How Do You Know When Your Baby Is Ready To Eat
Feed your baby when she’s hungry. This is called on-demand or responsive feeding. Most newborns eat every 2 to 3 hours, or eight to 12 times over 24 hours. But each baby is different. Your baby may want to feed more or less often. As your baby grows, her feeding patterns may change, and she may go longer between feedings.
Look for and learn your baby’s feeding cues. Feeding cues are ways that your baby tells you that he’s hungry. Feeding cues include:
- Rooting. This is when your baby turns his head toward anything that touches his cheek or mouth.
- Sucking movements or sounds
- Putting her hand to his mouth
- Crying. This is a late feeding cue. Try to breastfeed your baby before he starts to cry.
Newborns eat about 2 to 3 ounces of formula every 3 to 4 hours. If your baby sleeps longer than 4 to 5 hours at a time, wake her up to feed her. By the end of the first month, she eats at least 4 ounces about every 4 hours. By the time she’s 6 months old, she eats 6 to 8 ounces four or five times a day.
Signs that your baby is full include:
- He starts and stops feeding.
- He spits out the bottle.
- He slows down or falls asleep.
- He gets distracted easily.
- He closes his mouth or turns his head away.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Breastfeeding
Its common to need help with breastfeeding in the beginning, especially if its your first baby. Most hospitals and health centers have staff who can help you learn and practice breastfeeding.
Disadvantages of breastfeeding include less vaginal lubrication , which can make sex uncomfortable. Using lube can help make sex more comfortable.
There are also many reasons why parents arent able to breastfeed, choose not to breastfeed, or use formula in addition to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding takes a lot of time and energy which may not always be available to you.
Parents may choose not to breastfeed because of:
-
Personal choice
-
Adoption
-
Lack of support in the workplace
Some people have more privilege because of social, economic, and environmental advantages that help make breastfeeding easier. However, some new parents have less privilege and may face systemic issues that create barriers that make it hard or impossible to breastfeed. For example, people of color can have a harder time accessing breastfeeding guidance and support from the health care system. And some people can have a harder time finding the space to pump and save their breast milk at work due to discrimination and/or bias from others because of things like their race, gender identity, or ability status.
Many policies and practices in public spaces and workplaces are improving, but more work is needed to provide better breastfeeding support to parents of newborns, especially parents who face barriers.
Keep The Bottle Horizontal
Gently place the teat into the babys mouth. Keep the bottle in a horizontal position . This will allow the milk to flow steadily and help prevent your baby from taking in air.
If the teat goes flat while you’re feeding, pull gently on the corner of your baby’s mouth to release the suction.
If the teat gets blocked, replace it with another sterile teat.
Read Also: Are Newborns Tested For Hiv
How Much Formula Should I Give My Baby
Within the first few weeks, make two- to three-ounce bottles every two to three hours for your newborn. Increase this amount after adjusting to their eating patterns. Look for the following cues to know when to start increasing your little ones formula intake:
- Finishing a full bottle at each feeding
- Showing signs of hunger after each feeding
Newborns
Newborns drink about 1.5 to 3 ounces of formula every two to three hours. Increase the amount as your baby grows.
Two-Month-Old Babies
Two-month-old babies drink about 4 to 6 ounces of formula every three to four hours. Increase the amount when your baby is able to consume more formula at each feeding.
How To Tell When Your Baby Is Hungry
It can be hard to know for sure when a baby is hungry or if there is something else causing them to fuss. Sometimes you won’t know for sure that they’re hungry until they’re offered a bottle.
Most babies usually cry when they are hungry. Placing the teat of the bottle in their mouth will calm them and they will start sucking.
Try to position your baby in your arms as you would if you were breastfeeding. Hold them close, look into their eyes and be sensitive to their cues or signals.
They suck and swallow in a coordinated way. They may look as if they’re concentrating on feeding, their hands are clenched and their whole body looks like it’s focused on sucking. As they fill up, their hands relax and their body becomes more relaxed.
Breastfed babies regulate their own milk intake. They suck when they’re hungry and stop sucking when they’re full. In comparison, formula-fed babies aren’t as much in control of how much milk they drink this is managed by the person offering the bottle.
