Newborn: eats, sleeps, gains weight... How much?

The first month is very important in a baby's life. The newborn adapts to the world around him, all senses develop, and a feeding regimen is developed. The baby begins to grow and gain weight. The baby gradually acquires the charming plumpness inherent in healthy, well-fed toddlers.

How much should a baby weigh at 1 month? There can be no clear answer to this question. There are several factors to take into account:

1. What body weight was the baby born with? There are heroes who already weigh about 5 kilograms at birth.
2. What percentage of weight did the newborn lose in the first days of life: the remainder of the umbilical cord dries out, meconium and urine are released, fluid is excreted during breathing and through the skin. Physiological loss of up to 10% is considered normal. Healthy children restore it by a week or ten days of age.
3. Whether the child was born on or before the due date. Premature babies, as a rule, are born with a low birth weight; it is especially important for them to actively gain the missing grams.

However, there are norms for weight gain approved by doctors. Based on them, the doctor can draw conclusions about whether your one-month-old baby is developing normally, whether he has enough breast milk, and whether there is a need for supplementary feeding.

Parents usually find out the height and weight of a child at 1 month at the first preventive examination with a pediatrician. It is carried out just at the age of one month. The nurse weighs the baby and measures his height, chest and head circumference. Based on the totality of these parameters, the doctor assesses physical development.

The baby must definitely gain weight. After all, not only muscle mass increases, all internal organs, including the brain, also grow. And the increase also shows how correctly and efficiently the newborn is fed.

How much do newborns weigh?

If your baby was born with a body weight of 2.5 to 4.5 kg, then this is considered the norm today. The weight of a newborn depends on several factors:

• heredity (if one of the parents was born large, then their child may also be born large);
• mother's nutrition during pregnancy;
• severity of pregnancy;
• the number of fetuses to be born (if there is a brother or sister in one pregnancy, the weight of the child will be slightly lower than with the birth of only one baby).

It should be remembered that in the first five days after birth, all newborns lose weight (from the initial value at the time of birth) from 170 to 350 grams. This is due to the physiology of newborns.

To determine which category (medium or large) your baby belongs to, you need to divide the newborn's weight by his height - we get a number with a range from 60 to 70. This indicator is considered average. If the number is more than 70, then the child’s body weight is too small for his height. If you get less than 60, then your little one is large.

Sleep: when and how much to sleep for a newborn

Usually all mothers really want their baby to sleep . And complaints that the baby doesn’t get enough rest are very common. It’s true that newborn babies tend to sleep a lot. But not the way we imagine it - three or four hours in a separate crib or stroller. No, they really love to sleep next to their mother, sucking at the breast. And being put to bed, as a rule, they wake up after 15 minutes, or even earlier. And if the mother considers only the time that the child sleeps on his own to be a real sleep, then it may indeed seem to her that the baby is not sleeping enough.

Here you need to remember that everything counts - 15 minutes of dozing on the chest and 40 minutes in the cradle are considered sleep. But if a baby in the first weeks of life regularly sleeps during the day for 3-4-5 hours at a time, this may, on the contrary, not be a very favorable sign. If at the same time the baby is not gaining weight well, you should consult a lactation consultant: perhaps the baby, instead of waking up and asking for the breast, falls into deep sleep to save energy. Such a baby may even have to be woken up for feeding.

An exclusively breastfed newborn will likely wake up quite frequently during the night as well. So that the mother can rest, the optimal solution would be to sleep together with the child. If the baby is always nearby at night, at some point mothers become so accustomed to night feedings that the next morning they cannot even remember how many times and for how long they fed the baby.

When is a child's weight a cause for concern?

If the child’s weight gain turns out to be insignificant compared to last month, remains the same or even decreases, then this is a cause for concern. The reason for this may be an insufficient amount of milk from the mother or its insufficient nutritional value. When a baby is bottle-fed, parents can see how much milk the baby is consuming. When breastfeeding, the amount a baby eats is difficult to determine.

