Articles Tagged ‘Feeding’
Some babies eagerly consume all new foods, while others who generally shy away from all kinds of new experiences shun their first solids. Often, it takes some experimenting on the part of both the parents and the baby to diversify the baby's diet and feeding patterns. The task may be easier if you: ? Avoid introducing new foods when the baby is not feeling well. ? Do not force the baby to eat any food she seems to dislike particularly. Rather, give up this food temporarily and try to introduce it again at a later stage. ? Offer new foods in tiny amounts, no more than a teaspoonful at a time. ? Let the baby suck a little food off your finger if she seems to dislike the spoon. Elimination Most babies also begin to have fewer, more regular bowel movements, although breast-fed babies may continue to have more frequent movements than bottle-fed babies. Don't be alarmed if the baby goes longer between bowel movements or seems to strain to have movements after solid foods ...
Before the age of four months, solid food may actually be harmful to babies. Early introduction of solids may increase the chance that the baby will develop food allergies, and it may prevent the baby from getting enough calories to grow properly. At around six months of age, though, babies can no longer get adequate nutrition from milk or formula alone. From this point on, they need a greater variety of foods for proper growth and development. Certain changes in a baby's feeding behavior signal a readiness to begin solids. These changes, which appear between the fourth and sixth months, include the development of a more mature sucking pattern in which the gums move up and down, and the appearance of drooling, which makes it easier to swallow solid food. The baby's tongue no longer reflexively pushes food out of the mouth, and coordination of the tongue and swallowing muscles is improved. Even babies who have experienced all these developments, however, may resist solid food at fi...
Because they are growing, babies need more calories and nutrients per pound of body weight than adults. In the third month of life, babies require 50 to 60 calories a day per pound of body weight. In the fourth to sixth months, the calorie needs are reduced slightly, an adjustment babies make automatically. In general, though, there's no need to worry about letting your three- to six-month-old get fat and there's little indication that a roly-poly six-month-old has a greater than average chance of growing into an overweight child or adult. Continue to let the baby take the lead in deciding when she has eaten enough, and weight should take care of itself. The best way to tell when a baby is hungry is to observe her behavior. Younger babies cry, clench their fists, and tense up their bodies when they are hungry; four-to six-month-olds show hunger by grasping the bottle and drawing it to the mouth or reaching with an open mouth for the bottle or nipple. The baby's response to being ful...
During feeding, the three- to six-month-old may be quite active and alert. The baby's eyes may wander around the room during a feeding, and she may stroke the breast or bottle or even break away for a moment to smile and gurgle up at you. Because they can take more milk or formula at each feeding, babies between three and six months old need fewer feedings, but there are no hard and fast rules governing the frequency and timing of those feedings. Most pediatricians recommend a maximum formula intake of 32 to 36 ounces for babies this age. Rather than getting bogged down in when and how much you feed, try to place the baby's feeding in the context of all her other behavior alertness, movement, and sleep. If the baby seems fine in these areas, chances are the feeding schedule you are on is Derfectlv adeauate. Solid foods should be introduced between the fourth and sixth months, when the baby loses the tongue-extrusion reflex (which makes the tongue push everything except a nipple rig...
Some babies don't mind cold formula straight from the refrigerator, but most prefer it at room temperature. Warm a refrigerated bottle by running hot water over it, then testing a few drops on your wrist. If it feels more than slightly warm to the touch, cool it back down a little. Unopened, prefilled bottles can be given at room temperature without warming. Feeding should be the same warm, close experience for a bottle-fed baby as for a breast-fed one. Hold the baby close during feeding, and never prop up the bottle so you can go do something else. (This practice not only denies the baby your presence, but it also presents a choking hazard.) Like a breast-fed infant, a bottle-fed baby must learn to coordinate sucking, breathing, and swallowing. If he seems to gag, the nipple hole may be too large and the flow of milk too fast. Don't hold the bottle flat; it needs to be angled so that formula will fill the nipple and keep the baby from sucking in air. As early as possible which ma...