The norm of the mixture for a child of 2 months. Feeding a two-month-old formula-fed baby

01.07.2019

A new mother always has a lot of different questions. One of them is the problem of nutrition of the baby. How much should a 2 month old baby eat? Is he getting enough breast milk? Should I supplement him with formula?

All children eat differently.

In fact, every child is different. This applies to everything, including food. Appetite can be different, as well as the state of health and mood. Therefore, how much a child should eat at 2 months - he decides for himself! To allocate a strictly defined amount of milk during feeding is, to put it mildly, ridiculous. The exception is premature babies. They only eat by the hour.

The development of the child, weight gain and the need for supplementary feeding are closely monitored by district pediatricians. Nevertheless, the last word will remain only with the mother. By constantly monitoring her baby, she will be able to determine the child's diet for 2 months and draw conclusions about the advisability of introducing complementary foods.

A well-fed toddler is a happy toddler!

If the baby does not eat up - it can be seen immediately. The baby is nervous, crying, sleeping badly. A well-fed child, on the contrary, behaves very calmly, plays and smiles. In a word, outwardly he looks strong and healthy.

However, whether the baby has enough milk can also be determined using the so-called “wet diaper test”. To do this, it is necessary to exclude the use of diapers for the whole day. The next morning, you need to count the number of wet diapers. If there are more than twelve of them, then there is enough milk for the baby.

The nutrition of a baby at 2 months also affects his stool. With normal lactation, the child defecates several times a day. This also needs to be closely monitored.

How much should a child eat at 2 months, a pediatrician will tell young parents

The appetite of children, of course, is different - this is a fact. However, pediatricians still set the average diet at 2 months. Doctors focus on weight gain. If at 1 month it is about 600 grams, then at 2 months it is already 800 grams.

Pediatricians are guided by special formulas developed by specialists at different times.

For example, according to the Reiche method, the required amount of milk is calculated relative to the weight and height of the baby. The formula is extremely simple. Weight in grams is divided by height in centimeters, after which the result is multiplied by seven.

The Shkarin method says that the baby should consume about 800 milliliters of milk per day. With each following month, this amount should increase by 50 milliliters.

When calculating nutrition according to the Geibern method, the weight of the child is taken into account. There is nothing complicated here either. In the first 2 months, the norm of milk consumed is one fifth of the baby's weight, in 2-4 months - one sixth.

Feeding a baby while breastfeeding

There is simply no point in talking about the benefits of natural feeding of a baby. Every mother knows this. The question of how much a baby should eat at 2 months while breastfeeding is absolutely meaningless. Modern pediatricians recommend feeding the baby on demand. Breast milk in most cases will not allow the crumbs to either undereat or overeat.

However, it is still necessary to weigh the baby before and after feeding. It’s just that it will help a young mother keep records in order to understand exactly when it will be necessary to add complementary foods to the diet.

On average, at 2 months, the baby eats seven to eight times, and the amount of milk or infant formula is approximately 120 milliliters. Of course, sometimes a child can eat more, and sometimes less. However, 800 milliliters per day should definitely work out.

Do not worry if the child eats a little less

However, these guidelines are just guidelines. Do not panic if the baby eats less or less often. The main thing is stable growth and weight gain.

So, how much a child should eat at 2 months is a question that cannot be answered with an exact answer. All figures are only approximate. If the mother still suspects that the baby is malnourished during breastfeeding, since it is impossible to determine the exact amount of milk eaten, it is necessary to express for several days in a row at different times. This will allow the mother to more accurately navigate in terms of feeding the baby.

If there is not enough milk

Unfortunately, breastfeeding is not always possible. There is some cyclicity in the appearance of milk in women. For example, at 3-4 weeks, the mother is already well aware of the regimen and diet of the child. 2 months after birth pass, and the amount of milk begins to decrease. At this time, it is not at all necessary to supplement the baby. However, if the mother sees that the milk is still not enough, and the rate of weight gain is declining, complementary foods may also be needed. However, it should not be more than 150 milliliters per day. It is best to do this before bed.

Before and after the feeding of the child, you still need to apply to the breast, at least for ten minutes. If the amount of milk is restored, it is no longer necessary to supplement the crumbs.

