Another Check-up | born.in.japan

Last time we went to the doctor I was a bit frustrated by her wanting to fit Ewan into a box. She was very focused on what the “average” was and a little worried that Ewan was below it. Now, if you think about this clearly, if it is an average, surely there has to be some babies above it and below it. They aren’t all going to go right along that middle line.

Well, it turns out that after more than a month working her new job, the doctor has come to realize this as well. Despite the fact that Ewan is gaining at almost exactly the same rate as he was last time, about 22 grams per day, she wasn’t the least bit concerned. He is genki (Japanese for energetic), he is developing well, so there was no reason to be concerned.

Anyways, let’s do a little comparing again.

At birth Ewan weighed 2,960 grams, last month he was 3,370 grams, now he is 4,240 grams.

At birth Ewan was 47 cm tall, last month he was 52.3 cm tall, now he is 57.7 cm tall.

At birth Ewan’s head was 32.5 cm, last month it was 36.5 cm, now it is 39.0 cm.

At birth Ewan’s chest was 32 cm, last month it was 34 cm, now it is 38.8 cm.

With weight gain, he is still on the low end of normal (according to the World Health Organization). He is gaining about 22 grams per day, for a total of about 154 grams per week. Average is 155 to 241 grams per week.

In terms of height, he is still growing a lot faster than normal. The average growth is about 2.5 cm per month, whereas Ewan grew more than 5 cm two months in a row. He is now 10 cm taller than he was when he was born. Wonder if this rate will continue??

The head growth is usually about 1.27 cm per month in the first six months, Ewan’s head increased by 2 cm this month. Pretty good and normal.

All in all we are pleased. Despite our early struggles, we seem to be right on track. The doctor thought that he is already in line with most babies born at the same time as him, which is great!

One of my co-workers daughters had the same due date as me. I delivered a month early, she delivered within 2 days of her due date, and now both of our babies are almost the exact same size. I suspect that our super-huge foreigner baby will quickly surpass her petite Japanese babe, but only time will tell.

http://consciousbreastfeedingconnections.com Máire Clements

I found your beautiful blog through Annie of PhdinParenting.com

A Japanophile, I found myself going down memory lane remembering Kanazawa and O-Hanami. What a marvelous experience for you and your family.

I could not resist commenting on this post. I was disappointed to read that even in Japan weights and measures now trump the basics of assessing a healthy, genki baby.

Unfortunately this myopic view of what constitues health in a baby is ubiquitous. Pseudo-science adds unnecessary stress to the breastfeeding experience and is one of the main reasons that so few mothers are able to fully realize their breastfeeding goals.

Babies are not generic. As you so aptly put it, your Ewan, and all babies, should not be expected to “fit in a box”. What I love is that in your post you exuded a calm confidence and a more keen scientific mind than the doctor.

You are so right. Growth is growth. In my experience, babies who are lanky tend to weigh less at first. As long as there is steady growth in all directions it need not conform to the charts. There is yet to be a chart in existence that can adequately account for the varied gene pool and feeding management of every child in the world.

You did this doctor and all who have followed your story a great service by questioning the validity of just looking at the numbers. The more voices we raise in objection to one-size-fits all medicine the better it will be for breastfeeding and our health in general.

[Reply]