Infant Feeding Guidelines
Infant feeding presents a lot of questions for new and expectant mothers. Beyond the million-dollar question of whether to breast feed, bottle feed or both comes the other questions about the baby’s eating schedule in their first year before they transition to table food.
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding supplies all the nutrition that a baby needs in their first four to six months of life. Breast milk provides babies with the perfect customized food that will help them grow and develop and protect them against many illnesses.
Mothers who opt to breastfeed also provide health benefits to themselves such as: a reduced chance of breast Cancer later in life plus getting their body back to pre-pregnancy shape and weight sooner than those who bottle feed.
Breastfeeding Challenges
Breastfeeding isn’t always easy in the beginning. Teaching a baby to correctly latch on to the nipple correctly and the mother having to deal with supply issues can be frustrating and while a mother is learning to breastfeed her baby she may be faced with nipple pain and exhaustion because she is the only one that can feed her baby.
After breastfeeding is established, it gets easier. Women can breastfeed for a year, for two years or perhaps even slightly longer depending on their baby and on their preferences. Some women opt to breastfeed for a shorter period of time based on many factors such as whether she’s able to be with the baby full time or back at work as well as due to her own personal preference.
If you’re having trouble breastfeeding, a lactation consultant can help you learn to get the baby latching properly which will remove the pain completely.
Many women breastfeed and do so while they work because they pump their milk and store expressed milk to be given to the baby while they’re at work.
Breastfeeding a baby should be done on demand and breast fed babies generally eat more often than babies who are bottle fed.
Bottle Feeding
Bottle feeding provides an alternative to breastfeeding. Babies are generally offered a few ounces of infant formula every few hours and as the baby gets bigger, that amount increases until it is up to about 8 ounces per feeding. Bottle feeding is costly and requires careful sterilization of supplies and has a relatively short shelf life. Bottles should be carefully sterilized in order to avoid bacteria which can cause oral thrush. Be cautious about following guidelines for storage and consumption within specified amounts of time. Some women who cannot or choose not to breastfeed find this to be a useful alternative and some mothers choose to alternate between breast feeding and formula feeding as well due to their preference.
Some babies have allergies to regular infant formula or have acid reflux problems so special formula may be required. Mothers can work with their pediatrician if there are feeding problems. Bottle fed babies tend to be on infant formula until they are a year old.
For those who breastfeed it is often advised to wait until the baby is well established with the breast before switching back and forth between the breast and bottle. This helps to avoid nipple confusion and breastfed babies who are given the bottle too soon will often reject the breast because it takes longer to get milk and is harder work than a bottle’s rubber nipple which requires little sucking in contrast.
Infant Cereal
At around four months to six months doctors will typically give the green light to start feeding your infant rice based cereal. There are other grains such as wheat, oat and barley but generally rice is the best tolerated for young babies so is what doctors suggest. Just a few spoonfuls mixed with baby formula or breast milk is what is suggested in the beginning. Let your baby’s appetite be your cue but encourage them to start eating solids at this stage.
Many mothers find that once they introduce infant cereal, their breastfed baby will nurse less often and around this time, many women who are nursing will notice the return of their period due to the reduced frequency of breastfeeding.
Baby Food
At about 6 months, doctors will suggest babies are given baby food. You generally introduce 1 food at a time and wait two to three days before adding a new food to the diet so that if there is an allergy or poor reaction, it’s easy to identify which food is the offender. You can choose to use jarred baby food or prepare your own. If you prepare your own it’s important to make sure the food is carefully prepared so it isn’t a choking hazard. Extra preservatives, spices and condiments are not advised for young babies.
Many experts recommend giving babies vegetables before introducing fruit. Introducing fruits before vegetable eating is established can result in the baby rejecting the vegetables. As the baby gets closer to a year they can start having mixed meals and meats as well.
Snacking
When baby starts to get teeth, it’s a good idea to use approved teething biscuits and small snacks such as Cheerios, toasted bread cubes and crackers in small quantities and under supervision. Many Moms find that at this stage, it’s much easier to get a hot meal in because they can put their baby in a feeding chair with snacks while they get their dinner eaten.
Liquids
Young breastfed babies don’t need any additional liquid as the mother’s milk adjusts consistency to the weather and to the baby’s nutritional requirements. Bottle fed babies can have up to 4 ounces of water per day in a bottle if necessary, especially during hot days.
When a baby is about six months old, they often get introduced to a sippy cup and diluted apple juice. It’s better not to give juice in a bottle as it can contribute to tooth decay, especially at bed time.
Juice should be diluted until at least the child’s first birthday and given in only small quantities otherwise it could impact the child’s appetite and prevent them from getting their minimum daily requirement of calories.
Juice can be diluted at a 4:1 ratio of 4 parts water to 1 part juice for six to nine month old babies and at nine months and up should still be diluted at about 50/50 water and juice.
Infant feeding guidelines should be discussed with your doctor as your child may have specific nutritional requirements depending on allergies and specific medical requirements. There are a lot of resources available to help you make healthy diet choices for your children.
Visit our site for more information and tips on pregnancy and infant feeding guidelines at http://PregnancyExtra.com.
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