How Can You Help Your Baby Gain Weight?

The growing path of babies is not all the same and although there is a lot of visible similarities, there are some nuances that have to be understood. Your baby’s weight is correlated to their height, bone density, muscle structure and the needs of their vital systems. As you can probably already see, it’s a little more complex than it might seem at the start. But the hospital and your doctors will inform you of what you need to do to keep your new-born healthy and consistently gaining healthy weight. So it’s a worrying realization when your child isn’t showing signs of predictable growth. This can be for a multitude of reasons and pinning down the exact cause takes time. They are in a very frail state when they’re just a couple months old so taking swift action is the best way to go about things. Yet as parents, you should not panic and think clearly, seek the problem first and then try specific solutions.

A regular feeding

Just like adults, babies too want routine. For them however feeding time is where the most important routine and schedule lies. If your baby is not eating at roughly the same time each day, this can upset their body clock. For example, if your normally feed your baby around 8 to 12 times a day, you need to keep a steady time pattern. If it’s every hour, then make sure you stick to that schedule. This is established the minute your bring the baby home as it will now get steadily used to that kind of routine. If you slept for too long or forgot, this can put the baby’s digestive system off the rhythm. The baby might also fall asleep after waiting to be fed as the system tries to slow down metabolism. The baby might also cry and it could take some time before he or she can be calmed down.

A regular feeding interval should be swift and provide small increments of food. For the first few months the feeding may be done in 8 to 12 batches a day and then when the baby is over 6 months old you can slow it down to around 4 to 8. The important thing is that you stick very strictly to a time schedule each day and maintain a very close eye on how much weight your baby is gaining. There is good information on what to expect in ounces of weight in the very early stages of the baby’s life which you can access online.

Increasing the calorie count

Some babies just need more food than other babies, it’s normal so don’t worry. It could be that their metabolism is very fast at the moment. This can be noted by how many stools the baby produces during the day. If you find yourself frequently changing nappies this is a sign that this is what’s occurring in your baby. However if you’re following regular feeding advice and yet still your baby is not gaining healthy weight in a timely manner, then this can be resolved by just increasing the calorie count. Rather than have around 8 to 12 feeding time you can increase that to 15. The feeding time can also be longer so each session gives just a little more than is normally warranted.

At the same time you need to keep an eye on how your baby is reacting to this change. If his or her metabolism does start to come back to normal or to what you would expect from the doctor’s advice, then you can slowly wean the baby back onto a normal feeding schedule. Do this carefully however and don’t go cold turkey all of sudden as this too can shock the baby’s system.

Mix it up a bit

Another reason why your baby might not be gaining weight is because of the quality of the feed that he or she is getting from you. Not all women are the same and there are differing qualities of mother’s milk. You doctor can run tests to see the nutritional value of your milk to see what kind of quality it is. If it’s on the lower side the doctor will recommend that you mix the feeding up a bit. Half the time you will be feeding her with your own and for the rest of the time you will be using an advanced formula. S26 is a nutritious milk drink for toddlers with vitamins and minerals. This is something you can use when your child is over 12 months old and they are now in the phase of rapid growth and weight increase.

Many mothers use this kind of product for many reasons. You might be returning to work and so you can’t feed your child as often. Your own body might be returning to normality and producing less and less milk for the child. Other times there is a case for using advanced formula milk because the mother is going through a stressful time and her mental health is not where it should be. Maybe you have been separated from your child for a short while and they need to get used to your feed once again. Crucially, it’s also for the baby to gain consistent weight if they are lacking in this area. Whatever the reason is, wherever your milk is falling short the formula will plug those gaps.

If your baby isn’t gaining weight properly don’t worry, it can just be a simple metabolism concern which can correct itself over time. You may want to increase feeding to over 12 times a day with short intervals between each feed. This can help to bring the digestive system under a bit of control and also give the child more calories as their body is asking for it. However, just sticking to a routine can really help to steadily gain healthy weight. If routine is broken the baby’s might go into a protective state and this can cause metabolism to slow down. If your child is over a year old, then you can also begin to mix up feeding times with natural and formula milk.