How much should a baby weigh at 2 months: expert opinion

Normal birth weight

Weight standards are average numbers. Its values ​​are influenced by several factors. The first of these is gender. We will provide tables developed by the World Health Organization. These tables indicate the values ​​in numbers and the rating: very low, low, below average, average, above average, high, very high.

We want values ​​ranging from below average to above average. Everything other than this is a deviation that requires an analysis of the situation with a doctor.

Please note that the indicators are only suitable for full-term newborns. Premature babies have their own system for assessing physical development.

Boys' weight standards

Thus, for boys, a body weight of 2.9 to 3.9 kg is considered normal. Below 2.9 kg is a deficiency (hypotrophy), above 3.9 kg is an excess, that is, paratrophy.

WHO table for boys

Weight standards for girls

WHO table for girls

We see that the normal weight of female newborns is 2.8 – 3.7 kg.

Baby development, nutrition and skills at 4 months

Your inquisitive four-month-old baby is drawn to communication, games and fun - he has great potential for this. At this age, he is ready to move from a crib to a crib, receive a second immunization, and perhaps try new foods. The development of a child at 4 months is multifaceted and everyone has their own path. But there are several common features that you should pay attention to so as not to worry about the health of your baby. What can you expect from a child at this age, says first category pediatrician Ekaterina Borisovna Bulavina.

— Ekaterina Borisovna, babies in the fourth month of life see better and are already exploring the environment with their hands and mouth. Let's list what a child can do at 4 months.

Baby skills at 4 months:

• keeps head upright;
• demonstrates more varied movements;
• masters support with palms, holds on outstretched arms for some time;
• tries to crawl, makes worm-like movements towards the toy;
• actively puts his hands in his mouth, reaches for toys, can hold them, feels objects;
• rolls over from back to side, can roll over onto stomach and back, but not necessarily;
• turns his head towards the source of the sound, hums for a long time;
• expresses emotions, smiles, grimaces;
• able to recognize mother and loved ones;
• when addressed by name, he quickly remembers and then recognizes his name.

— What height and weight can be considered normal for a four-month-old baby?

— By this age, the child usually gains 6-10 cm in height and doubles his weight from the moment of birth. The girths of the head and chest are usually compared, then the chest grows more intensively. The norms for a particular child can be assessed using special centile tables used by pediatricians. Doctors also evaluate the harmony of physical development by weight and height.

— How to recognize developmental abnormalities in a small child—what should parents pay attention to?

Physical indicators of proper child development

— Deviations may appear if the pace of development slows down over a short period of time. For example, when a child grows and grows and grows and suddenly stops. An assessment of anthropometric indicators is carried out by a doctor monthly, and with a timely visit to the clinic, the pediatrician will definitely notice deviations in the development of the baby.

Delayed physical development in a full-term baby is the level of its anthropometric indicators below the indicators of the first corridor according to centile tables. The minimum height of a four-month-old boy should be 58.7 cm, girls - 58.4 cm, weight of a boy - 5.5 kg, girls - 5.4 kg.

Physical activity of children

— In addition to assessing physical development, it is important to monitor the formation of motor skills. At four months, the baby is active and can do a lot. But if a child does not hold his head up well, does not make any attempts to roll over, is unable to hold a toy, his emotions are scarce, he cries a lot, does not walk - these are alarming symptoms, and it is necessary to see a doctor. The pediatrician will be able to determine the cause of delayed psychomotor and physical development, prescribe additional examinations, adjust nutrition, and recommend a set of physical exercises.

Weight loss in the first days

On the first day in the maternity hospital, the child loses his grams. This happens for several reasons:

1. The intestines are cleared of meconium, the original feces, within three to four days. Meconium accumulates in the intestines during pregnancy;
2. During the first few days, the mother produces colostrum. Its quantity is small, but due to its concentrated composition, colostrum completely satisfies the nutrient needs of the newborn, but there is little water in it;
3. Physiological loss of fluid through the skin. In the womb, the baby is surrounded by amniotic fluid and its tissues contain a lot of moisture. After birth, excess moisture is lost from the skin, pores and lungs.
4. Tissue swelling that occurs during childbirth goes away.

The baby may lose 10% of its original body weight within 4 to 5 days. This doesn't mean he's losing weight. On the contrary, everything unnecessary goes away: meconium, swelling, excess fluid. Premature babies lose more weight than full-term babies: up to 15% or more. If your newborn baby loses more than this figure, the neonatologist will definitely pay attention to this and take the necessary measures to identify the cause and eliminate it.

