Immediately after birth, the baby is weighed. Normal in full-term babies is considered to be weight from 2.6 to 4 kg. If a baby is born weighing more than 4 kg, it is considered large. The reason for this can be both constitutional features and a violation in the mother of carbohydrate metabolism. In the case of an unfavorable course of pregnancy, for example, with placental insufficiency, exposure to alcohol, nicotine, the weight of the newborn may not reach the norm, which requires more careful observation by doctors.
Weight gain of the child does not start immediately. In the early days, on the contrary, he loses weight. So, on day 5-8, body weight decreases by about 6-8%. There is nothing to worry about, it should be so. This is a natural physiological pattern associated with the loss of water through the lungs (when breathing) and skin, the release of urine and meconium, and the drying of the umbilical cord. After a week or ten days, the condition returns to normal, and the weight gain of the child begins. Monthly, you need to track the dynamics of the physical development of the baby. To do this, you will regularly need to visit a children's clinic.
Monthly Weight Gain
For the first month of his life, the baby gains an average of 400-600 grams, for the second - almost a kilogram. If mother’s breast milk is not enough, the increase in the weight of the baby by months can occur at a lower rate. In this case, you need to use adaptive mixtures or donor milk. Those babies who feed on mixtures gain weight faster than breast-fed babies. During the third month of life, the baby gains about 800 grams. Thus, by the fourth month he can already weigh more than 6 kg. Further, the monthly weight gain of a child becomes not so swift - he gains 650-750 grams per month. Semi-annual weighing should demonstrate the weight in boys in the range from 7.5 to 11 kg, and in girls from 7 to 11 kg. At the age of six months, the baby begins to actively move and crawl, and later tries to take the first steps. Therefore, the weight gain of a child by months is even more slowed down: from 6 to 8 months - 550-650 grams per month, from 9 months to a year - 350-500 grams. As a result, at the age of one, a boy should weigh 9.5-13.5 kg, a girl - 9-13 kg.
Underweight
Many parents begin to feel uneasy when their baby's weight does not reach standard values. One likely cause of this condition is a lack of nutrition as a result of reduced secretion of breast milk. In the second half of the year, the child may be underweight if he is excessively active (constantly crawls, begins to walk early). You can not ignore the questions of heredity - if the parents are thin, then the baby may have the appropriate equipment. Sometimes the causes of poor weight gain are more
serious. So, a child may have allergic reactions, prolonged diarrhea, intolerance to some products. If the baby has suffered an infectious disease, it can also increase body weight more slowly than other babies.
Overweight
Not only insufficient, but also overweight children should bother parents. Excessive body weight negatively affects health. Such children are inactive, prone to allergic reactions. Usually, overweight is observed in babies with artificial feeding, to whom too caring mothers give more mixture than required.