If you have a baby scale, you can weigh your baby before and after feeding. The difference in indicators will show the amount of milk sucked by him. However, milk may be low in calories (non-nutritive). This factor depends on the mother's diet. In cases of low nutritional value of milk or its shortage, the doctor prescribes complementary feeding with an adapted milk formula.

A child with poor appetite may not recover well. The reason for this may be poor health (colic). It is worth paying attention to the mother’s diet (do not eat foods that affect the taste of milk or cause fermentation).

It also happens that the baby gains weight too quickly. Excessive gain may be associated with poor nutrition of the mother - abuse of carbohydrate foods makes breast milk high in calories. This, in turn, can lead to metabolic disorders in infants and the risk of diabetes. In this case, the doctor may prescribe sugar tests; advise on how to reduce your baby’s weight; will tell you what diet a nursing mother should follow so that a similar problem does not arise in the future. The easiest way to reduce baby weight is to increase the interval between feedings.

Counting wet diapers

The child must also empty the bladder and bowels . Knowing the norms in this area will help you make sure that your baby is getting enough milk from the breast and that he is getting enough calories. For children under two weeks of age, the minimum number of urinations per day is equal to the baby’s age in days. That is, on the 7th day after birth, the child should write 7 times or more. For older boys and girls, this norm will be, respectively, 12-18 and 10-16 times a day. Falling within the normal range practically guarantees that your baby is not at risk of dehydration. If your baby has a bowel movement every day and his stools are yellow, mustard, or tan-colored, your baby is breastfeeding effectively and getting enough nutrition.

If your one-month-old baby is underweight

Knowing how much weight your baby should gain in the first month, you can understand whether the amount of food he consumes is enough.

When breastfeeding, you need to monitor the correct feeding of the baby: whether he grasps the breast correctly. You should pay attention to the amount of milk your mother has. If the quantity is small, you can feed the baby not from one breast, but from both (alternately): if you fed him last time from the right, and fed him from the left, then at the next feeding, attach the baby first to the left, and feed him from the right. If the mother has enough milk, but the baby’s appetite is poor and he eats little, then you can shorten the intervals between feedings or feed the baby on demand.

When the baby is bottle-fed, the formula should be prepared according to the instructions and given in the quantity he needs.

If your baby doesn’t eat well (poor appetite), there are a number of reasons for this:

• the taste of the mother’s breast milk (it depends on what the mother eats and whether she smokes);
• colic (up to 3 months of age, almost all children suffer from this problem);
• short frenulum of the tongue;
• thrush of the oral mucosa;
• stuffy nose;
• ear pain;
• headaches (in weather-dependent children);
• bad mood (lack of attention, care and warmth, mother’s nervousness and fatigue, overwork).

Child development at 1 month. What can he do?

By the end of the fourth week, the child begins to respond to speech addressed to him, freezes and stretches out his lips. Remembers mother's voice, associating it with positive emotions from feeding. He himself begins to pronounce the first guttural sounds.

A 1-month-old child can maintain visual attention on stationary objects. When placed on the tummy, the baby tries to raise the head. Babies also try to keep the head in an upright position.

All movements that a baby makes at 1 month are sharp and clumsy. Children are only mastering the simplest movements and do not control their bodies.

If your one-month-old baby is overweight

Overeating can be the cause of excess weight. At every request, the mother puts the baby to the breast (or gives a bottle), while the baby is simply hot and wants to drink.

Every mother needs to know how much a child should weigh in the first (second, third....) month - primarily for her own peace of mind. The mother’s calm state is important when communicating with the baby, because children are very sensitive. If for some reason your baby has gained weight less or more than normal, then, first of all, you need to remember that each child develops according to an individual plan, and above we have already listed the factors that influence his weight gain. If you still have concerns about this, then seek advice from an experienced pediatrician.

Health to you and your little ones!

Weight gain while breastfeeding

Well, probably the last thing a child really needs is to gain weight . If, after counting wet diapers and assessing bowel movements, you still have doubts that your baby is getting enough milk, weigh him. It makes sense to do this no more than once a week, because children usually gain weight in spurts, and you can only worry yourself unnecessarily by assessing weight daily. It is even more useless to find out how much milk a baby sucks out at one feeding by weighing him before and after eating. These numbers can be very different at different times of the day and for different durations of feedings.

