Feeding formula after how many hours. Average age norms of milk or mixture. The diet of the artificial
Breast milk is the optimal nutrition for a one-month-old baby and older. Together with this product, the baby can get the most important and useful substances, as well as the initial communication skills and, of course, motherly love.
However, due to certain circumstances, some mothers cannot breastfeed, and the newborn is transferred to an alternative diet.
Artificial feeding of a baby poses many problems for a newly-made mother: what mixture to choose, how it should be prepared and given, how much a baby should eat in the first month of life.
Artificial feeding should not be introduced just like that, at the request of a nursing mother. Not a single high-quality mixture is able to transfer to a newborn child all the necessary substances that breast milk provides.
Experts have identified several weighty reasons when adapted nutrition for newborns is necessary and even desirable.
First of all, breast milk should be restored with the help of folk remedies and medicines that increase lactation.
Adaptive nutrition of newborns is carried out only if such drugs have not brought the required results.
Experts do not advise completely switching to artificial feeding if a woman has breast milk, even in a minimal amount. A few drops of a natural product will bring invaluable benefits to a baby.
Before switching to artificial feeding of newborns, every mother needs to know all the advantages and disadvantages of an adapted diet.
Quite often, new parents switch to mixtures due to some far-fetched principles, thereby depriving children of important vitamins and minerals.
The advantages of IW are as follows:
- The newborn can be fed by the father and other close relatives. A woman is freed from every minute being next to the child and is now able to leave for quite a long time, without worrying that the baby will remain hungry (it is better, of course, not to linger for a long time).
- When breastfeeding, the mother cannot always control the amount of portions, so the child sometimes remains hungry or, on the contrary, overeats, and then burps. In addition, bottle feeding allows you to track the deterioration of health, manifested by a decrease in appetite (you can see this by the volume of the remaining formula).
- If an allergic reaction begins in newborns eating mixtures, the mother always has a specific “suspect”. In the case of breastfeeding, a woman will have to seriously reconsider her diet and give up many foods.
- Artificial nutrition is digested for a long time (much longer than breast milk), which is why the number of meals a child can have can be reduced.
These are the advantages of adapted feeding, however, in the opinion of many experts, the disadvantages of artificial feeding are much more significant and serious.
- Children on IV are more likely to have colds, infectious diseases, and allergic reactions during the first month of life and in early childhood. Doctors explain this phenomenon by the fact that the mixtures lack the most important antibodies that a mother should pass on to a baby along with milk.
- The use of containers for feeding requires their regular washing and even sterilization. If such conditions are not observed, the newborn may develop an intestinal disorder or other dyspeptic factor.
- It is quite difficult for a baby on IV to digest a product that is not characteristic of his gastrointestinal tract. This is why artisans often suffer from colic due to swallowing air.
- On long trips with a baby, a mother needs to prepare and take with her a large number of things, including the dry formula itself, clean bottles, and a suitable sterilizing device. That is, you have to collect a whole bag and cook food somewhere else.
- It is not always possible to immediately find the perfect formula for newborns, so new mothers are often forced to change different types of nutrition in order to choose the most suitable for a particular child.
- Adapted nutrition of children requires a certain amount of money from the mother. A balanced and complete product cannot be cheap, especially since a growing baby will need a much larger amount of formula.
Thus, there are still advantages from artificial feeding, but there are more disadvantages to such a diet. That is why it is extremely undesirable to refuse breastfeeding for the sake of one's own principles, the opinion of the media and the desire to feel "freedom" in the first months of a child's life.
Pediatrician Komarovsky, who is an indisputable authority among many mothers, is convinced that breast milk is an indispensable product, despite the latest scientific and technological advances.
Breast milk contains so many essential components (antibodies, hormonal substances, digestive enzymes) that its composition cannot be surpassed for a long time. Komarovsky never tires of repeating that under any circumstances, breast milk is preferable to formula.
Artificial feeding of a child is a problem that worries many young mothers who, due to various circumstances, are not able to breastfeed their newborn.
Komarovsky suggests focusing on 2 most important axioms:
- No mixture, even adapted, can completely replace breast milk.
- Cow's or goat's milk is not as good a product for an infant as a balanced formula.
Komarovsky notes a curious pattern: over the past three decades, the number of cases of food allergies or intestinal disorders in children of the first month has decreased many times (by a thousand or more times) as mothers switched from animal milk to industrial formulas.
Dr. Komarovsky convinces new mothers who cannot breastfeed that feeding their babies with diluted or whole cow or goat milk is a huge mistake. And do not listen to grandmothers who call mixtures a set of chemical reagents.
