Mother's milk is the most valuable product for newborn babies. But there are situations when, for medical reasons, a woman cannot breastfeed, or she has no milk at all. Then artificial feeding of newborns is used, which is slightly different from HB.
Bottle-fed baby
Power features
A forced measure of transferring a child to artificial feeding is carried out strictly under the supervision of a pediatrician. If the mother is still in the prenatal center, the baby is fed with donor milk for the first 2-3 days. After being discharged home, a woman will have to constantly prepare a fresh mixture based on adapted products.
Additional Information. In terms of the composition of the mixture, they are as close as possible to mother's milk in the quantitative content of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and other nutrients. The product contains at least 15 different vitamins and 11 micro- and macrocomponents.
Modern mixtures are produced by categories for:
- children born healthy;
- low birth weight and premature babies;
- prone to allergies.
For each period of the newborn, their own mixtures are selected (from the first days to a month, up to 3, 6, 12 months). Therefore, artificial nutrition must be started strictly from the starter product.
Adapted infant formula
When feeding a baby with a formula from birth, it is important to properly organize high-quality nutrition. If you do not follow the rules and regimen, there are risks of both overfeeding and underfeeding of the baby. Therefore, it is advisable to weigh newborns in the first months of life at least 2 times a week.
With a delay in body weight for more than 10 days, a change in the diet will be required: switching to a different mixture, introducing curds, prescribing fish oil. Weight gain control includes calculating the calorie intake, daily and one-time volumes of the mixture, taking into account the baby's life expectancy.
Bottle feeding regime
Biologically, the digestion of newborns is adjusted by nature to breast milk. Therefore, the translation into IoT can be regarded as stress for the whole organism. It is not only the process of food digestion that changes - the intestinal microflora is reconstructed, the metabolism is altered.
With artificial feeding of a newborn up to a month, adaptation to new developmental conditions is carried out gradually, with the obligatory adherence to the regime, excluding nutrition on demand (which can be called a minus). Such an organization is convenient for a mother - the baby does not have to be nervous while the woman is preparing food (and this is already a plus).
Artificial workers of the first 30 days of life are fed 6 times a day with an interval of 3.5 hours. At the same time, they try to withstand a 6-hour break at night. The consequence of more frequent feeding (as well as haphazard) will be indigestion.
Note! Newborns on IV need adapted fermented milk mixtures. They can be combined with sweets, but the latter should be less than 50% of the daily volume.
General rules for artificial feeding
To make the baby's adaptation comfortable, it is important to adhere to general principles. In feeding a newborn with a formula from birth, the basic rules include the following points:
- Bottles and teats are sterilized and stored in a closed container before each feeding. Wash immediately after use.
- The mixture is prepared immediately before use, maintaining a temperature of 37-40 °.
Preparing a fresh mixture
- It is necessary to adhere to the duration of normal feeding within 15-20 minutes. Therefore, make sure that baby fluid flows out of the nipple in drops, and not in a trickle.
- Getting used to IV occurs gradually, only one type of adapted mixture is used.
- If the child is unable to gain weight as a result, the product change is also carried out gradually, over 2-3 days.
Important! Timely adjustments in feeding will prevent the development of hypertrophy in the baby.
- The first complementary foods for children on IV are introduced 3-4 weeks earlier than for "naturals".
With artificial nutrition, babies receive more protein than those who are on HB. Therefore, they will need an additional drink in the amount of 80-100 milliliters per day (boiled water, weakly brewed tea, rosehip decoction).
Dosage of formula for newborns
Although the mixtures are adapted for breast milk, they still have a slightly different ratio of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Therefore, the calorie content of food consumed with IV is 10-15% higher. Nevertheless, the one-time volume of fluid given to the baby increases slightly, but the daily amount remains the same as with breastfeeding.
The dosage of the formula for newborns at the reception is selected taking into account the age of the baby. The daily calorie content is calculated based on the type of mixture (i.e. carefully study the manufacturer's information printed on the package).
Instructions on the packaging
The cooking instructions provide a table on how to properly dilute baby powder and in what quantity for a certain age. Every child has different needs. One baby can eat more than the recommended portion, the other less. Here, the mother herself selects the optimal dose for her little one.
Important! If the baby ate less than what was prepared for him, you should not forcefully force him to finish the milk mixture. Perhaps he ate a little more last time.
Leftover food does not need to be left on until the next feed (even if it will be kept in the refrigerator). It is better to prepare a fresh mixture the next time.
How much the mixture is digested in a baby
Artificial feeding of newborns cannot be organized on a staggered schedule. The main point to consider with IV is how much the infant is digesting the mixture.
For babies in the first weeks of life, the digestive process of a heavier product than human milk takes 3.5 hours, for children over 5 months of age - 4 hours. Therefore, if the baby is restless and crying between meals, it is not because he is hungry. Perhaps he simply cannot go to the toilet, and his tummy is puffy.
How to give the mixture correctly
If, when breastfeeding, many mothers lie in bed with their babies, then this cannot be done with artificial feeding. The woman will have to take a comfortable sitting position while holding the baby in her arms. This will tilt the bottle so that the neck is always full. Otherwise, the baby will swallow a lot of air when he drinks.
How to give the mixture correctly
After feeding, the child is kept in an upright position for 10-12 minutes so that he burps. It is important to know not only how to give the newborn the formula correctly, but also to ensure that the prepared liquid is homogeneous and does not contain lumps.
Modern mixtures can be called a real achievement in the food industry. But they will never be a 100% alternative to breast milk. If the baby was forced to be transferred to IV, his nutrition should be clearly organized and his body weight should be carefully controlled, as well as the basic principles of feeding should be observed. In case of poor weight gain, change the dairy product only after consulting a pediatrician.