Loss of excess moisture is not dangerous for the body. On the 3rd – 4th day in multiparous women, and in primiparous women a little later, milk appears. Mother's milk contains enough liquid, so there is no need to supplement the baby's milk. The main thing is to feed him on demand so that he gets enough nutrition according to his needs.

Pay attention to the color of the skin and their color, the number of urinations and their volume (how many times you change diapers). If all these parameters correspond to the norm, then there is no reason to worry.

Formula for calculating the weight of a newborn

The Quetelet index can be applied to people of any age, not just newborns. But kids have their own analysis system. To calculate, we need to know the baby's height in centimeters and his body weight in grams.

For example, a newborn’s weight is 3300 g and height is 51 cm. 3300: 51 = 65

The Quetelet index turned out to be 65. The average values ​​are 60 – 70. This means that everything is in order with our theoretical patient. If the number is higher or lower than these limits, consult your pediatrician. Please note that the formula only applies to babies born on time.

How many grams per month should a child gain?

The formula takes into account the average monthly weight gain - 800 g. For an accurate calculation:

• from 1 month to 6 months: add 800 x number of months to the values ​​at birth. For example, a girl was born with an ideal weight of 3,200 g. By 1 month she will weigh approximately 4,000 g, and by two - 4,800 g (3,200 + 800 x 2 = 4,800);
• from 6 months: birth weight + 800 x 6 + 400 x (number of months - 6), where we first calculate the indicators at 6 months of age, and sum it up with body weight after six months. This means that by 8 months our baby will weigh 8,800 g.

You can also use the WHO tablets for boys and girls: they have values ​​​​from birth to 13 weeks.

Such different boys and girls

Using the table, you can find out and correctly calculate how much a child should weigh at 2 months.
A boy and a girl will have different indicators, as they develop differently. Table of weight gain norms for children in the first year of life by month

As you can see, girls and boys differ slightly in weight gain in the early stages of life, but by the end of the year these indicators usually level out. Moreover, with age, girls often begin to grow faster.

If your baby does not fall under these data, do not be upset, each person is individual and does not have to meet standards in the matter of how much a child should weigh. At 2 months, a girl can be much larger than a boy of the same age, and this is normal. According to pediatricians, in approximately 10% of children, monthly weight gain is beyond the norm in one direction or another, but the child will be healthy and develop well. After all, weight depends not only on nutrition, but also on activity, genetic predisposition and other factors. A hyperactive child, even with good feeding, will gain less weight, because all the energy goes into movement. The baby of miniature parents will not reach the required norm, but for large mothers and fathers, on the contrary, it may exceed the upper limit of the table.

What affects body weight

Weight depends on many factors. Some of them contribute to excess weight, and some, on the contrary, contribute to deficiency. Let's list them:

1. Gestational age, or gestational age. If the baby was born early or late, it is obvious that its indicators will differ from the accepted standards;
2. The mother’s health status, the presence or absence of illnesses;
3. Nature of nutrition and lifestyle;
4. Taking medications;
5. Constitution of both parents;
6. The condition of the child himself both during pregnancy (intrauterine problems), and during childbirth and immediately after;
7. Gender of the baby.

Check weighing

Control weighing is carried out when you need to find out whether the baby has enough breast milk. In the case of artificial feeding, there are no problems with controlling the amount of food taken.

The weighing rules are:

• We take measurements before and after one feeding;
• we try to use the same scales;
• We make sure that the baby wears the same clothes;
• If the baby gets his diaper dirty during feeding, there is no need to change or remove it;
• We take measurements several times in a row during the day or on different days to get a reliable result.

If the results show that there is not enough milk, then the mother needs to think about increasing lactation. Ask the pediatrician who is caring for your newborn to select a drug.

Up to 10 days, the calculation is carried out according to the formula: milk volume = 2% of body weight multiplied by the number of days of life. For example, our fictional baby weighing 3,200 on the fifth day of life should eat 320 ml of milk per day. We divide this figure by the number of feedings.

For older children, a different method is used. From 2 to 4 weeks, the required milk volume is 1/5 of body weight per day, from 6 weeks to 4 months - 1/6.