Komarovsky cites data that newborns under one year old should not be fed cow's or goat's milk. After 12 months and up to three years, the volume of this product should be minimal, and from preschool age, the child can consume such milk in reasonable quantities.
Such restrictions are associated with an increased content of phosphorus and calcium compounds in animal milk. Such an excess of the norm of these minerals is fraught with kidney diseases and the pathological development of the musculoskeletal system.
So, you weighed all the pros and cons and decided that the baby needs artificial feeding. It is important to observe certain principles and take into account certain conditions. Among them:
- choice of adapted food;
- feeding regimen and portion size;
- baby feeding technique.
To choose high-quality products for children, you need to follow the advice of an experienced doctor. Parents are offered mixtures for complete feeding of healthy newborns, babies with digestive disorders, allergies and premature newborns. Let's consider them in more detail.
Adapted Blends
These products are made from cow's milk, but the volume of protein components in it is significantly reduced by the introduction of demineralized whey.
For children of the first month, you need to purchase products with primary or initial formulas. On the box with the mixture, this is indicated by the number 1, for example, "Nutrilak 1".
By 6 months, the baby should be given products with the so-called follow-up formula. They are also called less adapted mixtures. They contain more milk proteins and carbohydrate components to meet the increased energy requirements.
They differ from the previous product not in quantity, but in the quality of protein elements.
Milk protein is subjected to a special enzymatic effect, which implies bringing it to a curdled state. As a result, the mixture is close in composition to breast milk.
Due to this technological process, the mixture is better digested in the gastrointestinal tract of the newborn and is more quickly absorbed. Curd ingredients form the optimal intestinal microflora, adding beneficial bacteria to the body.
Such products are indicated for feeding newborns with dysbacteriosis, stool disorder, predisposition to allergies.
Also, such artificial feeding is prescribed for a weak and premature infant.
Non-adapted mixtures
They are made from fresh or dried animal milk. The volume of protein components in their composition is significantly higher than in women's milk.
Since the main element of such products is casein, which is unnatural for newborn babies, some unsafe conditions may develop:
- violation of the intestinal microflora;
- digestive disorders;
- small weight gain in an infant;
- delayed development.
IW experts do not advise giving this product to an infant under 12 months of age. It does not meet the needs of babies and even threatens his well-being. Also, experts do not allow the use of cow or goat milk for cooking porridge.
Selection rules
If you are unable to breastfeed and it is time for an alternative product, it is best to consult a specialist for formula selection. The pediatrician, knowing the characteristics of the child's body, will recommend the most gentle nutrition.
To select the optimal product, it is necessary to take into account certain nuances and the most important criteria.
When a child first meets a dairy product, you need to constantly monitor his reactions and behavior: look at how alert he is, track the color of his skin, the frequency and nature of feces.
It should be understood that regardless of whether you are breastfeeding or formula-fed your baby, you need to properly serve the “dish”.
Before manufacturing, be sure to study the packaging in order to understand how to prepare the purchased mixture. The standard requirements for the preparation of a dry dairy product are as follows:
In some situations, you can cook several servings at once. So that the mixture does not disappear, it should be placed in the refrigerator (for a day) or in a special thermos (for up to 4 hours). Of course, if you have stored the product in the refrigerator, the mixture must be warmed up before feeding the baby.
Special heaters are sold in stores; hot water (or tap water) is also suitable for heating. Heating in the microwave is not recommended, as the product heats up too unevenly, which means that the child may be burned.
Experts distinguish two main ways to feed a newborn who is on artificial feeding: the regime by the clock and free feeding.
Clock mode
Artificial feeding must be precise. Experts often advise new mothers to adhere to the regimen, maintaining certain intervals between feedings and observing the norms in dosage.
How many times should I formula feed newborns? The number of meals per month looks like this:
- From 0 to 3 months. You cook and feed the baby every 3 hours, at night the break is 6 hours. There are about 7 feedings per day.
- From 3 to 6 months. After 3.5 hours during the day, at night you break for about 6 hours. That is, during the day, the baby will need to be fed 6 times.
- From half a year. By 6 months, the artificial baby begins to be introduced to complementary feeding. At about the same age, complementary foods are also introduced to children who are breastfed. For a grown-up baby, one feeding should be changed to porridge or mashed vegetables. Now the number of meals is 5 in 4 hours, night sleep is about 8 hours.
free feeding
Human milk and artificial formula differ in composition. If a natural product does not lead to heaviness even with frequent application to the breast, then diluted milk powder is not considered a "light" dish.
