Self-weighing your baby

The early years of a child’s life are crucial in shaping their future.

You can weigh your baby by visiting one of our drop-in clinics and using the ‘self-weigh’. Scales are available for you to use and information about how to use the scales and plot weight in your red book is available. Just pop in during our drop-in clinic opening hours. If you have any questions or would like a chat with a Healthy Child Service practitioner, one will be on hand in the drop-in clinic.

Our drop-in clinics for families of 0- to 5-year-olds are available at the following:

• Hob Moor Children's Centre, YO24 4PS, Mondays, 9.00am to 12.00pm
• Clifton Children's Centre, YO30 6JA, Thursdays, 9.00am to 12.00pm
• The Avenues Children's Centre, YO31 0UT, Fridays, 9.00am to 12.00pm
• Fulford Library, YO10 4LX held the first Tuesday of every month, 9.30am to 10.30am

You can also visit sessions throughout the city to weigh your baby. Please note: these sessions are not run by the Healthy Child Service but do display our guidance posters near the scales with information on how to weigh your baby and where to seek support if you have any concerns. Visit:

• Tuesdays 10.30am to 12.30pm
• New Earswick Folk Hall – Stay, Weigh and Play, New Earswick Folk Hall (Discovery Room), Hawthorn Terrace, New Earswick YO32 4AQ

If you have babies under the age of 12 months and looking for the opportunity to socialise, play and even weigh your baby, then our Stay, Play and Weigh Group could be what you’re looking for. Join us every Tuesday in the Discovery room at New Earswick Folk Hall, between 10.30am and 12.30pm, for a warm welcome, a cuppa, and a place to talk all things parenting. Siblings welcome. For further information email: [email protected] or telephone: 01904 769621.

There's also the Place at Sanderson House which offers a Stay, Play and Weigh. Visit:

• Tuesdays from 9.00am to 11.00am
• The Place Sanderson House, Branham Road, Acomb, York, YO26 5AR

For further information, visit The Place's website.

If you have any concerns or need advice about your child, contact the Healthy Child Service on telephone: 01904 555475 (Monday to Friday 9.00am to 4.30pm) or email: [email protected].

• How to self weigh your baby
• How often you should weigh your baby
• How to tell your baby is growing well without weighing
• What weight gain to expect
• Recording your baby’s weight
• Plotting your baby’s weight on the growth chart “Centile Chart”
• Concerns about your baby’s weight

How to self weigh your baby

This is a guide on how to self weigh your baby. You will also find a poster in each self weigh area displaying this information.

For safety when using self weigh, please make sure you do not leave your baby unattended at any time to prevent them falling or rolling off surfaces.

1. Place a muslin square or blanket on the changing mat before undressing your baby
2. Undress your baby and press the start button on the scales
3. Wait for 0.000 to appear on the scales
4. Place you baby on the scales ensuring that they lie as still as possible. If your baby can sit unaided, you can sit them on the scales
5. When finished, wipe the changing mat and scales with the wipes provided and place any rubbish in the bin

• We recommend that you weigh your baby naked but if you choose to weigh your baby in a dry nappy or blanket, remember to weigh these items separately and take away from the weight you record
• In your red book record the date, baby’s age, and weight, you can find more information about recording your baby’s weight
• You can also plot the weight on the growth chart “centile chart”, you can find more on plotting your baby’s weight on the growth chart “Centile Chart”
• If you have any concerns or need advice about your child, contact the Healthy Child Service on telephone: 01904 555475 (Monday to Friday 9.00am to 4.30pm) or email: [email protected].
• You can also find more information if you have any concerns about your baby’s weight

How often you should weigh your baby

Weighing your baby too often can sometimes cause unnecessary worry as it can make it seem like your baby’s weight is going up and down. Weighing less often gives a clearer picture over a longer period of time.

These are recommendations for how often you should weigh your baby,

• weigh once a month from 2 weeks to 6 months
• weigh every 2 months from 6 to 12 months
• weigh every 3 months when over 12 months

Occasionally your baby may be weighed more often if there are any concerns.

Weighing less often doesn’t mean you can’t be confident that your baby is growing well. You can find out how to tell your baby is growing well without weighing.

Read more information if you have any concerns about your baby’s weight.

How to tell your baby is growing well without weighing

Weighing less often doesn’t mean that you can’t be confident that your baby is growing well. There are other ways to tell that your baby is getting the nutrition they need.

You can be reassured when:

• they wake up and “ask” for a feed
• they have plenty of wet and dirty nappies
• they have times when they are content and alert (awake and looking around)
• their skin is a normal colour for them
• you can feel them getting heavier and friends and family comment on them getting bigger
• they are growing out of nappy sizes and need larger sized baby clothes
• they are reaching milestones and interested in the world around them

If you do feel worried that your baby is not gaining enough weight or might be gaining too much weight, read more if you have concerns about your baby’s weight.

What weight gain to expect

There is a wide range of normal weight gain in babies, so the information provided here is only a guide to help you know roughly what to expect, so please don’t panic if your baby’s weight gain is different to this. Many babies who gain slowly are perfectly healthy and it is important to look at all the signs of health when looking at your baby’s growth pattern. You can find more information about how to tell your baby is growing well without weighing. You can also look at how your baby’s weight is following its own growth curve by plotting your baby’s weight on the growth chart known as a centile chart, which you will find in your red book. You can find more information about plotting your baby’s weight on the growth chart “Centile Chart”. If you have any concerns about your baby’s weight, please speak to your Health Visitor, as most situations can be easily resolved with some support, advice or just reassurance. Read more information if you have any concerns about your baby’s weight.

