While the baby is very tiny and cannot share his problems to find out if he is developing correctly, the main criteria are the norms of how much newborns should put on weight. It is on them that parents are guided in the first months of the lives of children.
First weighings
As soon as the baby is born, not only his parents, but also the doctors immediately begin to control his health. And of course, body weight must be recognized by weighing in order to learn about possible pathologies in development.
The weight of the only born baby should correspond to the so-called normal limits:
- At least 2,600 gr. If the indicator is lower, then it is considered that the child fell into the group of premature babies. Typically, such children are born a little earlier than the rest - until the 37th week, without waiting for the full term of gestation. Good care and high-quality feeding allow these children to catch up with peers in all respects by the age of six months.
- Do not exceed 4,500 gr. If the weight is greater, then the baby is considered a large baby.
Weight loss in the early days
Knowing the birth weight, parents should not be afraid that after a short time, within two or three days (or maybe five), suddenly the body weight of the child becomes less. Doctors explain that there is a transient (physiological) loss of mass. This is a natural reaction of a fragile organism, and during this process the intestines are freed from meconium, that is, the original feces, and there is a significant loss of water simultaneously with breathing and sweating.
There are still some reasons that cause this phenomenon, but so far scientists have not come to a consensus about what they are caused by all the same. But the main thing is that this event does not negatively affect children's health.
Mom should not try to stop this natural process, trying to saturate the child as much as possible. Intensive feeding will not give anything, and if the baby is healthy, he will still lose about 5 to 8 percent of his weight.
The most significant weight loss is observed in:
- children weighing over 4,500 g;
- firstborn;
- newborns who have gone through a difficult long birth, during which pathologies have occurred.
When is weight loss restored?
It is noticed that boys lose more weight, and if during the first hours the baby is applied to the chest, weight loss will not be too noticeable.
But the primary mass will return through:
- 6β7 days in almost 70 percent of children;
- 10 days in almost 80 percent;
- 2 weeks for all other children.
Doctors advise mothers to quickly restore lost weight, to establish their own diet and, most importantly, drinking, as well as thermal conditions. It is necessary to apply crumbs to the breast as often as possible, which will have an important effect on the children's body, because together with colostrum, which contains vitamins, proteins, immunoglobulins, hormones, enzymes and those bacteria that must be in the intestine, it is also high-calorie, which affect weight gain.
Weight gain is a key indicator of healthy development
In order for parents to be sure that development is normal, they must know how much a newborn child should gain in weight. After all, this indicator is primarily an indicator of health in a given period.
After short-term weight loss, he begins to arrive with a vengeance. By this time, the diet is gradually being established, and in two weeks the weight should return to the primary indicator. From these figures and begins fixing a constant increase. The initial weight of the baby is exactly the one that was recorded at the time the mother was discharged from the maternity ward.
Difficulties of the first month
The first month is very hectic, especially for adult family members, since the baby's body weight can fluctuate, because it is very difficult to adapt to new conditions. How many grams should a newborn gain in weight? By the end of the first month, weight gain should be an average of 600-800 grams.
If the data are far from this indicator, you need to notify the children's doctor so that he gives qualified explanations to parents about how newborns add weight.
During this period, the most important processes for the crumbs are restful sleep and regular feeding. Most modern pediatricians argue that you should not limit the time of feeding, that is, how much time it takes for a baby to saturate, he knows. And just when he wants to eat the next time, he will notify his mother. Gone are the days when feeding strictly on time was considered ideal. As a result, it turned out that on-demand feeding tactics bring health and benefits to the baby.
In the first month, the daily need for feeding the baby an average of 8 times. Each serving of milk averages around 60 ml. A day should go weight gain up to 20 grams.
Weight Gain Differences
Boys gain weight more intensively. And here is how much newborns should gain weight:
- low indicator - from 560 to 810 grams;
- average - from 820 to 1,380 grams;
- large - from 1390 - 1690 grams.
In girls, the indicators are slightly different:
- the low level is from 440 to 670 grams;
- average - from 680 to 1180 grams;
- large - from 1190 to 1440 grams.
On average, starting from the first month, this is how much newborns should gain weight per week:
- boys: 200 to 340 grams;
- girls: from 170 to 300 grams.
Is there any way to check if the baby is full?
Artificial feeding allows you to accurately calculate the rate of the mixture eaten by the baby at a time. But with breastfeeding it is impossible to calculate the grams drunk by a baby. In this case, the control weighing comes to the aid of the mother, which needs to be done several times.
This procedure is performed before and after a meal. But the result may not always correspond to reality, as it may turn out that this time less milk was drunk. However, the main thing is not the quantity itself, namely how nutrition was absorbed by the child's body.
There is a simpler method, which is that it should be noted how many times the diaper has changed for the child. Confidence that the baby does not starve will bring 10 - 12 wet diapers.
So that parents can clearly know how much the newborn is gaining weight, it is necessary to keep a diary in which the mass, possible complementary foods and behavior of the baby with food will be indicated.
It may turn out that the babyβs weight is too small, even if he is actively sucking and you think that he is getting enough milk. In this case, either the child remains hungry, or there is a threat of the development of any pathologies, therefore serious medical research will be required.
If the deviations in weight are minor, then these are the individual characteristics of the body: some gain weight immediately, others gradually, with each feeding.
To make it easier for parents to determine how much newborns should gain weight, doctors collected statistics and averaged indicators. They correspond to the full development of the child (they are presented above). But if the baby's weight does not quite match the indicators that were given, you can consult a pediatrician. Most often, a slight difference indicates that standard, generally accepted norms are statistics in which there is a share of the error.
The opinion of experts
Children's doctors explain that the gain in body weight of newborns should occur along with active growth and physical development. The first year is the only one when the weight can increase by more than three times, despite the fact that basically the child was fed breast milk or a mixture if he had to be on artificial nutrition.
The first six months, 700-800 grams is the norm of how much a newborn gains weight by month. But the older the baby becomes, the less interest on the part of doctors is in weight. Attention now concentrates on the general state of health, the work of internal organs. It is important how various skills develop, whether the child shows the activity required for his age.
And if it turns out that the development coincides with recognized norms, the baby sleeps well, learned a lot, is active, but at the same time he does not reach the general rules in weight, then there is no reason for concern - the body receives enough food.
By five or seven months, the weight should become twice as much, but at six months the children begin to move actively, which means that their body mass will not increase as quickly as before when they were lying without making any active movements. And how much weight a newborn should add per day during this period, prompt the generally accepted average data that help parents determine whether their baby is developing correctly.
Premature baby: features of weight gain in the first months of life
Special care requires a baby who was born prematurely. He needs (especially at first) special care and the closest attention. After the mother and the child were at home after discharge from the hospital, the baby will not gain too much weight.
But how much should a premature newborn gain weight? During the first 30 days of life, he will be able to recover from 100 to 200 grams. in Week. But by the third month, his weight will be twice as much, despite the fact that during feeding he will not suck so actively and take long breaks. Therefore, do not force the child to food, he himself will catch up with peers. The main thing is to be patient and give him some time.