How fast do babies grow

As long as this growth pattern stays consistent over time, chances are your baby's progress is just fine. If your baby is born prematurely , keep in mind that growth and development should not be compared with that of a full-term child. Preemies will need to be followed more closely and may need to be weighed more often during the first months to make sure they are growing properly. They have some catching up to do! If your baby is not growing at the expected rate, or the growth rate slows, your doctor will want to make sure your baby is getting enough to eat.

Most of the time, a baby's growth will be tracked over the next few months during routine well-baby visits. But if your doctor is concerned about your baby's growth, he or she will want to see your baby more often.

At this rate, it may seem like your baby is outgrowing clothes every other day and you can't keep up. Don't worry. Rapid growth will slow down in the second half of the first year. Reviewed by: Cristy A. Wong, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. BMI—a screening tool to figure out weight category—will not be measured until your little one is over 2 years old. The WHO baby growth charts include baby boy growth charts and baby girl growth charts, and two chart types in each category.

To explore each of the World Health Organization WHO baby growth charts and print copies for your own at-home use, download them here. During each baby checkup the doctor will be measuring a few things:. Baby growth charts are developed using data gained from weighing and measuring thousands of kids to create percentiles.

There are many factors to consider. For example, if both parents are taller than average or shorter than average it would be normal for the child to follow suit as they grow up. The rate of growth—not percentile numbers—is what is most important to take away from a baby growth chart. There are other growth benchmarks and age-related milestones to consider while monitoring your growing little one, including feeding-related changes. Here are some common points to keep in mind, based on averages.

As your baby grows, she will demonstrate physical and mental milestones How much should I expect my baby to grow in the first year? Answer From Jay L. With Jay L. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references Growth charts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed July 26, Kliegman RM, et al.

The first year. In: Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. Philadelphia, Pa. Accessed July 27, Assessment in growth. Birth to 24 months: Boys length-for-age percentiles and weight-for-age percentiles. Birth to 24 months: Girls length-for-age percentiles and weight-for-age percentiles.

Hoecker JL expert opinion. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.