How long to feed a newborn with breast milk: the principles of successful breastfeeding. Allowed foods during lactation. The importance of latching on to the breast immediately after childbirth

28.08.2019

A woman who is still pregnant must make a clear decision to breastfeed. This forms a dominant in the brain for the formation and development of lactation. Correct breastfeeding is impossible without internal installation. The support of family and friends in this matter is important.

Second rule: first feeding of an infant

Ideally, the first attachment of the newborn is carried out in the delivery room. Early contact promotes the development of lactation and the colonization of the skin and intestines of the newborn with bifidum flora. How to properly apply a newborn for feeding, the medical staff will show. If the condition of the child or postpartum woman does not allow this, the first attachment to the breast is transferred. If the woman is in a satisfactory condition, the medical staff teaches self-expression. This skill will prevent the extinction of milk production and the development of lactostasis. In the absence of contraindications, the child can be fed with expressed milk during a separate stay.

Third rule: correct attachment of the baby to the breast

The problem of how to properly latch a baby to the breast, especially for the first time, is very important. How to breastfeed, the newborn still does not know. And mom needs to remember or learn how how to properly breastfeed your baby:

immediately before feeding, the mother needs to wash her hands and douse her breasts with warm water;
decide on a posture for feeding. Usually it is sitting (reclining) or standing (after episiotomy);
the child is placed on the bend of the elbow, the other hand brings the nipple as close as possible to the baby's mouth;
obeying reflexes, the baby himself will grab the nipple and begin to suck;
the breast should be given so that the baby captures the nipple and almost the entire areola with his mouth. At the same time, his lower lip will be twisted slightly, the chin and nose touch the chest.

The child's nose should not sink. How to properly apply the baby for feeding is also important for the mother's health. If breastfeeding is not correct for a newborn, several breast problems can be acquired. First of all, it is maceration and cracked nipples.

breastfeeding a newborn, especially the first few days, should be no more than 20 minutes each. This will allow the delicate skin of the nipples to harden and get used to the new effects.

This often does not work; the child may be restless or overweight and constantly demand food. In such cases, the nursing mother needs to arrange air baths more often and lubricate the nipples with healing ointments, such as Bepanten.

one feeding - one breast. If the child ate everything from it and did not eat, offer the second one. Start the next feeding with the last one. So the baby will receive not only the front milk, but also the rear milk.

Fourth rule: signs of milk production and flow into the breast

The symptoms of lactation are as follows:

tingling or tightness in your chest;
the release of milk while the baby is crying;
for each sucking of the baby there is a sip of milk;
leaking milk from the free breast during feeding.

These signs indicate the formed active reflex of oxytocin. Lactation is well established.

Fifth Rule: Feeding on Demand

It is necessary to feed a newborn baby frequently. In Soviet times, there were rules according to which breastfeeding was carried out every three hours and no more than twenty minutes. Nowadays it is recommended to feed the baby on demand. Give breast literally at the first squeak. For especially capricious and demanding children almost every hour. This allows you to feed your baby and give him a feeling of warmth and care.

Frequent attachments relieve the need for compulsory expression and serve as the prevention of lactostasis. And night feeds will serve as an excellent stimulation of the main lactation hormone - prolactin.

How much time to breastfeed, ideally, is determined by the baby himself. If you turned away or fell asleep, it means that you are full. Over time, the baby will eat less often.

Sixth rule: sufficiency of feeding

Human milk in the process of its evolution goes through certain stages: colostrum, transitional, mature milk. Their quantity and quality composition ideally meets the needs of the newborn. Early and late milk is also excreted. The first is produced at the very beginning of feeding and is rich in water and proteins. The second comes from the back of the mammary gland, it contains more fat. It is important for the baby to get both.

There are times when it seems to mom that she has no milk and the baby is not eating enough. To determine the adequacy of feeding, there are certain criteria:

restoration of body weight at birth by the 10th day of life with an initial loss of 10%;
6 - 18 wet diapers per day;
the child poops 6 - 10 times a day;
positive oxytocin reflex;
audible swallowing of the baby while sucking.

