It's natural to be concerned about your babys physical growth and development, but many parents almost become obsessed with it. Weight and height are largely dependent on genetic factors so there isn't much you can do about it anyway. Of course you want to be sure that your baby is eating enough and thriving. Some other issues may be factored in such as ethnicity and nutrition, but ultimately genetics is the main influence behind what your child will ultimately be in terms of weight and height.

Your pediatrician will use growth charts to track your child's physical growth. He will check your baby's length, weight and head circumference at each checkup. He will compare that to a chart of national growth averages of children the same sex and age. He then will be able to tell you the "percentile"� your child falls into compared to the national average. If your baby is in the 90th percentile, that means that 90% of babies of the same sex and age weight less than yours and 10% weigh more. The length (height) is measured the same way. A baby that is at 50% is at the national average.

Don't concern yourself with these figures that much. Some babies are born smaller but will catch up. Others may have other temporary factors that will change over time. This is just a guide for the doctor to use to asses a baby's growth. All babies are different due to body chemistry, heredity, diet, and many other factors and will grow at their own pace. No two babies are going to be alike in their development. Some will grow in sudden spurts, others will grow more slowly.

The reason for measuring the head circumference is because the baby's brain is not fully formed at the time of birth and therefore will continue to grow during the baby's first year. A baby's head is a particular point of concern for the doctor because a head that is growing too fast can be a sign or hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and a head that is growing too slowly can be indicative of nutritional or developmental problems. Regardless, you shouldn't be too concerned if your baby's head appears a bit disproportional compared to the rest of her body, as this is completely normal for the first year of life. For the first few weeks, it may even be oddly shaped after a natural birth from its journey through the birth canal.

It is also worth remembering that a baby's initial birth weight, while a cause of anxiety for many parents, is not always a good indicator of how she will grow in future years. Premature babies for example do not always remain smaller than other children once they are several years old. Likewise, some very chubby babies may end up with a high metabolism and be very slim the rest of their life. You really cannot rely on a child's initial size and weight to be at all indicative of their future development.

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