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Hi my name is Andrea Orta Mashburn and today I am going to discuss how to get a breastfed
baby to gain weight. When having concerns about your breastfed baby in gaining weight
the first thing that you need to do is that you need to consult your doctor or your pediatrician.
You also need to make sure that you have consulted their particular growth plan. Unless there
is an indication that they are not properly gaining weight then nothing needs to be done
further. However, if the growth plan shows that they are typically underweight and the
doctor has expressed concerns there are some steps that you can take in order to get your
baby to gain proper weight. One of the simplest solutions to help your baby gain weight is
to make sure that they are on a routine feeding schedule. Typically infants need to be fed
anywhere between two to three hours so make sure that you are being consistent with this
feeding schedule. This may typically mean that you may have to wake the child in the
middle of the night to make sure that you are keeping the two to three hour feeding
schedule. I would also suggest because of the two to three hour feeding schedule at
night that you keep your infant close either in a bassinet or close by in their room. When
you are doing the two to three hour feeding you will also want to make sure that you are
checking the urination patterns of your infant. Typically babies that are fed between two
to three hours need to be urinating at least six to eight times a day. You may also want
to know that you need to be properly prepared to be able to increase frequency of feedings.
After your child has been born between the fifth and the sixth week you may want to increase
their feeding schedule. This is typically when they need more essential nutrients. You
may need to be more frequent in their feedings instead of doing two to three hours you may
have to increase the time and it means that they may actually have to be fed anywhere
between an hour to two hours at a time. Typically however this will slump off after the fifth
and the sixth week. There are also some things that you can do in your diet to help your
child gain proper weight. The first thing that you may want to exclude certain foods.
Some of the things that you may want to exclude in your diet include cabbage, shellfish, smoked
fish, kidney beans, alcohol, soft drinks, or any other kind of liquids with high amounts
of caffeine. Once you have excluded those items from your diet you may want to include
the following as well. Make sure that you are eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, typically
green vegetables, milk, dairy products as well as vitamin supplements. So remember be
patient, be safe, and always put your baby's needs first.