Mom concerned that her baby is too fat

When Sharnia Carroll gave birth to her second child at age 32, she was ecstatic. Her baby girl, Leonique Bonner, was healthy and weighed eight pounds.

But after Bonner gained 12 pounds in just two months, Carroll became a little anxious.

“The last time I carry her to ‘three-month clinic’ she weigh 20 pounds. The nurse weh weigh har tell mi seh she weigh more than weh she fi weigh fi har age,” she told THE STAR.

Carroll said she was puzzled at the fast weight gain, especially because she only feeds Leonique on breast milk “and wata sometimes”.

“Mi feed har regular, ‘cause as she cry mi give har he breast fi calm har down,” she said. “When mi lift har up mi sweat too much, and mi hand and mi back hurt mi; so mi mostly push her inna di pram.”

Carroll said that although she believes the baby’s weight is unusual, she is comforted that she has so far shown no health issues.

“Doctor nuh find nothing wrong wid her. She did have little fresh cold in September, and mi tek her to (Bustamante Hospital for) Children, but dem seh she nuh have nothing,” she said.

FAMOUS BABY

And in her community on Princess Street, Kingston, Leonique is somewhat of a celebrity.

“People always create excitement when dem see har. Dem say, ‘Fatty, she fat an nice eeh. Is a baby yuh have inna yuh hand or a dolly?’ People always a seh, how yuh suh slim and she so fat?” she said.

Paediatrician Dr Kabine Orrigio from the Burlington Health and Paediatrics Place told THE STAR that the average weight for a baby of Leonique’s age is 12 pounds, and that a number of factors could be contributing to her rapid weight gain.

“Things you have to look at is whether or not there is any maternal chronic illnesses such as diabetes, which could contribute to large babies. We also have to think about what we call obesity syndromes, or even hormonal illness. But this baby would need to be fully assessed by a paediatrician,” she said.