A baby is not gaining weight well while breastfed

Tips for increasing lactation

You should increase the volume of fluid you drink per day.

Before you start feeding your baby, and also after this procedure, be sure to make yourself some non-hot tea with milk or herbs. Nut milk – walnuts infused with it – will also help.

During lactation, try not to be nervous and get plenty of rest. This will help you find the answer to the question: how can a one-year-old child gain weight fully and without problems.

Do not deny the baby feeding at night and, if possible, place him nearby to provide breast milk in a timely manner.

In addition, it is permissible to use special tablets. They are made from bee milk with the addition of a complex of vitamins for nursing women.

Do not introduce solid foods into your baby's diet or reduce their volume, especially if he is less than six months old. Most of these foods are low in calories compared to breast milk.

Sleep next to your newborn. This allows you to increase the amount of prolactin and increases the number of feedings.

Give your baby a massage. It improves digestion and normalizes absorption, which will lead to weight gain.

Try to feed your baby often, without waiting for the required 3 hours to expire. If you are underweight, a shorter interval is acceptable - 2-2.5 hours. In addition, this activates lactation, solving your problem of how to quickly gain weight for a newborn baby.

When breastfeeding, try to squeeze and massage your breasts to increase milk flow.

Before eating, lightly express the liquid (two minutes is enough) so that the baby gets a more high-calorie and nutritious portion.

Wait for the baby to completely empty one breast, and make sure that he is full (looks sleepy, happy, not capricious, stops actively swallowing). It is very important that the baby completely finishes feeding from one breast, since “late” milk is more calorie and nutritious, which will increase the gap between meals and provide restful sleep. This way, young mothers will forever forget about the problem of how to gain weight for a newborn baby.

And one more small clarification. If your baby is prescribed additional nutrition, still try to give him breastfeeding (formula in extreme cases). It's just that the amount of calories/fat in breast milk is much higher. And to increase its one-time amount, after each feeding, express for another 5-10 minutes. This portion can be offered to the baby later, as it is very nutritious. This way you will get rid of the painful question of how to gain weight for a child (1 year or less).

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A newborn does not gain weight well when bottle-fed. What to do?

If the mother's breast milk is not enough for the normal growth and development of the child, then very often doctors recommend switching, in whole or in part, to artificial feeding. But what if a newborn is not gaining weight well while being bottle-fed? There may be several reasons for this.

Reasons why a child is not gaining weight

If a baby consistently does not gain the weight that he should at his age, there may be several reasons for this:

• Low hemoglobin, • Neurological pathologies, • Stress, • Hereditary tendency to be underweight, • Worms, • Problems with the digestive system, • Incorrect transition to artificial feeding.

If the cause of low weight is the above-mentioned points that affect the health of infants, then you should consult a doctor. If it’s all about the last reason - the wrong transition to artificial nutrition, then you can work on this yourself.

How to properly feed a child with artificial nutrition?

There are certain rules that need to be followed in order to properly transfer your baby to artificial nutrition and improve his health. How should artificial feeding be carried out?

1. First of all, you need to take a serious approach to selecting formula for feeding your baby. It must be of the highest quality.

2. Follow the instructions exactly when mixing the formula for artificial feeding, without deviating from the specified ratios. Do not use the mixture forty minutes after it has been prepared.

3. Choose the right pacifier for feeding. The baby should be comfortable and easy to suck the mixture from the nipple. 4. The container in which you mix the mixture must be perfectly clean.

5. If you have not completely switched your child to artificial feeding, but are only supplementing breastfeeding, then do it correctly. Feed the mixture from a spoon and from a pacifier. Do this strictly after the baby is attached to the mother's breast.

6. Be attentive to how the child feels and behaves after artificial feeding. If it is obvious that your gastrointestinal tract is unhappy, stop feeding the formula you were using and look for a better option. If it is very difficult to choose a formula for artificial nutrition, due to rejection by the child’s body, you should consult a doctor.

Considering the above tips can help your child gain the required weight. If this does not happen, you should consult a doctor.

Why does the baby eat little?

A breastfed baby can gain weight either more or less than the general norm.

In case of weight loss, you need to check the skin and folds on the baby’s arms and legs: if they are dry and wrinkled, then he does not have enough nutrients, perhaps he eats too little.

It is worth counting the number of urinations. There should be at least 12 of them per day, and the urine should be colorless or light, odorless. If there are few of them, you need to feed the baby more often.

HF provides the baby with the substances necessary for its development. It is a mistaken belief that milk can be “empty”, so the newborn does not get enough. Nature has taken care of the composition of breast milk - its fat content does not depend on the mother's diet. The main reasons why a child receives little milk:

The mother’s milk production has decreased and the amount is simply not enough for the baby;
When changing the feeding regimen, the child is given a pacifier or water, which reduces milk consumption;
The child’s body is weakened, which is why he sucks out little milk. Feeding time needs to be increased. When the baby is full, he will wean himself off the breast;
The newborn falls asleep during feeding. Mom needs to make sure that he really eats milk, wake him up so that he has a full meal;
There is not enough milk in one breast. If the baby is not full, but the breast has run out of milk, he becomes capricious and cries. We need to give him a second breast;
Because of the pacifier, the bite has changed, the baby does not latch onto the nipple correctly and does not eat milk well.