Seventh rule: accounting possible feeding problems

flat or inverted nipples... In some cases, by the time of childbirth, this difficulty is resolved by itself. Others must remember that the baby, when sucking, should capture both the nipple and most of the areola. Try to stretch the nipple yourself before feeding. Find a suitable feeding position. For many mothers, a comfortable position is "from under the arm." Use silicone pads. If the breast is tight and the newborn has a hard time sucking from it, express. The breasts will become softer in 1 - 2 weeks. And the child will not be deprived of mother's milk.

There is no need to try to "stretch" the nipples before childbirth. Excessive stimulation will lead to an increase in the tone of the uterus. Over time, an actively sucking child will normalize everything.

cracked nipples... The basis of prevention is correct attachment to the breast. If cracks appear, use silicone pads. Apply lanolin ointment and Bepanten as often as possible. If the cracks are deep and the feeding is painful, use a breast pump;
milk outflow... Easily solved by using special inserts. They are disposable and reusable;
There is a lot of milk, and the child chokes on it... Strain some of the front milk. When feeding, it will flow out under less pressure;
swelling of the mammary glands... Occurs when milk overflows. The chest is painful, swollen, hot to the touch, and very tight. Milk does not flow out of it. When this problem occurs, it is necessary to remove the milk from the breast faster. Give your baby a touch or pump often. Take a warm shower before feeding. Massage your breasts gently. This will improve churn. Apply a cold compress to reduce swelling after feeding;
lactostasis and mastitis... Occur when the milk ducts are blocked. The body temperature rises, the chest hurts, the place of stagnation turns to stone. Expression is painful. A warm shower, gentle breast massage and frequent latching of a baby come to the rescue. When an infection joins, it is necessary to take antibiotics.

Infectious mastitis is a formidable complication that requires medical attention. Failure to convert is fraught with surgical intervention up to the loss of the breast.

lactation crises... They develop at 3 - 6 weeks, at 3 - 4 and 7 - 8 months of a child's life. During these periods, the most important thing is to apply more often and be sure to feed the baby at night. Drink lemon balm, fennel and cumin teas. Rest and eat well.

Feeding a baby with breast milk is a time consuming but naturally delightful process. Remember this and everything will work out.

Most expectant mothers begin to prepare for the birth of their baby in advance. Usually from the very first days of pregnancy. And if the birth of the first child is coming, then even earlier: even before it begins. For their training, convenience and psychological comfort, a lot of special literature has been published, videos have been shot and training programs are being conducted. And yet every woman, on the eve of the replenishment in the family, seeks to learn as much as possible about the upcoming troubles, to master all the subtleties of handling a newborn child. Especially when it comes to his nutrition. After all, its complexity lies not only and not so much in the diet, but in the very process of eating food by a little man.

He cannot use either a plate or a fork, and even with the help of a spoon it will not be possible to feed him right away. The newborn also does not have his own teeth, and they will not appear soon. All this hungry little kid can do is suck and swallow. And on these two reflexes the whole process of his feeding is built, and for his mother - the process of feeding. Nature has prudently made sure that they are easily realized in a natural way. All of us, both people and most warm-blooded animals, belong to the class of mammals, which means that our offspring after birth receive the necessary nutrients from mother's milk. But modern man has become so distant from nature that even these basic processes of his life and development are often violated. And then a vital question arises: what and how to feed a newborn baby?

Mother's milk and artificial feeding
Feeding a newborn baby with mother's milk is a natural process that has formed as a result of a long and complex evolution of biological species. It meets all the needs of the organism that begins life, takes into account the peculiarities of its structure and functioning. This is not difficult to be convinced of, considering how different the composition of milk and the period of feeding in different mammals is. As for humans, nutrition with mother's milk from the first minutes of life provides the newborn with the correct development of the digestive system, metabolism and immunity. And all the alternatives to breast milk are only conditional substitutes that are not able to create optimal conditions for the development of tissues, organs and their systems. Children who have not received the required amount of breast milk adapt more slowly to the outside world, otherwise they develop physiologically and psychologically.

Especially important is breast milk, or rather colostrum, which is produced in the mammary glands after childbirth. Putting the baby to the breast immediately after birth gives him a few milliliters of this supernourishing liquid, which creates reliable immunological protection, affects his endocrine system and helps to establish a subtle psychophysiological and biochemical connection between him and the mother. However, this does not mean that a child whose mother, for one reason or another, was not able to breastfeed him immediately after birth, will not grow up like his milk-fed peer. It's just that the nutrition of such babies needs to be given special attention and specially supplemented with all those substances that are contained in breast milk in natural form. To this end, the modern food and pharmaceutical industries produce special nutritional formulations designed to feed children from a very young age.

