baby's weight

I'll add to Kiwi's post that it's completely normal for a baby to vary within 2 centile lines - so say bubs started on the 50th, then if his weight drifted anywhere between the 25th and the 75th, then this would be perfectly fine, as the average would still be around the 50th. Don't get get up on the weight gain - as long as it's happening at a steady pace, then that's what's important.

. On the growth charts the weight and height should be in the same percentile and should gain as per the chart. So if your baby's height is in the 60th percentile (which means your baby is taller than 60% of babies it's age) then the weight should also be in the 60th percentile, or thereabouts. You worry when say the height is in the 30th percentile and the weight in the 70th percentile. . I'm sorry but this really isn't true, I hope your Dr didn't tell you it was! The percentiles absolutely DO NOT need to "match" at all, think about it, people come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and the same is true for babies. My baby for example is a tall slim build (like myself and my husband) so although he has always been in the 98th percentile for length as a baby he was between the 50th and 75th percentiles. This was not a problem at all! It would also be quite normal for a "short" baby to always be in the 70th for weight but say the 30th for length etc. Can you imagine if say their was one specific weight that a 170cm tall women "should" be. The point of the charts is not at all to compare the height and weight against each other, its to see that your baby has a steady "normal" pattern of growth within each variable (although length and head circumference are more important than weight usually). You don't need to follow a chart exactly, but when you plot it over a period of weeks or months most babies will very loosely follow the same sort of pattern. So if your baby was in the 50th and then went up to the 75th then next week but didn't gain the week after and dropped back down to the 50th etc, that would be fine (because you are looking at an average pattern and there will always be growth spurts etc to factor in) vs a steady drop down from the 75th to the 30th over a period of a month or 2 would could suggest they are not gaining as well as they could be. Basically the "average" baby will stay within their centile (or wiggle in and out of the ones directly above and below) but the centiles of height weight and head size are not related, its the pattern within each centile that is what your Dr will look at. Also keep in mind that it is not a "test", where you aim for as high a percentile as possible or want to be bang on the 50th. My son is in the 98th for heigh which simply means that only 2 percent of babies are taller than him, so he is taller than average. If he was at the 50th it would mean that 50 percent were taller than him and 50 percent shorter, so he'd be "average" but if he had always been in the 25th and stayed there, he'd be showing a normal healthy pattern of growth, he'd just be on the shorter side of average. VarRaj, if you are breastfeeding, make sure your Dr uses the WHO charts for breastfed babies as its normal that they show a slightly different pattern than the formula-fed ones. You can buy your own baby scales and plot your babies growth yourself but if you do this, be sure not to weigh more than once a week at the most, because the gains are so small day by day that things like whether the bladder/bowel are empty/full make too much difference and you can worry over nothing. I did find it reassuring to weigh my baby once a week for around the first 9 week and then once a month for the next few months. So true my first son was off the chart height wise but only on the 75th percentile for weight. My daughter was always on the 75th percentile for hight but 50th percentile for weight. My son now at 7 months is 98th pecentile height and 50 percentile weight. No two babies are the same.

. On the growth charts the weight and height should be in the same percentile and should gain as per the chart. So if your baby's height is in the 60th percentile (which means your baby is taller than 60% of babies it's age) then the weight should also be in the 60th percentile, or thereabouts. You worry when say the height is in the 30th percentile and the weight in the 70th percentile. . I'm sorry but this really isn't true, I hope your Dr didn't tell you it was! The percentiles absolutely DO NOT need to "match" at all, think about it, people come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and the same is true for babies. My baby for example is a tall slim build (like myself and my husband) so although he has always been in the 98th percentile for length as a baby he was between the 50th and 75th percentiles. This was not a problem at all! It would also be quite normal for a "short" baby to always be in the 70th for weight but say the 30th for length etc. Can you imagine if say their was one specific weight that a 170cm tall women "should" be. The point of the charts is not at all to compare the height and weight against each other, its to see that your baby has a steady "normal" pattern of growth within each variable (although length and head circumference are more important than weight usually). You don't need to follow a chart exactly, but when you plot it over a period of weeks or months most babies will very loosely follow the same sort of pattern. So if your baby was in the 50th and then went up to the 75th then next week but didn't gain the week after and dropped back down to the 50th etc, that would be fine (because you are looking at an average pattern and there will always be growth spurts etc to factor in) vs a steady drop down from the 75th to the 30th over a period of a month or 2 would could suggest they are not gaining as well as they could be. Basically the "average" baby will stay within their centile (or wiggle in and out of the ones directly above and below) but the centiles of height weight and head size are not related, its the pattern within each centile that is what your Dr will look at. Also keep in mind that it is not a "test", where you aim for as high a percentile as possible or want to be bang on the 50th. My son is in the 98th for heigh which simply means that only 2 percent of babies are taller than him, so he is taller than average. If he was at the 50th it would mean that 50 percent were taller than him and 50 percent shorter, so he'd be "average" but if he had always been in the 25th and stayed there, he'd be showing a normal healthy pattern of growth, he'd just be on the shorter side of average. VarRaj, if you are breastfeeding, make sure your Dr uses the WHO charts for breastfed babies as its normal that they show a slightly different pattern than the formula-fed ones. You can buy your own baby scales and plot your babies growth yourself but if you do this, be sure not to weigh more than once a week at the most, because the gains are so small day by day that things like whether the bladder/bowel are empty/full make too much difference and you can worry over nothing. I did find it reassuring to weigh my baby once a week for around the first 9 week and then once a month for the next few months.

Usually whenever you go to the doc they weigh your baby, check their height and head circumference and then plot them on growth charts which show the percentile that your baby fits into. On the growth charts the weight and height should be in the same percentile and should gain as per the chart. So if your baby's height is in the 60th percentile (which means your baby is taller than 60% of babies it's age) then the weight should also be in the 60th percentile, or thereabouts. You worry when say the height is in the 30th percentile and the weight in the 70th percentile. If you visit the doc often then they do this for you. Alternatively u can try weighing the baby at home either buy baby scales or if u have a digital scale then weigh yourself with baby and then without the baby. It's not 100% accurate but better than nothing. Then google baby growth charts and u'll find them online.