First few days

It is normal for a baby to lose some weight in the first few days after birth. This is because babies are born with some extra fluid which they will pass out in their wee over the first few days. They will also pass black tar like poo’s known as meconium in the first few days. Meconium is made up of products that your baby has taken on board during the pregnancy and so is inside them when first born. After they poo out the meconium, they may weigh less.

From day 5

From around about day 5 babies usually start to gain weight. At this time an average weight gain is usually between 15- to 30-grams per day. Babies generally get back to their birthweight by around 2 to 3 weeks of age. However, this is not the case for all babies and your Midwife and Health visitor will continue to support and advise you if this is the case for you and your baby.

After 2 weeks

After 2 weeks an average weight gain is around 140g to 245g per week. From around 3 months this will then usually slow down. Remember however, this is only a rough guide as to what to expect and all babies are different. If you have any concerns, follow the advice above.

Recording your baby’s weight

In your red book you should find a table like the one below to record your baby’s weight. You should complete this each time your baby is weighed. When you are using the self weigh please write self weigh in the name and initials column.

The 'Other Measurements' column is filled in during Health and Development reviews, so can be ignored during self weighing.

You should always weigh and write your baby’s weight in the red book in kilograms. Grams are a smaller unit of measurement and because of this they give a more accurate view of your baby’s weight.

Converting your baby’s weight

You can also choose to convert your baby’s weight to pounds and ounces for your own information and there is space to document this in your red book too. You will find a conversion chart in your red book. Look for the weight in kilograms nearest to the one you have recorded and across from this you should see an amount in pounds and ounces.

You may want to use an app to convert the weight. If you do then it is best to use the same app each time, as each app will have a slightly different conversion and may also be different to the conversion chart in your red book.

Plotting your baby’s weight on the growth chart “Centile Chart”

A centile chart

Centile charts show the typically expected growth patterns for boys and girls. They are based on information collected over a period of time through weighing and measuring babies and children in the UK.

The charts are suitable for breast, formula and combination fed babies and for babies of any ethnic origin.

Lines on the chart

The lines on the chart are known as 'centile lines'. They show the expected growth curves for children from the smallest normally growing children (0.4th centile) to the largest normally growing children (99.6th percentile).

Each line describes the number of children expected to be below that line. So, for example 50% of UK children will be smaller than the 50th centile and 91% of children will be below the 91st centile.

Babies and children come in all sorts of shapes and sizes but 99 out of 100 UK children will grow somewhere between the two outer lines.

It doesn’t matter where your baby is on the growth chart. What is important is that your baby’s growth is relatively consistent on a curve.

Plotting the chart

Babies weight gain in the early days can be very different from baby to baby so there are no lines on the chart between 0- to 2-weeks. However, by 2 weeks of age most babies will be on a centile close to their birth weight and their progress on their own centile can be plotted.

If you are plotting the weight for a girl, use the pink chart. If you are plotting for a boy, use the blue chart. Boys and girls have different charts because boys tend to be a little heavier and taller and their growth patterns are slightly different.

Example of a portion of the plotting chart for girls.

1. Find your baby’s weight on the upwards line and follow the line across to their age.
2. You will find your baby’s age on the bottom or top line; you can then follow this vertically to the weight.
3. Mark with a pencil dot the place where the two meet. This is your baby’s position on the centile chart.

You may also choose an app to record your baby’s weight on a centile chart. If you do, then it is best to use the same app each time to ensure you gain a consistent result.

Plotting the chart for a baby born before 37 weeks

If your baby was born before 32 weeks their growth will need to be plotted on a different chart.

If your baby was born between 32 and 37 weeks, the way your baby’s weight is plotted will be slightly different.

In both instances we recommend that before using self weigh you see your Health Visitor for advice on completing the chart correctly.

What should growth on a centile chart look like?

Babies do not all grow at the same rate, so a baby’s weight often does not follow a particular centile line but generally they follow their own curve and within a centile space. A centile space is the distance between two of the centile lines.

Sometimes if your baby is unwell, you may see a drop from their centile, but this should resolve when they are well again.

If, however you baby’s weight is continually dropping or there is a continued drop through one and a half to two centile spaces or more then you should seek support from the duty Health Visitor on telephone 01904 555475

You should also speak to your own health visitor or from the duty Health Visitor on telephone 01904 555475 for advice if your baby’s curve on the centile is rising above two centile spaces.

Concerns about your baby’s weight

If you have any worries about your baby’s weight, this can be if you are worried, they are gaining too much or too little, or would like some help or information about your child, you can call the Healthy Child Service on telephone: 01904 555475 (Monday to Friday 9.00am to 4.30pm) or email: [email protected].

It can feel distressing if your baby is not gaining as expected but we are here to help, and in most cases, only small changes, or just reassurance is what’s needed to get things back on track, so please let us know so that we can support you.

If you are breastfeeding and you have concerns about your baby’s weight you may also want to seek support from the Healthy child service or a local breastfeeding support group such as Treasure Chest or have a look online at the Raise York infant feeding pages or some of the national support groups and helplines.