However, other experts suggest the use of partially free feeding, a method characterized by a specific feeding time. The volume of the mixture in this case depends on the desire of the child, but is within specific limits.
You prepare and pour the mixture into a container about 25 milliliters larger, but food should be given at a strictly fixed time. This will allow you to more accurately determine the optimal portion size needed by the child. If he leaves the milk in the bottle, you can’t force feed.
Breastfeeding a baby is not so easy, let alone an artificial baby. In some situations, the child is not gaining weight well, in others they talk about overfeeding. That is why the mother should follow certain rules of artificial feeding.
It should not be thought that an artificial man needs less mother care than a naturalist. It seems that a father or other relative can give him a bottle, and a nipple can console him. However, experts recommend that mothers ensure the closest contact with the baby, hugging him to her, laying next to her.
Ideally, only the mother should feed a one-month-old baby. You should not entrust artificial feeding to the rest of the family. Let him suck the bottle only in his mother's arms, turning to face her. As soon as he falls asleep, the pacifier is removed from his mouth and put to bed.
How much formula does a newborn eat?
In a simplified scheme, the nutritional norms of an artificial person are as follows:
- in the first 10 days, the daily volume of the mixture can be calculated based on the number of days of a child's life multiplied by 70 or 80 (depending on body weight, 80 if birth weight is more than 3200 g);
- from 10 days to 60 days - the child eats up to 800 milliliters of adapted food for 7 or 8 times;
- from 2 to 4 months - the maximum volume of milk increases to 900 milliliters (or a sixth of the baby's weight).
When should the mixture be changed?
Feeding must correspond to the characteristics of the crumbs. However, not all artificial products are suitable for children, so each mixture is given at first in a small volume and not for very long, carefully monitoring any reaction.
Experts advise changing the product in the following situations:
- the child does not tolerate the mixture, there is a rash, redness, regurgitation, constipation or diarrhea;
- the baby has reached certain age limits when it is required to switch to a less adapted mixture (in this case, it is advised to change the product to gruel of the same brand);
- there is a need to switch to a special medical diet (an allergic reaction, for example), and then go back to the usual product.
The transition should be sequential, observing some nuances. First, a new product is introduced, mixing it with the old one (two thirds of the old mixture and one third of the introduced one). Then proportionality begins to be observed, by the end of the week the child completely switches to a previously unfamiliar product.
If the mother will feed the child with a mixture, then the pediatrician can tell her everything about artificial feeding. Specialist advice is especially valuable when choosing the first product and when replacing adaptive nutrition. Although the mixture is not able to become an absolute copy of breast milk, if all the basic rules are observed, the artificial child will definitely grow up strong and healthy.
Hello, I'm Nadezhda Plotnikova. Having successfully studied at SUSU as a special psychologist, she devoted several years to working with children with developmental problems and advising parents on the upbringing of children. I apply the experience gained, among other things, in the creation of psychological articles. Of course, in no case do I pretend to be the ultimate truth, but I hope that my articles will help dear readers deal with any difficulties.
If a child receives both mother's milk and formula at the same time, such feeding is called mixed. With this type of feeding, the proportion of the mixture in the baby's diet is from 20% to 50%.
In the case of this type of feeding, feeding can be organized in two ways:
- First give the breast, and then supplement the mixture.
- Completely replace any feeding with a mixture.
Since there is nothing better for a baby than breast milk, choose a feeding method in which he will receive more of your milk.
Causes
- Most often, mixed feeding is switched to with insufficient production of breast milk. Often, the lack of milk is a far-fetched problem, caused either by the mother's subconscious reluctance to breastfeed, or by the woman's low awareness of lactation processes. However, there are also objective reasons for hypogalactia, forcing the mother to resort to supplementary feeding.
- The second reason for combining breastfeeding and bottle feeding is when the mother goes to work or school. Often, the mother leaves expressed milk for the duration of the absence, but more often, while the mother is working, the child is fed formula milk.
- The doctor recommends a mixed type of feeding when the baby is not gaining enough weight or was born prematurely. In this case, this type of feeding is a temporary measure - gradually feeding becomes completely breastfeeding.
- Also, mom can start bottle feeding the baby to free up some time for herself. In this case, the child can be left for a while with her husband or another adult, without worrying that the baby will remain hungry.
- Another important reason for supplementing a baby with a mixture is the presence of diseases in the mother in a compensated form.
Breastfeeding allows close contact with the baby and provides him with the necessary substances for development. Even with an acute shortage of milk, do not refuse partial breastfeeding
pros
- With this type of feeding, the mother can be temporarily replaced by another adult, but at the same time she will be able to maintain closeness with the baby during breastfeeding.
