Baby Weight Gain: What’s Normal, When to Worry, and What Really Matters

When it comes to baby weight gain, the measurable increase in a newborn’s mass over time, often tracked during health visits. It’s not just a number—it’s one of the clearest signs your little one is thriving. Most babies lose a bit of weight in the first few days after birth, then start gaining about 150 to 200 grams a week. By two weeks, they’re usually back to their birth weight. If your baby is feeding well, having enough wet nappies, and seems content, that’s the real signal—not the scale.

But what if they’re not gaining as fast? Or worse, what if they’re gaining too much? infant growth, the pattern of physical development in babies from birth to age one isn’t a straight line. Some babies shoot up quickly, others creep along. What matters is consistency. The baby growth chart, a tool used by health professionals to plot weight, length, and head circumference over time isn’t there to scare you—it’s there to spot big shifts. A drop across two major percentiles? That’s worth a chat with your health visitor. A slow but steady climb? That’s often perfectly fine.

And don’t get tangled up in comparisons. Your friend’s baby hit 10 pounds at six weeks? Yours took ten weeks? That’s not a failure—it’s individuality. pediatric weight milestones, key benchmarks in a child’s development that help guide care aren’t deadlines. They’re guideposts. What’s more important than hitting a target weight is whether your baby is alert, feeding with interest, and showing steady progress. Breastfed babies often gain slower than formula-fed ones in the first few months—that’s normal, not a problem. And if your baby is large at birth, their growth might slow down later. That’s also normal.

What you’ll find in the posts below aren’t generic charts or alarmist advice. You’ll find real, practical answers from UK parents who’ve been there: how to tell if your baby is getting enough milk, what to do if your health visitor says they’re falling behind, why some babies gain fast and others don’t, and how to track progress without obsessing over the numbers. No fluff. No fear-mongering. Just what you need to know to feel confident your baby is growing the way they should.