Symptoms of being underweight

Signs that your baby is not gaining enough:

per day the weight gain is less than 18 g;
body weight for age is much less than accepted norms;
sleep is long, frequent, the child is lethargic, does not crawl or stand, although he should (slow physical development);
the baby is capricious, his voice often changes beyond recognition;
there is little urine, it has a dark tint;
lack of stool, constant diarrhea;
on breastfeeding, the baby is constantly looking for the breast, on IV, a bottle;
there are signs of dehydration.

These signs often indicate that the child is hungry - get examined by a pediatrician and other doctors, try to feed the baby more often, and introduce complementary foods. If there is a suspicion of a lack of breast milk, the doctor will suggest a formula. If the child does not eat enough, you will see that he begins to scream less and sleep better.

Important! Infants should have folds of fat. Their absence is an alarming sign.

The skin is normally pink, not dry, not wrinkled. Constant whims may indirectly indicate hunger. Any sudden changes in well-being or behavior should also alert you. If you have persistent severe allergies, undergo a comprehensive examination to accurately identify their causes.

A baby does not gain weight well on mixed feeding

For many mothers, mixed feeding is a real salvation . For example, if a nursing woman temporarily lacks milk, she can give the baby formula so that he is not hungry .

Sometimes situations still occur when a child, even on breastfeeding and formula, does not gain weight well

This happens for the following reasons:

Mom applies incorrectly to the breast;
long intervals between meals;
Mom feeds too little.

Also, one should not exclude the possibility that is not suitable . If there are no other reasons, it is recommended to review the menu.

Mixed feeding

How to accustom a child to regular feedings?

For convenience, you can teach your child to eat regularly. At the same time, the mother can help the child get used to regularity and a gradual reduction in the number of feedings. You need to wake up the baby after four hours to feed, this will form a habit.

It is not necessary to force him to eat; usually, a few minutes after waking up, he himself feels hungry. If the baby is capricious two hours after feeding and cries, there is no need to calm him down right away. He can turn over and fall asleep. If he doesn't stop being naughty, you can give him some water or a pacifier. This will accustom the body to changing the interval between feedings.

If the baby wakes up an hour before the required time, you should not breastfeed. If he starts crying a lot, then it is better to feed him. The baby may systematically be capricious two to three hours after feeding due to the fact that the mother has little milk. He simply does not have enough food for the required 4 hours, and he wakes up from hunger. It is better to temporarily switch to more frequent feeding. Emptying the breast will lead to an increase in lactation and will allow you to return to regular breastfeeding.

How to feed?

Dr. Komarovsky notes that a newborn eats instinctively and knows how much milk he needs. When malnourished, he cries for milk. You should not force him to eat the usual amount of milk. Psychological comfort is important for a baby undergoing breastfeeding.

If a child constantly eats against his will, he loses his appetite, becomes nervous or apathetic.

In the first weeks, Dr. Komarovsky recommends feeding the baby on demand, usually every three hours. Especially if the mother has little milk. As the baby's weight increases, the intervals between feedings increase. At the age of one to two months, a breastfed baby no longer eats at night.

Indicators of normal growth

To determine whether everything is okay with you, let's look at the norm for weight gain. Both artificial and natural dieters, if they eat well, gain weight equally. The main weight gain occurs in the first three months of life, then growth slows down. The norm for a baby up to 3 months is 0.5-2 kg every 4 weeks.

After 4 months, the baby moves actively, spends more energy and gains less - no more than 1 kg in 30 days, and more often up to 0.5 kg. From 9 months, the baby crawls, walks, runs, and weight gain may be absent altogether or be at around 0.1-0.2 kg. At the same time, the child can grow, so the doctor looks at both indicators.

Signs that your baby is full

If the baby does not gain weight well while breastfeeding, the mother finds out whether he is full or not. When you are full, there is nothing to worry about, otherwise take action. Signs of a normal situation:

There are up to 8 feedings per day;
during sucking, gulps are heard, with hot flashes the act slows down;
The little one is healthy, active, and in a good mood;
muscle tone is fine;
the skin is beautiful, has an even tone;
per day you change from 6 prescribed diapers, the urine is light;
Defecation occurs up to 8 times a day in babies, closer to one year - no more than 3 times.

Helpful advice! If your breasts are full before feeding and feel empty afterwards, there is enough milk. The child is most likely full.

Night feeding

Night feeding should be weaned off gradually. You need to stop waking him up at night and feed him when he wakes up on his own. It usually takes a few days for the child to stop waking up at night. Then you need to make a larger feeding portion so that the daily amount of food does not decrease.

Dr. Komarovsky notes that weight gain in babies both on IV and breastfeeding is individual. Sometimes a child does not cry because he is malnourished. He has a small increase, he is not capricious, but he eats a large portion if he is fed.

The indicator is the general condition of the child. The baby's cheerfulness and activity are a sign of his good health. If you have any suspicions, you should consult your pediatrician.