How to take care of my underweight baby
measha posted on Mon, 04/19/2010 - 18:07
I delivered my baby girl in 37 weeks and she is underweight. She had to be in incubator for 2 weeks. Now she is fine and at home. I am really worried about her health. Need suggestions on how to take care of her so that she becomes a healthy baby.
now a days babies are born in 30th week. i have seen one. not when she was born. now she is 19 months. and, touch wood, she is healthier than most babies born normally.
just treat her well. you need to take more care than a normal baby. but it is matter of first few months. after that she will catch up with normal babies.
congratulations measha,
if doctor has discharged the baby then that implies there is no risk to the baby. we, mothers, get concerned looking at small babies. but keep this in mind that doctors who can take care premature babies during first few days have good understanding of when to let such babies go. nothing in this world is better than breast milk for babies. some doctors suggest pediasure early on. they will not, however, suggest for newborn babies. still doctors will tell you that pediasure is nowhere close to breast milk.
follow routine. and feed her on time. you will surprised to see how fast she grows.
hi eva,
how have you been. didn't find you for long. good to have you back.
i think the baby is too young to sit back and hope everything will be alright.
if i were you, i would be monitor the weight of the baby on a weekly basis and keep the doctor informed. the doctor in this case should be someone who has time to spend on babies not only looking after surgeries. not all doctors in India are interested in weekly progress data. in fact many will get irritated. so find a doctor who can really take interest in the baby and continue to suggest appropriate precautions and diets for next few months at the minimum.
i am not trying to create panic here. but just being cautious since the baby is too small. and i want to make sure that measha is watchful all the time.
my little one was only 1.77 kg at birth. the doctor must have asked to bring the child once every month. during that checkup itself u can ask the doctor to look into weight. you cannot give any vitamin or other such supplement at this age. breast milk appears to be the only and the best solution.
catch hold of your grandmother. and get her to massage the baby.
the bones will become really strong with massage. in fact good massage helps in overall development of the baby. both physical development and mental development.
While everyone has already given very valuable suggested about how you should take care of your baby.
i would say don't ignore your own health. that is most important, in fact. if you eat healthy then only the baby will get all the energy through breast milk.
if you are non-vegetarian then you should definitely meat. so the problem is solved of how to give non-veg to baby.
take lots of protein like pulses and other fruits that are healthy.
keep yourself healthy and happy and it will all show up on the baby.
while i respect all the suggestions here. Strongly suggest you use this as advise and contact a good doctor to his advice on what to do and what not do on regular basis.