In this video, we are first gonna share with you the 4 most important feeding-related things that
every parent should take care of. They are really the basis if you want to make sure that your baby
grows and gains weight, because they help your baby receive enough calories and nutrients. Yes,
sometimes though there can be problems which prevent your baby from growing as expected.
And so, in the second part of this video, we are going to discuss what those 5 problems are
and how to deal with them. Yes, and then at the end of this video, we are also gonna show
you an acupressure-based baby massage treatment that could help you increase your baby’s weight,
as many scientific studies have shown. Right. This is Nathalie, a pregnancy and birth
consultant and TCM therapist, and I am Mathias a researcher and science geek and we are
here to help you and your baby naturally and science-based! So, let’s help your baby grow!
Alright, so let’s first discuss the 4 most basic feeding-related things that you should take care
of, in order to make sure that your baby receives all the calories and nutrients that your baby needs:
If you are breastfeeding, the most important thing to do to help your baby grow,
is making sure that your baby is correctly latched on your breast! If the latch is poor,
your baby will not be able to efficiently remove breastmilk from your breast. As a result, they get
tired and stop nursing before their hunger is satisfied. Yes, the most important signs of a good
latch are when your baby’s mouth is wide open when he drinks, when his mouth covers more areola near
his lower jaw and when you can see more areola above his lips. And of course, another important
sign is when you can hear him swallow. Finally, if you are bottle-feeding, please make sure that you
are using the right teats! Yes. Teats for newborns are different than teats for older babies in terms
of how much milk they let through the opening. So, if you are feeding an older baby with a teat
intended for younger babies, your baby will not be able to efficiently remove milk from the bottle.
As a result, they get tired and stop nursing before their hunger is satisfied.
When you breastfeed, your baby needs to nurse for a certain amount of time
on each side in order to receive all the calories that baby needs.
Among others, that’s because the first milk that your baby receives when baby starts nursing
is the so-called foremilk. And after some time on the same breast, the so-called hindmilk starts
to flow. And that milk contains more fat than the foremilk which is why it contains much more
calories. And it’s that milk which makes your baby full and helps your baby grow. And because
of that, you have to give your baby the time baby needs to get more of the nutritious hindmilk. Yes.
Now, unfortunately, experts don’t agree at all on how long a baby should nurse on each side. And so,
a better approach is to look for cues that your baby is full. The most important cues are when
baby comes off by himself, does not actively suck anymore or is simply looking satisfied, right?
And only then would you offer the second breast, no matter if they take it or not. Right. Finally,
keep in mind that the older your baby gets, the less time they need to get the required calories.
If you want to make sure that your baby grows and gains weight, then you have to feed your baby in
certain frequencies. Initially, that frequency obviously needs to be higher because newborns
only have a very small stomach. As a result, they cannot really get lots of calories with each feed.
Eventually though, you can space out the feedings because your baby will be able to get
more calories with each feeding. Yes. So, this table shows you the approximate frequency of
the feedings depending on age, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. And it
basically reflects what Nathalie just said that the younger the baby, the higher the frequency
of the feeding. By the way, you can also find this table in the description below this video.
When producing breast milk, your body takes nutrients from your body’s own nutrient reserves.
So, even if you don’t provide your body with the nutrients that it needs, your body is still
able to produce a nutrient-rich breastmilk for your baby. The problem is though that once your
nutrient reserves are depleted, your body is no longer able to do that. And when that’s the case,
your baby will no longer receive a nutrient-rich milk which could have an impact on their growth.
Right. Therefore, it is really important that you constantly fill up your own nutrient reserves.
If you wanna know how, check out the video about breastfeeding diets which you can find in the
description below this video! Okay, so if you take care of all the things that we just mentioned,
then feeding-wise you have laid the foundation so that your baby is able to grow. Right. However,
sometimes, it can happen, that you take care of all those things,
but your baby is still not growing. When that’s the case,
it is normally because of factors which prevent your baby from growing. So, let’s look into these:
Whenever a baby is not consistently gaining weight and growing as expected,
the first step should always be a check-up by a pediatrician. And that’s because in very rare
cases, there can be medical reasons why a baby is not gaining enough weight or even loses weight.
Examples can be jaundice, an illness or an infection. Yes. It is important to eliminate these
problems first because if such problems prevent your baby from growing, then whatever else you are
doing to help your baby grow is unlikely to work. So again, the first step should be a check-up.
Next to medical problems, there can also be other things which bother your baby and prevent
them from gaining weight. In fact, what we often observe is that new moms who had a difficult birth
often struggle with the feedings, no matter if breast or bottle feeding
and sometimes, those babies don’t gain weight as expected. And one thing that has really helped
lots of them with their feeding problems is taking the baby to a chiropractor. Yes.