In most young mothers, lactation intensifies at night. Therefore, if the child sleeps peacefully for at least seven hours, it is best to wake up yourself a couple of hours before the baby opens his eyes. Having expressed 100 milliliters of milk for the evening, before going to bed, the baby can be fed quite tightly.

As soon as a woman notices that lactation is reduced, she urgently needs to take drastic measures to restore it. There are many actions to establish breastfeeding - the main thing is to correctly establish the cause of the loss of milk.

Why does lactation decrease?

In a word, the best and most useful option is nutrition with HB. 2 months is the age when milk can disappear. How can it be returned? What needs to be done for this?

Perhaps the mother is simply too tired without getting enough sleep. In this case, it is necessary to establish her sleep. A breastfeeding woman should sleep at least seven to eight hours a day.

The mother's diet should also be particularly varied. At the same time, one should not forget about a number of prohibited products that should never be consumed during lactation. These include fatty, fried, salty and spicy foods, alcohol, carbonated drinks, coffee, strong tea, etc. And, of course, after each feeding, be sure to express milk and take a hot shower.

Contribute to an increase in lactation and yeast products, honey, walnuts in small quantities, pike perch.

A five-minute daily massage of the mammary glands, taking nicotinic acid, apilac, vitamin C and E, pyrroxan also helps a lot. However, all this can be taken only as directed by a doctor.

Phytotherapy, by the way, can also be of considerable benefit. Decoctions of rapier, dill, anise, fennel, chistets and oregano are excellent remedies!

More serious methods are such medical procedures as UHF, ultraviolet irradiation, electrophoresis of the mammary glands.

Give children your love and care.

In the comprehensive development of the newborn, proper nutrition plays an important role. Young mothers study the norms and make a routine, but a one-month-old baby does not always adhere to this. The eating habits of an adult and an infant are very different, as adults may eat out of boredom. It is important for parents to remember that the little one is not a robot, and he has his own needs. The reason for a decrease in appetite may be poor health, illness or lack of mood. Modern mothers prefer to feed on demand, and the older generation insists on observing a strict regimen. The best option would be the golden mean and taking into account the desires of the child.

The child does not always want to eat at strictly set hours, so his own desires must also be taken into account.

What are the rules for?

There are nutritional standards for children in the first year of life, but it makes no sense to blindly adhere to these volumes. The table shows approximate values, since babies eat differently. Appetite depends on the metabolism, physique and activity of the crumbs. Fidgets will ask for food more often and be content with small portions, and calm little ones can eat more than the norm at a time. You can’t compare children, claiming that a “glutton” or “little eater” is growing:

If the child is 2 months old, he eats less than indicated in the table, but at the same time is active, then there is no reason for alarm. No need to look for any diseases and look for dangerous symptoms. The body of this particular baby does not require the amount of food prescribed in the norm.
If the appearance of a plump and clumsy toddler makes parents feel proud, there is reason to think. Overfeeding will not lead to anything good, because the habit of eating more than necessary will remain with the child for a long time. Excess weight causes a number of serious diseases, so they are easier to prevent.

The norm for a two-month-old baby is 700-800 ml of breast milk or an adapted formula per day. For an individual calculation of the volume of food, you can use special formulas:

Weigh and measure the child, writing down the parameters in grams and centimeters. Divide weight by height, and multiply the result by 7. If a baby weighs 5000 g at 2 months and its height is 56 cm, then the norm of milk or mixture for it will be 625 ml per day.
There is a lightweight formula, according to which the norm of food for crumbs is 1/6 of its mass. With a weight of 5000 g, the baby will need 833 ml per day.

The amount of milk a baby needs up to 1 month roughly correlates with the size of his stomach at different ages

The resulting figures may cause confusion among parents, because the difference between them is significant. This once again proves that all the above results are advisory in nature, and should not be unquestioningly carried out. For convenience, from the calculated results, you can make the upper and lower limits of the norm, dividing the total volume into 5-6 doses.

Types of feeding and possible problems

This article talks about typical ways to solve your questions, but each case is unique! If you want to know from me how to solve exactly your problem - ask your question. It's fast and free!

The best and easiest way is breastfeeding. If a woman's body produces enough milk, then the baby will eat the volume that is required. There are no questions for those mothers who feed the baby with an artificial mixture, since the norms are indicated on the package. It is enough to read the instructions and prepare the mixture, based on the age of the baby, measure the required volume with a spoon.

mixed ration

Offer the baby the breast first while he is hungry. It is necessary to give both breasts if there is a shortage of milk, so that the baby with food receives substances useful for development.
If the baby is not full, you should supplement him with a bottle. The volume of the mixture in this case is 25-120 ml.