When your baby has had enough, they will usually pull away from the teat to let you know they are full.
Sometimes you may notice that their sucking slows down and they have longer pauses between sucks.
Other ways your baby might show you they have had enough could be milk starting to pool in their mouth or they may vomit or ‘spill’ some milk.
Some babies might fuss after having a feed or might go to sleep.
You May Like: How Do You Get Rid Of Colic In Newborns
Feel Good About Your Choice
The A.A.P. recommends that women breastfeed exclusively for about the first six months of life, and then continue breastfeeding while giving solid foods for at least a year.
Exclusive breastfeeding for six months without additional solids or formula provides the strongest protection against gastrointestinal and respiratory infections during infancy. But partial breastfeeding does still provide some protections against diarrhea, ear infections, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and respiratory infections like pneumonia.
Note though, that this protection against infection lasts only as long as you are breastfeeding, said Dr. Kramer.
Some studies also suggest that breastfeeding can confer additional lifelong protection against obesity, eczema, asthma and allergies, as well as a slight boost in I.Q., though many of the studies showing these long-term benefits have major methodological issues, according to the A.A.P.
Women sometimes hear that just one drop of formula will change a babys microbiome the mélange of bacteria, fungi, and other microscopic bugs that line the skin and gastrointestinal system. Such changes, they are warned, may have lifelong consequences for their babies immune and metabolic health.
Some popular breastfeeding websites also warn that using formula can shorten the breastfeeding relationship.
How To Make A Baby Bottle With Formula
Baby formula comes in three different forms: ready-to-feed, concentrate and powder. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that babies under 3 months start off with ready-to-feed formula because of the small but real risk of cronobacter, a bacteria that can live in powdered infant formula.
Preparing ready-to-feed formula: These require very little prep, since they come ready to be poured into a bottle and fed to an infant. Some ready-to-feed formulas come in bottles that can accomodate disposable nipplesall you need to do is screw a nipple on, feed and discard.
Preparing concentrate formula: To prepare a baby body with this liquid formula, youll need to add water. Its important to read the directions to learn the right ratio of water to concentrate. As for what type of water should you use, that depends on where you live, your pediatricians recommendation and your own wishes. If your tap water is safe, feel free to use itjust run it for several minutes before you fill the bottle to remove any trace contaminants in the water. You can also use filtered water, bottled water or boiled tap water.
Also Check: How To Apply For Medical For A Newborn
Starter Or First Formula
There is a variety of starter formulas based on cows milk protein . Formula based on soy or goat’s milk is also available. These formulas are suitable for babies from birth to 12 months.
Read the label carefully because:
- formulas developed for toddlers as well as pregnant women can look very similar, so check the label carefully to ensure your baby gets a formula that is safe and appropriate for their age.
- the label may list a number of additions such as LCPUFAs , probiotics or prebiotics. These ingredients are added because they are found naturally in breastmilk.
Classes Of Infant Formula Products
There are three major classes of infant formulas: Cow-milk based formula, soy-based formula and specialized formula. They vary in nutrition, calories, taste, digestion, and cost. Specific kinds of formulas are available to meet a variety of needs. Some cows milk substitutes are amino acid based or contain extensively hydrolyzed whey or casein proteins. Some are rice-based formula.
Recommended Reading: How To Tell If A Newborn Is Deaf
How Do You Feed Baby Both Formula And Breast Milk
When supplementing with formula, it can help to make the feeding experiences as similar as possible. If you want to give your baby formula and continue breastfeeding, the key is to make sure your baby likes both, and the easiest way to do that is to be consistent.
- Switch sides. As you would move from breast to breast, switch sides when you’re formula-feeding, and burp baby between sides.
- Have some skin-to-skin contact. Be sure to look into your baby’s eyes and give her lots of cuddles during each feeding session.
- Space out the formula-feeding sessions. Introduce a bottle of formula an hour or two after breastfeeding when your little one is ready to eat but not starving. Add in an additional daily bottle-feeding session a few days later. Taking a moderate approach can keep your milk supply up if youre trying to continue breastfeeding, and it can keep you from getting a clogged milk duct or breast infection if youre weaning baby off the breast.
