DISCLOSURE: As a blogger, my content may include affiliate links from advertisers. I may earn a commission from actions readers take on these links, such as a click, purchase, or subscribe. However, these are the tools that I recommend fully and have helped my blog tremendously, and are at no cost to you.
Every single baby grow at their own pace, hence the average growth chart is a reference only but should not be anything making parents too worried if your baby is not exactly meeting the growth chart.
For example, when I check the growth chart in the little Blue Book provided by the hospital (I am in Australia) here, my baby is always growing somewhere in the middle of the growth trajectory. This is not too bad as she is growing within the so called normal range. However, one of my girlfriends’ was worried about her baby boy’s growth recently due to it was fallen below a certain percentile.
As long as the babies are fees based on their very own demand and supply, then I believe that it would be fine for parents to relax their mind, reset and rethink if their babies are feeding adequately according to demand. If so, then there should be not too many worries for the parents when the growth in weight seems to be a bit behind compared to the growth chart.
Below is a typical growth chart on Love Talk Sing Read Play App that many parents check from time to time. I am just showing you some part of them in few screenshots:
For my bub, she did not start to lift her head until after the first month. And when she lifts her head, it was like all of a sudden. And same happened for sitting up, there wasn’t much crawling happened for her, and one day she suddenly was able to hold her playpen and stand up… Not all developments are right hitting on the so-called development chart.
For parents who are so anxious about their baby’s progress, take a deep breath and refocus. According to Sarah Beeson MBE, former health visitor and author of parenting guide ‘Happy Baby, Happy Family’, those of us who wish to support our baby’s progress should allow our children to take the lead, rather than selecting milestones to look out for. “Let your child lead you to where they’re developing a skill. So if you can see they’re not quite there but they’re getting there, you can facilitate that emerging skill. There’s no forcing needed – no flash cards, nothing special. Babies want to develop, they want to achieve these things,” she advises.
Talking to your baby is one of the best things parents can do to help your baby to problem progress in a healthy trajectory. This is so good for your baby’s speech and language development.
Also, Beeson recommends that we encourage children, rather than dictating to them. “Rather than saying ‘put your shoes on’,” she says. “Say – ‘oh, look! There are your shoes! What should we do?'” This encourages children to feel as if they’ve made the decision themselves, and reduces any likely refusal or conflict.
If you are really worried about your baby not meeting the milestones, do some searches and chat with parent groups; visit your GP, Paediatric specialists, or nurses at your local Child and Family Health Centre to resolve your concerns; or speak to staff at your child’s nursery or pre-school to understand more about your child’s certain developmental traits and obtain more assurance and information on who to reach out for further assistance.
Follow our Healthy Mum & Bub blog site for insights on parenthood and more. Like our Facebook Page and Join our Facebook Healthy Mum and Bub Group to connect with fellow parents, ask questions or share your thoughts and words of wisdom. Let’s make the parenthood journey easier and more rewarding for all of our fellow parents.