My babe isn't gaining weight as fast as he was. Should I be worried?

Probably non, only information technology's a skillful thought to continue an heart on your baby'due south growth chart. Call up that while your baby should proceeds weight steadily – with the exception of her outset few days, when she may even lose a fleck before rapidly catching up – information technology won't e'er exist a perfectly smooth climb.

Your baby's growth rate will speed up and slow down. It may fifty-fifty finish temporarily – when she's ill, for example. But overall you should come across the ounces and pounds piling on.

If you're at all concerned that your baby isn't gaining enough weight, talk with her doctor right away.

What will the doctor practice?

The doctor volition requite your babe a physical examination and enquire you a number of questions to assist determine whether there's a problem, and, if so, what the underlying cause might be. She'll expect at many factors in addition to your baby's growth rate to assess how he's doing.

If your babe is hit his developmental milestones pretty much on time, relating well to you, and looking otherwise happy and healthy, he'south virtually likely doing fine.

If the doctor finds that your infant isn't growing at a healthy rate, however, she may diagnose him with "failure to gain weight" or "failure to thrive." The criteria she'll use to make this diagnosis may include:

  • falling below the third percentile for weight on his growth chart
  • weighing 20 percent beneath the ideal weight for his acme
  • a decrease of 2 or more than major percentile lines on his growth chart since his last checkup

Past the way, while failure to gain weight tin can happen to whatsoever baby, premature babies are at a higher take chances than total-term babies.

If your baby has failure to gain weight, it'due south very important to find out why. Proper diet – especially during the start three years – is crucial for a child'southward mental and concrete development.

Your infant's doctor may social club blood, urine, or other tests and monitor your baby's caloric intake for a period of fourth dimension. She may too watch y'all nurse or bottle-feed to see whether your baby's jaw is working correctly or whether he's having trouble sucking. Sometimes the respond is very simple, and sometimes it'due south quite complicated.

The doctor may refer your babe to a pediatric gastroenterologist, a dietitian, or a feeding specialist for evaluation and handling.

This can be a worrisome and frustrating fourth dimension. It tin be difficult to hear that your babe isn't thriving, but it's important that y'all don't blame yourself or experience similar yous're non a adept or nurturing parent.

What could be causing my baby'due south failure to gain weight?

At that place are and then many potential causes that a doctor could spend months performing tests and studying a baby's diet, health history, activity level, and possible causes of stress before discovering the source of the problem.

In general, if your infant isn't growing steadily, it means that she'southward either not eating well or non arresting or using nutrients properly. Hither are some reasons this might happen:

Feeding problems:

  • Your babe may be repeatedly getting tired and falling asleep before he gets enough milk.
  • She may have a weak sucking reflex that leaves her unable to get enough milk from your breasts if y'all're nursing – or even from a canteen, although this occurs more than commonly with breastfeeding.
  • A crack lip or palate would interfere with breastfeeding. These conditions are addressed with special bottles and nipples and the assistance of feeding specialists. (A crevice lip and palate are unremarkably repaired over the form of a infant'due south showtime year.)
  • Being tongue-tied could make it difficult for your baby to nurse well and get all the nourishment she needs. It can also affect canteen feeding, though that's less common.
  • If you're feeding your babe formula, preparing the formula incorrectly can lead to failure to gain weight.
  • If yous're nursing and you've had problem getting a breastfeeding routine going, your baby may not be getting enough to eat. It's possible that your breasts are non producing enough milk to sustain your baby or that your hindmilk isn't letting downwardly.
    A 3rd of your breast milk is known as foremilk, which is readily available for your baby. When y'all start to nurse, your body instinctively releases the hormone oxytocin, which stimulates the catamenia of the rest of your milk, the hindmilk. This is known equally the letdown reflex, and yous'll know it'southward happened if your nipples feel tingly or your breast milk spurts. Hindmilk has more calories than foremilk.
    If you lot're stressed out or in hurting, the letdown reflex tin fail to kick in, preventing your baby from getting hindmilk. When this is a chronic trouble, information technology tin result in failure to proceeds weight. To encourage the letdown reflex, endeavor to notice a relaxing place to nurse.
  • Some babies who are fed on a strict schedule rather than on demand (whenever they betoken that they're hungry) tin get less nutrition than they need. Most experts believe that it'southward best to let your baby nurse or canteen-feed for every bit long as he wants when he wants.

