When a baby is born, and everything is for the first time, then of course you want to know the main points of feeding and care.

Often during face-to-face consultations, mothers ask how often to feed a newborn with breast milk?

Previously, this question did not require speculation; everyone was fed according to a strict schedule: once every 3 hours and a night break at 6 hours. Now the situation has changed.

A lot of information work has been done by lactation consultants, and more and more mothers, neonatologists and pediatricians are telling them to feed their newborns on demand.

What does it mean to feed a newborn on demand?

This means that for any of his squeaks, cries, or head turns, you offer your breasts. And do not limit sucking by time.

Breast milk cannot be overfed; I talked about this in more detail in the article about regurgitation of infants. Read it if you haven't seen it.

Nevertheless, grandmothers often see that the child is often fed and begin to add fuel to the fire and associate this with the fact that there is not enough milk.

What to do with the most common horror stories of grandmothers? Let's figure it out now.

• Horror story 1. Look, the baby has been hanging on your chest for half an hour, there is no milk there anymore, better give him a pacifier...

There is no need to worry about the baby hanging on your chest for a long time.

Each child is born with its own character: there are rushes that suck greedily, strongly, and literally after 10-15 minutes they relax and fall asleep. There are quiet children who do everything carefully, and only under their mother’s breasts they feel safe and try to prolong happy moments.

Of course, it’s worth checking whether the baby is latching onto the breast correctly? After all, if it is not applied correctly, he does not receive enough milk, and cannot get enough to calm down and fall asleep.

For a child, a mother’s breast is the whole world, and this concept should not be reduced only to food. This is communication, love, care, affection and tenderness, intimacy and protection.

You can write a whole treatise about the psychology of a baby, but I’ll just invite you to my course “Happy Motherhood: How to Breastfeed and Care for a Baby,” where you can understand these issues in more detail.

• Horror story 2. For some reason, the baby often asks for the breast, you probably don’t have enough milk...

This moment is very different from the previous one. Of course, if you consider the breast only as a source of nutrition, it may seem that the baby is constantly eating.

But if we begin to perceive his presence under the breast as an element of communication with his mother, and at the same time he becomes saturated, then it will become easier for everyone around him. After all, no one will demand that a newborn child play independently or do something - he needs his mother, his main assistant and protector.

The amount of milk has nothing to do with how often the baby suckles, or for how long.

• Horror story 3. Have you tried to weigh how much milk a child eats per feeding?

The practice of checkweighing is becoming a thing of the past. Each feeding, the baby sucks a different amount of milk from the breast, depending on the reason for the sucking: after all, when applying to the breast to calm down, he first of all seeks comfort, and not food.

Conversely, when hungry, the baby will suck more actively and greedily and suck out more milk.

To relieve worries about the amount of milk and whether the baby is getting enough, there are 2 objective ways. Just two:

1. Count how many times a child pees in 24 hours.

If 10-12 or more times, there is enough milk.

If 8-10, you need to analyze breastfeeding techniques, perhaps some rules are being violated and the baby is a little lacking.

Less than 8 times - you should seek a telephone, or better yet, face-to-face consultation with a lactation consultant. And as quickly as possible.

1. Look at your weight gain in a week! If your baby has gained 120 grams or more, everything is fine, don’t worry. He has enough milk.

Also watch my video on on-demand feeding:

Now it’s clearer how to feed your baby? Write any remaining questions in the comments, I will answer.

Lyudmila Sharova, lactation consultant.

Soon the 9 months of waiting for a miracle will end, and the baby will become a full member of society. Parents (mostly, of course, the mother) will be faced with difficult tasks that need to be solved - to ensure the baby’s full physical and mental development.

Young parents who have “never smelled gunpowder” are at a loss in the face of new problems and worries that seem insurmountable. As our favorite character from the famous cartoon, Carlson, says: “Calm, just calm.” The best thing a woman’s body can give to a newborn baby after childbirth is breast milk.

This very simple process is predetermined by nature itself. Breast milk contains all the important nutritional and immunological components that protect the baby from various infections and promote proper intestinal function.

The mother’s body prepares for the feeding process throughout pregnancy, producing the necessary hormones and making “reserves” of subcutaneous fat. Also, the mammary glands are prepared, increasing in size due to the growth of glandular tissue.

The lactation process is started by childbirth, and the woman can only feed her newborn baby on time, making every effort to maintain breastfeeding for as long as possible.

First application

The first breastfeeding is very important for baby and mother

After the baby passes through the birth canal in the first few minutes, he enters a state of relaxation.

After 20-30 minutes he perks up and wants to suck. The best thing is to let him breastfeed as soon as he wants it.