The minimum below which it is dangerous to fall in weekly weight gain up to 6 months is 125 g. It is good if in the first three months the child gains at least 700 g per month. More is possible, because breast milk cannot be overfed; it is digested very quickly and easily absorbed.

This is where the child’s responsibilities, the boundaries of which, as you see, are very wide, end. The mother’s task is to notice in time if the child’s behavior and condition is very different from that described above, and to provide help or contact specialists. And also - monitor your condition, because it is no less important than the condition of the child.

Regularly satisfy your basic physical needs - rest and nutrition. Try to sleep when your baby sleeps, and learn to do most of the things together. If you forget to eat in the whirlwind of caring for your baby (I hear this from moms very often), set reminders for yourself and be sure to eat! And find at least a few minutes a day to do something nice for yourself.

Why is this so important? Because in the first months you are also a newborn - a newborn mother. And together with your baby you find yourself in an atmosphere of micro-catastrophe, when the old life no longer exists, and you have not yet adapted to the new one. And in a disaster situation, an adult, as we hear every time he goes on a flight, must first take care of himself. In order to then be able to provide maximum help and support to the child.

Difficulties in the first month of a child's life

Colic

Bloating bothers almost all babies; even the healthiest and strongest baby is not immune from intestinal spasms. They begin at 2-3 weeks of life and last until about 3 months.

At home, you can massage the tummy clockwise to alleviate the baby's condition, apply a diaper heated with an iron.

This method is often used: the mother takes the undressed child and places her on her bare chest in an upright position. Cover the baby with a blanket and stroke his back.

Also, to alleviate the suffering of the baby, gas outlet tubes and antifoam drugs are used, they must be given daily. This could be Espumisan baby, Bobotik, and so on.

Rules for weighing a newborn

To get accurate indicators, you should adhere to the following rules:

• the baby should be weighed at the same time (for example, you can do this after bathing and before evening feeding);
• the baby must be completely undressed;
• During weighing, the diaper must be removed.

To weigh a baby, you need special baby scales. Regular bathroom scales are not suitable for babies. It is unlikely that it will be possible to place a child on them, and in addition, their error can range from 200 to 500 grams.

There is no need to carry out daily weighings, there is no point in them. It is enough to do this once every 1–2 weeks.

Newborn weight gain by week

Weekly rates of weight gain in newborns depend on a number of factors. The key points include 4 types of factors:

1. the child's health status;
2. presence of a healthy appetite;
3. chosen type of feeding;
4. daily amount of food consumed, etc.

The most active weight gain in children under one year old occurs in the first eight weeks of life.

Infant weight at discharge

The first few days of a baby's life are marked by slight weight loss, which often causes anxiety in new mothers.

It is worth knowing that such fluctuations in body weight are absolutely normal and can be due to several reasons:

• a small loss of fluid through the skin
  - the newborn baby begins to actively work with the respiratory system, through which a small amount of fluid evaporates, and with it such precious weight. Fluid is also lost through the baby’s thin skin.
• transition to a new diet
  - after birth, the child consumes maternal colostrum from the breast in small quantities, which does not contain enough nutrients for rapid weight gain. Until the mother's lactation improves, the process of replenishing weight will proceed very slowly (and even with small losses in grams);
• adaptation to new living conditions
  - the child literally changes his “habitat”, which is a kind of stress for the baby, and as a result, “newborn” weight is lost.

Weight at discharge differs from weight at birth by an average of 5-8%. It is customary to calculate the norms of weight gain for each newborn precisely from the figure indicated in the child’s chart upon discharge from the maternity hospital.

Factors influencing weight gain

The intensity of weight gain in a newborn can be affected by various reasons:

• Birth weight . Children with excess body weight at birth gain more slowly in the first months than babies who weighed less at birth and are actively making up for the lack of weight.
• Heredity . If the baby's parents are tall and overweight, the baby is also likely to be large. Thin parents tend to have thin babies.
• Type of feeding . Breastfed babies gain weight more evenly. When bottle-fed, a baby often experiences increased monthly weight gain.
• Diet of a nursing mother . The amount of milk a woman has and the content of nutrients in it directly depend on the quality of the products consumed and their calorie content.