When mixed feeding, the bottle should be offered second - after the mother's breast

The mistake of young mothers is the frequent shifting of the baby from one breast to another. First, the baby receives "front" milk, which is less high-calorie and more liquid. Then he has to suck out the “back”, this requires strength.

Some children already at this stage refuse the breast if the mother readily offers another. As a result, the baby ate both, but was not satisfied due to the low calorie content of foremilk. It is necessary to take turns offering one breast at a time so as not to deprive yourself of the opportunity to maintain natural feeding.

Mixed feeding is usually practiced for a short time, since it takes effort to “extract” milk, and food flows easily from a bottle. The baby will very quickly understand the difference and will refuse the breast, preferring the bottle. Over time, the mother will probably switch only to artificial feeding if the baby begins to lose weight and malnourish.

"Artists" and overfeeding

At 2 months old, babies are most often transferred completely to artificial feeding with a mother's milk deficiency. From the bottle, the baby gets food without much effort, so he rarely refuses the next meal (we recommend reading:). Mothers, on the other hand, mistakenly adhere to inflated norms when feeding, considering their child to be too thin or comparing it with a friend's baby. Malnutrition is considered a dangerous sign because it negatively affects the development of the baby's organs. However, too much food is not a good thing.

It is strictly forbidden to overfeed a child, as this can lead to sad consequences.

Using an adapted formula often leads to overfeeding, so pediatricians advise practicing a "free" regimen. It is based on the rule that the child eats different amounts of food during the day. Toddlers expend energy differently, depending on their physique and metabolism. The derived postulates for both GW and WT read:

with a normal weight of the child, you need to feed on demand;
the size of the volume of food is advised by the pediatrician, but the time of the meal is determined by the toddler;
the doctor can allocate a certain number of feedings, but the baby eats as much as he wants;
with conditionally free feeding, the mother can adhere to the "hourly" regimen (+/- 30 minutes), but the doctor does not regulate the required amount of food.

According to statistics, it is the “free” schedule that allows you to normalize the weight of the crumbs. The bottle should contain 20-30 ml more food than indicated in the norm (for more details, see the article:). Supplementation is not required, as the baby eats unevenly throughout the day. The main indicator of satiety is the calm behavior of the little one, sound good sleep and timely weight gain. Typical norms for weight gain and growth of infants are available in every children's clinic, and at the pediatrician's appointment, the nurse enters individual parameters into the medical card.

When calculating a serving of milk or formula for a child, you can add an additional 20-30 ml

Signs of satiety

There are cases when a child shows good activity, puts on weight, grows, but at the same time eats very little. Fidgets always have a better appetite than sedentary little ones, but the metabolism of children is different. After all, there are thin adults who eat much more than a weighty fat man, as well as overweight people who eat like a hummingbird.

"Artists" also may not eat up, and the reason for refusing food is the unpleasant taste of the mixture. It is enough to try another brand and watch the changes in the baby's appetite. The satiety of the crumbs is checked according to the “wet diaper” principle. A child at 2 months empties the bladder normally every 2 hours (we recommend reading:).

Additionally, you can check how many times the baby poops (we recommend reading:). With sufficient intake of food, stool occurs several times a day. It is difficult to call such a check objective, but if the amount of dirty laundry does not increase, mom should worry. The problem also arises in the fact that modern parents do not use diapers, but diapers. Pampers also tend to fill up and semi-dry should alert. Each mom has her own diaper change schedule, so you can track the changes. In extreme cases, nothing terrible will happen if for one day the baby is released from diapers and wrapped in a diaper.

The well-being and mood of the crumbs can say a lot about:

a well-fed peanut will not be capricious for no reason, rejoicing in communication with relatives;
a hungry baby will cry for no apparent reason and sleep poorly.

If the child eats well, then during wakefulness he will be active and alert

It is necessary to make sure that the baby receives enough breast milk, and in case of a food shortage, it is time to transfer it to mixed feeding. You can weigh the baby before and after the meal, checking for the presence of milk in the chest. If the baby sucked everything out in one feeding, and the weight gain was up to 100-120 g, then you will have to supplement it with an adapted mixture. When weighing, do not remove the diaper or remove the diaper, even if it is wet.

