Healthy Infant Growth
The average breastfed baby doubles its birth weight in 5–6 months. By one year, a typical breastfed baby will weigh about 2½ times its birth weight. At one year, breastfed babies tend to be leaner than formula fed babies, which is healthier, especially in the long-run. A general guide to the growth of breastfed babies is the following:
- Weight gain of 4–7 ounces (112–200 grams) a week during the first month
- An average of 1–2 pounds (1/2 to 1 kilogram) per month for the first six months
- An average of one pound (1/2 kilogram) per month from six months to one year
- Babies usually grow in length by about an inch a month (2.5cm) during the first six months, and around one-half inch a month from six months to one year.
Read more about this topic: Infant Feeding
Famous quotes containing the words healthy, infant and/or growth:
“Love is at the root of all healthy discipline. The desire to be loved is a powerful motivation for children to behave in ways that give their parents pleasure rather than displeasure. it may even be our own long-ago fear of losing our parents’ love that now sometimes makes us uneasy about setting and maintaining limits. We’re afraid we’ll lose the love of our children when we don’t let them have their way.”
—Fred Rogers (20th century)
“The colicky baby who becomes calm, the quiet infant who throws temper tantrums at two, the wild child at four who becomes serious and studious at six all seem to surprise their parents. It is difficult to let go of one’s image of a child, say goodbye to the child a parent knows, and get accustomed to this slightly new child inhabiting the known child’s body.”
—Ellen Galinsky (20th century)
“Parents find many different ways to work their way through the assertiveness of their two-year-olds, but seeing that assertiveness as positive energy being directed toward growth as a competent individual may open up some new possibilities.”
—Fred Rogers (20th century)