A baby appeared in the family. Newly made parents, as a rule, are proud of their strong man or, on the contrary, worry if the child was born small and thin. In fact, there is absolutely no reason to worry. Each baby is individual both at birth and in its further growth and development.
As soon as he is born, the little man becomes an object of measurements. Immediately after birth, the baby is weighed and measured. These parameters are very important for assessing the condition of the newborn. Most full-term babies are born with a weight of 2400 to 4000 grams and a height of 45 to 55 cm. The weight and height of a baby at birth depends on many factors: heredity in the family, nutrition and blood supply of the baby in the womb, the mother's health during pregnancy, premature or post-term pregnancy.
In the first days of life, the baby will certainly lose weight. This is due to the release of the newborn's intestines from original feces and a decrease in tissue edema that accompanies the baby at birth. Larger children lose a little more weight, small ones less. On average, physiological weight loss in a newborn in the first three days should be no more than 10% of birth weight. Subsequently, the baby should only gain weight, and not lose it in any way.
Weight indicators
Every month after discharge from the hospital, a young mother with her baby visits a pediatrician, who, in addition to assessing the child's health, will certainly weigh it. Based on these data, one can judge how the child is developing, whether he has enough nutrition, whether the baby suffers from any congenital disease. It should be noted that boys and girls can gain weight in different ways, and the weight gain in breastfed and bottle-fed babies also varies.
It is enough to weigh a healthy child once a month, but if a mother sees that her baby is not gaining weight well or is worried about insufficient nutrition, then you can buy a home scale and weigh the baby at home. The daily weight gain of a healthy baby in the first three months should be 25-30 grams, from three months to six months - 20-25 grams, from six months to nine months - 15-20 grams, and then up to a year - 10-15 grams. It is good to weigh the baby at the same time, preferably before bathing. The baby must be undressed, put on the scales, after having covered them with a diaper, measure the weight, and then weigh only the diaper and subtract only the weight of the diaper from the baby's mass. It is better to record the measurements, so it is easier to control the weight gain.
The average weight gain of a child under one year old should be as follows:
- 1st month - 600 g;
- 2nd month - 800 g;
- 3rd month - 800 g;
- 4th month - 750 g;
- 5th month - 700 g;
- 6th month - 650 g;
- 7th month - 600 g;
- 8th month - 550 g;
- 9th month - 500 g;
- 10th month - 450 g;
- 11th month - 400 g;
- 12th month - 350 g.
It is worth noting that these are very average data, and if a child has gained more or less weight in some month, then most likely there is no need to worry. Serious deviations from the indicators serve as an alarm signal and require additional examinations.
Change in the growth of a baby up to a year
Growth indicators, as well as the weight of the child, are recorded by the pediatrician on a monthly basis. As a rule, larger children are correspondingly larger than babies with less weight. On average, by the age of one year old, the baby should grow by 25 cm. The measurement of growth in the clinic is carried out with a special height meter, but if you wish, this can be done at home.
The average increase in height for babies in the first year of life should be:
- 1st month - 3 cm;
- 2nd month - 3 cm;
- 3rd month - 2.5 cm;
- 4th month - 2.5 cm;
- 5th month - 2 cm;
- 6th month - 2 cm;
- 7th month - 2 cm;
- 8th month - 2 cm;
- 9th month - 1.5 cm;
- 10th month - 1.5 cm;
- 11th month - 1.5 cm;
- 12th month - 1.5 cm.
Thus, the growth of a child by the year should be about 70-80 cm.
Young parents should be aware that all the above parameters are averaged, but if there is a significant deviation from the norms, you should still contact the specialists.
