieces! She’s so adorable & even tho she breaks your back, I can’t help but love the chub & give props to your breast milk & her own metabolism for making her so chunky!
I love that pic of Kendall too, so cute!
Oh, and I feel you on those sleepless nights, BG2 is forever flailing her arms & startling herself. Some nights the Miracle Blanket works, other nights, not so well. We are forced to hold her all night while we both try to get some sleep, even though we’re not in comfy positions haha.
It’s crazy how different breast milk can be between women. I think, in general, breast milk makes for thinner babies (at least compared to formula with the WHO guidelines), but the opposite can definitely be true, as well! My son was always right in the middle, but you definitely have some awesome milk to produce such sweet, chubby babies!
Oh my! I want to squeeze all those rolls!!!
I have to say though, we recently bought some bumgenius dipes for our soon-to-born son, and my 3 year old tried them on. He’s a pretty big kid (around 30 lbs, and 43 1/2″ tall) and he fits them just like Leyna.
Enjoy the chubby, babyness while you can!!! 🙂 I know I miss those days.
I feel your pain, totally. My Daughter is 2 1/2 and is the size of a 5 year old and our son who is 7 months old is wearing toddler clothes also. It dawned on me that my son wasn’t in baby sizes anymore when I had to put his first pair of 2T/3T socks on him at 5 months.
It is hard with bigger babies but you figure it out, baby carries are the best for shopping trips!
Oh Mah GAaaaaaahhhd! I love her rolls. Leah, my first dd, was about 18 lbs at 4 months and 28 lbs at a year. She never rolled over, she never crawled, and she only occasionally pulled up. She walked at 11.5 months (the first thing she did other than lay down and sit). She was always probably 2 sizes ahead of her age. And while she has thinned some, she is still big…44 lbs at just over 3 years old. I buy her size 5 in shirts and 4-5 in pants (hemmed). I am dangerously close to shopping in the girls department for her, but don’t want to. She’s still my baby, damnit! I understand feeling a little robbed, even though you have your happy baby girl!
My son, who was also big at birth – 9lb, 6oz – was like 22lb at six months and also did not roll over until 4.5 or 5 months. Don’t worry about it, it’s a big baby thing. 😉 Also those Gymboree sized clothes are crazy small!!!!
just realized the last sentence doesn’t really make sense. I was paying attention to screaming toddler and not the computer. Obviously I meant to say the Gymboree clothes are sized crazy small. LOL.
My son is three months old today, he comes in at 20lbs and 30 in. long! He’s not chubby though, his hieght and wieght are proportionate, he was 10lbs even when he was born. Yesterday he started to roll over and last night he slept on his stomache ’till I flipped him over. I had wanted to do the whole picture a week thing, but some of the stuff from his baby shower didn’t even fit him when he came home from the hospital, and others lasted maybe a week… I think with a boy it is easier, we want them to be big and strong, but we want our little girls to stay our little girls. She is beautiful and adorable, like everyone says, enjoy every second ‘cuse it won’t last long!
I feel the SAME way. My new baby girl is 5.5 months and I am already weepy for the infant stage. She breezed through it (and sleeping blissfully to boo) and rocking 9 month like its no joke. But a friend just had twins, so tiny baby season is back!
I had similar with my son, but my girl is so little I have just moved her into the 3-6 month stuff and she is just shy of 5 months! She still just fits the smaller stuff in a disposable diaper but I can’t get it over her cloth diapers any more.
[…] My Toddler Sized Infant. […]
I have an 18 pound 3 month old!
Update? My 10 month old is 30lbs. She was the same as your chunky girl at 5 months. Lol
I understand the “robbed” feeling.
My first daughter was chubby too but this is a whole new realm.
She is almost walking unassisted so I’m not worried. But wow…
My first daughter was 35 lbs by 18months and at almost 5 is barely 40lbs. So the weight definitely slowed down!
I agree, my daughter is bigger than the children with same age :). The post is very good. Thanks!
She is a precious little chunk!!!! ??? My little guy is 7 months and alreqdy wearing 12 month clothes. I can empathize.