Fattening Up Babies

We are so obsessed about weight in this country. Even babies are targets. Babies are supposed to be cubby. They are supposed to have several chins, a neck that is hard to find, and rolls of fat at their thighs, wrists and elbows. For the first year babies should be fed on demand. That means feeding them when they show they are hungry and stopping when they show they are done. A baby fed like this will grow appropriately.

Some babies have less fat than others. Over and over I have heard from moms (who are offering appropriate foods at appropriate times) of smaller, leaner babies that they were told to fatten up their child and get them to eat more. They have been instructed to put powdered milk in foods or slather butter on crackers or in rice cereal.

You should never MAKE your baby eat. This will alter their life-long perception about food intake. They will start eating for external cues instead of internal ones - hunger and fullness. As babies instinctually know how much energy (calories) they need, offering high density, high calorie foods will usually result in the baby eating less quantity. This has been proven is several studies. Babies given watered down formula drank more and those given concentrated formula ate less.

It is not your job to get your child to eat. If you have a thinner baby, you can try offering food more often, maybe every 1 ½ - 2 hours. If babies are hungry they will eat, if they’re not, they won’t. Follow their cues. They know what they are doing.