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How to give your baby new formula. How to switch from breast milk to formula or from one formula to another

It is known that the best for any child is breast milk. But it happens that the mother does not have the opportunity to breastfeed the baby for one reason or another. In such cases, milk mixtures come to the aid of mother and baby in their wide variety, and it is not always easy to figure out which one is better to use.

Feeding a baby with food that is not suitable for him is fraught with very unpleasant consequences - from diarrhea to severe allergic reactions that require hospitalization. Therefore, when introducing a new product, you should be very careful, because the health and well-being of the baby is at stake.

Classification of infant formula

There are many types of formulas for feeding babies. It is necessary to select them for the baby together with the pediatrician, guided by his recommendations. Transferring a child to a new diet is comparable to prescribing drugs for treatment: only a doctor can decide this.

So, what are the mixtures and what are their features? Let's give a classification.

According to the degree of adaptation, baby food can be of the following types:

  • adapted;
  • partially adapted;
  • unadapted.

An adapted formula is a product that is as close as possible in its composition to breast milk, corresponding to the characteristics of the metabolism of children, and containing vitamins, minerals, lactose and dextrin-maltose, whey proteins, vegetable fats in a balanced amount.

They are made from cow, goat, soy milk and are suitable for most healthy babies. Of the well-known brands that produce adapted nutrition, one can cite Humana1, Pre-Hipp and Hipp-1, Nutrilon, NAN, AGU-1, Enfamil-1, Samper Baby- one ".

Partially adapted are called casein mixtures, which do not include whey, but all other components make them close to the composition of mother's milk. Examples are Similak, Nestozhen, Anta-mil, Baby, Baby.

Unadapted is whole cow and goat milk. They are not recommended for children under 1 year of age. According to the timing of the introduction of the mixture, there are either initial or subsequent.

Initial - these are, as a rule, species adapted, intended for use by children in the first months of life and corresponding to their physiological characteristics. Subsequent - suitable for children from 6 months, and contain more protein. The consistency of mixtures can be dry or liquid.

The difference between dry and liquid is that dry must be prepared by yourself, following the dosage recommendations on the product packaging. Liquid ones are ready-made, portion-packed mixtures that only need to be warmed up.

If liquid nutrition is available, it should be preferred: in this way, you can play it safe from breeding mistakes, because parents often dilute food “by eye”, or deliberately exceed the dosage.

According to the level of acid-base balance, baby food is divided into 2 types:

  • fresh;
  • fermented milk.

Sour-milk mixtures are used in cases where the baby has intestinal disorders: constipation, colic, diarrhea. Sour-milk products normalize the microflora and promote recovery, after which the child can be transferred to normal unleavened food.

According to indications for use, the mixture is divided into the following types:

  • basic;
  • treatment-and-prophylactic;
  • medical.

Basic baby food is prescribed for feeding healthy children and forms the basis of their diet. Children with special dietary needs are prescribed therapeutic and treatment-and-prophylactic mixtures.

What are the grounds for moving

There must be good reasons for transferring a baby to another type of baby food. You can't rely solely on price and availability.

Reasons for this need:

  • allergic reaction;
  • intolerance to milk proteins;
  • lactase deficiency;
  • planned age transition.


It is possible to understand that a baby has an allergy by several symptoms. On the part of the gastrointestinal tract, these are frequent and profuse regurgitation, constipation, diarrhea, intestinal colic and bloating. Respiratory manifestations - runny nose with copious amounts of mucus, cough - are rare in infants, but they cause a lot of problems.

Allergies are also manifested by skin rashes and redness in the buttocks, abdomen, back, cheeks, and neck. All these symptoms usually occur in case of an allergy to cow's milk protein.

Since most formulas contain cow's milk protein, a child with an allergy should be switched to a diet that does not contain it. These are mixtures based on goat and soy milk, amino acids, or those in which cow protein is split by deep hydrolysis.

Lactase deficiency (milk sugar intolerance) is a reason for the immediate transition of the baby to another product. The reason to worry and show the child to the doctor is frothy, green stools, bloating and anxiety after each feeding, weight loss or lack of weight gain, constant crying during feeding.