Breastfeeding is usually called natural, and any other - artificial. But even in this division, not everything is unambiguous. First, breast milk can be produced directly by the mother of the baby, or perhaps by another breastfeeding woman. In both the first and second cases, nutrition can be considered natural. In addition, even if the mother does not allow the child to breastfeed, but she has milk and she decides it into a bottle from which the baby drinks, then this is also natural food for him. Donor milk from a nurse given in a bottle through a nipple can also be considered natural, that is, natural feeding. There are also different options for the so-called mixed feeding. For example, if breast milk makes up at least half of your baby's nutrition, you can talk about natural feeding. And only after reducing the daily volume of breast milk to 1/3, as well as completely replacing breast milk with substitutes, nutrition becomes artificial.

Thus, if you still have milk, but it is not enough to meet the full nutritional needs of a newborn baby, do not rush to completely abandon breastfeeding or milk expressed in a bottle. After consulting a doctor, it is possible to supplement and "improve" natural feeding, but it is not recommended to completely cancel it without an urgent need. Health professionals have several ways to determine a child's daily nutritional requirements. With their help, they can calculate how much formula you need to give your baby every day in addition to breast milk. The same doctor will advise an adapted formula that is best suited for your child. This is a well-established practice all over the world, and you should not be afraid of it. It is also not worth giving up professional advice and independently prescribing nutrition for a newborn with animal milk (cow, goat, etc.).

The fact is that, as already mentioned, the nutritional needs of the young, and therefore the composition of milk in different biological species, is noticeably different. Milk of most animals contains much more fat than female milk, its protein has a different amino acid composition, and the content of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids necessary for the development of nerve centers and iron is low. All this is taken into account by manufacturers of adapted milk nutrition. Since the digestive system of a child under 3 months of age cannot yet assimilate dairy-free products, special milk-based mixtures are enriched with vitamins, microelements and other nutrients necessary for full development. And although they are less natural than human milk, they are not digested much better than animal milk. They are specially processed and therefore safe for the developing organism. In addition, adapted milk formulas differ depending on the age of the child and have a clear division into feeding phases. In other words, the range of artificial nutrition is quite diverse and allows you to fully feed a newborn baby even in the absence of breast milk until he can consume complementary foods and "adult nutrition" in the form of vegetable and fruit purees, cereals, meat, etc.

How to breastfeed a newborn
So, in the previous section, we found out two most important principles of feeding a newborn baby. The first is that feeding should be complete. The second is that, despite many life-saving alternatives, there is no better product for feeding an infant than breast milk. And best of all, if it's his own mother's milk. Such nutrition ensures normal growth, development and functioning of all organs and systems of a young organism. This is especially important from the moment of birth and during the first year of life, when at least 80% of the nutrients the baby should receive from breast milk - this is the opinion of pediatricians all over the world. But how to properly feed your baby with this ideal product in order to establish contact with him and convey all the necessary nutrients and emotions from the mother? Nature itself will tell you this, but you can prepare in advance with the help of these tips:

