Weight loss and weight gain from birth to 2 years of life.
Infants:
-Lose 5 to 10% of their body weight in the first few days of life. This is because of fluid loss and some breakdown of tissue. This weight loss should not lose more than 10% of birth weight.
–Regain birth weight by 10 days of life. Many regain theirs in 7 days. And by day 14, all should have regained all birth weight.
–Double birth weight by 4 to 6 months of age.
–Triple birth weight by 12 months (1 year) of life.
–Quadruple birth weight by 2 years of life.
Daily, Weekly, Monthly weight gain
On average, infants gain:
–10-30g per day for first 3 months & 15-20g per day for the remainder of the 1st year.
-4 to 7 oz per week (0.6 to 1 oz per day or 1 to 2 lbs per month) in the first 4 to 6 months and,
-3 to 5 oz per week (0.4 to 0.7 oz per day) from ages 6 to 18 months.
Changes in length
Infants usually increase their length by 50% in the first year of life, but the rate of increase slows during the second half of the year.
From birth to age 6 months, infants gain approximately 1 inch a month, and from ages 6 to 12 months, they gain about a half inch a month.
Growth rates of exclusively breastfed and formula-fed infants differ. Breastfed infants grow more rapidly during the first 6 months of life but less rapidly during the remainder of the first year
Note: 1 pound = 16 ounces. 1 kg = 2.2 lb.
Growth charts
The best way to tell if the baby is growing well is to plot his weights on an appropriate growth chart. As recommended by the CDC, we use the WHO growth charts for babies less than 24 months or two years. After that, we use the CDC growth charts.