With natural feeding, pediatricians do not limit mothers in the schedule if the baby wakes up and cries from hunger. At the first request, you need to offer the breast and do not take it away until the baby is full. With a sufficient amount of natural food, the baby feels good:

gaining weight;
an increase in growth can be seen visually;
does not cry after a meal and does not require additional breasts during the day;
sleeps soundly;
calm;
suckling actively.

A caring mother should be alert for symptoms indicating that the child is not full. Common signs include:

crying for no particular reason;
bad sleep;
frequent whims;
little or no weight gain;
constant demand for breasts;
refusal to eat a few minutes after the start of feeding.

Frequent whims and crying for no apparent reason can actually be an alarm signal that the baby is not full.

By two months, most children have already formed a diet. Since by this time there is more breast milk, the breaks between meals become longer - about 3-3.5 hours, and some babies even refuse night feeding. Most often, nursing mothers experience excitement about the saturation of the crumbs, unconsciously comparing it with other women's little donuts. Let's talk about the most important points that may help you cope with all the difficulties.

How much should a baby eat at 2 months

Experts believe that at this age, about 800 ml of breast milk or an adapted mixture is enough for a baby. However, do not rush to worry if your daughter or son drinks much less milk. One of the formulas for calculating the nutritional norm: the daily volume should be 1/5 of the baby's weight. Please note that this result is indicative: a lot depends on the temperament of the child, the fat content of mother's milk and appetite.

Those mothers who already have both a daughter and a son will notice that boys tend to eat more actively. If the child is lethargic and does not show interest in food, it is worth visiting a pediatrician. What else to pay attention to? Let's list the main points:

powerful regurgitation, as a result of which a significant part of what is eaten comes back - perhaps this is a congenital pathology of the digestive system or other disorders, do not try to cope with this on your own, with such a symptom, a doctor's consultation is required;
sudden loss of appetite: one of the likely causes is a sharp change in the taste of breast milk caused by a product with a bright taste, the mother's diet should be carefully analyzed and, for example, garlic or other foods should be excluded from it;
in extreme heat, children eat less - do not try to feed the child with force or other tricks, just give him more ordinary water (not from the tap, you remember that newborns need to be given a pure product with a balanced mineral composition).

If an artificial baby, during the first weeks of life, used one mixture and for some reason it needs to be replaced with another, do it gradually, offering the baby a small portion of the new product.

How to determine how much breast milk the baby drank?

This question is asked by almost all mothers. In fact, everything is very simple: weigh the baby before feeding, and then after. Calculate the difference and you'll know how much your child ate. But there is one point that many people forget: the appetite of babies can change depending on mood or external factors. Therefore, a reliable result can only be obtained by several control feedings.

Since most parents do not have special scales for weighing newborns, and there is no opportunity to go to the clinic often, we suggest focusing on the behavior of the baby. It is worth sounding the alarm if 3 hours have not passed after feeding, and the child screams with a characteristic “hungry” cry - most likely, he did not eat last time or breast milk has a low fat content. Do not rush to introduce complementary foods, see if the baby will be satiated next time, take care of a calm atmosphere in the house - some children are sensitive to scandals and quarrels.

Lack of breast milk

There are moments in the life of every breastfeeding woman when she wants to give up and switch to artificial feeding. Do not hurry! Give your baby a chance to acquire your immunity. Try to feed him more often for a couple of days, while at the same time taking a set of measures to increase lactation, which we already wrote about in the previous article of this series. Other Tips:

temporarily reduce the interval between feedings, if before you offered the breast to the baby every 3.5 hours, reduce this interval to 2.5-3 hours;
try to switch to a diet that does not contain foods with a sharp taste - it is possible that the baby is not sucking breast milk well because of its bad taste;
if the child is so weak that he is not able to breastfeed on his own, express breast milk for him, but offer it not from a bottle, but from a spoon or syringe.

If within 3-5 days the situation cannot be normalized, then you will have to abandon breastfeeding. Do not make such a serious decision on your own, be sure to consult a pediatrician.

Beware, food!

