Baby Growth Timeline
As a new parent, it's natural to wonder if your child is growing at a normal pace. Use this helpful baby growth timeline to learn about baby growth trends from birth to two years.
Check out the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s (CDC) complete growth charts grouped by age, weight, height and percentile for newborns to toddlers.
Newborn (0-3 months)
After birth, a newborn may lose about 5-10% of their birth weight before leaving the hospital. However, by about 2 weeks, babies should start to gain weight and grow quickly.
Typically, when looking at your baby’s growth timeline, your newborn grows faster in the first few months than at any other point in their life.
If your baby is breastfeeding, it's important they be fed every 2-3 hours (8-12 times per day). If they are bottle feeding, then they may eat every 3-4 hours in the first few weeks.
Every month after the first, they should gain about 1.5-2 pounds and grow 1-1.5 inches. And, a good thing for moms and dads, a newborn may sleep 16-17 hours a day the first month of life.
Infant (4-8 months)
After the 6-month mark, infant growth is not as rapid. However, infants need more calories in relation to their size.
Every month, your baby should gain about 1.5-2 pounds and grow 2-3 inches. An infant's weight by 4-6 months should be double their birth weight.
Toddler (9 months and up)
By 8 months, the average boy will weigh between 14.5-17.5 pounds, while girls will weigh about a half-pound less.
At 1 year of age, the typical toddler weighs about 3 times their birth weight. However, between ages 1-2 a toddler will gain only about 5 pounds.
Your pediatrician will keep track of your baby’s growth, but it’s always good to have a sense of what’s typical and how you can help keep your little one on track. Learn more about your baby’s milestones during their first 2 years.