Place for feeding. It is very important that it is comfortable and quiet, allowing you to relax, and the baby to completely surrender to the sucking process. In the maternity hospital, this will most likely happen for the first time right in the delivery room, and then in the ward. At home, it is better to choose a wide sofa or chair for feeding, in which you can lean back and recline. In addition, many different devices have been invented for the convenience of a nursing mother: these are horseshoe-shaped pillows, various soft coasters, etc. The main thing is that you feel comfortable and that nothing distracts the baby from eating. This process can take a long time, so put a book, magazine, or a couple of biscuit biscuits next to you.
Feeding position. The most natural breastfeeding position for a woman is lying on her back on a high pillow. The baby at this time is on her stomach and rests on her arms and legs. You can lie down on your side, then the baby will also be located on the barrel and suck on the breast that was higher. Use both hands to hold it. From time to time, positions need to be changed to use both breasts and develop different milk lobes. To feed the baby while sitting, lean back on the pillow, do not bend the spine and make a "cradle" out of your hands, in which you will put the baby.
Breast preparation. First of all, it is about personal hygiene: wash your breasts daily with mild soap, dry them with a hard towel and give her an air bath, that is, let's "breathe". Ordinary underwear is not suitable for a nursing mother: the bra should be natural in terms of the composition of the fabric, suitable in size and well supporting heavy breasts, have a special design of the fastener and cups to facilitate the feeding process. Small and naturally inverted nipples need regular massage so that feeding is not unpleasant for you or your baby.
Psychological preparation. Your decision to breastfeed your newborn baby must be firm and sincere, otherwise do not be surprised by the small amount or disappearance of milk. Breastfeeding is a critical step in building a psychological bond between mom and baby, so take it responsibly. Your family members should also understand this, surround you with attention and care. Only in such an atmosphere will feeding truly benefit both participants in the process. Many young mothers even admit that while feeding their baby they get real pleasure, they can relax and even doze off.
Attachment to the chest. Do it right from the start to avoid injury to the nipples and inadequate feeding of the baby. The most serious possible problems are squeezed milk ducts and cracked nipples. The first trouble can be avoided by timely feeding the baby and not letting the milk stagnate in the breast. To prevent cracking, teach your baby to swallow the nipple deep enough so that he cannot chew it with his gums. Optimal swallowing depth is when the nipple touches the baby's palate. And in any case, do not let your baby breastfeed if there are already cracks on her nipple or the sucking is causing you severe pain. Such sacrifices on your part are not useful for you or the baby!
Duration of feeding. A very individual parameter. Some children suck greedily and with appetite, and gorge themselves quickly. Others must first "taste" the milk and eat slowly. Sometimes the duration of feeding can be up to an hour or even two. Do not rush the baby and let him empty the breast - this is necessary not only for him, but also for you. Do not forget that while sucking, your baby is not only satiated, but also calms down, warms up by your warmth, listens to your breathing and heartbeat. Do not deprive him or yourself of this pleasure, so that he literally absorbs care and love with his mother's milk. At this time, no one bothers you to talk on the phone, watch a movie or read.
Feeding frequency. There is such a thing as on-demand feeding. This means that you will latch the baby to the breast when he wants it. If it seems to you that this happens too often, then remember that during intrauterine development, the child receives nutrition continuously, and this is natural for him. Breastfeeding is a period of smooth transition from fusion with the mother's body to independent functioning. Especially in the first months of life, when the baby can ask for a breast even every half hour. If you calmly satisfy his need, over time he will get used to the fact that there is always food and will learn not to be nervous in anticipation of it, but to wait calmly, and the periods between feedings will increase to comfortable for him and for you.
Expressing milk. It is normal and even necessary if you have more milk than your baby can eat. Nevertheless, this process still causes a lot of controversy between its adherents and opponents. The former recommend pumping as stimulation of lactation and prevention of milk stagnation, the latter consider it unnatural and violating the natural composition of milk. You should know that expressing milk is indicated when it is necessary to store it for future use, but it is absolutely unnecessary if you are constantly near your baby and can breastfeed him. Special breast pumps are designed for expressing breast milk; they are sold in any pharmacy. Breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator for 12 hours without pasteurization.

Learning to breastfeed is not difficult, even if your parents have never had children younger than you and have never seen how to do it. The female body is designed to feed a baby and adapts easily to this process, especially under the guidance of attentive and experienced obstetricians. Think of breastfeeding as a temporary but wonderful time of being intimate with your baby. Believe me, you will not even notice how he grows up and becomes more independent, and you will remember with a smile how you held him to your chest and listened to his mouth-watering smacking. After a while, when you start giving your baby complementary foods, you may even miss those minutes of solitude with him.