- The baby retains all the benefits of breastfeeding.
- The mother may be away from the child for some time.
- Mixed feeding can help dad bond more closely with the baby.
Minuses
First of all, due to the skipping of feeding, the mother may experience problems with the breasts (stagnation, milk flow, chest pains and even mastitis) and lactation. Also, the mother may suffer psychologically from the fact that the time of breastfeeding has decreased.
At the same time, it can be difficult for a child to adapt to two types of feeding at once:
- He may refuse bottle feeding and act up. His appetite may be reduced.
- Having started to easily get the mixture from the bottle, the baby will not want to "work", extracting milk from his mother's breast. This happens with a very early transition to mixed feeding (in the first 6 weeks of a baby's life).
- Often, having received less breast during the day, the child begins to demand more breast milk in the evening and at night.
Which is better: supplementing with formula or completely switching to it?
The baby's digestive system is tuned to breast milk, and when the mixture enters it, various unforeseen reactions are possible. Therefore, you need to carefully monitor the reaction of the baby.
It is important to understand that formula, even if it is expensive and of the best quality, is not equal to breast milk. Therefore, it is not necessary to refuse breastfeeding in any case. It is not easy to treat supplementary feeding with a mixture; you should not choose a mixture without consulting a doctor. Also, the decision of the mother to supplement the crumbs with goat's milk or kefir can only harm the health of the baby.
Mixed feeding is much better than artificial. If there is not enough milk, try to increase lactation
Rules
- If the mixture and breast milk are given in one feeding, then the baby is first applied to the breast (even if the mother has very little milk), and when the child completely empties it, they give the mixture. The reason for this approach is the presence of a greater appetite in the infant at the beginning of feeding. If you give the mixture first, it will be difficult for the mother to calculate the right amount, and the child will not want to suck on the breast to get milk, since he has already satisfied the first hunger.
- In situations where the mother will be temporarily absent during the day, the child is transferred to such a mixed feeding regimen, in which two or three times a day the baby will receive only the mixture, and in other feedings - only mother's milk.
- If the volume of supplementary feeding is small, it is recommended to give the mixture from a spoon, since due to the easier intake of the product from the nipple, there is a risk of the baby not sucking at the breast. If formula is given in large quantities, it is important to choose a firm nipple that has small holes so that the baby makes an effort to obtain formula from the bottle.
- The diet with this type of feeding can be free, but if the mother decides to feed the baby according to the schedule, then the number of feedings can be reduced by one.
- It is important to carefully monitor the sterility of bottles and nipples.
- If the mother goes to work, the first attempts to bottle feed the baby should not be postponed until the last days. In most cases, babies do not immediately put up with bottle feeding. It is optimal to start supplementing the baby with a mixture 2-3 weeks before the moment when the mother begins to leave home for a long time.
- With mixed feeding, a baby can start complementary feeding two to three weeks earlier than a baby who receives only breast milk.
With mixed feeding, it is necessary to follow many rules and monitor the reaction of the child when introducing the mixture.
Demand calculation
If you have the opportunity to provide the baby with the required amount of milk for one feeding (while cutting their total amount), use this opportunity and give the mixture only in one of the feedings. In this case, only the amount of formula needed for the current formula feeding of the baby can be calculated.
To determine the baby's needs for additional nutrition, you should consider the age of the crumbs and the type of mixture used.
First, the total daily nutritional requirement of the infant is calculated:
- a baby under the age of 10 days weighing less than 3200 g to calculate the required amount of nutrition should be multiplied by 70 by age in days (weighing over 3200, multiply 80 by age in days);
- a child under 2 months old is given food in the amount of 20% of his body weight;
- children from two to four months require food in the amount of 1/6 of their weight;
- babies older than 4 months to 6 months of age need food in the amount of 1/7 of their body weight;
- children aged six months to one year require a daily intake of food in the amount of 1/8 to 1/9 of their weight.
We divide the total volume by the number of feedings and find out the approximate amount of food needed by the baby in one feeding.
The amount of sucked milk can be measured by control weighing: Weigh your baby before feeding and then after. After subtracting these values, you will find out the amount of milk drunk. Now it remains only to subtract the volume of breast milk received by the baby from the total volume - so the mother will know how much the baby will need the mixture.
By simple calculations, you will find out how much you need to give the mixture to the child
To make sure that the baby has enough for the growth and full development of all nutrients, you need to calculate how much the child receives daily proteins, carbohydrates and fats. The calculation is based on the norms of entry into the child's body of essential nutrients, as well as the approximate content of these substances in human milk.
