Probably, there are no parents who would be completely satisfied with the weight of their baby - among mothers walking on the playground with children, this topic is one of the most popular. At the same time, the complaints are often caused by insufficient, in their opinion, weight gain in the crumbs, and some mothers simply do not notice the extra kilos of their babies.
Most often, the fears experienced by parents about the fact that, in their opinion, the child is gaining weight poorly, have no reason, but it is still necessary to control this parameter. Weight charts will help in this matter.
Standard numbers that serve as guidelines for assessing the mass of the child can be found in the clinic, in books on the nutrition and development of babies, as well as on the Internet. At the same time, parents should take into account that there are 2 weight schedules: the first of them is a guideline for breast-fed children, and the second is for those babies who are fed artificially. The reason is that the baby receiving the mixture will always gain kilograms faster than the one whose diet had only mom’s milk in its diet for up to 6 months. This is because breast milk, unlike the mixture, is fully adapted for the baby, and therefore the weight increases in accordance with the needs of the baby. And children receiving artificial nutrition are usually fuller, because they often overeat under the pressure of a mother who tries to feed the baby the amount of food indicated on the package with the mixture, while not taking into account the needs of the child. Moreover, such nutrition is assimilated in a completely different way than breast milk.
In addition to these schedules, parents who want to assess the weight of their baby are waiting for other difficulties. After all, the features of the physical development of the crumbs depend on many factors, in particular, on genetic ones, so it is absolutely natural that your little one can weigh less or less than its peers. To determine whether it is true that your child is gaining weight poorly, you need to not only compare the weight with the average figures from the table, but also look at the process of weight gain in dynamics, weighing the crumbs with a certain frequency. In this case, you need to create an individual schedule. If the resulting curve is parallel to the standard curve (even if it is below or above it), this indicates the normal development of the child. If your own weight schedule and the schedule that the doctor provided you go in different directions, then we can talk about the presence of certain problems in this area.
Now consider the most common reasons why babies are not gaining weight well.
1. The child does not eat up milk
There may be several reasons for this: the baby does not suck well, her mother does not have enough milk, or he falls asleep with food. To determine how much milk the little one drinks at a time, weigh it before and after feeding, and record the indicators. Then show the notes to the pediatrician.
If it turns out that the baby eats less than its norm, the doctor will teach you how to properly apply the baby to the chest, and will recommend, if necessary, funds that enhance lactation. Sometimes, if the child is not gaining weight well, the doctor may advise feeding him with the mixture (if the baby is less than 4 months old) or introducing mashed vegetables (from 4 months).
But keep in mind that a child fed with mixtures may also not be full. A baby sometimes needs a larger serving than is recommended for his age. If a child is gaining weight poorly, write down how much mixture he eats per day. The doctor will analyze all the records and maybe advise you to increase the portion or replace the mixture.
2. Bowel disease
For this reason, the nutrients in the body of children are not absorbed as needed. To resolve this problem, be sure to consult a doctor.
3. Heredity
Kids sometimes get the figure of an uncle, grandmother, aunt. Weight and height are heavily dependent on genes. If you and your husband are short and slender, the heir will probably have a similar constitution (however, there are exceptions). If your baby was born small, but she is healthy and is gaining weight steadily (even less than the average rate), do not worry.
4. Wrong diet
And you do not even suspect about it! Perhaps your baby’s diet is low in fat? Then add him 3-5 gr. butter or vegetable oil per 100 gr. soup. If the child is not gaining weight well, you can increase this amount. Slender children can also add oil to cereals and desserts. The reason why the child is gaining weight poorly may be a monotonous diet or a large amount of sugar that you offer to your baby (the sugar slows down the process of absorption of nutrients by the body).
5. The kid is very mobile
If the little one can’t sit still in one place, crawls all the time, actively waves its legs and arms, turns over, it spends a lot of energy on this. Therefore, the fat does not have time to be deposited, since the calories obtained are immediately consumed. If a nimble baby gains weight slowly, but rarely gets sick, develops well and is in a good mood, do not worry.
6. Cystic fibrosis, celiac disease and other diseases and infections
The cause of low weight and loss of appetite can be parasites in the baby's body. To establish a diagnosis and treatment, you must consult a doctor.