How Often Should You Measure?

Most of your baby’s measurements will happen at well-child visits. In the United States the usual schedule (from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Bright Futures guidelines) is a visit in the first week, then at 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24 and 30 months, and once a year from age 3. Weight, length and head circumference are recorded at each visit until age 2.

The first two weeks are the exception. Newborns usually lose some weight in the first days, often up to 7–10% of their birth weight, and are expected to be back to birth weight by about 10 to 14 days. If feeding is a concern, your pediatrician may ask to weigh your baby more often during this time.

From then until about 6 months, growth is fast enough that a weigh-in every few weeks shows a clear trend. Between 6 and 12 months, about once a month is plenty. After the first birthday growth slows down a lot, and the measurements from checkups are usually enough.

More frequent weighing rarely helps. Day-to-day weight moves with feeds, diapers and clothing, and home scales are less precise than clinic scales. Weighing every day mostly produces worry; the trend over weeks is what matters.

If you measure at home, keep it consistent: the same scale, at a similar time of day, before a feed, with a dry diaper or no clothes. For length, measure lying down with legs gently straightened, heel to the top of the head; this is hard to do accurately alone, so the clinic measurement is often more reliable.

Write down the doctor’s measurements too. Having all the numbers in one place, with dates, makes it easy to see the curve and to answer questions at the next visit.

Growthling lets you log measurements from checkups or from home and shows each one on the WHO or CDC chart with its percentile.

Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics, Bright Futures/AAP Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care; WHO Child Growth Standards. This article is general information, not medical advice.