Baby Care - How Well is my Baby Eating?

Many parents worry in the early weeks about how much their babies are eating - specifically, they worry because they seem to be eating all the time. Not only does this make moms feel that they're not giving their babies enough food, but they also feel that they are not getting any time to do anything except sit on the sofa while breast- or bottle-feeding their baby. And then as your baby grows, it takes time experimenting with solid foods, finding out what she likes and doesn't like, and slowly weaning your baby off her all-milk diet. It's not the easiest phase to get through, but it's all worth it.

How well is my baby eating?

This is a worry that so many parents have, regardless of whether their baby is being breastfed or bottle-fed. If our babies could tell us whether their cries meant that they were cold, hungry, hot, or just generally out of sorts, we'd at least know what the matter was. But whenever your baby cries, the chances are that you'll worry that she's hungry and, over time, that may make you question whether the amount of milk she's getting is really enough to keep her well nourished.

Almost all pediatricians plot a baby's weight, height, and head circumference on a growth curve, or percentile chart.

This may be done every month, or more or less frequently, depending on your baby's age and how well she is gaining weight. Your pediatrician will check that your baby is roughly following the growth line that's expected of her.

On average, your baby will gain around 1 oz (25g) in weight daily from around 2 week to 3 months of age. Between 3 and 6 months of age. Between 3 and 6 months of age, her growth rate will slow down to 5 oz (150 g) a week.

The signs of a well-fed baby

Actually, contrary to popular belief, you don't need weighing scales to tell whether baby is thriving or not. But you do need to look carefully at your child, and to be aware of how she's changing as the weeks go by. In particular, bear in mind that she should be "filling out" - although this will not necessarily happen very quickly.

It's all relative, however, so don't expect your premature baby to suddenly have rolls of fat. My eldest daughter Rosie, who was born at 29 weeks and weighed just under 3 lb (1.4 kg), was a little scrap of a thing for months. I'm sure that, to the untrained eye, she must have looked severely undernourished and I found my visits to the pediatrician's office to get her weighed were a bit of a confidence-denter. Sitting there surrounded by bouncing cherubs, I'd often meet a baby who was bigger than Rosie and half her age. But what mattered wasn't comparing her with these other babies. It was comparing her with the baby that she used to be - and although I didn't always succeed, I did try to remind myself of that.

Your baby's diapers are a good indication of whether she's getting enough milk. If you are changing between six and eight wet diapers a day, your baby is doing fine.

Look, too, at how active and alert your child is ­these are important signs that she is growing and developing normally. For example, babies love the chance to kick their legs, move their arms around, and exercise their muscles when they are lying down on the floor. If she's doing this, it's a good indication that your baby is healthy, happy, and well.