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Is My Baby Gaining Enough Weight?
Author: Dr. Anna Kaplan
Most parents follow their baby’s weight gain with enthusiasm. Babies are expected to double their birth weight by 5 months of age and triple it by their first birthday. It is important to remember that your baby is born with a little extra fluid and will lose weight between birth and the days afterwards. Babies are usually back up to their birth weight at 10 days of age.
How do parents know if their baby is on the right track?
One clear way is at checkups. The recommended schedule for well baby visits can vary slightly, depending on when you and your baby leave the hospital and if there were any problems. In general, babies are seen between 3 and 5 days of age, at 1 month, then at 2, 4, and 6 months, 9 months, and a year.
At each visit, your baby will be weighed. Most health care practitioners will give you a growth chart with normal weights and heights for age and plot your baby’s gains on that chart. Every child starts at a different point and ends at a different point, depending on genetics and assuming they get enough calories. There are normal weights for each age (in months, for babies), which start at the 2nd percentile and end at the 98th percentile. All of these are considered normal, assuming your baby was born full term and at a normal weight. Your baby’s first few weights will help determine which curve he or she is going to follow, and subsequent weights should stay on that curve. Your doctor will certainly let you know if your baby is not doing as well as expected.
Another way to gauge weight gain is by estimating how much your baby is taking in. Pediatricians recommend breast milk as the only food source for the baby’s first 4 to 6 months, as well as a major factor in nutrition until a year of age. Your baby should be breastfeeding every 2 to 3 hours, day and night at the beginning. This means between 8 and 12 times a day. A baby less than a month old should not be sleeping through the night without feeding. 15 to 20 minutes is usually enough time for each feeding. Bottle-fed babies usually feed every 3 to 4 hours at the beginning. By the end of the first month, a bottle-fed baby should be taking in 4 ounces of formula at a feeding.
All babies should have wet diapers 6 or more times a day. Their bowel movements should increase to 3 or 4 a day at the end of the first week. If you are breastfeeding, when your milk production is established, your baby may pass stool after every feeding.
While it may seem hard at first to figure out if your baby is hungry or is getting enough to eat, you will figure out their behavior, and you will learn to know when they need more.
Finally, you will be able to see your baby grow. While a newborn can’t really be weighed on a regular home scale, you will see changes with time, as the baby grows out of one set of clothes and into the next size.
If you have any concerns about your milk supply and breastfeeding, or bottle feeding, or concerns that your baby is not gaining enough weight, you should discuss your concerns at your baby’s next doctor’s appointment.