You should not think about the introduction of complementary foods at two months. Most eating disorders at this age are caused by the desire of parents, most often mothers, to force things. Very often, the early introduction of complementary foods is caused by “helpful” advice from neighbors or acquaintances. Focus only on information obtained from reliable sources - in your case, this is a doctor or specialized literature. The only product that should be given to the baby other than milk is water. And it must be absolutely pure and without impurities. You should not assume that mineral water is suitable for a baby - the substances contained in it can have a negative impact on his health. The best choice is purified table water or special water intended for babies.

be careful

A common problem is the appearance of allergies in young children. Its signs can appear both in artificial babies and in infants who feed exclusively on mother's milk. The main signs are characteristic spots on the cheeks. When they appear, you should immediately analyze the diet of the nursing mother or stop feeding with a mixture that could cause such a reaction. Other worrisome moments:

the appearance of mucus in the stool - this may be a manifestation of an intestinal infection;
rapid stools or green color - one of the signs of food poisoning, do not treat the baby yourself, urgently rush to the doctor;
symptoms of indigestion - heterogeneity of the stool, lumps, strange color: consult a pediatrician.

Always pay attention to changes in the child's behavior, they can be caused not only by his emotional state, but also by health problems. In all doubtful cases, refrain from independent decisions - visit a doctor, and then you will be able to avoid problems caused by self-medication.

In the second month of life, the child begins to explore the world. A variety of surrounding objects, the voices of mom and dad, the smiles of people begin to attract a two-month-old baby. He will have to gain about 800 g of weight, grow by 3 cm, learn to hold his head upright and move his arms and legs more actively. All this requires a lot of energy. To receive it, the child's nutrition at 2 months is directed.

But how much can your baby now eat in one feeding? Here you need to consider whether he is breastfeeding, mixed or artificial feeding.

Breastfeeding is the easiest option. After all, nature itself took care that the amount of milk from the mother increased with the increase in the needs of the baby.

Pediatricians talk about the need to feed the baby "on demand". In this case, you should not worry about the amount of milk eaten. The volume can change during the day, but the baby will take “his own” and won’t eat more than he needs, because at 2 months there is still a natural instinct to control nutrition.

This is true if the child does not cry between feedings, falls asleep and wakes up at approximately equal intervals of time, and gains weight well. When a mother’s body fails and insufficient milk is produced, it is necessary to seek the advice of a breastfeeding specialist.

Try to empty your chest in a timely manner. The child has not drunk, - express everything to the last drop. The reflex will work, and by the next feeding there will be a little more milk. Just don't panic. Excitement, anxiety, stress are bad allies for mom.

Breastfeeding a 2-month-old is chaotic as the regimen has not yet had time to take hold. To improve the psychological state of the child, they are applied to the chest as often as possible: being next to the mother, the baby will feel the necessary warmth and care.

The regimen for a two-month-old, as a rule, includes from 5 to 7 feedings per day at various intervals. But deviations are possible, and there is nothing to worry about.

mixed feeding

If the specialist has determined that the mother does not have enough milk for a 2-month-old baby, the baby is transferred to mixed feeding. Preliminary, control feeding is carried out during the day, the baby is weighed on an empty stomach and an analysis of the current weight gain is carried out. Only after an objective medical assessment of the collected data can we talk about the need for supplementary feeding (the specialist will have to determine its norm).

It may happen that you have to supplement with expressed mother's milk. This is the safest option for the child, although it adds to the hassle of parents. Doctors recommend creating your own home bank by freezing expressed milk.

Supplementation with donor milk

A worthy alternative to the previous method is supplementary feeding of the child with the milk of a wet nurse. For many reasons, this option is better than using infant formula. There are donor milk banks in Russia, but the network is underdeveloped.

Such milk is stored:

8 hours at room temperature;
5 days in the refrigerator;
3 months in the freezer.

Sometimes moms and dads, posting information on social networks, asking friends, agree without intermediaries. But here we must remember that not only useful, but also harmful is transmitted with milk. Therefore, an independent search for a nurse is extremely dangerous.

Supplementation with infant formula

For supplementary feeding of a 2-month-old baby, highly adapted mixtures are used - hydrolysates. They are specially made less tasty than breast milk, so that the child does not refuse the breast at all. A specialist should help with the choice of such a mixture.

With mixed feeding, the diet of the crumbs "on demand" is maintained. Both breasts are given at the beginning of feeding, and only then - hydrolyzate. Feeding with the mixture is carried out strictly according to the regimen: by the hour, during the daytime, with the obligatory control of urination. Supplementation is given from a syringe, spoon or special system, but not from a bottle.

