u/Wonderful_Lion6503

I’ve always known my dad, 66, had some unrealistic views on body size. I gained weight with IVF/ getting older, and he has made comments in the past. He went as far as to tell me I looked chubby at my mother’s (his ex wife’s) funeral…one of the worst days of my life. I was 30 lbs overweight.
We just welcomed our beautiful baby girl in April. She was born 6 lbs 4 oz. A few days after she was born, he called to tell me how he didn’t believe she would ever get fat. He seemed to be so pleased with her current small size.
Now we’re at the 4 month mark and she’s weighing in at 15 lbs 6 oz. This puts her in the 75th percentile. His comments have ramped up. “Maybe she’ll go back down under the 50th percentile soon.” “You and Jon were both small babies.” Side note: we weren’t. Jon was 9 lbs at birth, and I gained a normal amount of weight for a breastfed baby. We were both on the smaller side as children, so maybe that’s what he’s thinking of? So far I’ve mainly sat in stunned silence. We’re talking about an infant. I have said, “I don’t think babies can be overweight.” To which he said, “oh yes they can.” What are we talking about?!
I also don’t appreciate the subtle digs at my own size. I’m 37 years old and just had a C-section. I’m not just going to look like I did at 23.
How should I respond to this? I want to shut it down but I also don’t want my dad to be out of the picture. I cannot have him give my baby girl a body image issue. He already did enough damage on me. I should note that he is terribly defensive when confronted.

I’ve always known my dad, 66, had some unrealistic views on body size. I gained weight with IVF/ getting older, and he has made comments in the past. He went as far as to tell me I looked chubby at my mother’s (his ex wife’s) funeral…one of the worst days of my life. I was 30 lbs overweight.
We just welcomed our beautiful baby girl in April. She was born 6 lbs 4 oz. A few days after she was born, he called to tell me how he didn’t believe she would ever get fat. He seemed to be so pleased with her current small size.
Now we’re at the 4 month mark and she’s weighing in at 15 lbs 6 oz. This puts her in the 75th percentile. His comments have ramped up. “Maybe she’ll go back down under the 50th percentile soon.” “You and Jon were both small babies.” Side note: we weren’t. Jon was 9 lbs at birth, and I gained a normal amount of weight for a breastfed baby. We were both on the smaller side as children, so maybe that’s what he’s thinking of? So far I’ve mainly sat in stunned silence. We’re talking about an infant. I have said, “I don’t think babies can be overweight.” To which he said, “oh yes they can.” What are we talking about?!
I also don’t appreciate the subtle digs at my own size. I’m 37 years old and just had a C-section. I’m not just going to look like I did at 23.
How should I respond to this? I want to shut it down but I also don’t want my dad to be out of the picture. I cannot have him give my baby girl a body image issue. He already did enough damage on me. I should note that he is terribly defensive when confronted.