Baby Care

A child usually knows how much he/she needs to eat. If a mother has less milk because of fatigue or nervousness, the child most likely will wake up early and start his/her hungry cry. He/she will drink the milk until the last drop and try to find more with his little mouth. In these cases weight the baby to make sure that he/she adds less weight than necessary. If the child is very hungry, he/she may start to cry immediately after feeding.

If you have such issues, you should talk with your doctor.  Maybe you need to increase the portion of milk. But beware, do not insist, if your baby does not want more milk than usual. If you breastfeed him/her and he/she wakes up early, feed him/her, even if it leads to additional feeding during the day. More frequent emptying of the breast will stimulate the formulation of more milk if the mother’s body is able to do so.

How much should children put on weight?

The most correct answer is: the child himself/herself knows how he/she should put on weight. If you give him/her less milk, he/she wakes up earlier for the next feeding. Some children add more weight, while others – less, and that’s OK. However, a slow gain in weight may mean that the child is malnourished or sick. If your child slowly adds weight, it is better to visit  a doctor to be sure that he/she is healthy. There are children who slowly add weight, but do not show signs of hunger. However, if you give more milk, he/she will be willing to drink it, and put on weight faster. In other words, the child does not always shout, when he/she is hungry. Usually, children born weighing 3.5 kg, weight 7 kg by 5 months. But children born with small weight, gain weight faster, as though striving to catch up with their larger brethren. As a rule, child adds about 900g per month during the first 3 months (160-200 g per week). Of course, some healthy children add less weight, while others – more. And in the second year of life the child usually adds 200-250 g per month. The older becomes the child, the slower and more regularly he adds weight. While the child’s teeth grow, usually his/her appetite is deteriorated, and within weeks he/she can not put on weight. When he/she is healthy, the appetite returns to him/her, and the weight is increasing rapidly.

His/her weight at each weighing depends on the fullness of his/her stomach, bladder or bowel. If one morning you weigh him/her and see that he/she has added only 100 grams over the past week, while before he added up to 200 g, do not conclude that he/she is malnourished or sick. If a child is completely healthy, wait a week or two, perhaps in the next week he/she will add more weight. But always remember that the older he/she becomes, the slower he/she adds weight.

How often do you need to weigh the child?

Of course, most mothers do not have weights at home, and children they weight children only when they visit a doctor and that is enough. If the child is healthy and cheerful, it does not make sense to weigh him/her more often than once a month. If you have any scales at home, do not weigh the newborn baby more often than once a week or better – every two weeks. Weighing him/her every day, you will be too worried about his/her weight.