First, they calculate how much the baby receives in total breast milk per day, and then how much protein, carbohydrates, and fats he receives with this food. Further, the content of nutrients in the resulting volume of the milk mixture is also calculated. Having calculated the needs of the baby, depending on the age, it is determined whether the food received is enough for the crumbs.
At the same time, it should be taken into account that the need for protein in the transfer to mixed feeding in an infant increases. A baby under 4 months old needs 3 grams of protein for every kilogram of weight if supplementary feeding is carried out with an adapted mixture, and 3.5 grams if the mixture is not adapted. A child older than 4 months needs 3.5-4 grams of protein.
What are they feeding?
For supplementary feeding, the same mixtures are chosen that are recommended to feed infants on artificial feeding. Preference is given to an adapted mixture.
The mixture must be exclusively adapted and selected by the pediatrician based on the needs of your child.
What can't be fed?
The baby should not be given a medicinal mixture unless recommended by a pediatrician. There are strict indications for the use of mixtures with a therapeutic effect, for example, a soy mixture is given for allergies to milk protein, and a lactose-free mixture is used in crumbs with a lack of lactase. Kefir, cow's or goat's milk can significantly harm the body of the crumbs.
If the child does not like the bottle
Many babies do not want to switch from breastfeeding to bottle feeding. To make this transition more successful, mom is recommended:
- Try to put different types of nipples on the bottle so that the baby can pick up “his own”.
- At first, bottle feed with expressed human milk.
- Bottle feed during the period when the baby wants to eat, but the baby is not yet too hungry.
- Let someone else, not the mother, offer the baby a bottle with the mixture for the first time.
- When the baby will be fed with a mixture, let the baby be in a different position in which he is used to receiving his mother's breast.
- The liquid that is given to the baby should be warm, as the baby is used to receiving warm milk from the mother's breast.
- Don't expect your baby to drink all the formula from the bottle right away.
- In extreme cases, the mother will have to not give the baby a breast all day, so that the baby still agrees to try the mixture from the bottle.
- If the baby persists and he is already 6 months old, it makes sense to plan feeding the baby with complementary foods during the mother's absence.
The amount of milk eaten by a child depends on the characteristics of development, age and health. Most often, mothers of babies who are bottle-fed are worried about this. Indeed, when feeding, they can clearly control the amount of mixture that the child sucks out, and in which case they sound the alarm. With properly organized breastfeeding, things are more complicated - the child himself regulates the amount of milk he needs and determining the amount of breast milk eaten is no longer so simple. Nevertheless, in both cases, the child must consume the amount of food that meets the standards derived from many years of observation and experience of pediatricians in order to meet the needs of his body.
Average age norms of milk or mixture
During the first attachments to the breast, the baby eats very little. The fact is that for some time after childbirth, a woman does not secrete milk, but colostrum, which has a high calorie content. Even a few drops of it are enough for the baby to eat. It takes a few days for the colostrum to turn into milk. At this time, it is important not to waste time and establish breastfeeding correctly so that the baby is provided with breast milk for a long time. But not always and not everyone does it without problems, and for a number of reasons, milk may not be enough. Under the lack of breast milk is understood as its amount below the norm, which is established taking into account the general and individual characteristics of the child.
Norms for one feeding for children up to 10 days
On the first day, a newborn eats 7-9 ml of food per feeding. To calculate the amount of food that a child should eat up to 10 days old, you need to take the child's age in days and multiply it by 10. That is, in 3 days for one feeding, the child is supposed to suck out 30 ml of milk or mixture.
Daily allowances for children under 1 year old
These norms, developed on the basis of a volumetric calculation method, do not take into account the individual characteristics of the child, which must also be taken into account. So for babies with a birth weight of more than 4 kg, this norm may be insufficient, and for small children it is too large.
| Age | Daily volume of milk or formula |
|---|---|
| 7 days - 2 months | 600-950 (600-800) |
| 2-4 months | 800-1050 (800-900) |
| 4-6 months | 900-1050 (900-1000) |
| 6-8 months | 1000-1200 (1000-1100) |
| 8-12 months | 1000-1200 |
The recommendations set out in the table below can be considered a kind of transitional option between average and individual milk norms.
