The Trixie Update » Growth

First Year Specs

benmac — Mon, 09 Aug 2004 03:19:35 +0000

I was amazed at how fast babies grow back during the first month, and I remain amazed today. Even though that remarkable growth quickly tapered off and stabilized to a smooth curve, it’s still astounding to me.

Trixie almost tripled her birth weight over the past year. That’s not something you or I would want to attempt. (It would put me at around 550 lbs.) And she increased her height by 50%, which worked out to almost an inch per month. Who hasn’t wanted to be an inch or two taller? But 10.25″? That’s pretty crazy.

All along she has been in the 50th percentile for weight and toward the top end (80%-95%) for height. Here’s a look at the numbers:

Weight and Height Measurements for First Year
Event	Date	Weight	% of Birth Weight	Height	% Height Increase
Born	7/31/03	6lbs 11oz	100%	20″	-
Left hospital	8/2/03	6lbs 2oz	92%	-	-
First doctor’s visit	8/4/03	6lbs 4oz	93%	-	-
2 week	8/13/03	7lbs 1oz	106%	-	-
3 week	8/22/03	7lbs 11oz	115%	-	-
1 month	9/2/03	9lbs	135%	22.5″	13%
2 month	10/2/03	10lbs 13oz	162%	23.25″	16%
4 month	12/3/03	13lbs 2oz	196%	25.25″	26%
6 month	2/4/04	15lbs 1oz	225%	27.75″	39%
9 month	5/3/04	17lbs 9oz	263%	28.25″	41%
12 month	8/2/04	19lbs 11oz	294%	30.25″	51%

6 month doctor's visit

benmac — Wed, 04 Feb 2004 15:54:43 +0000

Trixie’s 6 month monthiversary wasn’t totally without observance. We did swing by the ole docs office to pick up another barrage of shots and the requisite measurements. She’s smack in the middle of the weight average and on the upper end of the height chart which makes for a skinny string bean. More importantly, her head circumference is right at the 50% percentile, which came as a relief to me because I’ve been afraid that she had a pea-head – at least relative to some of the giant headed babies I see when out and about. Reassured in the size of her cantaloupe, we moved to other areas. All and all, she is in pretty good shape. The most exciting development? A giant list of finger foods that we can now start feeding her.

New Stats:
Weight: 15lbs 1oz
Height: 27 3/4 in
Head Cir: 42 1/2 cm

4 Month Doctor's Visit & Help Wanted

benmac — Wed, 03 Dec 2003 21:27:39 +0000

Trixie went to the doctor’s again today. Got the usual measurements and another complement of shots. She’s currently 13lb 2oz, and 25 1/4″ tall (long). I’d like to present the latest height and weight in the standard graph format, extrapolating her rapid growth to ridiculous 12 month levels, but the disrupted sleep thing is wearing me down too much. My higher level brain functions are turning to mush.

I think what I really need is an intern here at the Trixie Update. Someone to do the legwork and research for the different stories. They could also execute some of the simpler graphics templates. Database (MYSQL) and PHP experience would be fantastic because I’m currently sitting on the Diaper and Sleep Logs due to design issues. (The Sleep Log in particular is a very rich and revealing visual representation of Trixie’s horrific sleep habits.) I just haven’t had time to pull these Log packages together and get them up on the site. There are also a number of other stories we have sitting on the back-burner. Just wanted to let our readers know that we’re trying to get rid of the backlog. Maybe I can work out a semester internship program with one of the local colleges.

Revised Downward

benmac — Tue, 07 Oct 2003 05:40:21 +0000

In addition to the shots received last Thursday, Trixie got weighed at the doctor’s office. The new numbers confirm Jennifer’s assertion that babies do not maintain geometric growth beyond the first 4-6 weeks. In fact, Trixie gained less than two pounds in her second month, throwing off my previous one-year estimate of 779 lbs. But now, taking into account an extra month of data, I feel confident to release a new one-year weight extrapolation of 67 lbs. This estimate is still, of course, much too high, and her rate of growth will hopefully decrease in the coming months, or we can look forward to celebrating Trixie’s 1st birthday with a big fat case of diabetes. At any rate she currently weighs in at 10lbs 13oz. and is 23 1/4″ long, placing her above the 50th percentile for her age group.

Potentially Dangerous Growth

benmac — Thu, 04 Sep 2003 05:56:34 +0000

Trixie had her one month check-up yesterday and got weighed and measured. She is currently 9lbs. She has increased her mass by almost 50% over the past 30 days! This level of growth astounds me. If she were to maintain this level for a year, she would weigh 779 lbs by age one [see below]. Fortunately, Jennifer has assured me that babies do not maintain geometric growth levels beyond the first month or two. At any rate, she is at the 50th percentile for weight and 95th for height.