How to feed a newborn with formula
Breast milk is ideal food for a newborn. But there are situations when natural feeding is impossible or you have to refuse it for one or a number of reasons (smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages, some diseases and / or taking medications). In this case, special adapted milk formulas are prescribed for feeding a newborn baby. There are also concepts such as complementary feeding (the introduction of complementary foods in the baby's diet if breast milk is not enough) and complementary feeding (a gradual transition from breastfeeding to eating regular foods), as well as the use of nutritional supplements. All these nutritional options, especially from the first days of life, should be carried out very carefully and according to certain rules:

Choice of adapted food. The entire variety of cans and boxes with artificial formula is labeled according to the age for which they are intended. It can be indicated as words (for example, "from 0 to 6 months", "from 6 months to a year", etc.) or a special index (1 - can be used from birth, 2 - from half a year, 3 - after 1 year of life). The composition of such mixtures is close to the composition of human milk in terms of the quantity and quality of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. High-quality baby food is difficult to manufacture and therefore cannot be cheap. Cheaper formulas are usually called partially adapted, and can only be used for older children, after about 6 months of age. It is more convenient and practical to use dry rather than portioned liquid mixtures. They can be standard physiological, for children without special nutritional needs, or therapeutic, taking into account certain deviations in digestion and body weight gain.
The amount of artificial nutrition depends on the age, weight and development rate of the baby. On average, it is recommended to give a child up to 150 ml of the mixture for each kg of his weight. A child under 1 month old can eat no more than 30-60 ml of the mixture at one meal. If the baby does not receive enough nutrition, he will slowly (relative to standard norms) gain weight, become moody and restless. Overnutrition results in excess weight, bloating, and frequent regurgitation. In addition, bottle-fed babies are advised to give more drinking water because formula tends to be thicker and more concentrated than breast milk.
Preparing an artificial mixture. Each package contains detailed instructions. Compliance with the dosage indicated in it is necessary, because an excess of the mixture will lead to overfeeding, and a deficiency will not saturate the child. Be sure to boil the water intended for preparing the mixture and cool it to a temperature of about 36-37 ° C, that is, body temperature. The mixture is scooped out of the package with a measuring spoon and poured directly into a bottle of water, where it is convenient to stir it until it is completely dissolved. After that, the freshly prepared mixture can be given to the child immediately.
Feeding with artificial formula occurs with a bottle with a nipple. Most babies prefer 150-200 ml bottles with a wide mouth and separate teat. The size of the hole in the nipple should be such that at first the liquid is poured through it in a thin stream, and then it comes out at a rate of about 1 drop per second. If the baby falls asleep while feeding, and there is still formula in the bottle, be sure to pour it out and prepare a fresh portion for the next meal. However, never leave your baby alone while feeding. Hold the bottle and generally stay close to at least create the illusion of mother feeding.
Bottle feeding precautions. Pay attention to how comfortable your baby is with the shape and size of the nipple on the bottle - it may need to be replaced until the optimal configuration is found. Never replace the measuring scoop and use only the one sold with the mix pack. Never prepare artificial food for future use, long before your child uses it. Disinfect bottles and teats thoroughly before each feed. You should have a few bottles and teats in stock, as well as tools for washing and sterilizing them.

Even the highest quality adapted formulas cannot completely replace breast milk. And yet, depending on life circumstances, do not despair if you cannot provide your baby with natural nutrition. With proper and attentive care, love and care, with full and properly selected and prepared artificial nutrition, you can easily raise a healthy, strong and happy child. Most importantly, do not forget that a newborn child is connected with the mother on an emotional level, subtly feels her mood and attitude. Therefore, whatever you feed your baby, give him enough warmth and attention, do not save physical contact, play and talk with him. Do not forget to give a bottle-fed baby what he should receive with breast milk: love, tenderness and care.

Nutrition is an important component for the full development of a child. It is specially compiled taking into account the immaturity of the digestive system, the rapid rate of growth and development of the body.

Feeding a baby is an extremely important activity, which must be approached responsibly, having some knowledge on this topic. In this article, you will be presented with several tables on feeding a newborn and general principles.

There are several types of breastfeeding:

1) Natural - feeding the baby with breast milk;

2) Artificial - feeding with a bottle mixture when there is no milk from the mother;

3) Mixed - a type of food in which breast milk makes up more than 1/5 of the food volume.

This will determine how to feed the baby, the feeding regimen.

Feeding table for a newborn in the first and second month

depending on the type of feeding

	Number of feedings	Mode
*Natural*	On demand
*Artificial*		Every 2.5 hours
*Mixed*		Every 3 hours

With natural feeding, it is necessary to feed the child at his will (on average 10-12 times a day without certain intervals, not forgetting to apply to the breast at night). This type of nutrition allows you to quickly restore the baby's body weight after physiological loss, and increases the amount of milk in the mother. Free feeding is practiced, as a rule, during the first two months of life, later the newborn sets its own feeding rhythm.

