What do you need to know when feeding children 1-3 months old?

During the first three months of life, breastmilk or formula will provide all the necessary nutrients for your baby. But by the time the baby starts to develop both physically and brain, the baby's feeding process will progress rapidly. In general, your baby will drink more milk during a feed (so you won't need to breastfeed as often as before) and your baby will sleep longer in the evening.

Although there are no changes in your baby's diet at this stage, you can still notice some changes in your baby's bowel movements. Your baby's intestines can contain more food and absorb more nutrition from milk, so baby's stool may be loose, the stomach's reflexes decrease, so your baby will no longer have a bowel movement after each feeding. . In fact, in the middle of the 2-3 months, the frequency of defecation between breastfed babies as well as formula-fed babies can significantly decrease. Some breastfed babies only have to defecate 3-4 times a day, some healthy breastfed babies only have to defecate once a week. As long as your baby eats well, has gained weight and the stools aren't too dry or hard, there's no reason to worry about this.

Is your baby drinking enough milk?

The best way to see if your baby is getting enough milk is to monitor your baby's development. The doctor will measure your baby's weight, height and head size at each visit. Most breastfed babies will continue to ask for the day and night feed. The average amount of milk consumed by a baby at one feed will increase slowly, from about 120-150 ml in the second month to 150-180 ml in the 4th month, but this increase is very different between little. The daily intake of baby's milk should range from 750-900 ml at 4 months. Usually, this amount of milk will provide enough nutrition for babies at this age.

If your baby seems constantly hungry after having eaten enough milk that you think is just right, see your pediatrician. When a breastfed infant does not gain weight, it is likely that the amount of milk you provide has decreased. If the milk supply to the baby used to be sufficient but now declines, this decrease may be related to the mother returning to work without pumping enough milk or stressing the mother, due to the distance between sleeps. the baby is longer, so he does not get the required amount of milk or a variety of other factors. There are a few techniques you can use to increase your baby's milk supply and intake. Try increasing the frequency of feedings and using a breast pumpto increase the amount of milk produced in your body. If you continue to be concerned about your milk supply, consult your doctor or counselor about whether to continue breastfeeding.

Should baby eat solids at this time?

Usually, you should avoid offering solids before six months of age, and never before four months of age. The reason for the above advice is that when you feed a baby under four months old with a spoon, your baby will stretch his tongue out and push the food out - this is a normal reflex at this stage. At the age of 4-5 months, the tongue push reflex will disappear and by the time your baby is six months old, he or she can bring a small amount of pureed food from the front of the mouth to the back of the mouth and swallow the food. But if your baby doesn't seem to want solids, avoid offering solids for about 1-2 weeks and then try again. If resistance to food persists, talk with your pediatrician to make sure your baby's resistance is not a sign of any illness.