For most young mothers, the question of the rate of weight gain in a newborn is very acute. The fear of leaving a child hungry is one of the main fears of a child's first year of life. It has become customary that there are certain standards for the development of a child. And if the baby does not fit into them, then this can lead to disastrous consequences.
Standards and general information
Most often, children are born with a weight of 2.5 to 4 kg. But do not panic if the baby was born with a weight of 4 or even 5 kg. This is quite common. The child is simply considered large. If the weight exceeds the norm by 2 or more kg, then the fetus is considered gigantic. Such children are examined by neonatologists with special care. After all, the risk of diabetes and allergic reactions increases.
And also deviations are possible in the smaller direction. Most often, there is a shortage of weight in premature babies. If the shortage is critical, then the doctors take care of the child in special boxes. As a rule, premature babies are compared in weight with full-term babies by the age of one year.
It is worth noting that babies experience weight loss after birth. This is a physiological process associated with the fact that the baby leaves fluid through urine and feces. Normally, weight loss is considered to be up to 10% of body weight. Most often, weight loss is 5 to 8%. As a rule, pediatricians consider the subsequent weight gain from the minimum value. After all, the baby made up for the lost weight thanks to feeding.
Newborn weight gain rates by month
In the first month of life, the newborn gains about 600 g. As mentioned earlier, in the first month, the baby first loses weight. Therefore, the set may not be so large. In the first month, the child eats on average every 3-3, 5 hours.
In the second month, the child adds about 800 g. The frequency of feeding is about the same as in the first month.
In the third month of life, the baby also gains 800 g. The child eats 6 times a day. And for one feeding, the baby eats from 130 ml of milk.
The norm for weight gain in the fourth month is about 750 g. The child eats about 6 times a day and eats 150-170 ml of breast milk at a time.
At five months, the baby's weight gain decreases again. The average value is 700 g. It is believed that it is in the fifth month of life that the weight of the child should be equal to his weight at birth, multiplied by 2.
A six-month-old child, as a rule, gains a month before 650 g. Usually, by six months, the baby is introduced to the first complementary foods from vegetables.
In the seventh month, you can already introduce porridge into complementary foods. The child's weight increases by an average of 600 g.
The rate of weight gain in an eight-month-old child is 550 g. Meals are usually five times a day. In the evening, for breastfeeding, the baby is given grated cottage cheese with milk.
At nine months, the baby begins to eat meat puree. But breast milk is still the main food. The weight of the child this month increases by 500 g.
The tenth month is notable for the fact that babies usually do not gain in height, but the weight increases by about 450 g. Evening breastfeeding at this stage is often replaced with kefir or cottage cheese.
The baby is recovering by another 400 g at eleven months. And in a year, the weight of a child is approximately equal to three times its birth weight.
Newborn weight gain table
For convenience, a table of norms for weight gain of a newborn and growth is presented below.