That is, it is advisable to carry out the first breastfeeding immediately after the mother has been taken out of the delivery room after delivering the placenta.

The baby should be offered to suckle on one breast first, and then on the other. If such an opportunity does not arise after childbirth, then this should be done immediately, as soon as the happy reunion of mother and baby occurs.

The first breastfeeding is very important for a baby., since it helps him recover from stress, and for the mother, for whom it helps to successfully establish lactation.

Thanks to the sucking the uterus effectively contracts, and hormonal balance is restored, which helps reduce the risk of postpartum complications.

Mother's first milk is colostrum, the most complete nutrition for a newborn. It prepares the newborn’s body for life in new conditions, for a new way of eating, different from when the child received food while in the womb.

Very high-calorie colostrum is a very thick and sticky liquid, rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals and protective antibodies.

Colostrum “lubricates” the intestinal walls, making it invulnerable to pathogenic bacteria. It provides strong immune protection to the newborn’s body, creating favorable conditions for further growth and development.

Colostrum does not burden the baby’s gastrointestinal tract or his kidneys, who are not yet able to safely process large amounts of food at first. In addition, due to the high content of magnesium salts, which have a laxative effect, the newborn’s intestines are easier and faster cleared of original feces - meconium.

A newborn needs little, very nutritious colostrum - from 2 to 15-20 ml per feeding. The baby's very small stomach, comparable in size to a large pearl, allows the baby to suck out a little mother's milk at one time. That's why It is necessary to put the baby to the breast as often as possible.

In the first month of life, babies sleep 20-22 hours a day, so mothers do not understand how to feed a newborn baby if he is not awake. It is enough to put the baby to the breast, and even in his sleep he will begin to look for the nipple, and will soon cling to it. Nature took care of everything.

Feeding after caesarean section

Some mothers who give birth by cesarean section fear that they will not be able to breastfeed. Previously, it was believed that surgery left no chance for breastfeeding. Modern medicine is unanimous in its opinion: this is a myth.

The amount of milk does not depend on the method of delivery, but only on the desire and persistence of the mother to establish lactation.

As a rule, during the operation, drugs compatible with breastfeeding are used. You can put the baby to the breast as soon as the mother comes to her senses after anesthesia. This is usually possible 3 hours after the operation.

It's worth knowing that a newborn baby may take the breast reluctantly or not at all, especially if the woman in labor was given painkillers or the baby was fed formula milk before being brought to the mother. The same situation is observed after vaginal birth with medical intervention.

Patience and consistency of breastfeeding help to quickly establish active sucking, as well as ensure that the mother receives milk on time and has enough milk in the future.

It is very effective in such situations to use a method of contacting the bare skin of the mother to the same skin of the baby. At the same time, you can stimulate the sucking activity of a newborn by gently rubbing his back and heels, having first removed the diaper.

How many times should a newborn baby be fed?

Breastfeeding on demand is beneficial for both baby and mother

A close relationship is established between mother and newborn after childbirth. Breastfeeding helps them learn to communicate and recover from childbirth.

Therefore here feeding on demand is important. But not only for the baby, but also for the mother.

After all, the baby's sucking of the breast helps her to establish lactation and avoid milk stagnation, which often becomes the cause of inflammatory diseases of the mammary glands.

The number of prolactin receptors in the mammary gland, which are responsible for the volume of milk produced, is directly dependent on how effectively (correctly) and often the child suckles.

The sooner and more actively he began his “mission,” the more the mammary glands will be able to produce milk in the future.

At first, the baby can be attached to the breast quite often - every 15-30 minutes, and also sleep with it in your mouth, sucking. With the help of sucking, the baby not only receives nutrition, but also calms down, compensating for birth stress and satisfying the need for sucking.

Colostrum is replaced 3-5 days after birth by so-called “transitional” milk.

For successful lactation, it is important that the baby suckles at least 7-12 times a day, emptying each breast well.

At this age, the baby needs at least 20-30 minutes for each feeding. Here, the mother will need help from all her loved ones, who will take on the responsibility of cleaning the house, preparing tasty and healthy dishes for the mother, and will help in caring for the baby, while the mother will often and for a long time retire with the baby for the “sacrament of feeding.”

Will it not be enough?

Often mothers cannot independently understand whether they are feeding their newborn correctly and whether he has enough milk.

Let's calm down: slight weight loss by the baby in the first days after birth- a normal phenomenon, which even has a medical term - “physiological loss of body weight in a newborn.”

This condition, characteristic of days 2-5, is a reaction to the stress of birth. Children can lose up to 10% of their body weight, but usually only 5-8%.