Mom retains the ability to restore or. A lactation consultant or pro-breastfeeding pediatrician will help set up supplements and remove them when possible.

Benefits of mixed feeding:

protecting the child from allergies;
together with mother's milk, the baby receives antibodies;
Mom has a chance to restore lactation.

The complex science of artificial feeding

Artificial feeding is introduced when the mother cannot feed the child herself due to objective reasons (the reluctance to “spoil” the shape of the breast or “mess around” with the baby does not apply to those). A complete transition to formula feeding should be justified, and the arguments - weighty.

Even a newborn can drink from a bottle. In an emergency, a child is given whole cow's milk, but it is necessary to find an adapted formula on the advice of a specialist as soon as possible. A pediatrician will help you calculate the number of servings and determine the feeding regimen. But parents themselves should collect information on this issue.

Initially, it is better to feed the child when he asks for food. A clear and understandable feeding schedule will gradually form. Even the most expensive and high-quality formula is absorbed worse than breast milk and takes longer to digest. Therefore, when switching to artificial nutrition, the breaks between feedings can increase up to 3-4 hours.

An approximate regimen for a baby at 2 months is as follows:

6 to 7 feedings per day;
the norm of a single serving is 120-150 ml.

Don't be too quick to worry if your baby hasn't eaten everything at the time of feeding. Most likely, in 1-2 days he will receive his norm. And don't force yourself to eat. This can lead to profuse regurgitation and abdominal pain. But do not hesitate to consult a doctor if it seems to you that the baby is not eating enough.

Adherents of the principles of free artificial feeding recommend not to reduce the intervals between feedings, but to offer the amount of the mixture at the request of the child. As a rule, this mode provides weight gain and good absorption of food. At each feeding, about 20 ml more than the norm is poured into the bottle, allowing the baby to independently determine his needs.

How to determine the amount of the mixture?

There are many formulas for determining the amount of formula for artificial feeding.

Simplified calculation for a child under the age of 2 months. Divide your baby's current weight by five. This will be approximately 600-800 ml with 7-8 feedings per day with a night break of 5-6 hours. How many milliliters to give at a time? Divide the daily amount of formula by the number of scheduled feedings.

Avoid the temptation to give solid foods and juices for the following reasons:

the gastrointestinal tract of the infant is not yet completely formed, so the early introduction of complementary foods may contribute to the development of allergies;
the muscles still cannot coordinate the sucking and chewing movements necessary for taking solid food, which the baby is not yet able to swallow;
early introduction of complementary foods interferes with obtaining the necessary nutrients from milk or adapted formula.

Here is what Dr. Komarovsky writes about this:

“If a nursing mother can afford good nutrition, or if parents are able to purchase a high-quality adapted milk formula, there is no need to feed the child with anything until the age of 5-6 months.”

Read books about child development, look for answers to your questions on the Internet, discuss your problems with friends and family. Brick by brick, you create the foundation on which the full development and health of your child will be based. But the most useful thing you will learn from communicating with your baby. And let love and care be the main criterion for the correctness of your actions.

The child is 2 months old. What can cause you concern?
Baby development at 2 months
Intestinal colic in children.
Two month old baby.
two month old babies. Classes with a child at two (2) months.

Feeding your baby in the second month of life

WHY BEGIN BOTTLE FEEDING

A mother who is breastfeeding may start bottle feeding her baby if she has an intention to return to work or school earlier, if she plans to wean her baby before he can drink milk from a cup on his own (usually this happens at 8-9 months) or wants to be able to occasionally spend time without a child.

Women who naturally feed babies are less free than those who bottle-feed, but many of them still find the opportunity to go somewhere between feedings or go out to the movies in the evening after they put the baby to bed. Here are some reasons why women refuse to bottle feed their baby:

fear that the child will develop dependence on the bottle and then he will have to be weaned twice from the usual ways of feeding: first from the breast, then from the bottle. Such mothers usually start cupping the baby as soon as he can sit up on his own and use the cup to supplement both formula and breast milk;
unwillingness to influence the production of breast milk in any way;
the child refuses to eat from a bottle; mothers who do not feel a strong need for this usually decide not to insist.

