John Myers
For babies, real bundles of joy are considered healthy. The little ones should not weigh too much either. The most important facts about weight gain.
That should make your baby gain weight
There is no question that it is important for healthy development that the baby’s weight gain is correct. But how much is good? Many parents are unsure whether their baby is getting enough food. Is he getting enough milk while breastfeeding? Is the baby’s diet correct and balanced? First of all, it is good to know that the little ones lose weight in the first few days after birth. This is quite normal and nothing to worry about as long as it is improving after 14 days at the latest. Up to the age of six months, a weight gain of 140 to 200 grams per week is ideal, after that 85 to 140 grams up to the age of one year. If the curve is pointing steadily upwards, everything is fine.
Your baby’s weight curve in relation: percentiles
The easiest way to determine whether the specific values are in the green range when you bathe the baby, wash the baby’s hair and then weigh your child is with so-called percentile curves. They include the individual size of the little ones, so that meaningful recommendations can be made in comparison with peers. As a result, parents can also use the tables for a premature baby or a child of above-average size at birth. Incidentally, you do not need to constantly check your baby’s weight gain yourself: the pediatrician or general practitioner takes care of the documentation as part of the check-ups or check-ups and checks whether your baby’s weight is normal compared to the reference values. The weight of the U3, U4 etc. is entered in the children’s examination booklet.
What is the right diet while breastfeeding?
While breastfeeding, your baby absorbs all the important nutrients it needs for healthy development through breast milk. Accordingly, your diet should be as balanced and varied as possible – just like in every other phase of life. The food pyramid helps you put together a balanced menu. The mix plate provides specific guidance when putting together meals.
The need for certain nutrients is increased during breastfeeding and should be ensured through a conscious diet:
- Proteins: Due to the production of milk, the protein requirement increases by 2 g for every 100 ml of breast milk expressed. This additional requirement can easily be increased by a balanced diet.
- Folic acid: As in pregnancy, the need for folic acid remains increased during breastfeeding. It is around 450 micrograms daily. After consulting a doctor, taking dietary supplements can be useful. Good suppliers are green leafy vegetables and various types of cabbage.
- Iodine: It is not always possible to achieve sufficient iodine intake with food. So talk to your doctor about whether taking a dietary supplement might make sense for you. The baby absorbs the iodine through breast milk, the mineral is important for physical and mental development. Fish, seafood, and dairy products are naturally rich in iodine. Alternatively, you can use table salt enriched with iodine for cooking.
- Iron and calcium: Although the need for minerals is not increased, sufficient intake through food should be ensured. A regular check of the values is therefore recommended.
Despite the increased need for some nutrients, you should ensure variety on the menu. In this way you train your baby’s taste. Because the flavors that you eat are found in a weakened form in breast milk. It is also important for the immune system that the offspring can get used to many different foods. At the same time, you prevent so many possible allergies: It is even likely that eating fish while breastfeeding can counteract the development of allergies to fish. Also, don’t completely avoid foods that have a reputation for triggering allergies – such as hen’s eggs, cow’s milk or nuts.
On the other hand, you should avoid foods that can be problematic for the development of the child. Don’t drink alcohol and limit your caffeine consumption – so drink coffee, cola, black and green tea and energy drinks in moderation and immediately after breastfeeding, so that the body has enough time to break down the caffeine before the next breastfeeding meal.
Basically, breastfeeding is not the right time for dieting, for example to get rid of excess pregnancy pounds. Otherwise you run the risk of not getting enough nutrients for yourself and your baby. Milk production could also be negatively affected.
On the contrary: breastfeeding increases energy requirements by around 500 kilocalories a day in the first four months. However, breastfeeding mothers should only consume additional calories when they feel hungry, because the basal metabolic rate often decreases at the same time: In this phase of life, many women naturally move less, and the fat deposits built up during pregnancy also ensure sufficient energy supplies.
How to classify the values
If you want to see for yourself whether your baby’s height and weight gain is too high or too low, read the percentiles as follows: There are three percentage lines in the diagrams. P50 stands for the average, P3 and P97 indicate the lower and upper limits of the normal range. There are also online calculators where you just enter your baby’s height and weight. You will then see the curves with your child’s value and you can see at a glance whether everything is fine and your baby is thriving.
