Baby weight

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Your baby is put on the weighing scale. Discouraged and frightened you become as soon as you are told that she weighs less. Doesn’t sounds familiar?

On probing further, the pediatrician learns that you have still not been able to ape effective breastfeeding techniques. As a result, your baby is devoid of good nutrition and is therefore not gaining weight well.

You want to be forewarned of the possibility of the weight related issues of your baby. Being well informed of the criteria to observe her progress is also what you would be ideally expecting from the baby’s healthcare personnel.

Shedding light on some of these facts will help you explore better.

Tracking your Baby’s weight (0 to 3months)

As per the pediatricians, it is believed most babies loose around one- tenth of their birth weight during the initial first five days as their body gets rid of the excess fluids. This lost weight however is regained back in the next 10-15 days. It is usually observed that they grow very rapidly after regaining their original birth weight. This happens during growth spurts i.e. around seven to ten days and again between three and seven weeks.

The average weight of a healthy newborn baby is about 2.5- 3 kg. The average newborn gains at a rate of 20- 30 gms per day, so that by one month their weight is around 4.5kg.

Some babies will gain weight at a slightly different rate as compared to others. But at the same time, it also becomes important to figure out those signs that may be indicating that she is not receiving enough milk.

Watch out for these:-

Usually, a well breastfeed baby will have multiple stools in a day that will be mushy yellowish brown in color. But, if she is constipated then the stools would be hard and dark.
Your baby would also be having less than six to seven wet nappies a day.

Finding a Way Out:-

If your baby is not gaining weight as per the standard norms, then your baby’s doctor might ask you to switch over to temporary supplementation. Your own expressed milk is considered and believed to be the first choice as it serves to be a pool of nutrients for the baby. Going by what some books on breastfeeding has to say, they lay focus on facts that babies need about 2 to 2 ½ fluid ounces of nourishment per pound of body weight (60- 75 ml per 450 gms) every 24 hours to maintain a normal weight. An additional 1to 2 ounces (30- 60 ml) per pound (454 gms) of body weight per day may be needed to compensate for a previous lack of weight gain.
While resorting to alternate feeding methods, use of a nursing supplementer may prove to promote effective sucking and helping stimulate mother’s milk supply. Spoon, a small cup or even a syringe can be used in the process. But care has to be taken that the calorie dense creamy layer should be scooped off the expressed milk and given to the baby.
While nursing, help your baby to be fed from both the breasts in order to stimulate better milk supply and thereby adequate nutrition.