How Your Son Should Be Growing From Birth To Toddlerhood
Here's a growth chart to help you understand what your healthcare provider is looking at when he or she tells you where your baby is "on the charts."
The growth curve
Your healthcare provider will regularly measure the height and weight of your baby, and may plot his growth on a chart like the one below. You may also be told that your baby is in a certain percentile for height and a certain percent for weight. These numbers in and of themselves don't mean a lot, as children grow and develop at different rates. These charts are helpful to make sure your child is growing consistently. If he slips off the curve (does not seem to be growing well), this may signal a problem.
Your healthcare provider will regularly measure the height and weight of your baby, and may plot his growth on a chart like the one below. You may also be told that your baby is in a certain percentile for height and a certain percent for weight. These numbers in and of themselves don't mean a lot, as children grow and develop at different rates. These charts are helpful to make sure your child is growing consistently. If he slips off the curve (does not seem to be growing well), this may signal a problem.
Please note: The American Dietetic Association has stated that up to three months of age, breastfed infants generally gain weight more rapidly than their fomula-fed counterparts; and after four months of age, tend to gain weight more slowly. This charts, like nearly all charts, is based on growth patterns of formula fed-infants. The World Health Organization (WHO) has a "An Evaluation of Infant Growth"
chart for breastfed babies in the works. Until that's widely available, just be mindful that there might be some differential.
All growth charts:
Growth chart for boys: age 0-2
Growth chart for boys: age 3-18
Growth chart for girls: age 0-2
Growth chart for girls: age 3-18