In this case, the baby should be transferred to low-lactose or lactose-free types of nutrition.

How to Safely Introduce a New Formula

As with any new food, you need to introduce a new mixture very carefully and gradually, even if the reason to switch to another food is just the next age stage. Before transferring the child to another mixture, it is necessary to consult with a pediatrician.

The introduction should begin with 5 ml, gradually increasing the amount of the new product and reducing the amount of the old one. A new mixture is given immediately before feeding, using a separate bottle for this. You need to be prepared for the fact that the introduction will need to be interrupted, and resumed again no earlier than one month later.

The scheme for introducing new baby food into the baby's diet is as follows:

  • 1 day - 5 ml in the first feeding. Other feedings are not replaced;
  • Day 2 - 10 ml in the first and second feedings;
  • Day 3 - 10 ml before each feeding;
  • Day 4 - 20 ml before each feeding;
  • Day 5 - 50 ml;
  • Day 6 - 100 ml.

On the seventh day, you can completely replace the old food with a new one. Such a scheme is quite loyal to the baby's body and gives him the opportunity and time to get used to the new food.

Today you will find a lot of different mixtures for newborns and older children. First of all, food is divided into liquid and dry. The second type accounts for about 90% of all products. Dry mixes are practical and have a long shelf life, they are easy and quick to prepare by diluting with water. Dry food is convenient to store and take with you.

Liquid mixtures are rare and are prepared foods that only need to be reheated before consumption. However, such food is inconvenient to store and take with you. In addition, the shelf life of such a product is very short.

In addition, there are the following types of mixtures:

  • contain cow's milk whey and are suitable for most newborns. They are quickly and easily absorbed in the body in infants, as close as possible to the composition of breast milk;
  • A partially adapted product is suitable for babies older than 4-5 months, since in addition to lactose they contain sucrose and are less similar in structure to mother's milk;
  • Casein mixtures are included in the composition of cow's milk, which is why they are difficult to digest. Such nutrition is suitable for more developed digestion, which is typical for babies older than six months;
  • Medical nutrition includes anti-reflux, hypoallergenic and fermented milk mixtures. The former are prescribed for allergies to cow protein or lactase, the latter for frequent constipation and profuse regurgitation, and the third for digestive disorders, dysbacteriosis, frequent and severe colic.

To ensure the comfortable development of the child, it is important to choose the right milk formula. Choose food that is appropriate for your baby's age. Packages marked “Pre” or “0” are intended for premature or underweight babies. Products marked “1” are suitable for newborns and infants up to six months old, “2” - for a child from six months to a year, “3” - for children older than a year. You will find detailed rules for choosing a milk formula.

Why you need to change the mixture

Pediatricians advise, once you have found a suitable diet, do not change it. When changing the mixture, there may be problems with the digestion of crumbs and serious consequences in the form of poisoning or food allergies. Therefore, there must be good reasons for changing the mixture. You can not be guided only by the price or availability of food! A planned transition is carried out only when the baby reaches a certain age. Otherwise, these are more compelling significant reasons.

The main reason why a baby is transferred to another mixture is food allergies. It manifests itself in the form of a rash and redness on the skin, diaper rash and swelling, peeling and itching. In addition, the child may vomit and regurgitation become more frequent, constipation and diarrhea, frequent loose green stools.

Less often, the crumbs have problems with the respiratory system, including stuffy nose and runny nose, sore throat and cough, asthma. These are the most acute and dangerous manifestations. For more information on what symptoms of food allergies exist, and how to treat this disease, see.

The reasons for the transition include intolerance to milk protein or milk sugar (lactase deficiency). In this case, you need to select a therapeutic diet that does not contain milk protein or lactose. Medicinal mixtures can only be prescribed by a pediatrician! You can not make an independent transition, so you will only harm the crumbs.

