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What's the baby up to?
Growth points
Breastfed and formula-fed babies grow at different rates. In general, breastfed babies tend to be leaner, which is healthier, especially in the long run.
Here's a general guide to the growth of breastfed babies during the first year:
Weight gain of 112-200g a week during the first month.
An average 1/2 to 1kg per month for the first 6 months.
An average of 1/2kg per month from 6 months to one year.
Take care of you...
Seeing the gynae
You’ll be amazed that 6 weeks have gone past, while also feeling sure you have been a parent forever.
Here’s what to expect from your 6 weeks postnatal doctor’s visit.
Your doctor will check the following:
Your emotional wellbeing and signs of postnatal depression
Your weight
Blood pressure
He will also do a:
Breast examination
Abdominal examination
Pelvic examination
... and think about
Is my baby too hot?
Too hot or too cold? This will be a constant worry for you when you have a new baby as it affects how you
dress your baby, the temperature of the bath, her bottle, her room and even whether she has a fever or not.
A baby’s temperature should be 37°. If you feel her and she seems too warm, consider whether she is dressed
too warmly or is in a hot environment. Feel her forehead with the back of your hand, and then also feel her
neck, hands and feet. If her temperature is above 39° call the doctor and keep her cool. Going below 37° is
very rare, so call a doctor.
Temperature control
The ideal room temperature is between 20° and 23°. Place a wall thermometer in the room so you can make sure
it’s not too hot or too cold. If it is very hot, cool the room down with open windows and a fan – but don’t
let it blow directly on the baby. If it is very cold, heat the room slightly but make sure your heater doesn’t
make the room stuffy or dry out the air. To check the bath water, which should be comfortably warm, use your
elbow as it is more accurate than using your fingers. If it feels hot on your skin it will be too hot for your
baby, so add some more cold water. And if it feels too cold on your skin, add some more hot water. But always
check it again before placing baby in the bath. Breast milk is always at the perfect temperature, so you need
never worry about that, but formula milk could be too hot. Always use cooled, boiled water to make up your baby’s
bottle and then warm it up by standing the bottle in boiled water. To test that it is not too hot or too cold
put a few drops on the inside of your wrist. It should feel comfortably warm. It is not a good idea to warm the
bottle in the microwave as this could warm it unevenly and you may have some very hot patches that will scald
your baby’s mouth. As a rule when you are dressing your baby, put her in one more layer than you are wearing,
with either a light blanket or a warm one depending on the temperature.
Go back to the complete list of Baby week-by-week updates.