In fact, we always recommend taking a baby to a chiropractor for a check-up sometime after birth,
just to make sure that anything that happened during the delivery does not cause any problems in
the long-run, particularly, if you had an assisted delivery. And so, as Nathalie just mentioned, sometimes,
this can be enough to improve any feeding-related problems and to help the baby gain weight.
Another important reason why babies often don’t gain weight as expected, are non-medical
gastrointestinal issues, such as abdominal pain, bloating, mild forms of reflux or spit-up.
Because then they tend to eat less or spit part of it up again and as a result, they receive less
calories, right? When that’s the case, the first step should always be to correctly burp your baby in order
to get rid of any excess air. Yes. On top of that, please make sure that you feed your baby
in the right position because not every feeding position is ideal for gastrointestinal issues.
We talk more about burping and feeding positions in other videos which you can
find in the description below this video. And finally, another thing which could also help
is the treatment that we show you in just a minute. So please, bear with us!
To be honest with you, in most cases, a low breastmilk supply is more a perceived problem,
rather than an actual one, but it does happen to some women. And whenever that’s the case,
it could be that your baby does not receive enough milk and calories. Yes. So,
if your baby is not looking happy after the feed most of the times and most importantly,
if you don’t see at least 6 to 8 wet diapers per day once your milk has come in,
then milk supply could be a problem if the latch is correct.
But it’s always good to have your provider confirm just that and also, to exclude other problems,
such as medications or an illness. Yes. And finally, if your milk supply IS low, then try our natural
ways to increase your breast milk supply which you can find in the description below this video.
Obviously, many things which have mentioned so far, can lead to poor appetite in babies.
However, sometimes we also meet babies who are perfectly well and also happy, but they just don’t
eat a lot and thus don’t gain the weight they are supposed to. Whenever that’s the case, we look
at the problem from an alternative medicine point of view. And so, if your baby does not eat a lot,
has a pale complexion, or is rather sleepy, spits up a lot, or gets nauseas when driving in a car,
then these are normally signs that point to spleen-related problems. Yes, in the description
below this video, we explain why the spleen is so important for those of you who are interested.
However, the key here is that we can address problems related to the spleen with the
help of acupressure that we combine with a baby massage treatment.
The reason why we do that is because there are quite some scientific studies,
which have shown that massage treatments can have a very positive effect on baby’s weight gain,
particularly when combined with acupressure. And so, Nathalie does these very often at the clinic
to help parents support their baby’s weight gain. So, let’s have a look at how to do that:
Put some oil on your hands and rub your hands so that both your hands and the oil get warm!
Place your hands on her belly and move upwards to her shoulders!
From there, move downwards from her shoulders all the way down to her hands!
Go back to her shoulders without touching her and then stroke downwards over her abdomen
and eventually over her legs down to her feet! Do this three times!
Next, focus on your baby's belly! This step is quite easy: Simply apply
circular movements clockwise around her belly button for about 5 seconds!
Next, focus on the baby's right arm! Start on the baby's shoulder and use your thumb to apply
circular movements while moving downwards on the outside of the baby's arm,
all the way down to her hand! Do this three times while applying gentle pressure!
Next, Find the fold that appears when you bend your baby’s hand!
That fold can be found right where the wrist ends,
and the palm begins. Then find the midpoint of your baby’s wrist right on that fold!
Gently press and massage the point with either your thumb or index finger for about 10 seconds!
Finish this treatment by gently stroking downwards from her shoulder, all the way down to her hand!
Once you're done with the right arm, do exactly the same on the left arm of the baby!
Next, focus on the baby's right leg!
Start with the baby's thigh on the outside of her leg and use your thumb to apply circular movements
while going all the way down to her ankle! Do this three times while applying gentle pressure!
Next, work your way upwards along the baby's right leg,
starting with her ankle! But this time work on the inside of her leg! You can either apply the
same circular movements as before or simply apply gentle pressure with your thumb while
going all the way up from your ankle to her thigh, just as I'm doing it here! Do this three times!
Next, take the width of four of your baby’s fingers! Then place that width right below
the lower border of your baby’s kneecap on the outside of the shin. The point you are looking for
is located at the end of that short distance below your baby’s kneecap right next to the shin!
Gently press and massage the point with either your thumb or index finger for about 10 seconds.
Next, stay on the exact same foot. Slide with your finger from your baby’s big toe
along the side of the foot until you feel a bony prominence. Right after the bony prominence there
is a little depression. The point you are looking for is located in that depression.
Gently press and massage the point with either your thumb or index finger for about 10 seconds.
Finish this treatment by gently stroking downwards from the baby's
thigh all the way down to her ankle! Do this on the outside as well as on the inside of her leg!
Once you're done with the right leg, do exactly the same on the left leg of the baby!
Okay, that wasn’t too difficult, right? We do hope that you found this video helpful! If you did,
we would be very grateful if you could leave us a like! Yes, and for more videos on pregnancy
and baby-related topics in the near future, subscribe to our channel and hit the bell!