Do not rush to switch to another product if you notice flatulence or increased colic, green stools, diarrhea or constipation. Perhaps this is a temporary phenomenon, the process of adaptation is taking place and you need to wait a bit for the baby to get used to it. In addition, such manifestations may not only be due to the milk mixture. The reasons for this reaction are the wrong daily routine and active exercises or gymnastics immediately after feeding, allergies to dust, cosmetics, clothing materials and other items, stress.

It has a great influence on the well-being of the crumbs if the child is mixed-fed and receives breast milk. If green feces appear or stool is disturbed, colic and other digestive problems increase, first be sure to find out the cause of this condition of the baby, then contact the pediatrician, and only then, if necessary, switch to a new diet. How to transfer the child to another mixture, we will consider further.

How to replace the mixture

To avoid problems with digestion, the change in nutrition should be gradual. A sharp transition will cause upset stomach and stool. At first, the mixture is given only in the daytime feedings before receiving the usual food. Start with small amounts and gradually increase the volume, and gradually reduce the dosage of the usual mixture. Mixture should be diluted in separate bottles and also fed separately. Doctors and experts in feeding young children have developed a special scheme for switching from one mixture to another.

Thus, you will gradually completely switch to a new mixture. Never give your child two different mixtures from the same bottle! Do not start the transition if the newborn is not feeling well, during illness or stress, during a period of extreme heat, when or due to be vaccinated.

The transition to a new mixture is 1-1.5 weeks, at this time, especially carefully monitor the change in the well-being of the crumbs. If signs of allergies, stool and digestion disorders appear, regurgitation increases after feeding, observe the baby for a week. If after six to seven days after the start of the introduction, the negative reaction does not go away, then the food is not suitable for the child and you need to select another.

Not all women are able to breastfeed their babies with healthy milk. Due to various circumstances, artificial people appear who have to select the best option for baby food - safe and high quality. This is a very responsible task, since in the future the transition to a new product will be fraught with a number of difficulties.

This is not a toy: today they gave a rattle, tomorrow - a bell. Here you need to know all the nuances of how a newborn can switch to another mixture without undesirable and even dangerous consequences for his health. In any case, this will become stressful for him, but parents should do everything to minimize it.

Firstly, the mother needs to understand that it is impossible to start feeding the newborn with one mixture, and after a while replace it with another just because she suddenly liked it more, that she is now in fashion, or because there was not enough money for the old one.

The choice from the very beginning should be conscious and competent. After all, this is a real stress for a small organism and will not go unnoticed for an unformed stomach.

The younger the baby, the more difficult the transition will be. And it must be dictated by very serious reasons. They can become:

  • individual intolerance to milk proteins or sugar;
  • lactase deficiency;
  • refusal of the child to eat;
  • poor weight gain;
  • most often switch to another food for allergies;
  • the need for a medical mixture;
  • planned age transition (this is later - for those who are six months old).

It is best to consult a pediatrician if it is possible for a child to switch to a different mixture. It is one thing - medical indications for this and completely different - the desire of the parents, dictated by some of their own principles and preferences.

Do not expose the newborn to stress once again: he already has plenty of them. But if this event still could not be avoided, be sure to follow the rules and recommendations of experts.

This is interesting. Man belongs to mammals, that is, he feeds his children with milk. If in nature the female animal for some reason cannot feed the cub, he dies. Until the 19th century, if a woman lost her breast milk, a nurse was found for the newborn.

There are unshakable rules on how to switch to another formula for babies without health consequences. If they are not observed, there is no guarantee that such a transition will not adversely affect its condition.

Side effects can include constipation and diarrhea, dysbacteriosis and terrible colic, sleep disturbances and loss of appetite. And in the future, this threatens with serious problems in the work of the gastrointestinal tract.

So do not risk the health of the newborn - it is better to follow the following tips:

  1. Consultation with the pediatrician about whether the newborn needs to switch to a new diet.
  2. If you switch to another mixture within the same brand, then you can not follow the steps by adding a small amount of new food to 1 feeding. Please note that it is advisable to gradually switch to a new mixture or the next formula within the same brand, after additionally consulting with the doctor and on the official websites of the manufacturers.
  3. It is necessary to switch to another mixture of a completely different brand gradually so that the newborn can fully adapt to the change in nutrition.
  4. The last in the scheme is replaced by night feeding, since it is not known how a small organism will react to a new diet.
  5. It is impossible for a newborn to switch to a new mixture during vaccination and if he does not feel well: he has a temperature, severe colic, problems with stools, insomnia, etc.
  6. You can not replace one mixture with another without a good reason.