| Age | The amount of milk eaten per feeding, ml | The amount of milk eaten per day |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Week | 50-80 | 400 ml |
| 2 weeks | 60-90 | 20% of the child's body weight |
| 1 month | 100-110 | 600 ml |
| 2 months | 120-150 | 800 ml |
| 3 months | 150-180 | 1/6 of the child's body weight |
| 4 months | 180-210 | 1/6 of the child's body weight |
| 5-6 months | 210-240 | 1/7 (800 ml -1000 ml) |
| 7-12 months | 210-240 | 1/8 - 1/9 of the child's body weight |
Norms for a large child at birth and a child with high rates of physical development
| Age | The volume of formula or breast milk per day, ml |
|---|---|
| 1 month | 700-850 |
| 2 months | 750-850 |
| 3 months | 800-900 |
| 4 months | 850-950 |
| 5 months | 900-1000 |
| From 5 months | no more than 1000-1100 |
How to calculate the amount of formula or milk by baby's weight
To determine how much milk your child specifically needs, simple calculations will help, taking into account, in addition to age, such individual characteristics of the child as weight, height, and health status. When using them for children in the first days of life, you need to remember that they can give inflated results for the amount of milk.
Children in the first 10 days of life
- Finkelstein's formula modified by A.F. Tura.
The amount of milk per day (ml) \u003d Child's life day × 70 or 80, where
70 - with body weight less than 3200g,
80 - with a body weight above 3200g. - Formula N.F. Filatov modified by G.I. Zaitseva(considered the most optimal for calculating this age category of children).
The amount of milk per day (ml) \u003d 2% of body weight × Child's life day. - Formula N.P. Shabalov.
The amount of milk per feeding (ml) = 3.0 × Child's life day × body weight (kg).
For children over 10 days old
- Reiche method.
The amount of milk per day (ml) \u003d Body weight (g) / height of the child (cm) × 7. - Calculation method according to Geibener and Czerny (volumetric method). Takes into account the daily volume of milk or formula without additional drinking.
- Calorie counting method. It is considered the most appropriate for calculating the nutrition of children over the age of 10 days and before the first introduction of complementary foods.
The calorie counting method assumes that a child should consume a certain number of calories per 1 kg of body weight per day. Different literary sources contain different information on this matter. The maximum values are contained in the WHO recommendations, which also take into account the energy value of breast milk that changes with the age of the child.
| Child's age in months | Daily energy requirement of a child, kcal/kg (WHO) | Daily energy requirement of a child, kcal/kg (Maslov M.S.) |
|---|---|---|
| 0,5 | 124 | 120 |
| 1-2 | 116 | |
| 2-3 | 109 | |
| 3-4 | 103 | 115 |
| 4-5 | 99 | |
| 5-6 | 96,5 | |
| 6-7 | 95 | 110 |
| 7-8 | 94,5 | |
| 8-9 | 95 | |
| 9-10 | 99 | 100 |
| 10-11 | 100 | |
| 11-12 | 104,5 |
The simplest and easiest way to use this method is to calculate the volume of the mixture, since its calorie content is indicated in advance on the package. With breast milk, everything is more complicated. The composition and energy value of breast milk is not constant and changes throughout the entire period. For this reason, in relation to breast milk, this method is more approximate. But still, you can use it, knowing the average energy value of breast milk, which is 53-80 kcal / 100 ml.
Example
Suppose the volume of the mixture is required for a child at two months weighing 4600 g with a calorie content of the mixture of 680 kcal / l.
Calculation procedure
- We calculate the number of calories for a child per day, using the data on the daily need of the child in calories per 1 kg of body weight, for example, according to Maslov V.S.:
Number of kcal \u003d Daily energy requirement of the child, kcal / kg × Child weight, kg.
The number of kcal \u003d 115 kcal / kg × 4.6 kg \u003d 529 kcal. - We calculate the volume of the mixture per day needed by the child:
The volume of the mixture, ml \u003d Number of kcal × 1000 / calorie content of 1 liter of the mixture.
The volume of the mixture, ml = 529 kcal × 1000/680 kcal = 780 ml
When using this method, it is also necessary to take into account the appropriateness of the child's weight for his age.
Regardless of which norms you use, remember that a baby who has had to be supplemented by a mother or who is exclusively formula fed should consume the same amount of nutrition as any other baby who is breastfed.
The amount of food per day in children of the first year of life should not exceed 1000 ml, and in children of the second half of the year 1000-1100 ml.
Nutrition calculation for premature babies
The nutrition of a premature baby is made taking into account the needs of the body and the capabilities of the digestive system, since the energy needs are very high, and the digestive capacity is not yet sufficient.
