HOME

BOOKMARK

NEWSLETTER

Join our newsletter to receive news of offers and discounts

Search

AS FEATURED IN...


Lucy Siegle On Eithical Living: Sunday March 5, 2006 The Observer

Weight WatchersŽ.co.uk. Now with an online plan.

Navigation


Parening Books

Search Now:
Amazon Logo


Does The Size Of Your Baby Matter?


Does size matter? No, not that! Is your baby too fat, too thin, is she eating too much or not enough? Not only have you got your weight to worry about, now there's two of you!

In the first week your baby will lose weight, about 5-8% of her birth weight. Don't be alarmed, this is perfectly natural. She built up a store of fat to help her cope with the birth and the first few days before your breastmilk kicks in, and her digestive system needs a bit of time to get used to life outside the womb. She will probably reach her birth weight at 2 or 3 weeks and will continue to grow.

You will have been given a Red Book after the birth and in there you will find centile charts. There are separate charts for boys and girls, and for weight, length (height) and head circumference. Each chart is split into centiles, the 50th centile running through the middle (the average), and the 10th and 91st centiles at the outer boundaries. Each time you visit your local clinic your health visitor will measure baby to see how much she has grown, and the measurements will be plotted on the charts. If her measurements fall below the 50th centile, she is smaller than average; above and she is larger than average.

Centile charts are just guidelines and, while her chart will probably rise and follow her particular centile, there will be occasional blips. Again, this is nothing to worry about. She may have a growth spurt, or a pause or even a fall if she is ill and off her food or she doesn't take readily to solids. Then when she starts to crawl and walk, she will burn off more calories and start to lose her baby shape.

There is no 'right' size for a baby, they come in all shapes and sizes, just like adults. As long as she is feeding well and is healthy, how much weight she has gained in the last week or so is not important.

If baby doesn't gain weight for two or three months, this is known as 'failure to thrive'. Other symptoms will be apparent during this period, like refusing her milk or poor feeding and general lethargy. Failure to thrive is rare - less than one baby in a hundred is affected.

Ensure that you regularly attend your baby clinic. Your baby's growth and general health will be monitored by experts and any questions or worries you have will be answered.

****************************************************************

Author: Tony and Katy Luck who run a site about babies from conception to birth.


MORE RESOURCES:

ABC News

Autumn Babies More Prone to Asthma
U.S. News & World Report, DC - 9 hours ago
21 (HealthDay News) -- The season of a baby's birth may help predict that child's risk of asthma, new research suggests. Babies born in autumn -- about four ...
Fall Babies May Have Higher Asthma Risk ABC News
Autumn babies at greater risk of asthma: study Reuters
Fall Babies at Higher Risk for Asthma WebMD
eFluxMedia - MedPage Today
all 124 news articles


guardian.co.uk

Study: Forward-Facing Strollers May Harm Babies Emotionally
FOXNews - 9 hours ago
Pushing babies in forward-facing strollers may harm them emotionally due to the lack of face-to-face contact with the parent pushing them, a British study ...
Are modern buggies bad for babies? guardian.co.uk
Study: Away-facing strollers stress babies CNN
Babies' strollers could affect development ABC7Chicago.com
AFP - Mom Logic
all 66 news articles


Man jailed on charges of breaking the legs of his babies
Asheville Citizen-Times, NC - 10 hours ago
“He said the abuse was because that he felt that he had to baby sit every weekend with these children and they would cry and get on his nerves,” she said. ...
Child Abuse Investigation WLOS
all 2 news articles


MSN UK News

Away-facing buggies 'hinder babies'
The Press Association - 20 hours ago
Babies pushed in buggies facing away from their parents could suffer lasting psychological harm, scientists have claimed. The "emotionally impoverished" ...
Warning on buggies that 'stress' babies Metro
Buggies 'can cause babies psychological damage' Mirror.co.uk
Pushing in the wrong direction Channel 4 News
all 120 news articles


Babies Stressing Strollers Study
kypost.com, KY - 3 hours ago
The study actually calls for the redesign of baby strollers. Beverly Smolansky, a child psychologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, says not so fast. ...


'Take care of my babies,' suspect pleads
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - 21 hours ago
"She said, 'Take care of my babies,' " said Darlene Wakmunski, who spoke by phone Thursday with her sister. "She felt bad for the agent and his family. ...


Hospital Welcomes ‘Miracle Babies’ Home
Queens Tribune, NY - Nov 20, 2008
By Nicole Alibayof The monitor was showing a flat line and the baby wasn’t breathing. Nineteen minutes later the doctor was still trying to resuscitate him ...
Infant child care is scarce in Central New York The Post-Standard - Syracuse.com
all 2 news articles


Current World News

Early HIV Treatment Best for Babies
U.S. News & World Report, DC - Nov 19, 2008
19 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finalizes research that changed guidelines around the world regarding when HIV-infected babies should begin drug therapy. ...
Rapid care 'cuts baby's HIV risk' BBC News
Treat HIV-positive babies from the start Science News
Early HIV Treatment Cuts Babies’ Death Risk eFluxMedia
Business Day - Reuters India
all 66 news articles


SmartAboutHealth

In vitro babies have more birth defects
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Nov 18, 2008
A new study released this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that babies conceived through in vitro fertilization are two to ...
(Update 1) Why Does Fertility Treatment Up Birth Defect Risk? dBTechno
Research Shows Possible Health Risks for Children Born through ... eFluxMedia
Birth Defects Tied to Fertility Techniques I Really Should Study
SmartAboutHealth - Reuters
all 111 news articles


Coroner rules babies deaths accidental
WHOI, IL - Nov 20, 2008
By Blake Long Both babies, 5-month-old Jaylin Maxison, and 2-month old Kendrick Franklin Jr. were co-sleeping with adult caregivers on adult beds. ...

babies - Google News