And what after?

Few people know that on the second or third day after birth, the baby loses a little weight. Moreover, this is not a pathology, but a completely natural process, which is explained by a number of simple reasons, namely:

• the baby's bladder is freed;
• after it the intestines are released. Moreover, often babies are given an enema in the delivery room;
• the skin loses any remaining moisture;
• excessive energy consumption occurs due to entering a new environment;
• the diet is being adjusted.

Thus, up to 10% of the original weight can “go away”. However, if no problems are found in the baby, he begins to gain weight again, quickly catching up, and his mother is sent home with him.

Normal weights for children at birth

At birth, a baby's weight is considered normal between 2500 and 4500 grams. If the indicator is less than 2500 g, it is considered that the baby is underweight; in this case, doctors develop special recommendations for its normalization.

The following factors may influence your baby's birth weight:

• heredity;
• gender of the newborn (boys often weigh more than girls);
• post-term pregnancy or premature birth (children born earlier or later than expected are underweight or overweight, respectively);
• multiple pregnancy;
• repeated and subsequent births (with each subsequent pregnancy, the baby is usually born larger);
• healthy placenta (if the supply of nutrients to the fetus is disrupted, developmental delay occurs);
• diseases suffered by a pregnant woman, including chronic and infectious;
• unbalanced nutrition of the mother during pregnancy (insufficient or, conversely, too high in calories);
• smoking and drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

What to do if the norms for the weight of a newborn by month are violated?

First you need to find out whether the baby is being fed correctly. How many times do you put your baby to your breast (according to medical standards, a baby should nurse from 8 to 12 times a day). How long does the baby suckle? Is breastfeeding going well? Is the sucking process itself effective? If your child is lagging behind in weight gain for these reasons, then you can overcome this disease on your own. Consultation with a specialist will help a young mother establish breastfeeding.

The wet diaper test is quite informative. The normal number of urinations should be 12 times a day.

Is it dangerous to exceed the normal weight of a newborn by month? If the baby is on artificial nutrition, then weight gain is more predictable.

But if a child gains too much and quickly, this may be a signal for certain diseases: renal, cardiovascular and endocrine systems.

The table shows the average fluctuations in the newborn's weight by month.

The birth weight of 3100-3400 was taken as the starting point.

• 1 month. The baby's weight should be 3700-4100g. Monthly weight gain - 600 g.
• 2 month. Weight 4500-4900. Increase - 800 g.
• 3 month. Weight 5200-5600. Increase - 800 g.
• 4 month. Weight 5900-6300. Increase - 750 g.
• 5 month. Weight 6500-6800. Increase - 700 g.
• 6 month. Weight 7100-7400. Increase - 650 g.
• 7 month. Weight 7600-8100. Increase - 600 g.
• 8 month. Weight 8100-8500. Increase - 550 g.
• 9 month. Weight 8600-9000. Increase - 500 g.
• 10 month. Weight 9100-9500. Increase - 450 g.
• 11 month. Weight 9500-10000. Increase - 400 g.
• 12 month. Weight 10000-10800. Increase - 350 g.

Dear parents, the weight of a newborn by month presented in the table is approximate. The table is provided for comparison, and if your baby’s weight deviates significantly from that indicated in the table, there is no need to worry. This is just a reason to contact your pediatrician. Deviations from norms are not always a cause for concern. All children are different, some eat often and a lot, others move a lot, others sleep. At the same time, both of them are strong and absolutely healthy.

When a child is born, the first thing people usually ask about is height and weight. For mothers, the question of the weight of the newborn and how he should gain is one of the most important. The topic of the article will be the norms of “gain” in the first year of a baby’s life.

It is believed that a newborn should weigh at least 3 kg and no more than 4 kg. Babies born less than three kg are called low birth weight, babies born over 4000 g are classified as large. Nowadays, more babies are born weighing close to 4000 g or more. Because expectant mothers have begun to take responsibility for their own diet and take special vitamins.

