Nutrition for babies

What do you need to know when breastfeeding?

The first few weeks after birth, breastfed babies begin to sleep less often and sleep longer in the evening. You can be sure your baby is full enough if he:

Looks alert, contented, and alert;

Gradually gaining weight, growing and developing;

Eat 6 to 8 times per day;

Diapers get wet and get dirty often.

Your baby may not eat well without being satisfied, and he or she may even cry continuously and be irritable after eating. If you notice that your baby has any of the above signs, please see a doctor.

Remember that after about a month, breastfed babies tend to have less bowel movements than before. When your baby is about 2 months old, he or she may not have a bowel movement after each meal, or even every day. However, if your child has not had a bowel movement after 3 days, take him to the doctor early.

During this period of rapid growth, your baby will want to eat more often. With the increasing number of feeding times, the mother's body will increase the amount of milk produced for the baby so that the mother's milk supply and the baby's needs will balance each other.

Infants who are breastfed only should receive a vitamin D supplement for the first few days after birth. However, nutritional supplements with supplements, water, juices and snacks are often not necessary.

What do you need to know when you are bottle-feeding?

Your baby will become more alert by a few weeks of age. Your baby will begin to coo and smile back at you, so you and your baby will interact more with each other while eating.

Infants generally digest formula more slowly than breast milk, so if you bottle feed your baby, they may eat less than a breastfed infant.

As your baby grows, he or she will be able to eat more with less feedings per day. Your baby will also begin to sleep more at night. During the second month, infants can drink about 100 - 150ml per feed. By the end of the third month, your baby will probably need an additional 30ml with each feed.

One note about formula: giving your baby too much formula is easy because it takes less effort to drink from a bottle than from your mother's breast. So make sure the hole in the nipple of the bottle is the right size for the baby: the liquid in the bottle should drip slowly from the holes and not spill out. Also, don't force your baby to finish the bottle when he shows signs of fullness. You should also never stand a bottle upright while feeding a bottle. Standing up while drinking milk can cause choking and increase your baby's risk of ear infections and tooth decay.

A few things you need to know about spraying in babies

Many babies often spew a small amount of milk after eating or while burping. Gradually, this will become less frequent and disappear about 10 months later. Spraying a small amount of milk - about 30 ml - should not be a concern as long as it happens within an hour of a feed and does not upset your baby.

You can reduce the spewing of milk in the first few months of your baby's life in the following ways:

Feed your baby before he gets too hungry;

Keep baby upright during feeding and for 1 hour thereafter;

Makes your baby burp often;

Avoid overfeeding your baby;

Avoid pushing or playing too aggressively with your baby immediately after feeding.

If your baby spits out a large and violent amount, appears irritable during or after eating, or looks like he or she seems to have lost weight or is not gaining as much weight as expected, see your doctor. Also, if your baby has a fever or shows signs of dehydration (like diapers that aren't wet at all), you should see your baby's doctor right away.