It amazes me still how drastically a woman’s perception of life changes after birth. Yes, we do talk about our babies a lot, but what is more interesting is how we sometimes manage to get competitive over trifle things.
Let’s take baby weight percentiles for example. I once saw two lady friends fight over whose baby weighed how much and what percentile they were in! We all can relate to the feeling of excitement of a new parent, but what do percentiles really mean you ask?
Well, baby weight percentiles tell you how your baby’s weight compares to other babies’ weight in the country, and what percentage of babies of the same age weigh less or the same as your child. Let’s say your kid is in the 75th percentile. That means that your baby weighs the same or more than 75% of children the same age.
Experts strongly suggest that parents don’t try to get competitive or worried over these things. Babies grow, and growth percentiles only give us a comparison for that moment in time. Even if your baby is at an extreme end of the spectrum (showing a very high or very low percentile), it doesn’t necessarily mean that you would have to seek medical help. It’s crucial to take into consideration both, height and weight, and keep in mind that genetically children may develop, following familial or ethnic patterns of growth that might deviate a bit from the standard norm.
If you’re still curious, you might want to try this baby weight percentile calculator!