- Allow your baby baby to eat until he’s not hungry anymore. Even though it’s easier to measure how much baby is eating when bottles are in the mix, try not to obsess about exactly how much baby is getting of either breast milk or formula. Your baby will eat more when he’s hungry and less when he’s not. Its better to make sure that your little one is gaining weight appropriately than to be fixated on whether hes eating a consistent amount of milk at every feeding.
When Baby Doesnt Finish The Bottle Or Goes To Sleep While Feeding
Dont worry if your baby doesnt finish the bottle. Babies are very good at judging how much they need, so you can let your baby decide when theyve had enough infant formula or breastmilk.
If your baby goes to sleep during a feed, put baby over your shoulder, rub their back, and stroke their head, legs and tummy. This can help to wake your baby up. A nappy change is a good way to wake your baby up if that doesnt work.
Wait until your baby is properly awake before offering the rest of the formula or breastmilk.
Always throw away any leftover infant formula or breastmilk after one hour. Storing half-empty bottles for future use is risky because they get contaminated quickly once theyve been sucked on.
You May Like: Can You Get Food Stamps For A Newborn
How To Formula Feed At Night / How To Make Formula Feeds In Advance
If you need to prepare infant formula in advance, Susie says, you can prepare it and put it straight into the fridge . It then has to be used within 24 hours and within 1 hour of it being removed from the fridge.
She does note the potential risks of doing this, though:
- Mixing the wrong amount of formula to water .
- Using bottles that have been sitting made up for too long a period.
But a mamas gotta do what a mamas gotta do. If youve gotta prep it in advance, try using reminders or sticky-notes to keep on top of when you made the bottles up.
Can I Make Up Bottles Ahead Of Time
It is recommended that a powdered formula feed should be made up as and when you need it, but thats not always possible when youre out and about or when going to childcare, so heres some guidelines:
- Take a bottle of made up formula youve chilled in the fridge for at least one hour. Pack it in a cool bag with an ice pack. Use within four hours
- Alternatively, fill a vacuum flask with boiling water. Measure scoops of formula into a sterile container. Mix the formula in sterile bottles using the water make sure its still hot. Cool the milk and use within one hour, testing it on your wrist before feeding your baby
- When you are out and about you can always try ready to use liquid formula
Recommended Reading: Can You Let A Newborn Cry It Out
Sterilise All Equipment For Bottle
You must sterilise all bottle-feeding equipment until your baby is 12 months old. This is very important.Always remember:
- Steam can cause severe skin burns, so be careful when boiling or steaming equipment.
- Place all equipment out of reach of children.
- Avoid unnecessary handling of sterilised equipment and do not touch the inner surfaces of bottles or teats.
First, wash all the equipment in warm, soapy water. Use a clean bottlebrush to thoroughly remove all traces of milk, then rinse, then sterilise. You can use different sterilising methods, such as boiling, chemicals, steam or microwave steam.
First Weeks And Months
Some babies need additional vitamin D.
Babies who are fed breast milk exclusively or who receive both breast milk and infant formula need extra vitamin D, starting shortly after birth. They can get this through over-the-counter vitamin D drops. Babies receiving only infant formula do not need vitamin D drops. Infant formula is fortified with vitamin D.
- Over the first few weeks and months, the time between feedings will get longerabout every 3 to 4 hours for most infant formula-fed babies. This means you may need to wake your baby to feed. You can try patting, stroking, undressing, or changing the diaper to help wake your baby to feed.
- Some feeding sessions may be long, and other feedings short. That is okay. Babies will generally take what they need at each feeding and stop eating when they are full.
Recommended Reading: How To Sleep Train A Newborn Baby
Reasons Why I Love The Popyum Bottle
If youre looking for an easier way to formula feed your baby, this is definitely the bottle for you. You no longer have to make a mess while trying to make and mix a bottle while out with baby. All you need is this bottle and with a push of two buttons, your baby is ready to eat!
The best news? and theyre offering 10% off for Baby Chick readers with code 10BabyChick. Happy popping!