My son had a doctors appointment yesterday and the nurse told me he is on the verge of being obese. He was 7lbs 0oz 21 inches long when he was born. Now at four months and one week he is 14 lbs 2 oz, and 26 inches long. (his dad is 6'7 so he will be a tall boy). I think she's crazy, but when the doctor came in (20 minutes later) I completely forgot to ask him if his weight and length is okay for his age. I would call be they do not let you speak directly to the doctor but to the nurse on call, but unfortunately the nurse on call is the nurse who told me he is on the verge of being obese. Does he sound obese to you? To me he doesn't look it, he's not fat, but not skinny, he's healthy looking... but then again I am his mother and I may see things differently then an outsiders perspective.

So question is, he is 26 inches long, 14 lbs 2 oz, is he obese?

My son had a doctors appointment yesterday and the nurse told me he is on the verge of being obese. He was 7lbs 0oz 2 inches long when he was born. Now at four months and one week he is 14 lbs 2 oz, and 26 inches long. (his dad is 6'7 so he will be a tall boy). I think she's crazy, but when the doctor came in (20 minutes later) I completely forgot to ask him if his weight and length is okay for his age. I would call be they do not let you speak directly to the doctor but to the nurse on call, but unfortunately the nurse on call is the nurse who told me he is on the verge of being obese. Does he sound obese to you? To me he doesn't look it, he's not fat, but not skinny, he's healthy looking.... but then again I am his mother and I may see things differently then an outsiders perspective.

So question is, he is 26 inches long, 14 lbs 2 oz, is he obese?

No... he is not even close to it. In fact, he is right where he would be expected to be given his birthweight.

Your son is in the 95th percentile for height and the 50th percentile for weight. That means that he is taller than 95% of children his age and he's right in the middle for his weight for his age.

There is a growth chart at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/growthcharts/set1clinical/cj41l017.pdf that you can use to track his height and weight percentiles.

Thank you. I figured she was being crazy.

Here is how we calculate it... A child should double their birth weight by 6 months, and triple it by a year. I would say he's a big boy, but not obese.

He's very long. He would still fit in 0-3 months clothing if he wasn't so long. They fit his belly and chest, just not length wise.

As long as he is reaching his developmental milestones, and the doctor is not concerned, you should not be concerned either. Babies all grow at different rates, all we can do is gauge their growths on a chart. Some babies top the chart and some fall below, yet they turn out to be within the normal range later in life.

My daughter was 4 pounds 12 ounces when she was born, she tripled her weight by 8 months. She is now a very lean healthy 14 year old. So, you see, it is all in the "statistics."

Just be sure not to overfeed or feed the wrong kinds of foods. Don't feed if baby is bored, etc... Maintain a schedule.

I also have a four month old, at his check-up he weighed 17lbs4oz, and was 27 inches long. He was 9lbs5oz at birth, and the doctor told me that he is not obese, and he is growing at a good rate being that he was such a big baby!

My son was born at 10 3.5! So he was big from the start. I wouldn't worry at all! Now at 9 he's about 119 but TALL and just muscle!

As J_9 mentioned, there is quite a wide range of what is considered "normal" in terms of weight gain and length... and there are several factors that come into play besides what percentile the child falls into... recent growth spurt, genetics, how the child is fed, how active are they, etc.. One other important consideration is to find out what sort of growth chart is being used. This will make a difference in regard to whether a baby is breastfed or formula fed.