How much weight should a newborn put on in the first 6 weeks?

[mummytopebs]

DD is 6 weeks and has put on 12oz since birth, the health visitor said this not really enough, just wondered how much is usual to put on the first 6 weeks?

min of half an oz a week - which woul be 12oz, so sounds fine to me. is she well in herself? plenty of wet and dirty nappies? happy? if so i owuldn't let it worry you x

according to kellymom the average weight gain for breastfed babies is 5-7 oz per week although 4-5oz is acceptable too.

p.s. weight gain should be calculated from the lowest weight and not birth weight so if your lo lost weight after birth you count from that figure and not actual birth weight.

doh sorry, that's not right - half a pund a week after the first 2 weeks, so that's er, 2lbs isn't it? but i still wouldn't worry overly if she is well in herself

The 12 oz is from the weight she lost after birth.

She is bottlefed but has never upped the amount she takes since birth

She seems well and gets wet nappies. She is having tests cos has high calcium in her blood so wonder if this is something to do with that

It doesntvsound much weight at all to be honest, but are you feeding her yourself?

No i am bottlefeeding she will have 2 to 2.5oz 3 hourly, she sometimes takes 3 oz but if takes more than 2.5 generally is sick

I've had two girls who both gained weight miserably for the whole time they were purely milk fed. One was bf only, the other supplemented. Both off the chart weight-wise (though very average at birth).

In both cases, we checked out on failure to thrive gain rates, but no action was taken as they seemed otherwise very well, were happy, slept through from a very young age (ie by the age yours is) and generally gave no other cause for concern.

Tbh, 12 oz sounds tons to me, on the basis of my experience, as both had only just reached birth weight at six weeks.

They are now 3.6 years and 21 months, and show no obvious signs of early slow growth. Both eat well and look normal, although neither is tall (but then neither are we).

The only thing that would give me cause for concern would be the amount your dd is able to drink, but I'm sure you've advised your doc/HV of that already. Other than that though, try not to panic and don't let the HV panic you either. We were extremely lucky to have a team who viewed weight gain as one factor amongst several in assessing how well a baby is doing. I bet she'll be fine, and wish you lots of luck.