One of the biggest concerns for new parents is their baby’s weight gain. This is easily resolved by taking her to the baby clinic every couple of weeks. The Health Visitor or Midwife will weigh and plot your baby’s growth and development in her little red book. It is always important to remember that it makes no difference whether you are breast or bottle feeding your baby as long as her weight gain gradually continues to increase.

Your baby’s growth and development can depend on many factors such as your pregnancy or your baby’s delivery. What was her birth weight? Babies can lose up to 10% of their birthweight and this is perfectly normal. It can also take up to 2 weeks for your baby to get back to her birth weight.

Your baby can become very tired during breastfeeding and you may find it difficult to keep her awake. To avoid this try undressing her down to her vest and nappy especially if you have a summer baby! A mid-feed nappy change is also helpful!

If you are breastfeeding and a little concerned that she may not be getting enough milk in those early few days while you are waiting for your milk to come in you could always offer her a little formula top up, especially if your baby has jaundice or arrived a little earlier than planned. This will offer you reassurance as a new parent and avoid possible dehydration or increase jaundice levels. Keeping a simple diary is very useful as you can also pick-up on any patterns in her feeding and sleeping schedule, and it will help you to get her routine back on track.

In those all important early weeks your baby will go through growth spurts which is very natural. You may find that she is a little unsettled at times and wishes to feed more frequently or for longer periods. Equally some days you may notice that your baby requires less feeding but requires more sleep. Rest assured she will always let you know when she is hungry!