If you correctly switch to a new mixture, this event will pass without consequences and with minimal stress for a small organism. The rules are not that complicated, everything is doable.

The only difficult moment in the transition is the choice of a scheme for replacing one product with another. They can be different, although the principle is the same - stepping.

through the pages of history. The first infant formula was invented at the beginning of the 19th century, but it was not commercially available. They produced it exclusively for orphanages for babies and shelters, in which there were not enough wet nurses for all newborns. It began to be delivered to the market only in the middle of the 20th century.

There are different schemes for how to switch to a new formula for a baby without consequences for his health.

Some are good in that they offer a slow introduction of new nutrition and reduce the negative reaction of the body to it to almost zero. However, they are not suitable for some newborns, as they cover too much an accustoming time interval - up to 2-3 weeks, while with diarrhea or allergies to the old formula, you need to take faster measures.

Other schemes suggest a 6-day replacement, but do not guarantee the absence of side effects. Choose for yourself according to the situation.

Transition scheme with seven meals a day:

  1. Add 10 ml of new formula to the first feeding. But at the same time, you can’t mix it in the same bottle with the old food. First one thing, then another.
  2. If nothing has changed in the state of the newborn in a day (no rashes, fever, diarrhea), the next day add 20 ml of a new product to the first and fifth feedings.
  3. Add 20 ml of new food daily until the first and fifth feedings are completely replaced.
  4. After that, with an interval of one day, transfer completely (and not 20 ml) to a new mixture for one feeding. It is best to do it in order: 1st day - the second feeding, 2nd - the third, 3rd - the fourth, 4th - the sixth, 5th - the seventh.

However, according to this scheme, the newborn will have to switch to a new mixture for quite a long time: up to 2 weeks. In some situations, parents do not have so much time if the crumbs are allergic to the old food.

In such cases, you can use the express method (with the permission of the pediatrician), reflected in the table:

Exactly the same schemes work with supplementary feeding, if the newborn does not have enough mother's milk or he is not gaining weight well.

In any case, it is advisable to take a consultation with a pediatrician so as not to encounter unpleasant surprises. Even before the birth of the baby, parents should consider the option of artificial feeding and choose a good formula, which then does not have to be changed to another.

Causes

A mixture change is necessary if:

  • The child had a reaction in the form of allergies, constipation, regurgitation, diarrhea.
  • When the child has reached a certain age (for children older than six months, it is changed).
  • If you have to use a special mixture for medical reasons.

If the baby's body reacts well to the mixture, it should not be changed. This can be understood by the fact that the baby feels good, there are no skin rashes and there are no problems with the stool.

The decision to change can only be made by the pediatrician. Many mothers change it several times a month just because it “seemed to them that the other one was more modern”, while introducing it once. Thus, they harm the body of the crumbs. Remember that the new mixture should be given in small quantities and the volume should be increased gradually. This is the only way to adapt without stress for the child's body.


If the child feels well, you should not change the formula on a whim.

  • Do not mix old and new mixture. They need to be given in different bottles.
  • Prepare both new and old formula before feeding.
  • Monitor the condition of the crumbs and analyze the symptoms described above with an inappropriate mixture.
  • It is desirable to introduce a new mixture in the morning.
  • It should be diluted exclusively with boiled water in accordance with the instructions on the package. Ideally, this should be done immediately before feeding.
  • If you need to make a stock of milk formula, be sure to refrigerate it and keep it for no more than 24 hours.