The number of calories per 1 kg of body weight for a premature baby in the first days of life is presented in the table.
| Age | The number of kcal / 1 kg of body weight |
|---|---|
| 1 day | at least 30 |
| 2 day | 40 |
| 3 day | 50 |
| 7-8 days | 70-80 |
| 14 days | 120 |
| 1 month | 130 (formula) - 140 (breast milk) |
From the second month of life, children born with a weight of more than 1500 g, the calorie content is reduced by 5 kcal / kg / day (compared to the first month of life), and in children born with a weight of 1000-1500 g, the calorie content of the diet is maintained for up to 3 months on the same level, as in the first month of life. Then they begin to reduce the calorie content by 5-10 kcal / kg / body weight, taking into account the state of health and well-being of the child.
Increasing the amount of food in premature babies should be done gradually and carefully. If the child's condition worsens, then the amount of food should be reduced.
Feeding in the first 1.5-2 months. produced 7-10 times / day. Six meals a day are transferred when the child reaches a body weight of 3 kg. At 6-7 months, the child will be ready to switch to 5 meals a day.
Calculation of nutrition for small and sick children (WHO recommendations)
These recommendations apply to children in the first 10 days of life. Underweight babies are defined as babies born weighing less than 2500g. This can include both premature babies and babies that are just small for their age.
For such children, the volume of milk per kg of body weight should initially be 60 ml. Further, every day it is necessary to increase the total volume of milk by 20 ml per 1 kg of weight, until the child begins to receive 200 ml per 1 kg of weight per day.
Sick children are children who weigh more than 2500 g and who, due to illness, cannot breastfeed. For such children, the amount of milk should be 150 ml per 1 kg of body weight per day.
The rate of milk or formula for one feeding
A single volume of the mixture should be calculated based on the number of feedings per day. However, here mothers often come to a standstill, not knowing how many feedings to consider the norm. To do this, you can refer to the table in which the number of feedings is given taking into account the age of the child.
Average volume of milk or formula per feeding by age
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The question of how much mixture a newborn should eat sooner or later confronts parents. For many new moms, feeding a newborn remains a challenge. How much exactly should a baby eat at a reception, whether he is full and whether the baby is sick, refusing to eat - all these questions arise before parents, regardless of whether the baby is on natural or artificial feeding.
Any young mother is going through: in the first months after birth.
On the first day after childbirth, a special liquid called “colostrum” begins to be produced from the mammary glands of the mother. It has an extremely rich and unique composition, saturated with all vital vitamins, amino acids and trace elements. Therefore, even the minimum amount of liquid is quite enough: the baby is completely saturated and receives all the necessary vitamins and nutrients for full growth and development.
Find out how much a newborn should eat. In the early days, a small amount of colostrum is enough for a newborn. This is due to the fact that the baby does not yet have a sufficiently developed sucking instinct.
Mothers are interested in how many times it is recommended to feed a newborn with formula or breast milk. It should be remembered that during the first day after birth, the volume of the child's ventricle is only 10 ml, and therefore the amount of food eaten in 24 hours should not be more than 100 ml. As a rule, 9-10 feedings per day are enough for a baby to feel comfortable.
How much should a baby eat according to age
So, how much mixture should a newborn eat in the first days after birth. Already 3-4 days after birth, the dose for the baby is approximately doubled, and therefore the daily norm for the baby is already increased to 250 ml. Each parent who gives the baby a mixture should remember that every day the amount of mixture used can be increased by 10 ml. For example, on the third day after birth, a baby can already eat 30-40 ml at a time.
The next question of interest to mothers is how much mixture should be given to babies at 7 days, 14 days, then by months. Many pediatricians advise giving the baby 50-70 ml of the mixture in the first week of life. There is a special table that tells parents how much formula or mother's milk a child needs in order to feel full and fully develop.
If parents are worried about the right nutrition , and whether the baby is gaining weight normally, this can be found out using a special formula: multiply the age of the baby in days by 10. The resulting mark indicates the rate of food consumed by the child for one feeding.
As soon as the baby reaches 10 days of age, the scheme for calculating the norm of food changes somewhat: the amount of formula or breast milk consumed should be equal to 20% of the total body weight of the baby.
The healthiest food for a baby is breast milk. But if for some reason it is not enough, they switch to mixed feeding. The baby will receive all the nutrients with mother's milk, and the missing amount will be supplemented with a mixture. This type of feeding has its own characteristics that you need to know and consider.
The mixture should not push breast milk into the background. It only solves the problem of lack of sufficient nutrition. No adapted formula can replace the set of nutrients found in mother's milk.
Mixed feeding continues temporarily. From 6 months, when the time comes for the first complementary foods, the lack of food is replaced with cereals, fruit or vegetable purees.
