When your baby isn't gaining weight, your pediatrician may become concerned about his nutrition and ability to thrive. Failure to thrive is often a problem in premature infants, and those with health problems and infections, and can be a precursor to developmental disabilities, notes Medline Plus. If you've noticed that your baby isn't gaining weight, you can try things at home to entice your baby to eat more and retain more calories. Everything from the way you feed to how you hold your baby could aid in weight gain.
Step 1
Allow your baby to drink from one breast until it is completely empty. Switching breasts during feeding could disrupt the nutrition from the rich hindmilk and, instead, cause your baby to fill up on the thirst-quenching but less dense foremilk. Don't put time limits on nursing. Instead, take your cues from your baby--when she is finished with one breast, offer her the other.
Step 2
Decrease the amount of solid foods that your infant is eating. While you may believe that solid foods fill your baby's diet, they are actually less calorie- and nutrition-dense than breast milk and formula. If you've recently switched to solid foods and noticed a decrease in weight gain, it could be that your baby is not yet ready for the switch. Change back to a liquid diet and speak to your pediatrician about the right time to introduce solid foods.
Step 3
Place your unclothed baby onto your bare skin. It's a type of therapy known as "kangaroo care," or skin-to-skin therapy, and it's recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics as a way to help an infant gain weight. Used in neonatal intensive care units across the country, skin-to-skin contact can be done anywhere. Read a book or watch television as you hold baby against your bare skin as often as possible for the best results.
Step 4
Talk to your pediatrician about supplementing your breastfed baby's diet with fortified formula, suggests Kids Health from Nemours. Some babies that cannot gain weight will need some sort of supplementation because of breastfeeding issues. High-fat, high-nutrient formula is available, by prescription, from your pediatrician to help your infant gain weight and begin to thrive.
Step 5
Schedule all of your baby's well-baby visits with your pediatrician. Your baby should be seen at six weeks, and at three, six, nine and 12 months of age. At the well-baby check-ups you pediatrician can examine your baby's progress and suggest changes you can make to facilitate greater weight gain for your baby. He can also alert you to any possible medical or developmental problems so you can begin treatment options.
