Feeding your baby
One of the more complex questions that you will ask yourself during your baby’s first year is: What do I feed her? When do I feed him?
Your baby starts out with a simple requirement of either breast milk or formula. What happens after the milk?
This section will help you learn what types of foods to introduce into your baby’s diet at a certain stage of development. This information should only be considered a guideline. Your doctor and baby may have different ideas.
It is important to realize that not all babies will be ready for solids at the same time. So how do you know when you baby is ready? There are a few simple guidelines that you can follow to help you decide when you baby is ready for solids. When in doubt, always check with your doctor.
Your baby is probably ready for solids when:
- His birth weight has doubled
- She tries to grab the food you are eating
- He watches you eat with great interest
- She consumes 32 oz or more each day of formula or breast milk
- He is always putting things in his mouth
- She can sit easily in the highchair
- He can demonstrate to you that he is full or hungry
- She always seems to be hungry
If you baby fits the criteria above, he is probably ready for solids. Introducing solids too soon can cause food allergies. Don’t be in a big hurry to push solids on your baby. If she is content with the liquid diet, leave things as they are. Only consider solids when baby seems to need more food than just the bottle or breast.
Also consider: Baby needs to be able to chew and swallow easily before solids will be safe to consume. This should never be done in a prone position. If baby can’t sit up, he can’t have solid foods!
The first six months is usually all formula or breast milk. If you are breastfeeding you will be using cues from your baby as to when she is full or hungry.
If you are using formula, this is a little trickier. How much formula do you make? How much will baby need at each feeding? The following chart may help you with this. Ultimately, your baby will have the final word and that word will be very loud if he doesn’t get enough formula.