Failure to Thrive BabyFinding out your baby is a failure to thrive baby can be difficult to hear and face. Hopefully your bundle of joy is meeting his milestones and is an energetic ball of fun. If the doctor says your baby has failure to thrive though, it’s important to take it seriously. A poorly nourished baby lacks nutrients needed for brain development as well as growth.Although it is scary to hear and you may not want to believe there's a problem, it's a good idea to explore it and find out what needs to be done to correct the issue. It may be as simple as adding a snack or a meal, but the solution may have a bit more to it then that. By researching possible solutions and discussing them with your physician, you can decide together what the best course of action is.
How can you help your Failure to Thrive baby gain weight?Now that you know your baby isn’t growing as well as she should, there are a few things you can do to help her gain weight.If you have an older baby it’s important to give her high calorie foods and calorie boost whenever possible. By doing this you will be able to maximize the amount of calories while continuing to offer close to the same volume of food. If your baby is younger than 12 months it gets a little trickier. If you are breastfeeding you may begin pumping to see how much you are producing. If you’re not producing 24 to 32 ounces per day, the solution may be as simple as supplementing with formula or working to produce more milk. If your baby drinks formula and tolerates it well you may want to speak to your doctor increasing the caloric density of the formula to help your failure to thrive infant. This means you will add powder to make it greater than 20 calories per ounce. Your pediatrician can give you directions on how much to add in order to increase the calories. Formulas are commonly concentrated to 22, 24 or 27 calories per ounce, but your pediatrician will tell you how to make it and how many calories it has. If your failure to thrive infant isn’t tolerating his current formula, , consider changing it to something with a different type of protein or fat. Consult with your child’s doctor before switching to ensure it is appropriate before switching. If you can find a formula your baby tolerates well she will not vomit as much and should gain weight. Of course there are instances when FTT is due to an underlying disorder. If is likely your physician is already thinking about this and will recommend tests your baby should take to rule out any problems. Although this is nerve wracking, the sooner you find out what the problem is the sooner she can get treatment and begin gaining weight. Return to FTT from Failure to thrive baby. Return to Feeding Underweight Children Home. New! CommentsHave your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below. |
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