Newborn Care: Keeping Baby's Weight Up

For maintaining the correct weight, the baby needs to be given the right foods at the right quantity. One should get an infant nutrition chart from the pediatrician and follow it religiously. The following table will give you an idea of how to maintain good weight for a baby between 0-3 months:

•Breakfast: Breast milk, formula.
•Lunch: Same as above
•Dinner: Same as above.

The following lists the diet for babies between 4-8 months:

•Breakfast: Breast milk. Infant cereal, fruit or vegetable(1 food cube each)
•Lunch: Breast Milk. Infant cereal (1 food cube), fruit or vegetable (1 or 2 food cube).
• Dinner: Breast Milk. Fruit or vegetable (optional).
• Before bedtime: Breast Milk.

Take your baby to the doctor’s regularly to see whether he is conforming to the infant growth chart or not. It shows how proportionately your child is growing. All children are measured on different growth charts because their growth rate and pattern is always different. One set of growth chart is used for babies between their birth and 36 months. It goes on changing with different time periods. According to this chart, the doctor measures the head circumference, length and weight of the baby. The measurement factor is different for older children.

The height and weight gives a report of the complete development of the child. While the head circumference states the brain development in the child. For example, if a baby’s head is bigger or smaller than other kids, there can be problems. A large head means there is fluid build in the brain which is also known as hydrocephalus. If the head is smaller, it indicates that brain growth has ceased or not developing properly.

In a recent study, it has been revealed that infants under the supervision of caregivers tend to be overweight than those who cared by parents. Obesity and weight gain is ignored by these care givers.

In the first few days, most babies lose the weight of their birth by 5-7 %. But they regain it between periods of 10-15 days. The baby’s lowest weight is used to figure out the baby’s weight. Within the first 3-4 months, babies gain an average of 6 ounces per week. Then in the first 4-6 months, they lose slightly by 405 ounces per week. One should keep a check on the bowel movement of the baby. It shows breast milk intake as well as the weight gain tendency. The mother should be sure that the milk is reaching the bay properly. Poor feeding may lead to low weight gain.