The duration of feeding should not be limited either, since the need for contact with the mother's skin and the sucking reflex are often independent, regardless of the need for food. It is also worth giving only one breast at one feeding in order to maintain lactation at the proper level.

With artificial feeding, first of all, it is necessary to calculate how much formula the child should receive per day. For this, certain formulas are used:

If the age of the child is less than 10 days, the Tour formula is used - the daily volume of milk = n X 70 (80), where n is the number of days for the child, the coefficient 70 is used if the weight of the child at birth was less than 3200g, the coefficient is 80 with a weight of more than 3200g

If the child is more than 10 days old, use the calorie method - 115 kcal x child's weight in kilograms / 0.7

After that, the resulting volume must be divided by the number of feedings in order to find out a single serving.

Children of the first months of life should receive adaptive fresh formulas, the most similar in chemical composition to human milk (the so-called first, base or initial formulas). They all differ in the degree of adaptability and components. The most famous are NAS 1, Nutrilon 1, Agusha 1. However, it must be remembered that the choice of a formula for a newborn rests entirely on the shoulders of a pediatrician or other specialist trained in baby nutrition.

In the first two months, the baby needs to be fed 8 times at intervals of 3 hours. The first feed is at 6 am, the last at 12 am, so there is a 6 hour night break.

If the baby has:

- Allergic reaction;

- No weight gain within 1-2 weeks;

- bowel disorder;

- Refusal to eat.

It is necessary to change the mixture.

With mixed feeding, you also need to determine the amount of food received per day. The mixture in this case is an addition to breast milk, which allows the baby to be well nourished. Depending on the amount of milk in a woman, the effectiveness of feeding changes, approaching either natural or artificial.

Depending on the amount of milk, the mixture is given either in half with milk, or replacing the missing feed.

Feeding table for a newborn up to 6 months

	Number of feedings	Mode
Natural
Artificial		Every 3.5 hours
Mixed		Every 3 hours

Upon reaching 3 months of age, the child has a personal eating schedule that should be listened to. The amount of daily feeding should not exceed 1 liter. The number of meals is reduced and the break between them is increased. The first feed is recommended at 6 am, the last at 12 am, so night feeds are eliminated. You can adhere to this regimen up to 5 months of age. Then you can start introducing complementary foods, which you will learn about a little later.

Artificial and mixed feeding also change only by the number of feedings and the breaks between them. The mixture is changed only when the child reaches six months.

Attention! A complete diet is breast milk or formula. A variety of fruit juices and purees are complementary foods!

Supplements are not counted as a one-time meal; they are given between feedings from the age of four. The first juices and purees should be monocomponent, preferably from apples, pears, peaches, apricots, carrots. In the future, when the child reaches the age of five months, you can give multi-component foods. The composition also expands significantly, adding black currants, raspberries, cherries. After six months, juices and purees from strawberries, tomatoes, citrus fruits are suitable for consumption.

In addition to supplementary feeding, one should touch upon such an important topic as the introduction of complementary foods.

Know when to introduce complementary foods, because too early start threatens:

1) Dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract in a baby due to the immaturity of the digestive system;

2) Development of food allergies;

3) A decrease in the amount of milk in the mother;

4) Decreased immunity by reducing the immune defense of breast milk.

It is worth starting from the age of five months, when the child is ready to chew, sits confidently, in the absence of acute diseases and in a stable chair.

The first complementary food can be porridge or vegetables. Porridge is used if the child has low weight gain, and vegetables if the baby is prone to constipation.

You need to start with gluten-free or cereal cereals (buckwheat, corn, rice). From vegetables, you should start with zucchini, pumpkin, carrots, turnips. Do not give several products at once.

Complementary foods should be introduced from a teaspoon, gradually bringing the dose to full volume within 10 to 15 days. The consistency of the dish should be uniform so as not to make it difficult to swallow. If the child does not like the porridge or vegetable, it is worth replacing the product. Fully introduced complementary foods completely replace one feeding with milk or formula, you should not give it immediately after the baby wakes up. It is advisable to place this meal between 10 and 14 hours. After the baby is used to one product, you can start giving the second, guided by the same rules.

