Sometimes the baby during feeding does not get everything he needs. If you don’t gain weight, you have to find solutions.
When a baby does not gain weight while breastfeeding or has not gained weight by the week of birth, it is important to act soon. These are not worrying situations yet, and in most cases, they would resolve themselves, without doing anything special. But sometimes the baby loses more and more weight, and it is not a matter of waiting without doing anything and acting only when things are complicated.
Solutions
1. Adopt the best possible posture: when breastfeeding, the baby’s body should be completely close to that of the mother, so that her head tilts back a little. In this way, the lower jaw is lowered and there is enough room between the lip and the nipple for him to put his tongue out and to suckle. Instead, if the neck is bent down, the lower lipsticks to the nipple. Many times it is best if the mother is on her back, in bed or reclining in an armchair or similar and the baby is on her stomach. Thus, they cannot be separated.
2. Compress the breast during the feeding: the babies that do not breastfeed usually stay for a long time at the breast, but most of that time they are not really eating. When you notice that your child is not sucking well, squeeze the chest at the base (next to your ribs). When doing so, a jet of milk comes out and the baby drinks milk for a few seconds. Keep it tight throughout that time. When the baby stops suckling, release the breast. Repeat the same action until the baby eats without difficulty.
3. Express milk after feedings: by hand or with a breast pump. At first, it hardly comes out. It is normal. Especially if the previous two steps have been done well: between the fact that your chest is almost empty and that you don’t know how to express your milk, it is likely that only a few drops will come out. But that gives the chest the order to make more and, if you take several times a day, you will see that more and more are coming out. Give the milk that you express to your baby right away, if he is still awake or after the next feeding, if he has fallen asleep while you were expressing. If it is small, it will be more effective with a syringe. When you get more, you can use a glass or a bottle.
4. Bet on formulas: the baby will need a milk supplement for a few days (which he will always take after breast milk). The goal is to quickly recover what you lack, to be strong to eat better.