Healthy Foods to Help Babies & Toddlers Gain Weight (0 To 3 Years) In 2024

Parents should closely monitor their baby’s weight^[1] because it is a marker of general health. Babies are born weighing around 6-9 lbs; however, the infant’s weight is affected by gender, maternal nutrition, initial birth weight, the baby’s diet, and so on. 

Some babies are born underweight or their weight gain is slower than babies of their age group. To support a healthy weight gain, you should give nutritious foods that meet your baby’s needs. That’s why it is crucial to know healthy foods to help your baby gain weight.

Best Foods for Weight Gain in Babies and Toddlers

If the high-calorie foods are also nutrient-rich, you can consider them healthy weight-gaining foods. Here are wholesome foods for babies that may boost weight gain.

Foods to Help Toddlers Gain Weight After 12 Months

Your baby should already be eating meat, fish, poultry, egg, dairy products, grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. After one year, new foods are waiting to be added to a child’s diet. 

Here are new high-calorie foods for toddlers:

Fish

Fish is one of the high-fat foods for toddlers. At the same time, it is a quality protein source containing omega-3, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. It is also one of few foods that contain vitamin D, important in climates that don’t have a lot of sunshine. Most importantly, fish supports a child’s immune system and brain development. 

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)^[10], children between 1-3 years are advised to eat 1 ounce of low-mercury fish. 

Cow’s Milk 

After 12 months, your toddler can drink whole cow’s milk^[11] as their main drink. Whole milk and full-fat dairy products such as full-fat yogurt are rich in calcium and phosphorus, which support healthy bones and teeth. Full-fat milk and whole milk yogurt contain a good amount of vitamin A for healthy eyes and skin. 

Babies older than 12 months can eat almost any foods to which they are not allergic. Preparing nutritious meals with various foods may encourage weight gain when babies get more active after 1 year. Examples^[12] of meals that may help your child gain weight are

• Breakfast: a bowl of porridge with fruits or a great trio, e.g., with slices of bread, hard-boiled egg, and various veggies
• Lunch or dinner: noodles with chicken and green leafy vegetables or soup with butternut squash, lentils, and red pepper 
• Snacks: yogurt with various fruits or hard-boiled eggs to dip in a sauce made of smashed avocado and cream cheese

You can visit the NHS page^[12] for more recipes and meal ideas for your baby.

How to Increase Weight in Babies & Toddlers

According to the UK National Health Service (NHS)^[13], gradual weight gain means that your baby is feeding well and healthy. Keep in mind that babies born outside the official growth-rate “range” also can be completely healthy. 

How Do You Know If Your Baby’s Body Weight Is in the Healthy Range

You don’t need to weigh your baby daily. 2 weeks after birth, you are recommended to weigh your baby

• Once a month during the first six months
• Once every two months between 6-12 months
• Once every three months after one year 

You weigh your baby; well done. How do you know if your child’s weight is in the healthy range? You should check your baby’s weight gain with an age chart that indicates optimum growth. Your pediatrician can show you your child’s charts. 

The growth chart gives you which percentile your baby’s height and weight lie in, based on gender. 99% of babies growing optimally have their height and weight marks between the lines which identify the range between 0.4th and 99.6th “centiles”^[14] (percentiles).

Remember, babies grow at different rates, so the centile/percentile of your baby may change from time to time, especially in the first year.

Babies gain weight at different rates depending on their feeding methods. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers such feeding methods in growth charts^[15]. Because healthy babies fed with only breast milk typically gain weight more slowly, especially in the first year. 

If you wonder how to make your baby gain weight fast, try not to worry about the time involved. Make sure you feed your baby at the appropriate frequency and volume and, if there are any remaining concerns, let your pediatrician or family doctor make the call.

Slow Weight Gain in Babies

Slow weight gain is not always a health problem. Some babies are naturally smaller than others. However, there could be medical conditions behind slow weight gain. If you’re worried that your child has a medical condition affecting their weight and health, you should see a doctor. 

Treatment of slow weight gain changes based on the reason behind the condition. If the cause is poor nutrition, you should see a doctor and a dietitian to get a nutrition plan. Alternatively, your child may have digestive issues or allergies that inhibit weight gain.

Choosing nutrient-rich and healthy food that is high in energy may help babies to put on weight and stay healthy.

Feeding the Baby Under 6 Months

Babies are fed breastmilk and/or formula milk and do not need complementary food before 6 months. You should breastfeed^[16] your baby every 2 to 4 hours, fine-tuned by your baby’s individual quirks. 

If your infant is formula-fed^[17], you can give 1 to 2 ounces of infant formula at 2-3 hours intervals. If you only provide formula milk, you can give more if they are still hungry.

Feeding 6-to-11-Months Baby

The WHO recommends exclusively breastfeeding until your baby is six months old. Then complementary feeding should be introduced between 17 to 26 weeks. As you know, not all food can be given at first. 

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), a few important things to consider when choosing and preparing^[18] baby food:

• Foods for babies should be in an age-appropriate texture to avoid choking. You can give puréed, mashed, or semi-solid baby food at the beginning
• After the age of 8 months, infants can eat finger foods
• You should avoid sugar, salt, and unmodified cow’s milk (milk they’re not prepared to digest yet)
• You should follow good hygiene to reduce infection risks

The EFSA stated that you don’t have to wait to introduce other complementary foods to introduce allergen foods such as eggs, cereals, peanuts, and fish because the risk of developing an allergy would not change whether or not you introduce it at a later age.

The WHO^[19] recommends feeding babies with complementary foods 2-3 times a day between 6-8 months and 3-4 times between 9-11 months. Some baby foods to help infants gain weight:

• Infant cereals fortified with iron and zinc
• Grains such as whole grain bread and pasta
• Fruits such as bananas, oranges, pears, avocados, strawberries, and melons–you can choose local and seasonal fruits 
• Vegetables
• Various protein sources^[20] such as soft and small pieces of beef, lamb, turkey, chicken, and eggs
• Pasteurized yogurt and cheese as greater protein and calcium sources

Feeding a Toddler After 12 Months 

A 12-month-old baby can eat almost everything the family members eat, assuming the family eats healthy and balanced meals. However, babies should not be given processed foods that increase caloric intake but have no nutritional benefits, such as junk food. 

Sugar and sugary drinks are energy dense, but either they don’t contain any other nutrients or they contain very little. 

Thus, soda, juice drinks, fruit drinks, or fruit-flavored drinks contain sugar and should be avoided. Only 100% juice^[21] can be drunk by babies older than 12 months, so don’t forget to check the label for ingredients.

The Bottom Line

Little one’s diet can significantly impact their weight. Providing a balanced diet may support the baby’s growth and healthy weight gain.

Before six months, your baby should be fed breast milk and/or formula. What you can do is provide feeding frequency and volume matching your baby’s calorie and nutrient needs. 

After six months, you should introduce semi-solid–and then solid foods–that help them gain weight. Weight-gaining food which you can give at 6-12 months could be avocado, meats, pulses, eggs, sweet potato, nut butter, or cream cheese. 

After one year,  you can give fish and cow’s milk, too. Before that, unmodified cow’s milk is not well-digested. From one year on, your toddler can eat many foods that family members eat. 

However, keep your toddler away from processed foods high in saturated fat and sugar. As always, beware of choking portions if they’re sharing adult meals.

If you are worried about your baby’s slow weight gain or don’t know how to have your toddler gain weight, you should see a doctor and dietitian get an appropriate treatment and nutrition plan.

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