HOW TO BOTTLE FEED

When to start
Some babies transition easily from breast to bottle and back again, but most do better both if they start bottle feeding after 6 weeks. Early complementary feeding can interfere with normal breastfeeding, and some babies refuse to take a nipple after a bottle because breasts and bottles require different sucking techniques. For the same reason, many older children refuse rubber pacifiers.

What to use
Since cow's milk is not suitable for a small child, mothers who choose to use a bottle may choose to use breast milk or formula.

Breast milk
One of its advantages is that after buying a breast pump (the cost of which can range from almost symbolic for most manual suctions to very high for electric models), you will get it for free. But it often takes a long time to express milk (from 45 minutes to 1 hour at first and 15 to 30 minutes later, although some women manage to empty both breasts in 10 minutes once they gain enough experience). Of course, breast milk provides optimal nutritional composition and protection against disease, and the occasional use of formula will not underestimate its beneficial effects.

artificial mixture
The time and cost will vary depending on which mixture you choose. Ready-made formulas are expensive, but they take almost no time to prepare, so they are preferred by those women who use mixtures only occasionally. Mixes that need to be diluted are cheaper, but they take longer to prepare. In terms of nutritional composition, artificial formula is not as perfect as breast milk, but nevertheless it can serve as a good substitute for it (in very rare cases, a child who has developed an increased sensitivity to milk in the womb or after being given it inadvertently in can have a very strong reaction to the first few sips of milk (either formula or whole) If your baby is crying in pain or you notice swelling of the lips, tongue, and mouth lining, call the doctor right away. give the mixture only occasionally, do not use varieties with iron supplements).

Regardless of whether you decide to use breast milk or formula for complementary feeding, you must remember that in any case, you must express milk if you are away from the baby for more than 3 hours to prevent clogging of the milk ducts, leakage and reduced lactation. . If you plan on using formula all the time, start giving it early so your baby gets used to the new taste.

How much to use
One of the great benefits of breastfeeding is that you don't have to keep track of how much your baby has eaten. Once you start using a bottle, it's very easy to get caught up in the magic of numbers. Ask the person who will care for the child in your absence not to give the child more food than he wants, not to force him to eat a certain amount. An average infant weighing about 4 kg can take 170 g of food for one feeding, the other is 60 g, and there is no need to overfeed the baby, as this may lead to overweight or he will refuse to suckle when the opportunity arises.

Train your child
Wait until your baby is hungry (but not overly hungry) and in a good mood before trying to bottle for the first time. The first few bottles will be taken with great pleasure if you pre-warm the nipple to body temperature under a stream of warm water, and if someone else offers them, it is advisable that you be in another room in case the child starts to act up. But if the baby gently picks up the pacifier and then spits it out with obvious displeasure, try a different type of pacifier next time. If your child is suckling on a pacifier, a similarly shaped nipple may be to their liking.

Switching to a regular feeding schedule
If your personal routine requires you to regularly skip two meals a day, start with one meal at least 2 weeks before you plan to return to work or school. Give your baby a week to get used to one bottle before moving on to two. This will help to gradually get used to the new form of feeding, not only for your child, but also for you if you intend to feed him with formula instead of breast milk. The biological mechanism itself will adjust the volume of milk to meet new needs, and you will feel more comfortable when you return to work.

How to Organize Occasional Bottle Feeding
If you're only going to give your baby a bottle occasionally, feeding him from both breasts to empty before leaving the house will help prevent overfilling and leaks. It is important that the baby is not fed before you return so that you can breastfeed as soon as you return home.

FEEDING FROM A BOTTLE IF THE CHILD IS NOT NUTRITIONAL

In some cases, formula feeding is recommended if the mother does not have enough breast milk. In such a situation, the mother is often lost: on the one hand, she heard that bottle feeding can further reduce milk production; on the other hand, the doctor says that if artificial formula is not started immediately, the consequences for the child's health can be very serious. The best way out of this situation is to give the child an artificial mixture, while stimulating lactation.

RESERVE FOR EMERGENCY
Even if you don't intend to bottle feed your baby, you can still express and freeze enough breast milk to fill 6 bottles. This way, you will have a reserve o in case you get sick and start taking medicine that might pass into your milk, or you have to go away unexpectedly. Even if your baby has never eaten from a bottle, it will be easier for him to come to terms with such a need, because it will be filled with familiar breast milk, and not artificial formula.