You can find out if everything is okay without consulting a pediatrician. It is enough to leave the baby without a diaper and observe the number of his urinations during the day.

In the first 1-2 days, the baby pees at least 1-2 times a day, after 3-4 days of life - more than 5-6 times. So if the baby has already wet his diapers more than 8 times, then he has enough nutrition, and he does not need additional feeding.

If the number of urinations is less, then the mother should pay attention to the volume of milk produced. First, you can try to put your baby to the breast even more often for 1-2 days.

Let us remind you that when breastfeeding, the baby should grasp not only the nipple, but also the areola around.

Also It is possible to increase milk production with the help of certain medications(for example, the homeopathic drug “Mlekoin”, tablets based on royal jelly “Apilak”, teas for increasing lactation “Laktovit”, as well as TM “Hipp”, “Babushkino Lukoshko”, etc.) and plants (dill, cumin, carrots ), consuming them in the form of herbal drinks, teas and juice.

How to avoid such problems? We suggest you familiarize yourself with the nutrition of a nursing mother.

Read all about the first feeding of a baby while breastfeeding

Attention moms! Recipes for drinks that improve lactation

Caraway drink

Herbal drinks, teas and juices will help improve lactation

You need 1 medium-sized lemon, 100 g of sugar and 15 g of cumin seeds. All ingredients are poured into 1 liter of hot water and cooked over low heat for 7-10 minutes. Then the broth is filtered and drunk ½ glass 2-3 times a day.

Infusion of dill seeds

1 tbsp required dill seeds It is filled with 1 glass of hot water and infused for 2 hours in a thermos. Drink in small sips 2 times a day, ½ cup.

Carrot juice

It is important that the baby does not have an allergic predisposition to this vegetable.
You need to squeeze the juice out of the carrots, and then drink ½ glass 2-3 times a day, be sure to first dilute it with water in a 1:1 ratio. To improve taste, you can replace water with a small amount of cream or milk.

Milk with cumin

1 tsp required cumin seeds, 1 glass of milk. Pour cumin into 1 glass of boiling milk and let it brew for 15 minutes. Then drink in small sips throughout the day.

If, despite all the efforts of the mother, the baby sucks the breast inactively, is lethargic, sleepy, loses weight or does not gain it at all, then the pediatrician may prescribe supplementary feeding.

Under no circumstances should you give formula from a bottle.
An alternative way is to give supplementary food from a small cup, spoon, syringe (without a needle!), or pipette. This will help prevent your baby from overeating and will not interfere with his desire and ability to breastfeed.

If natural feeding is impossible for various reasons, then you will have to feed the newborn with an adapted formula.

You should introduce your baby to the mixture carefully, monitoring his reaction. If the introduction to new food was successful, then within 5 days you need to increase the one-time volume to the prescribed norm.

Strict schedule

When artificial feeding, you need to calculate the amount of food and adhere to a certain feeding regimen.

With artificial feeding, there can be no talk of feeding on demand. Everything will have to be calculated almost minute by minute.

The best option– feed a newborn baby 6-7 times a day every 3-3.5 hours with a break of 6-6.5 hours at night.

If the baby sleeps for more than 4 hours during the day, then he needs to be a little activated and fed, otherwise soon the baby’s “own” routine will cause a lot of inconvenience to the mother: he will eat and “walk” at night, and sleep during the day.

If newborns have poor appetite, mothers can adhere to the principle of free feeding, when the baby eats 1-2 times a day exclusively at the same time, and the rest - at will.

But in this case, you need to make sure that the baby “fulfills” the daily food requirement. To do this, it is enough to purchase or rent scales for children from 0 months and periodically weigh the child after meals.

Correct calculation

When artificial feeding, it is necessary to determine the amount of food.

In the first two months, the amount of formula per day should be 1/5 of the child’s body weight. From 2 to 4 months, the amount of formula should be 1/6 of the baby’s weight, from 4 to 6 months - 1/7, after 6 months of age - only 1/9.

Making an individual calculation is easy.

Eg, a baby at the age of 1 week weighs 3 kg 500 g. This means that its weight of 3,500 should be divided by 5. Total: 700 g.

To determine whether how much ready-made formula should be given to the baby at one time?, it is enough to divide the daily volume of the mixture by the number of feedings. So, 700 g: 7 feedings. Total: 100 grams of the prepared mixture is needed for one meal.

Formula 1

Daily volume of formula = body weight of the newborn: 5.

Formula 2

Volume of formula per dose = daily volume of formula: number of feedings.

Many pediatricians are unanimous in the opinion that artificial babies need supplemental feeding, which can only be offered to babies after feeding. But this should not be done for infants.