Be sure to fight for quality lactation. This is facilitated by the frequent attachment of the child to the breast, night feeding, and an increase in the amount of fluid consumed. You should not replace the baby's search reflex with bottles or nipples. Very often, these measures are enough to stop mixed feeding after a few weeks.
Supplementary formula feeding is a long and difficult process. It is necessary to prepare a bottle for each feeding, dilute the mixture, while it should be warm. Breast milk is always at hand and also contains antibodies that protect the baby from infections.
When do you need to supplement
Often a woman begins to feed her baby with mixtures, without real reasons for this, taking her soft and empty breasts for lactation problems. In fact, it may be a sign of mature lactation. Milk begins to be produced only at the moment when the baby is applied to the breast.
The amount of milk expressed is also not an indication of nutritional deficiencies. The baby can suck a lot more. You can try to express milk before feeding, pour it into a bottle and check how many grams came out. One more point should be taken into account. To the resulting volume, you need to add 20-30 grams.
You can try to weigh the baby before and after feeding. The resulting difference in weight will be equal to the volume of milk drunk.
The behavior of the child should not be regarded as an indicator that nutrition is insufficient. The baby may cry and turn away from the chest if it is too overexcited, upset. Feeling unwell can lead to a similar reaction: abdominal cramps, teething, clogged nose.
It is very important to make sure that the baby is properly latching onto the breast. In this case, swallowing excess air, the appearance of sores and cracks in the nipple, as well as problems with malnutrition can be avoided.
Mixed feeding is started only if the baby is not gaining weight and there is not enough urination per day. A child should have about 12 urinations per day. You can count if you put diapers instead of diapers.
For medical reasons, mixed feeding is prescribed in the following cases:
- decreased lactation;
- diseases of the mother, which are accompanied by medication;
- lack of nutrients in milk with anemia in a woman, malnutrition;
- the need to switch to nutrition with therapeutic mixtures.
Mixed feeding of the child can begin already in the maternity hospital. There may be several reasons for this: large blood loss during childbirth, multiple pregnancy, premature baby, Rhesus conflict.
Supplementary Power Technique
Each package of the mixture contains detailed instructions on the rules for breeding and the total amount that the baby should eat per day. Here you also need to take into account the age and characteristics of the development of the organism. The entire recommended amount of the mixture should be divided into five feedings. It is better to start supplementary feeding in the morning. It is not necessary to give the mixture at night.
The best indicator of how many grams of formula to dilute is to weigh the baby before and after feeding. The data obtained are in line with the norms, and the shortage is replenished by supplementary feeding. But there is one nuance here. A baby may drink different amounts of breast milk at different times. In the morning he may drink little, and after a few hours he will be satisfied with another volume of milk.
We need to reconnect the wet diaper count method. Normally, there should be 12. If the number of urination is insufficient, you need to correctly offer additional food. The following diagram will help.
At the age of 3 months, the child is additionally offered 30 grams for each missing urination, in subsequent months, 10 grams are added. And already at the age of six months, the baby receives an additional 60 grams of complementary foods for each missing wet diaper.
For example, if a child aged 4 months urinated 9 times a day, you need to multiply 40 by 3. 120 grams of nutrition are missing, which should be divided into five servings per day.
If the mixture has to be diluted in a small amount, then do not rush to use the bottle. The baby quickly gets used to light sucking and may not take the breast after the bottle.
Feeding is recommended to be done with a spoon, syringe, pipette. The spoon should not be made of metal. Take a small amount of the mixture and pour over the baby's cheek. After he swallows a portion, offer the next. The pipette with the contents must be placed in the corner of the mouth and poured inside.
If a lot of complementary food mixtures are used, then such methods are inconvenient and long to use. Therefore, you need to choose the right nipple for the bottle. It should be tight and have a small hole.
In order for mixed feeding to take place correctly and successfully, you need to use the following scheme:
It is also necessary to take into account the fact that there is more breast milk in the morning. Therefore, you need to try to feed more often at this time. If milk remains in the breast, it is better to express it and give it to the baby later.
If all these tips are taken into account, the mother will simultaneously fight for the establishment of lactation, and mixed feeding will not turn into artificial feeding.
Mothers are afraid that mixed feeding can lead to upset stools in a child and gas in the tummy. If the mixture is diluted correctly, given in a small amount and not the entire volume at once, then there will be no problems.
Mixed feeding, as well as completely natural, provides the child's body with the necessary immune bodies. There are no such antibodies in mixtures. Therefore, it is not necessary, at the slightest difficulty, to switch to artificial nutrition.