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“WOW, your baby’s weight and height are both in the 95 percentiles at her age!” the doctor told us, after carefully comparing measurements on her chart.
In the 95 percentiles in weight and height?! In another word, DD might be among the top 5% of the fastest growing (maybe even the healthiest) babies nationwide!
This is really good news! But it took her a fairly long time to reach this level.
At birth DD didn’t fall into the top 5% in height and weight. She weighed 7.06 pounds (average weight is 7 1/2 pounds) and was 201/2 inches (average length is 20 inches long when she arrived. Two days later when she left the hospital, her weight dropped to 6 pounds 13 ounces.
She continued to lose weight until her first visit to the lactation nurse. The nurse thought DD lost too much weight after birth. She suggested us to use supplement after each nursing. Since then, DD began to grow and kept growing.
She gained 6 ounces within two days. At her two-week visit to the doctor, she regained her birth weight: 7.07 pounds (and 21 inches long). One week later, she gained another one pound and was exactly 8 pounds. She picked up 11 ounces more by her 4-week birthday. When she was 11 weeks of age, her weight reached 14.5 pounds and she was 24 1/2 inch long, making her a top 5% quality baby!
In spite of variations in weight, DD has been doing well in other health indicators. Her Apgar score* was 8 at one minute and 9 at five minutes after birth. She never had jaundice. In fact, her bilirubin level was only 5.8 compared to the standard of 12. She passed the PKU and hypothyroidism test as well as the hearing test without any problem.
Grow baby grow!
Apgar score*:
The Apgar score was devised in 1952 by Dr. Virginia Apgar as a simple and repeatable method to quickly and summarily assess the health of newborn children immediately after childbirth. Apgar was an anesthesiologist who developed the score in order to ascertain the effects of obstetric anesthesia on neonates.
The Apgar score is determined by evaluating the newborn baby on five simple criteria on a scale from zero to two, then summing up the five values thus obtained. The resulting Apgar score ranges from zero to 10. The five criteria (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration) are used as a mnemonic learning aid.
|
Apgar Sign |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
Appearance |
Normal color all over (hands and feet are pink) |
Normal color (but hands and feet are bluish) |
Bluish-gray or pale all over |
|
Pulse |
Normal (above 100 beats per minute) |
Below 100 beats per minute |
Absent |
|
Grimace (responsiveness or “reflex irritability”) |
Pulls away, sneezes, or coughs with stimulation |
Facial movement only (grimace) with stimulation |
Absent (no response to stimulation) |
|
Activity |
Active, spontaneous movement |
Arms and legs flexed with little movement |
No movement, “floppy” tone |
|
Respiration |
Normal rate and effort, good cry |
Slow or irregular breathing, weak cry |
Absent (no breathing) |
Interpretation of scores: The test is generally done at one and five minutes after birth, and may be repeated later if the score is and remains low. Scores 3 and below are generally regarded as poor condition, 4 to 6 fair, and 7 to 10 generally good to excellent.
