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In the first few days of life, virtually all babies lose some weight. This is due to excess fluid loss from water accumulated in utero. Breastfed babies will lose additional water since moms may not have an ample supply of milk at first. Your doctor will closely monitor your baby's weight to make sure that she hasn't lost more than 10 percent of her body weight, which is a sign of dehydration.

Thankfully, most babies quickly make up for the loss and by around two weeks are back at birth weight. Once a newborn hits the one-month mark, she'll begin to gain about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds each month. By four months, many babies have doubled their birth weight, and by a year, they've often tripled it....

In the first few days of life, virtually all babies lose some weight. This is due to excess fluid loss from water accumulated in utero. Breastfed babies will lose additional water since moms may not have an ample supply of milk at first. Your doctor will closely monitor your baby's weight to make sure that she hasn't lost more than 10 percent of her body weight, which is a sign of dehydration.

Thankfully, most babies quickly make up for the loss and by around two weeks are back at birth weight. Once a newborn hits the one-month mark, she'll begin to gain about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds each month. By four months, many babies have doubled their birth weight, and by a year, they've often tripled it.

"Proportionally speaking, babies gain more weight in their first year than at any other time," says Laura A. Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P., author of the American Academy of Pediatric's "Heading Home with Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality." "Weight gain is one of our best indicators of physical growth. If your baby is following an upward curved pattern of growth, it's a good sign." For more information, check out the growth charts provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Once your baby is weighed, your pediatrician will note where she falls on the growth chart in terms of weight and percentile (which is based on the percentage of babies her age who weigh this amount). Then, at each subsequent visit, your doctor will compare the percentiles to make sure that your baby is growing at a normal rate within this range. For instance, if your 6-month-old weighs 18 pounds, according to the CDC growth charts, she falls into the 95 percentile, meaning she's bigger than 95 percent of girls her age, but still within the range of normal. If she were to drop down to the 75 percentile at next month's visit, your doctor would try to figure out why.

Of course, parents don't use infant scales at home. The best way to make sure your baby is eating enough to grow is to check her diaper: Seven to 10 wet diapers a day and a bowel movement every one to three days (although some babies only poop once a week) should assure you that there?s enough going in and enough coming out to keep your infant growing strong. If you have concerns, discuss with your pediatrician.

Note

If you're breastfeeding, learn what to do if your baby is gaining weight slowly.

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