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Other common causes:

  • If your baby has been sick, his trunk may need more than calories and nutrients. An illness may also hurt your infant'due south appetite.
  • He may have chronic gastrointestinal problems such every bit diarrhea, reflux, celiac disease, or a milk intolerance.
  • If you have postpartum depression or several other young children vying for your attention, y'all may be unable to requite your baby the attention he needs to exist sure he's getting enough calories.

In rare cases, failure to gain weight can plough out to be a result of a lung problem, such every bit cystic fibrosis; a nervous system problem, such as cerebral palsy; a chromosome problem, such as Down syndrome; heart affliction; anemia; or a metabolic or an endocrine disorder, such as growth hormone deficiency. If any of these is the crusade, it's important to catch information technology early.

How does a doc care for failure to gain weight?

Once you lot and your doctor figure out what's causing the trouble, you lot can both set virtually correcting it past treating whatever medical issues and increasing your baby's caloric intake, if necessary.

Getting your infant support to a healthy weight may mean supplementing breastfeeding with formula or, for a infant who has started on solids, offering more high-calorie foods. Once she'due south old enough for them, expert choices include whole milk products such as cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and pudding (but hold off on offering cows' milk until historic period 1), eggs, avocados, whole-wheat breads and pastas, pancakes, mashed potatoes, and hot cereals.

In astringent cases, a baby with failure to proceeds weight may need to be hospitalized so that she can receive intravenous feedings and exist monitored closely.

I'g new to nursing. How can I tell whether my baby is getting enough to eat?

If your baby's younger than 3 months one-time and you're breastfeeding him exclusively, you'll know he'south getting plenty milk if:

  • He wets vi to 8 cloth diapers, or v to six disposable diapers a day.
  • He has several mustard-colored bowel movements a mean solar day for the first month. After the showtime month, he may have bowel movements less oftentimes or even skip a day or two in between.
  • When he'south nursing, you lot tin can run across him moving his jaw and hear him sucking. You may fifty-fifty hear him swallowing, if the room is repose.
  • Your breasts feel softer after a feeding than they did before.
  • He'south gaining about an ounce each day for his get-go three months. (After that, doctors expect for a gain of most 0.5 to 0.6 ounces a day until 6 months, 0.4 ounces a mean solar day for babies between 6 and 9 months, and 0.3 to 0.4 ounces a day for babies from 9 to 12 months.
  • For other suggestions, read more virtually how to tell if your baby'due south getting plenty milk.

If your babe tends to get sleepy during feedings, keep him alert during feedings. You can endeavor:

  • gently tickling his feet
  • undressing him
  • changing his diaper earlier or in the midst of a feeding
  • engaging him in some serenity play
  • sitting him upright to burp him when you're switching from one breast to the other

If he doesn't cease nursing on both sides, empty your breasts by pumping and so you can keep your milk product up.

If you're concerned about your infant's weight or nutrient consumption betwixt regularly scheduled checkups, enquire to bring your baby to the function to be weighed once a week. For accuracy, make certain you always use the same scale. You tin also get a scale to use at dwelling. Medela rents authentic infant scales for dwelling house use. Call (800) 435-8316 (option 3) for information.

While breastfeeding doesn't e'er turn out to be the best option for all moms and babies, don't presume that you should switch to formula because you're having some problems. Ask your physician for communication and perhaps a referral to a lactation consultant.

There are things yous can do to increase your milk supply, for example, and tips that may help y'all assistance your infant nurse more efficiently. You may well exist able to resolve the issues without giving upward breastfeeding earlier you lot intend to.

Does failure to gain weight mean that my child will ever be smaller than he should exist?

That depends on the underlying crusade of her poor weight gain. If your baby has a long-term medical status, for example, information technology's possible that she may always exist smaller than average. On the other manus, if the trouble is easily reversed, she may catch upwards by growing faster than usual for a period of time.