The nutrition of the child in the first half of the year plays a key role in the growth and development of the newborn, which places a colossal responsibility on the shoulders of parents, because the health of their child will depend on how they approach this issue.

So, he's here. The very long-awaited guest, for whose arrival everyone was preparing with such an eager impatience. Toys and other necessities were bought, the apartment was cleaned and rendered harmless, the room was prepared. But now that he is here, you need to think about what you can feed the newborn. Much, including immunity and general development, depends on nutrition during the first years of life. It is not surprising that young parents are so worried when thinking about how to feed a newborn.

What can you feed your baby in the first 3 months

For the first three months of life, the baby will receive all useful nutrients from breast milk or from a formula. But, as the child grows, his appetite and habits will change. The more days pass, the more milk he will consume, reducing the number of feedings per day and increasing the hours of sleep. You can be sure that your child is eating well enough if:

he is active, curious and alert
steadily gains weight, grows and develops
eats about 6-8 times a day
regularly walks big and small

Clear signs that a baby is not eating well are persistent irritability, frequent crying, and dissatisfaction even after feeding. During this period, the baby receives all the necessary substances through the mother's milk, so it is important how the nursing mother eats.

How to feed a baby at 4-7 months

Most children at this age begin to slowly familiarize themselves with solid foods. Experts recommend adding solid foods gradually at about 6 months of age, depending on how cooked your baby is. How to tell if a child is ready:

He shows interest in food.
He lost the habit of pushing food out of his mouth.
He can move food in his mouth
Makes chewing movements
He can lift and hold his head
Gained significant weight

It is best to start your child's acquaintance with a new diet by offering him mashed potatoes from various vegetables, fruits and meat products. Start introducing new products one at a time. Before suggesting anything else, allow your child to get used to the new taste for at least a couple of days.

How to feed a baby at 8-12 months

By the age of 8 months, many babies are already quite confident with mashed potatoes and other baby-friendly foods. Now milk is not the only part of their diet and they can finally explore a whole world of magical tastes, previously only available to their parents. As you introduce your child to new foods, monitor them closely to prevent an allergic reaction. Do not give honey and cow's milk to your baby until at least the first year of birth. Try baby food in different flavors, and give your baby small amounts of food that the rest of the family enjoys, only by chopping or crushing them into small pieces. It is advisable to familiarize yourself with a family history of allergies, in case you need to categorically exclude any foods. By the age of 9 months, the child is already slowly beginning to show independence, grabbing food with his fingers and learning to use a spoon little by little.

Every mother wants her child to be healthy and develop according to age. But already during pregnancy, a woman begins to have disturbing thoughts that she will not be able to cope with the baby and organize his life so that he does not need anything. The first problems may arise already in the hospital, when you will need to attach your baby to the breast for the first time.

First breastfeeding of a newborn in a maternity hospital

Usually, a primiparous mother experiences a number of difficulties with the first attempt to attach the baby to the breast. It must be remembered that determination and patience are your allies at this stage. On the first or second day, you have colostrum, which must be fed to your baby. Each woman individually, but usually by 3-5 days, colostrum is replaced by regular breast milk, at this time the body temperature may rise, the breast may swell and you need to relieve her condition with the help of expression. You do not need to express all the milk, but only as long as you do not feel any seals. You will have to do this for about several days, and sometimes only once, until this system is working properly. This will happen quite quickly, but the speed depends on the number of breastfeeding breastfeeding. Feeding on demand during the day and at night will lead to the fact that there will be no need for pumping, and the child will receive all the dose of nutrients necessary for normal development.

If there is no milk in the first days after childbirth

The appearance of breast milk 3-5 days after childbirth is normal and nature has made sure that at this time the baby has enough colostrum.

