Early Feeding Tips
Feeding your infant
Getting Started
Age birth - 5 months
In the first few months of life, new infants require either breast milk or iron fortified formula. Feeding is on demand and water, or solid foods are not necessary until around 6 months of age.
The new AAP guidelines recommend breast feeding exclusively for the first 6 months of life, and then until at least 2 years of age.
This is an exciting time! There is a lot to consider as this may all be new!
Parents have many questions surrounding feeding.
Questions such as -
What should I feed my baby?
How much should my baby eat?
When should I feed my baby?
How do I know if my baby is hungry?
Is my baby getting enough?
Should I give my baby water?
Is what I am eating affecting my baby?
Should I put solid food like cereal in the bottle?
Let's take a deep dive into these most common questions!
What should I feed my baby?
Breast milk and/or iron-fortified infant formula is the true “first food” in your baby’s diet. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends exclusive consumption of breast milk until age 6 months. For resources and support, ask your pediatrician or family doctor, reach out to your local WIC office, find a local La Leche League, or scan here for more resources!
How much should my baby eat?
At 2 months, babies eat anywhere from 3 to 5 ounces of breast milk or infant formula about every 2-4 hours. By 4 months, they may eat 4 to 6 ounces per feeding. After the first 1-2 months babies may start to sleep longer at night and eat more in the day. The amount and timing of feedings may vary as you follow the responsive feeding model.
When should I feed my baby
Responsive feeding is a model of feeding your child that is recommended by United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the AAP, and the World Health Organization. In following this model, you become responsive to your baby’s hunger and fullness cues instead of following a specific timed feeding schedule. Your baby may eat more often one day, and less often another day. Being responsive to your baby’s needs will help them learn to eat based on their own internal hunger drive. No matter their source of food, breast milk and/or iron-fortified infant formula, it’s crucial to build a feeding relationship with your child from day one.
How do I know if my baby is hungry?
Signs your baby is hungry may be fussiness, opening the mouth, rooting (a reflex that helps the baby turn their head to find breast, chest, or bottle nipple), and lip smacking. Reading baby’s cues and learning how your baby communicates hunger and fullness is an important part of responsive feeding
Is my baby getting enough?
Babies will typically pause and rest but keep their mouth near the breast, chest, or bottle nipple if they are taking a break. If your baby turns away, falls asleep, or begins to show interest in other things in the environment, it’s best to honor those fullness cues and stop the feeding
Should I give my baby water or Juice?
No. Babies do not and should not drink water or any other beverages at this time because their kidneys can’t easily handle plain water. If they need fluids, they should only be given breastmilk and/or infant formula which is over 80% water. At 6 months old or older, giving 2-4 ounces of water in a sippy cup per day is reasonable which we will review later.
Juice is not recommended at any age. It increases the risk of dental cavities and creates unhealthy drinking habits for the toddler years, please do not give Juice. They receive all necessary vitamins from their formula and breast milk and later from the real fruit that they consume. https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/HealthyBeverageQuickReferenceGuideDownload.pdf
Is what I am eating affecting my baby?
If your baby is having symptoms like excessive spitting up, excessive fussiness, blood in the stool or other symptoms, please talk to your pediatrician or family doctor about whether it is time to consider a new formula or make a change to the nursing parent’s diet.
Should I put solid foods like cereal in the bottle?
No. Breastmilk and formula have all the nutrition that babies need at this stage, and most babies do not need the excess calories. Solid foods are not typically recommended until around the 6-month mark. If your baby has reflux symptoms, talk to your pediatrician or family doctor before adding anything to bottles of breastmilk or infant formula.
Feeding is more than just nourishment but also a good indicator for development.
Boosting Feeding Development
1. GROSS MOTOR SKILLS: Build gross motor strength through supervised tummy time on a flat surface, your lap, or your chest. Tummy time is laying babies on their stomachs for brief periods while they’re awake to help build neck, shoulder, and chest strength. Your baby will need this strength around 6 months when it’s time to sit up in a feeding chair to start solid foods.
2. FINE MOTOR AND ORAL MOTOR SKILLS: Encourage your baby to hold toys or safe teethers in their fists. They may bring toys to their mouth to explore. This helps build eating skills for the future.
3. COMMUNICATION SKILLS: In order to learn to talk, babies need to hear language and see gestures and facial expressions. Narrate what’s happening throughout the day, including when you are eating or cooking. Talk to your baby face to face. Watch and respond to their attempts to communicate back to you.
4. TASTE TRAINING: If you are nursing, make sure to eat a variety of foods to nourish both you and your baby. The flavors of food passed through breast milk provide your baby with a variety of tastes before you introduce solid foods.
Thank you for joining us here for reliable information from Dr. Lola. Please STAY TUNED for more early feeding advice coming up – next Stage is 6 months to 1 year coming soon.
