Size and growth chart for babies

Most parents are concerned if their child is bigger or smaller than kids of their age; a good indication if your baby developing properly physically is a baby’s growth and size chart. A pediatrician compares the weight, length, and head circumference averages with children of the same age and sex and measurements from previous checkups to ensure whether your baby is following a healthy overall growth pattern.

I thought it would be best to give you a benchmark where the values are given as percentiles; the values from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile for weight and height, which means that  half the kids fall within these ranges, while a quarter of kids fall above these numbers and a quarter of kids below them.

During each of the well-child visit, the doctor will weigh and measure your child and tell you his height and weight percentiles; consult your doctor if you have any concerns regarding your child’s growth.

Though percentiles are a good indicator it is wrong to be obsessed with them as they are not the last word. It is very important that your baby is growing at a steady, appropriate rate over time; he/she need not hit a magical number.

Given below is the data from the World Health Organization for children under age 2 and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for children age 2 and older.

• Most boys at birth weigh 6.7 - 8.1 pounds, while girls weigh 6.5 - 7.8 pounds. While newborn boys are 19.1 - 20.1 inches long, girls are 18.9 - 19.8 inches.

   
•  Boys at 3 months weigh 13.0 - 15.2 pounds, while girls weigh 11.8 - 14.0 pounds. While boys are 23.6 - 24.7 inches long, girls are 23.0 - 24.1 inches. It is worthwhile to note here that premature babies use their gestational age and not age since birth.  

• Boys at 6 months weigh 16.2 - 18.8 pounds, while girls weigh 14.8 - 17.5 pounds. While the length of boys is 26.1 - 27.2 inches, girls are 25.3 - 26.5 inches long. Most babies double their weight at birth at this stage.

• At 9 months your baby boy weighs 18.2 - 21.1 pounds, while girls weigh 16.7 - 19.7 pounds. Baby boys at this stage are 27.7 - 28.9 inches long, while baby girls are 27.0 - 28.3 inches.

• While toddler boys at 12 months weigh 19.8 - 22.9 pounds, girls weigh 18.2 - 21.4 pounds. Again boys at 12 months have a height of 29.2 - 30.5 inches; girls grow from 28.5 - 29.8 inches.

• While your boy child at 15 months weighs 21.1 - 24.5 pounds, the girl at that stage weighs 19.5 - 23.0 pounds. While your baby boy at this stage is 30.5 to 31.8 inches tall, a girl child at this stage is 29.9 - 31.2 inches.

• Boys at 18 months weigh 22.4 - 26.0 pounds, while girls weigh 20.8 - 24.5 pounds. Boys at this age are 31.7 - 33.1 inches, while girls are 31.0 - 32.5 inches.

• At 21 months boys weigh 23.6 - 27.5 pounds, while girls weigh 22.0 - 26.0 pounds. Boys at this age are 32.7 - 34.3 inches long, while girls are 32.1 - 33.8 inches.

• Your boy preschooler at 24 months is 24.8 - 28.9 pounds and has a height of 33.8 - 35.4 inches; girls at this age are 23.3 - 27.5 pounds and are 33.2 - 34.9 inches tall.

• At 27 months your boy weighs 27.0 - 31.2 pounds, while a girl weighs 25.8 - 30.0 pounds. While a boy at this stage is 34.1 - 36.1 inches tall, a girl is 33.7 - 35.6 inches.

• While a boy at 30 months weighs 27.8 - 32.2 pounds and is 35.0 - 37.0 inches tall, a girl weighs 26.7 - 31.1 pounds and is 34.6 - 36.6 inches tall.

• At 33 months a boy weighs 28.6 - 33.2 pounds, a girl is 27.6 - 32.3 pounds. A boy has a height of 35.8 - 37.8 inches, while a girl is 35.4 - 37.4 inches.

• Boys at 36 months weigh 29.5 - 34.3 pounds and are 36.5 - 38.6 inches tall, while girls at that age weigh 28.4 - 33.4 pounds and are 36.0 - 38.1 inches tall.

• A boy of 4 years weighs 33.3 - 39.1 pounds, while a girl weighs 32.2 - 38.5 pounds. While a boy is 39.2 - 41.5 inches tall a girl of this age is 38.6 - 41.0 inches.

• At 5 years boys weigh 37.5 - 44.7 pounds and are 41.7 - 44.2 inches tall, girls weigh 36.3 - 44.0 pounds and are 41.3 - 43.8 inches tall.

• A boy at 6 years weighs 41.9 - 50.6 pounds and is 44.2 - 46.9 inches tall; a girl weighs 40.8 - 50.0 pounds and is 43.9 - 46.7 inches tall.

• At 7 years boys weigh 46.5 - 56.8 pounds and are 46.6 - 49.5 inches tall; while girls at this age weigh 45.6 - 56.6 pounds and are 46.5 - 49.4 inches tall.

• At the age of 8 years, boys weigh 51.5 - 63.6 pounds and are 48.9 - 52.0 inches tall, while girls weigh 50.9 - 64.3 pounds and are 48.8 - 51.9 inches tall.

Hope you as parents appreciate and find useful the size and growth chart for children. 

Image Courtesy: Google