Here are some tips to help you breastfeed:

Give your baby a breast every 1 to 2 hours. Let him suck on the small amount of colostrum you currently have.
Do not panic. Colostrum is enough for a newborn during this period to satisfy his needs.
If you cannot arrange latching on a newborn, ask the midwife to help you, there is nothing reprehensible in this. For the first time, all women have problems and there is no need to be ashamed of it. If you have the financial opportunity, then after arriving home, you can call a breastfeeding consultant to your home. Phones can be easily found on the Internet. But this is usually not required.
Don't be discouraged if your baby is unable to grab the nipple. Sit comfortably or lie down with your baby, grab the nipple between your fingers at the border of the areola and breast. Tickle your baby's lips or cheek with it (As shown in the picture - Step 1). When the baby opens its mouth, you can start feeding (Step 2). Make sure that the baby not only captures the bulge of the nipple, but also a little of the areola around it (Step 3). It didn't work the first time, try again and again. There are no women who cannot breastfeed (or rather, there are, but there are less than 1% of them and this is due to the peculiarities of physiology), but there are mothers who lack persistence. Do not join their ranks, try, and you will definitely see the result. Sucking should be interrupted without pulling the breast out of the baby's mouth, but opening his mouth a little (Step 4).
Drink plenty of warm liquids. It is better to give preference to weak tea or mineral water without gases.
Do not give your child water, formula, or milk.

How often to feed the baby and what intervals between feedings to maintain?

Literally 5 years ago, it was recommended to breastfeed the baby with a break of at least 3 hours. At the moment, there is probably no longer a pediatrician who would recommend establishing a strict breastfeeding regimen. Unless only the grandmothers who fed their children according to the outdated method insist that if you feed the newborn when he asks, then overeating and health problems will arise.

The standards of the WHO (World Health Organization) state that breastfeeding should be done on demand.

At the same time, it is very important that the mother can understand her baby. A child can cry and demand attention not only in case of hunger. There may be other reasons:

wet diaper,
the diaper presses or the baby went out in a big way,
intestinal colic,
the child is hot or cold,
the need for mother's warmth and communication.

Now, in practice, let's figure out the situation. The newborn is crying and you must determine the reason for crying. If the baby is in a clean diaper, at the moment he is unlikely to be bothered by any inflammatory processes, then take it on handles and wear it a little. If the baby wanted your communication and participation in his life, then he achieved his goal and the crying will stop. At the same time, a hungry child will not stop demanding food. Means, now it is worth feeding. Do not listen to grandmothers who will confidently repeat that if a newborn asks for breast every hour, then he does not have enough milk. It happens that babies literally "hang" constantly on their chest. Treat this with understanding and do not be afraid that you spoil your baby. If this happens, then he now really needs a loved one next to him, and who is even more dear than his mother.

Feeding at night

I don't want to upset you, but at night, newborns are also asked to eat. The digestive tract of such young children does not allow them to be without food for a long time without harm to health. Therefore, you will have to wake up to feed. Some mothers practice sleeping together so as not to get up to the crib, but immediately offer their breasts as soon as the baby wakes up. Other nursing mothers are afraid to harm the baby in a dream, so they prefer a separate sleep. There are no right or wrong decisions in this aspect. It all depends on the parents. Don't forget about your dad's opinion. If he prefers to spend the night with his wife, and not with the child, then it is worth going to meet him. Some fathers don't mind sleeping together. Remember that a supportive family environment is very important for a child.

How often to breastfeed at night? Be sure to feed the child several times between 3 am and 9 am. At this time, the process of breastfeeding in the mother's body is getting better. At other times, feed as many times as the newborn asks for.

Basic comfortable poses

It does not matter in what position the mother prefers to feed the baby, the main thing is that both of them feel comfortable. Special nursing pillows are now available, but you do not need to buy them. Many mothers do without them and the breastfeeding process is no less pleasant.

Lying position

It is most convenient to feed the newborn in a position lying on its side. The lower chest and upper chest can be used. In the latter case, the baby should be placed on a pillow so that you do not have to bend over.

There are several other feeding options, but they are not suitable for newborns. The only position worth mentioning is Jack. Mom lies on her side, and the child is next to her, but only his legs are stretched out along the mother's head. You need to know this position so that at the moment of milk arrival on the 3-4th day, the baby will help to cope with congestion in the upper part of the breast.

Sitting position

You can sit on the bed with your legs crossed, or you can sit on a chair or rocking chair. In this case, under the child's head is the forearm on the side of which the breast will be offered to the child. Sometimes, instead of the forearm, the mother can use her hand (for example, if the baby is weak and the sucking process needs to be adjusted). When the baby gets older, he will already be able to eat while sitting on your hip.