The weight curve and that of the height of your baby, are the two essential criteria for the control of the good development of the infant. Produced by the doctor who follows your child on a monthly basis, this graph allows you to check that everything is going well and that their diet is suitable.

During each examination at the pediatrician, baby is inspected from head to toe and the doctor measures his height and controls his weight. This routine is part of the infant’s basic check-ups to ensure that their development is completely normal. Then, these measurements are noted in his health record to allow the professional to follow each month, the progress of the child. The weight is therefore one of the important elements of these medical visits, and it is moreover one of the parameters which condition the exit or not of maternity for the mother and her baby.

To perform this measurement, the baby is weighed on the same scale each time, and must be naked. No need to try to weigh in at home, scales sold in major stores are often less well calibrated and much less reliable than those in doctor’s offices. In addition, it is pointless to weigh your child every week, the monthly appointments with his pediatrician are quite sufficient to check his good weight gain. On the other hand, in the event of severe diarrhea, vomiting or digestive disorders in the toddler, it is imperative to monitor its weight almost daily and compare it to the previous value to eliminate any potential risk.

To verify that the curve has a normal progression, you can watch that it follows a continuous increase and that it remains constantly in its zone or “lane” delimited by dotted lines. You can also refer to so-called “standard” weight values ​​to reassure you:

• At one month, the baby weighs between 3,4 and 4,4 kg but these figures vary enormously according to the birth weight of the child and the hereditary genetic component;
• Then, until its 3 months, baby gains approximately 1 kg per month;
• Between 3 and 6 months, the infant will gain weight by around 600 g per month;
• Finally, after 6 months, and until she is one year old, her weight gain continues to decrease. With the arrival of walking and therefore greater energy expenditure, it is normal for the child’s weight curve to stabilize and increase less.

This curve, although very useful for monitoring your baby’s good weight gain, should not create competition with other children around you or cause unnecessary worry. Each child is different and follows their own rhythm, and what is valid for one, may not necessarily be for the other. Indeed, many factors come into account in interpreting the results of these weighings and the progression of the weight curve. In breastfed babies, for example, these results are generally slightly lower than in bottle-fed babies. Likewise, minor colds and other childhood illnesses can regularly limit the progression of the curve and the weight gain of the little one. However, there is nothing to worry about, and only your doctor will be able to interpret the results and draw conclusions.

A frequent question among young parents, this body mass index is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height in meters squared. For example, a baby boy of 4 kg and 55 cm will have an index of 13, which is perfectly within the norm. But it is obviously necessary to take into account the age of the child, as well as his sex in order to draw relevant conclusions.

There are no benchmarks for the baby’s weight curve. To make sure that all is well and that his development is normal, it is enough to follow his evolution and to correlate it with the other mandatory measurements during the monthly examination of your baby, such as his height or his head circumference. A check-up carried out by a midwife or a pediatrician from the first weeks of your baby’s life can reassure you if you have any doubts about the evolution of his weight curve. Do not hesitate to ask questions of healthcare professionals.