Meanwhile, the indicator is directly dependent not only on the diet of the pregnant woman, but also on the complexion of the fetus. The short stature of the parents is a significant reason for the low weight of the child.

After childbirth

From birth, in the first days, the child loses his weight. Over the course of 3-5 days it will lose 5-10%. Let's say he was born 3.5 kg, then he will lose 175-350 g. There is no need to panic. During these 3-5 days, the bladder and intestines are released, and water evaporates from the skin.

Then the child gets better. And, barely a few days have passed, he gains back the lost grams. To track changes, it should be systematically weighed. Regardless of the monthly scheduled examination with the doctor, where the newborn will be weighed and measured. Scales are an important acquisition at the birth of a baby.

Weigh before evening swimming, on an empty stomach. You need to put a diaper on the scales, remove the baby's clothes and put them on the bowl. And try to make it move less, otherwise the readings will be erroneous. Weight must be assessed together with height - the two indicators are interrelated.

Weight gain

To determine the optimal ratio of weight and height, you should simply divide grams by centimeters. For example, a child was born with a weight of 3150 g and a height of 48 cm. Then, dividing 3150 by 48, we get 65.62 - this is the norm. If the calculation results in a figure between 60-70, then the coefficient is considered standard. As a result of calculations, a figure of less than 60 is obtained - the child is considered large. From 70 – the baby’s weight is considered insufficient.

When figuring out whether the increase is sufficient, use the formula intended for children under six months - M = Mp +800*K, where K is the age in months, M is the average body weight, Mp is the child’s weight at birth. For children from six months to 1 year old, the formula M = Mp + 4800 + 400 * (K-6) applies. Use the standard increase table for the first year of life.

Table

This table is only an approximate guideline with which you can determine the weight of a baby.

Babies born underweight gain an average of 1 kg every month until they are six months old. After six months, weight is added according to the norms. Parents should monitor the indicators. Up to a year, it is necessary to weigh the baby once a week, and then once a month.

The reason for the shortage is an insufficient amount of mother's milk. We should try to breastfeed the baby more often. Additionally, in addition to breast milk, artificial complementary foods should be added. It is necessary to remember: artificial formula is given with breastfeeding, but not instead of or before. It should occur against the background of a lack of breast milk. At the same time, there are other reasons for “shortage”.

For example, weak babies are low birth weight, premature, and do not suck the required amount of milk. They should breastfeed more often: it takes longer for them to become full.

Underweight and overweight

Shortages occur in children with gastrointestinal problems. Such newborns often regurgitate; food does not have time to reach the stomach. Rickets is also a cause of shortage. Vitamin D deficiency leads to disease. Diseases of the central nervous system also lead to poor growth. If a mother suspects she is underweight, she should seek advice from her local pediatrician.

Being overweight is a serious cause for concern. You should not overfeed your child. Plump legs and arms with folds cause tenderness. But overweight children more often have problems with the pancreas, and this is a harbinger of the development of diabetes. Such children are inactive, unlike their peers, which leads to a lag in the development of motor skills. They have underdeveloped, weak muscles and a loose body. It is necessary to control the weight and, of course, monitor deviations from the norm according to the table above. The coefficients are within +/- 10% - the norm.

In the first year of a child's life, weight gain is of great importance for both parents and pediatricians. The baby's weight is measured every month. This parameter helps to track possible deviations from the norm in the development of the baby. What should be the weight gain of newborns by month, and where is the “golden mean” of the ideal weight for a baby? Let's try to figure it out.

Baby weight and its meaning

One of the doctors once said that the best gift for new parents is a scale. Do you know why? They allow you to control the baby’s weight, which can be used to judge his health. That is why children must be weighed in the maternity hospital immediately after birth and that is why they are always expected in the pediatrician’s office once a month for a year after discharge.

Based on the readings obtained on the scale, the doctor can judge the correctness of the chosen diet, as well as timely identify and correct errors associated with it. Needless to say, once ignored or unnoticed, they can cost a child’s health or even his life.