The best food for a newborn is mother's milk. Scientists do not get tired of exploring it, each time discovering new useful properties. But there are times when there is no milk or too little milk for good nutrition. There is also a list of medical contraindications for breastfeeding. A still uncommon variant with donor milk can be considered, but it is not available to everyone. Then artificial feeding comes to the rescue.
How to choose a mixture?
Feeding a baby is a very responsible process. And it all starts with the choice of the mixture. How to feed a newborn or one month old baby? For babies in the first half of their life, it should be highly adaptable, that is, as similar as possible to breast milk.
This mixture is called "initial", and the packaging will show one. For children over six months, there are “follow-up” mixtures, the composition of which meets the needs of the grown body.
They are more protein, fat and trace elements. The packages are marked with a “2”.
If the child spits up often and more than expected, antireflux mixture will help. If the digestion of food is disturbed, fermented milk mixtures, mixtures containing beneficial bacteria will come to the rescue.
When choosing a mixture, it is advisable to consult a doctor. When buying a mixture, you should pay attention to the shelf life and the integrity of the package.
There are also mixtures that include special components that have a specific therapeutic effect. So, if someone in the family suffers from allergies, it is advisable to start with a hypoallergenic mixture.
Important feeding rules
Specially prepared dishes
Feeding bottles must be pre-cleaned and sterilized. This can be done by boiling them for 5-10 minutes or using a special sterilizer. The bottle in which the mixture is diluted must be dry.
The nipple should be selected with the expectation that the mixture will not flow out of it in a trickle, but drop by drop. This will ensure active sucking, and not just swallowing the pouring mixture. What is important for the development of the maxillofacial apparatus.
Diet and routine
This is a very important point. The baby gets her food on demand. How many times should a child eat on IV? The schedule depends on the age. So, a newborn eats 7 - 9 times a day, a child 2 - 5 months old - 6 - 7 times, a six months old child needs to eat 5 - 6 times a day.
How much mixture to give in one feeding?
To do this, you first need to determine the daily amount of food. How much a baby should eat depends on his weight and age. So, up to two months, a child needs a food volume in the amount of 1 ̸ 5 of his weight, at 2 - 4 months - 1 ̸ 6, at 4 - 6 months 1 ̸ 7 by body weight, over six months - 1 ̸ 8.
For example, a child at 1 month weighs 4.5 kilograms, then he needs 900 milliliters of the mixture per day. It must be remembered that this volume should not exceed 1 liter.
To determine the amount of formula needed for one feeding, divide the daily allowance by the required number of feedings. This will be 100 to 130 milliliters of the mixture.
It happens that the child eats a little less or more. A slight breakdown is possible. Systematic overfeeding or underfeeding should not be allowed. For a child, this is fraught with obesity or malnutrition.
The volumetric method described above is the simplest and most convenient to use. If necessary or in the presence of weight problems, the doctor can calculate the volume of a certain mixture for a specific child using the calorie method and taking into account the age-related need for proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
How to prepare the mixture?
Use only boiled water. The volume of water required for one feeding at a temperature of 50˚C is poured into the bottle and the prescribed amount of the mixture is poured (indicated in detail on the package). Everything is thoroughly shaken and mixed.
How to feed with formula?
How to feed your baby correctly? Before feeding, you must make sure that the prepared mixture is at the optimum temperature. To do this, drop it on the wrist (on the palmar surface). Its temperature should not be felt by the skin.
Wash your hands with soap and water. Get into a comfortable position. Special pillows will help with this, with the use of which you can comfortably position both yourself and the child. In this case, feeding will become a pleasant rest for the nursing and a source of necessary tactile contact for the baby.
Therefore, it is better to take him in your arms. If the child is prone to excessive spitting up, it is better to keep him upright. In other cases, it is semi-vertical.
Turn the bottle upside down so that the mixture completely fills the nipple and neck and the air rushes to the bottom. This will prevent the baby from swallowing air and developing colic.
Care should be taken to ensure that the mixture drips from the nipple, not spills. Over time, the nipples wear out and need replacing.
If there is a ready mix left
According to the rules, the mixture remaining after feeding must be poured out. But it can still be stored a little. At room temperature, one to two hours and no more than half a day in the refrigerator. Before feeding this mixture, it must be heated to an acceptable temperature.
Drinking
Artificial nutrition of the child must be supplemented with liquid - water, weak broths of wild rose and tea (not the usual one, which we drink every day, but children's, herbal tea).
In the heat and in a room with dry air, the amount drunk must be increased by 50 - 100 ml. It is also worth monitoring the health of the child.
Introduction of complementary foods
Babies who were fed with a mixture begin to introduce complementary foods earlier than infants. From 4 to 4.5 months, they are already beginning to be given vegetable puree, from 5 - porridge.
How do you know if the formula is not suitable for your child?
Often it is not possible to pick up the mixture the first time. What will testify to this?
- indigestion;
If after a meal the child spits up a lot and ̸ or diarrhea or constipation begins, the mixture is not suitable. When there are violations, but they are insignificant, it can be left for a week. If nothing changes during this time, the food must be changed;
- allergic manifestations.
The very first sign of an allergy is a rash (dermatitis). These can be both single elements of it, and merging spots all over the body.
Reactions to mixtures based on cow's milk develop more often. You can replace them with a mixture based on protein waterproofing and soy isolate or on a mixture prepared on the basis of goat milk;
- deficiency conditions.
The development in a child of iron deficiency anemia, malnutrition or other disease associated with a lack of certain substances requires the selection of a special mixture with a therapeutic effect.
Full and adequate nutrition is the key to harmonious growth and development of your baby!
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