Nutrition

Important! WHO does not recommend introducing complementary foods before 6 months when breastfeeding, and before 4 months when bottle-feeding.

When breastfeeding under normal conditions, the baby does not need any additional foods or additional drinks. Breastfeeding is considered the safest: it protects the child from diseases, allergies, caries, obesity, and there are fewer problems with stool. At 2 months, the baby should eat on demand, on average every 3 or 3.5 hours.

Exceptions when a baby requires water while breastfeeding: high body temperature of the baby; vomiting or diarrhea; in very hot weather (above 28 ºС).

When artificially feeding, the child must receive a special formula selected for him. If the mixture is not suitable, then allergic reactions are possible (rash, redness, appearance of a “milky crust” on the head), problems with stool (constipation, diarrhea, colic). Therefore, parents should carefully consider the choice of mixture; if the parents themselves are prone to allergies, then it is better to choose a mixture after consultation with an allergist.

With artificial nutrition, a child at 2 months should drink about 50 ml of water per 1 kg of baby’s weight. If the diet is mixed, then water should also be given, but subtracting the amount of breast milk drunk from the norm (to understand how much milk the baby drank, you can weigh him before and after feeding).

On our website there are also articles about the next months of the baby’s life, such as , , , , , , , , , months.

Should I worry if I deviate from the norm?

Anthropometric data provide some information about the baby’s development. You compare your numbers with the average values ​​of a healthy baby: it is desirable that they fall within the normal range. But there may also be deviations: excess or deficiency. Fortunately, not in all cases they speak of pathology.

Overweight

Since ancient times, plump cheeks and an abundance of folds have been considered a sign of good health. But medicine says the opposite: you should be wary if your little one’s body weight exceeds the average. The reasons may be the following:

• the expectant mother eats for two, and this is not the healthiest food;
• postmaturity;
• hereditary factor;
• diabetes mellitus in a pregnant woman;
• swelling in a baby.

The pregnant woman is observed by an obstetrician-gynecologist for the entire period and undergoes examinations and tests. After birth, neonatologists and pediatricians take over the baton: they diagnose the newborn and monitor its development.

If you follow all the doctor’s instructions, there are no diseases, and no abnormalities were found in the baby, but the values ​​are higher than normal, which means there is no reason to worry. Lead an active lifestyle and teach your child such a regimen. Over time, his body weight should return to normal - monitor this with your doctor. After all, overweight and obesity are not so rare among children. In addition, a large mass puts a strain on the child’s joints; it will then be difficult for him to sit down, crawl, and then walk.

Weight deficiency

A deficiency can result from:

• nutritional deficiency during gestation;
• chronic illnesses in the mother;
• mother's bad habits;
• taking medications such as antimetabolites;
• abnormalities of the placenta;
• child's illness.

In these cases, they speak of intrauterine growth retardation: the fetus does not receive enough nutrients, so dystrophic changes develop. Depending on the cause, the doctor selects treatment.

The weight of the newborn and the physique of the parents

Constitutional characteristics are inherited, as are hair color, eye color or character. But this does not mean that the baby will be a copy of mom or dad: perhaps he will inherit the features of a distant relative.

Of course, calculating the normal weight of a newborn baby is important. It further affects his health, especially if the cause of the deviation is any serious illness. But if these are simply constitutional features, the baby will quickly gain weight in the future or normalize it if there was paratrophy. The main thing for him now is the care and attention of his mother and father, adherence to a daily routine, adequate nutrition and walks.

Age characteristics

The fourth month of a baby’s life is one of the most important, since it is now that his social and emotional development begins, the child begins to comprehend the world around him, actively gets acquainted with toys, and is interested in adults - not only mom and dad, but also others.

Regarding the physiological aspects, we note that the proportions of the body begin to change, the baby becomes more harmoniously built. Children hear well, can determine in which direction the source of the voice is located, and react to it. Their visual acuity improves, babies become able to focus their gaze on a specific object or person. For some, it is at this age that their eye color finally changes.

Boys and girls begin to grow hair and nails by the age of 4-5 months. Children become less whiny, eat and sleep with more pleasure.

It is important for parents to be patient and not try to deceive nature by teaching the baby to sit at such a young age: at 4 months he is simply not ready for this, all attempts to sit the baby can lead to further problems with the spine: osteochondrosis, curvature, and also to the bending of the uterus in girls. It is useful now to lie on your tummy with your head raised.