Schedule

When it is required to change the mixture that the baby is fed, the introduction of a new product should be gradual:

  1. On the first day, it is given only once in an amount of 10 ml.
  2. On the second day, it is given three times in 10 ml.
  3. On the third day, the product is given three times. For one feeding give 20 ml.
  4. On the fourth day, it is given to the baby 5 times. For one feeding, 50 ml of a new product is given.
  5. On the fifth day, the total amount is adjusted to 400 ml, divided into 4 feedings (100 ml at a time).
  6. On the sixth day, 150 ml of a new product is given for each feeding. The total volume of the injected mixture is 600 ml or more.
  7. On the seventh day, the entire diet of the child can already be replaced with a new mixture, since the body will fully adapt by this time.

Before entering the treatment mixture, you need to consult a pediatrician, since in some cases a one-time complete transition is necessary.

How to introduce a new mixture into the baby's diet? If for some reason it turned out to be necessary to introduce a new mixture into the child’s diet, then this must be done gradually. Often, the mother herself decides to change the mixture to “some better” and introduces it in one day at once in full. A few days later, she learns of the existence of a "more modern" mixture and, again with the best of intentions, quickly changes the old mixture to a new one. It is good if the baby does not react to this in any way, but sometimes the child may have an allergic reaction or some kind of digestive upset. And not only because the food may not have been chosen correctly, but to a greater extent - because of its illiterate introduction into the child's diet. Any new mixture (regular or therapeutic) should be started in very small amounts, increasing its volume due to the volume of gradually replaced food.
Olga Lukoyanova Pediatrician, Researcher, Department of Healthy and Sick Child Nutrition, Scientific Center for Children's Health, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, Ph.D.

FOR A NEW MIX (from one mixture to another):

Any new infant formulas should be started in very small amounts, from a separate bottle before feeding the usual formula. As the amount of the new mixture increases, the volume of the familiar mixture is reduced.

Two different mixtures should be prepared in two different bottles. The first day you give 10 ml. in one feeding. First with a new mixture, then supplement with the old mixture. This is because after a familiar mixture and having already eaten, the child may refuse a new one. The rest of the feeding is the old mixture.

On the second day, give 10 ml. at the beginning of three feedings. It can be three feedings in a row or through feedings, whichever is more convenient for you. Only not the first and not the last feeding, they are replaced at the very last. On the third day, 20-30 ml. at the beginning of three feedings. On the fourth day 50-60 ml. at the beginning of five feedings. Accordingly, prepare the old mixture in another bottle for 50-60 ml. less. On the fifth day 90-100 ml. at the beginning of four feedings, then supplement the remainder with the old mixture. And on the sixth or seventh day, completely switch to the full volume of the new mixture in all feedings.

Scheme No. 1

Another version of the scheme for introducing a new mixture:

  • 1 day - 5-10 ml. mixes in one feeding, preferably at 12-00.
  • Day 2 - 20 ml. new formula at the same feeding time.
  • Day 3 - 40 ml. mixtures at the same feeding.
  • Day 4 - 40 ml. every feeding throughout the day.
  • Day 5 - 40 ml. at every feeding.
  • Day 6 - the mixture in full, at each feeding.

So you enter a new one within a week.

Scheme No. 2

Term Quantity ml* Multiplicity of intake per day Number of injections per ml intake

1 day 5.0 1 5.0
2nd day 10.0 1 10.0
Day 3 10.0 3 30.0
Day 4 20.0 3 60.0
Day 5 50.0 3 150.0
Day 6 100.0 4400.0
Day 7 150.0 4,600.0
Day 8 150.0-200.0 4-6 600.0
and more and more

* Note: 1 teaspoon corresponds to 5 ml of the finished product.

On NE, starting from the 3rd day and all subsequent days, the mixture is applied 2 times a day.

FOR MIX №2 (SECOND STAGE):

Important : when transferring to PS, do not give it to the first and last feeding.


The scheme of transition to the subsequent mixture (combination for each feeding)

Option

1st day

3 parts old mix + 1 part next stage (PS)

2nd day

3 parts old mixture + 1 part PS

3rd, 4th day

2 parts old mix + 2 parts PS

5th, 6th day

1 part old mixture + 3 parts PS

7th day

all feeding PS