Many parents have to feed their baby with artificial formula, because the mother does not have enough milk, or very little of it. Therefore, the question arises when you need to stop giving it to the baby. This process is associated with the introduction of complementary foods (for a start - vegetable). The child begins to be interested in other foods in the period of 6-7 months.
Bottle mix
Until this age, his digestive system is not yet mature enough, it does not have the enzymes necessary for the digestion of adult food. Until what age should you feed your baby with formula? Are there any restrictions on when to stop doing this?
The formula is food for babies who are unable to feed on breast milk. It can be produced both in the factory and at home in the kitchen.
The baby is feeding
The mixtures should contain all the trace elements necessary for a newborn or baby, and also be adapted to the baby's digestive system.
What the mixture consists of
It is of several types: dairy, dairy-free and fermented milk.
Formula is made from cow's milk with added nutrients. Also, manufacturers remove harmful substances from it. The dairy-free formula is designed to feed children who are unable to digest casein (a protein found in cow's milk). Therefore, no whey is added to it. Instead, soy protein is added, which does not cause allergic reactions and is easily absorbed by the baby's undeveloped digestive system.
Mom feeds the baby
Fermented milk is used to treat constipation and prevent it in children. Its use is not permitted without consulting a doctor. The composition includes probiotics - drugs that stimulate the development of beneficial microflora in the digestive tract. Thus, they can also be used to prevent intestinal infections. Beneficial bacteria compete with pathogenic microorganisms, preventing the latter from overgrowing. Fermented milk mixtures can be drunk for up to a year.
Important! Fermented milk mixture and kefir, yogurt, habitual for an adult - are absolutely different things. The first ones are adapted to the peculiarities of the baby's digestion.
The child eats the mixture
The mandatory composition of infant formula is as follows:
- Macronutrients - proteins, fats and carbohydrates (the main nutrients for the body).
- Vitamins and trace elements - calcium, magnesium, sodium and others.
- Essential fatty acids "Omega-3", which the body cannot produce on its own, therefore requires their supply from the outside.
- Taurine is an amino acid that has a positive effect on brain development.
This is a standard formula, but a good infant formula also contains the following elements:
- Probiotics. The composition must necessarily contain galactooligosaccharides, which normally enter the child's body with breast milk.
- Nucleotides. Essential for strengthening the immune and digestive systems.
- Lutein is a substance that protects the retina and improves vision.
- Milk fat - used as an energy source.
At the same time, there should be no palm and rapeseed oils in infant formula.
Benefits of mixtures
If it is not possible to fully feed the baby with breast milk (its amount is not enough to saturate the baby, or its composition is insufficient to provide the crumbs with all the necessary trace elements), then the mixture is the only way out.
Happy child eating
You can also highlight the following benefits of artificial feeding:
- Other relatives can feed the baby, saving the mother time and effort.
- The ability to control the composition depending on the well-being of the child.
- With artificial nutrition, it is much easier to identify the cause of the allergy.
- Fewer feedings. First, the child eats more at a time. Secondly, breast milk is more easily absorbed, so space in the stomach is cleared earlier.
Disadvantages of infant formula
With all the advantages of artificial feeding, it has many disadvantages:
- It does not strengthen the immune system. Mother's milk contains trace elements that provide protection against intestinal infections and colds. A child who has been artificially fed will also be more painful in adulthood. Thus, he will often be in the clinic, hospitals.
- Frequent regurgitation, colic and other troubles. Formulas are digested much heavier than breast milk.
- Difficulty in choosing a formula that suits the needs of a particular child.
- The need to constantly sterilize bottles. If this is not done, intestinal infections are possible.
- When traveling long distances, you will need to bring some sterilized bottles with you. In fact, you will have to take extra luggage, which is very inconvenient.
- Financial expenses. Not only are the mixtures expensive, but as the child grows up, they will be required more and more.
- It is necessary to give the baby fresh warm mixtures. This is a huge inconvenience for mothers, especially at night.
- Loss of emotional connection with mom. Breastfeeding is an incredibly enjoyable process for a baby, because at that moment he feels loved and safe.
Thus, other things being equal, breast milk should be preferred. Otherwise, the child will have poor immunity, higher risks of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, intestinal infections, asthma and pneumonia. Artificial workers have worse intelligence due to the lack of essential trace elements. It has not yet been possible to create a formula that fully matches the composition of breast milk.
Note. Most of these disadvantages only work when compared to breastfeeding. If it has ended long ago, then the strategy is as follows - the gradual introduction of complementary foods into the diet.
WHO recommendations
WHO strongly advises breastfeeding the baby for at least six months. The transition to adult food occurs gradually, in connection with the introduction of new products in certain quantities. This process takes up to two years. In theory, it can be assumed that this also applies to artificial feeding. In practice, everything is determined on an individual basis.
Important! In general, by the age of 1.5-2 years, it is necessary to feed the child with complementary foods 3-4 times a day. At the same time, WHO does not impose too strict restrictions (again, a reference to an individual approach).
Pediatrician recommendations
A well-known doctor, Evgeny Komarovsky, says that breastfeeding should be carried out in the worst case, up to six months. It is highly desirable that this period be even longer - a year and more. If the level of medicine in the country is low, then up to two years. However, he does not say anything about artificial feeding, as well as other pediatricians.
It is necessary to distinguish complementary foods from complementary foods. The first is the process of smooth transition of the diet to adult types of food. The second is when breast milk is combined with the formula.
According to Komarovsky, the purpose of the first feeding is to accustom the child's digestive system to adult food. Therefore, new products should be introduced gradually, as the crumbs adapt to them. Also, the pediatrician gave recommendations for a smooth transition from an adapted diet to an adult:
- Time to start. For the first time, complementary foods should be given at six months. Many pediatricians recommend teaching your baby to eat solid food at 4-5 months, but this is early. This opinion was reached by the WHO. There is no difference, the baby is an artificial or a baby.
- The transition from mixture to solid food should be carried out on time, even if the crumb is not gaining weight. Introducing complementary foods too early will lead to food allergies.
- Make sure your child can eat adult food. Sometimes it is necessary to smoothly introduce complementary foods only from 7-7.5 months. Readiness is checked according to the following criteria:
- Weight is twice as much as it was at birth;
- The child holds his head easily;
- The kid is able to sit independently without help and support;
- The baby is interested in adult food;
- The child is able to refuse food by turning his head to the side.
- Complementary foods are introduced only to a healthy child. Otherwise, you need to wait until the baby is cured.
- The first complementary foods are best given in the morning.
- The volume of new food should not be large - only one teaspoon at a time.
- Unfamiliar products should not be given if there has been a recent vaccination, or the baby will be vaccinated.
Important! No one gives a clear answer to what age you need to feed your baby with a formula. This is because there is no fundamental difference between complementary feeding and artificial feeding in the aspect that both methods of feeding do not transfer the mother's immunity to the child. Therefore, it makes no sense to consider them as a breast milk substitute after six months.
The opinion of nutritionists
N.A.Toritsina believes that the formula should be fed up to three years. She claims that such food is harmless for the baby's fragile digestive system. However, she says that it is possible to add the mixture to complementary foods.
Thus, it does not matter until what age you need to feed your baby with formula. The advantage of mixtures is that they contain all the trace elements necessary for the life of babies. The mixtures express their disadvantages only in comparison with breast milk.
