In this article, we will tell you how much weight a child should take in the first months of life, if he is healthy and eats well.
How much weight does the baby get in the first month?
During the first month of life, the baby only adapts to the new conditions. The weight of his body constantly fluctuates. Immediately after birth, a child loses some of his weight, but after a few days begins to gain it intensely. Weight gain for the first month of life of a newborn baby should be about 600 grams.
During the first month, the baby should eat well and sleep well. Today most mothers feed their babies with breast milk on demand and can not pinpoint how much milk they eat at one meal. Meanwhile, if your child has not gained enough weight in the first month, you should pay attention to it.
Newborn infants, until they are 1 month old, should eat about 8 times a day, each time drinking 60 ml of mother's milk or an adapted milk formula. If the baby from the time of birth is on artificial feeding, check how many grams of the mixture he eats at a time, it will not be difficult. If you feed your child with breast milk, check the weighing several times to see if enough of the baby eats.
If the child really eats the right amount of milk, but his weight gain is much lower than the norm, it is necessary to consult a pediatrician. Also be sure to pay attention to the doctor if your baby's weight is much higher than normal values.
How much should a newborn be given in weight in a month?
In the future, from one to six months, the normal monthly weight gain should be about 700-800 grams. Of course, every child grows and develops individually, so this indicator may differ slightly in both directions. At this age, the health of newborn babies is indicated not only by how much they gain in weight for a month, but also the general condition, development of new skills, constant activity and good sound sleep.
If your newborn son or daughter develops well, sleeps a lot and has all the skills available at his age, but while gaining a little less weight than expected, you should not worry. Some children are by nature "little ladies", and the amount of food consumed for them can be quite enough. At about 5 months, your baby's weight should double in comparison to his birth weight. Meanwhile, in some situations this can happen in the period from 3 to 7 months.
After 6 months, most children begin to crawl. Since the kids are very inquisitive, the child will constantly show physical activity, trying to get to all the objects of interest to him. In addition, with each month of life, the baby will less and less sleep. That is why the increase in its weight will gradually decrease.
So, from 7 to 9 months the baby will recruit about 500-600 grams a month, and from 10 months to a year even less - on average, about 400 grams.
Young parents should weigh their baby each month and mark the weight gain in a special diary. How much weight should the child gain by months, you can estimate using the following table:
Of course, small deviations from the norm in most cases do not indicate malnutrition of the baby or serious diseases. If the weight gain is really too small or, conversely, large, you should consult your doctor for a detailed examination.