Care4 Hygiene

Don’t forget that your baby is a little human being, and like all of us, she has her own bodily needs. This will influence to how much solid foods your baby will be eating. As with us adults, some babies will eat more than others due to their individual needs.

Baby Feeding Tips: What to Feed, How Much, & What to Avoid

Are you a new parent? Do ever questions like what to feed the baby, and how much to feed the baby arise in your mind frequently? Care4 Hygiene finds answers to your queries on your newborn baby’s feeding tips.

Consider These Tips for What to Feed a Newborn

  • The general recommendation about newborns is to feed on demand. This means you should breast- or bottle-feed your baby whenever baby seems hungry rather than setting a strict schedule.
  • Breast milk is the ideal food for babies. If breastfeeding isn’t possible, use infant formula. Healthy newborns don’t need water, juice or other fluids.
  • Most newborns need eight to 12 feedings a day, about one feeding every two to three hours.
  • If your baby won’t eat what you offer the first time, try again in a few days. Introduce new foods one at a time. Wait two or three days, before offering another new food to the baby.
  • Some babies may be ready for solid foods at 4 or 5 months. Ask your doctor when you can start feeding your baby solid foods.
  • Feed your baby small amounts of food. Usually, 1/2 ounce (2 to 3 teaspoons) per feeding is enough in the first week. Your baby will gradually want to take a little more each day
  • Babies younger than 6 months should be fed only breast milk or infant formula. Around 6 months of age, you can gradually introduce solid foods.

Here are a few things to watch for to ensure that you are not over or under feeding your baby:

Signs that baby may want to continue to eat

  • Leaning in for the spoon
  • Opening the mouth
  • Grabbing for food and trying to put it in the mouth

Signs that your baby may be full

  • Closing of the mouth as the spoon comes close
  • Spitting out the food that is being fed
  • Turning the head away as the spoon comes closer

A healthy well-fed baby should be producing wet diapers regularly as well as producing a bowel movement or two during the day.

What not to feed your baby?

Honey: Honey can harbor spores of Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism. An adult’s intestinal tract can prevent the growth of these spores, but in a baby, the spores can grow and produce life-threatening toxins.

Cow’s milk and soy milk: Stick with breast milk or formula until your child’s first birthday. The baby can’t digest the proteins in cow’s milk and soy milk during her first year, and these beverages contain minerals in amounts that can damage her kidneys.

Raw vegetables: Soft-cook vegetables such as carrots, celery, and broccoli, and dice, shred or cut them into pieces no larger than 1/2 inch before serving.

Nuts and seeds: Remove seeds and pits from fresh fruit such as watermelon, peaches, plums, and cherries before serving to your baby. Seeds may be too small to choke on but can get stuck in a child’s airway and cause an infection.

Hard or crunchy foods: Nuts, popcorn, and pretzels are all choking hazards, as are all hard candies and cough drops.

Sticky foods: Chewing gum and sticky foods – such as jelly or gummy candies, dried fruit, and marshmallows – can get lodged in your baby’s throat. Stringy, melted cheese can also be a choking hazard.

There is no “set-in-stone” guideline or chart of exactly how many jars of baby food or how many 8 ounce bottles of formula each baby should be receiving. This is simply because each and every baby is different. Babies will eat as much food and drink as much breast milk and/or formula as they need.

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