How much should newborns put on weight per day, week, month?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

While the baby is very tiny and cannot share his problems in order to find out if he is developing correctly, the main criteria are the norms of how much newborns should gain weight. It is on them that parents are guided in the first months of their children's lives.

First weigh-ins

As soon as a child is born, not only parents, but also doctors immediately begin to control his he alth. And of course, body weight must be known by weighing in order to find out about possible pathologies in development.

The weight of a newly born baby should correspond to the so-called normal limits:

• Not less than 2600 gr. If the indicator is lower, then the child is considered to be in the group of premature babies. Usually, such children are born a little earlier than the rest - before the 37th week, without waiting for the full gestation period. Good care and quality feeding allow such children to catch up with their peers in all respects by the age of six months.
• Notexceed 4 500 gr. If the weight is greater, then the baby is considered a large baby.

Weight loss in the early days

Knowing the weight at birth, parents should not be afraid that after a short time, within two or three days (or maybe five), suddenly the baby's body weight becomes smaller. Doctors explain that there is a transient (physiological) weight loss. 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 also a significant loss of water along with breathing and sweating.

There are still some reasons that cause such a phenomenon, but so far scientists have not come to a consensus about what they are still caused by. But the main thing is that this event does not negatively affect children's he alth.

Mom should not try to stop this natural process, trying to saturate the child as much as possible. Reinforced feeding will not work, and if the child is he althy, he will still lose about 5 to 8 percent of his weight.

The most noticeable weight loss is seen in:

• children weighing over 4500g;
• firstborn;
• newborns who went through a difficult long delivery, during which there were pathologies.

When does weight loss recover?

Boys have been observed to lose more weight, and if the baby is put to the breast within the first hours, the weight loss will not be too noticeable.

But the initial mass will return in:

• 6-7 days for almost 70 percent of children;
• 10days almost 80 percent;
• 2 weeks for all other babies.

Doctors advise mothers to quickly restore lost weight, establish their own diet and, most importantly, drinking, as well as thermal regimes. 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 along with colostrum, which contains vitamins, proteins, immunoglobulins, hormones, enzymes and those bacteria that should be in the intestine, it is also high-calorie, which will affect weight gain.

Weight gain is a key indicator of he althy development

In order for parents to be sure that development is going on normally, they must know how much a newborn child should gain in weight. After all, this indicator is primarily an indicator of he alth in this period.

After a short-term weight loss, he begins to arrive with a vengeance. By this time, the diet is gradually established, and in two weeks the weight should return to the primary indicator. From these figures, the fixation of a constant increase begins. The initial weight of the baby is exactly the one that was recorded at the time of discharge of the woman in labor from the maternity ward.

Difficulties of the first month

The first month is very hectic, especially for adult family members, as the baby's body weight can fluctuate, because it is very difficult to adapt to new conditions. How many grams should a newborn gain weight? By the end of the first month weight gainshould average 600-800 grams.

If the data is far from this indicator, you need to notify the pediatrician about this so that he can give qualified explanations to parents about how newborns gain weight.

During this period, the most important processes for the crumbs are restful sleep and regular feeding. Most modern pediatricians say that you should not limit the feeding time, that is, how much time the baby needs to be satiated, he knows himself. And just when he wants to eat next time, he himself will notify his mother. Gone are the days when strictly on time feeding was considered ideal. As a result, it turned out that the tactic of feeding on demand brings he alth and benefits to the baby.

In the first month, the daily need for feeding a baby is on average 8 times. Each serving of milk averages about 60 ml. Weight gain up to 20 grams should go per day.

Differences in weight gain

Boys gain weight more intensely. And here's how much newborns should put on weight:

• low rate - from 560 to 810 grams;
• medium - from 820 to 1380 grams;
• large - from 1390 - 1690 grams.

Girls have slightly different indicators:

• low level is between 440 and 670 grams;
• medium - from 680 to 1180 grams;
• large - from 1190 to 1440 grams.

On average, starting from the first month, this is how much weight newborns should gain inweek:

• boys: 200 to 340 grams;
• girls: 170 to 300 grams.

Is it possible 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 when breastfeeding, it is impossible to calculate the grams drunk by the baby. In this case, the control weighing comes to the aid of the mother, which must be carried out several times.

This procedure is performed before and after meals. But the result may not always correspond to reality, since it may turn out that this time a smaller amount of milk was drunk. However, the main thing is not the quantity itself, but exactly how the food was assimilated by the child's body.

There is a simpler method, which is to note how many times the baby's diapers have been changed. Confidence that the baby is not starving will bring 10 - 12 wet diapers.

So that parents can clearly know how much a newborn is gaining weight, it is necessary to keep a diary, which will indicate the weight, possible complementary foods and the behavior of the baby while eating.

It may be that the weight of the baby is too small, even if he is actively suckling and you think that he is getting enough milk. In this case, either the child remains hungry, or there is a threat of developing any pathologies, therefore, serious medical research will be required.

If the deviations in weight are insignificant, then these are the individual characteristics of the body: some gain weight immediately, othersgradually, with each feeding.

To make it easier for parents to decide how much newborns should gain weight, doctors collected statistical data and derived averages. 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 the standard, generally accepted norms are statistics in which there is a share of error.

Expert Opinion

Pediatricians explain that weight gain in newborns should occur along with active growth and physical development. The first year is the only one when the weight can more than triple, despite the fact that the child was mainly fed breast milk or formula if he was forced to be on artificial nutrition.

The first six months, 700-800 grams is the norm for how much a newborn gains weight by month. But the older the baby becomes, the less interest on the part of doctors is to weight. Attention is now focused on the general state of he alth, 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 development coincides with recognized norms, the baby sleeps well, has 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 foodquantity.

By five to seven months, the weight should double, but at six months, children begin to actively move, which means that body weight will no longer increase as quickly as before the time when they lay down without making active movements. And how much weight a newborn should gain per day during this period will be prompted by generally accepted average data that helps 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 child are at home after being discharged from the hospital, the baby will not gain too much weight.

But how much weight should a premature newborn gain? 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 become twice as much, despite the fact that he will not suck so actively during feeding and take long breaks. Therefore, you should not force the child to eat, he will catch up with his peers. The key is to be patient and give him some time.