Mother's milk can quench both the baby's thirst and hunger. First, the mother produces “light” milk, and then produces the so-called “hind” milk, which is very high in calories and nutritious. Excess water in the digestive tract of infants can cause constipation.

We hope our article helped young mothers figure out how to properly feed a newborn baby.

And the proposed video will tell you how to properly attach a newborn baby to the breast to make breastfeeding enjoyable for you and your baby.

He knows more than you think.

A child, like any person, has an instinct of hunger. If he is chronically underfed, he will scream for more milk. Believe him and consult your doctor. If he hasn't finished his usual portion, don't insist.

Consider that he wakes up because he is hungry, and most likely cries because he wants to eat. He greedily catches the nipple (or pacifier) ​​with his mouth. Sucking is serious work for a baby. He may even sweat from the effort. If you take the pacifier away before he has had enough, he will scream indignantly. When he has sucked as much milk as he needs, he will become drowsy from satiety and fall asleep again. Even in his sleep, he makes sucking movements, as if he is dreaming that he is being fed, and there is a blissful expression on his face. All this suggests that food is the main joy in his life. He gets his first ideas about life from the environment in which he is fed. He gets his first ideas about people from the person who feeds him.

If the mother constantly insists that the child drinks more milk than he wants, he will gradually lose his appetite. He will try to avoid this by falling asleep earlier and earlier each time, or he will protest and persist in his reluctance to eat. If this continues, then his lively, joyful curiosity about life will disappear; he seems to think to himself: “Life is a struggle. It is people who haunt me. I must fight to protect myself.”

So, don't force your child to eat more than he wants. Let food remain a pleasure for him, and then he will feel that you are his friend. This is very important for the development of his self-confidence and cheerfulness, the foundations of which are laid in the first year of life.

Sucking instinct.

A newborn suckles vigorously for two reasons. Firstly, because he is hungry, and secondly, because he loves to suck. If you feed him enough but don't give him the opportunity to satisfy the need to suck, he will suck his fist or thumb or clothes. It is very important that feeding is long enough and that the number of feedings is sufficient. Try to prevent your child from getting into the habit of thumb sucking. Take action when he is looking for something to suck.

In the first days after birth, children lose weight.

Some parents are overly concerned about this phenomenon. It seems unnatural and dangerous to them. They may also have heard about dehydration due to sudden weight loss. Don't worry. If this happens, the newborn will be immediately cured by giving him water. In maternity hospitals, newborns are regularly given water to prevent dehydration, especially if the mother has not yet produced milk.

Some mothers, overly worried about their baby's weight loss and thinking that they are not producing enough milk, give up breastfeeding before they try to establish it properly (in some maternity hospitals, mothers are simply not told the baby's weight, but then they may imagine that something terrible). Mothers should understand that newborn weight loss is completely natural and trust their doctor.

Your child's doctor will explain what kind of diet your child needs. It will depend on the baby's weight, appetite, sleep schedule and nutritional needs. Your pediatrician will help you create a routine that suits both you and your baby. Next, I want to discuss only the general principles of nutrition.

What is meant by strict and flexible regime.

In the past, children were usually kept on a very strict diet. A 3.5 kg newborn was fed strictly at 6:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00, 22:00 and 2:00, neither earlier nor later, regardless of whether he was hungry or not. Doctors did not yet have a clear idea of ​​the causes of severe gastric diseases that affected tens of thousands of newborns every year. It was believed that these diseases were caused not only by bacteria in the milk (for example, on dairy farms kept in unsanitary conditions, or due to the lack of refrigerators, or unhygienic conditions at home), but also by irregularities in the quantity and timing of food intake.

Doctors were so afraid of irregular eating that they finally came to condemn it from a psychological point of view. They assured mothers that irregular nutrition would lead to spoiled children. The most zealous defenders of a strict regime advised mothers to approach the child only during precisely established feeding hours, and to pay no attention to him the rest of the time. Some insisted that children should not be kissed or caressed, as this could allegedly spoil them.

Most children adjusted to the strict regimen as they could drink enough milk to not feel hungry for the next 4 hours; This is how the newborn’s digestive tract usually works. A person quickly gets used to everything at any age. If we are always fed at precisely set hours, then it is at these hours that we will feel hungry.

But there were always children who found it very difficult to adapt to the strict regime in the first months. These are children whose stomachs could not hold enough milk for a 4-hour break, or those who fell asleep before they had time to get enough, or restless children, or those who were tormented by gas. They screamed desperately for several hours a day, but their mothers did not dare feed them or even pick them up outside of the schedule. The poor child had a hard life, but it was even harder for his mother, who listened to her baby’s cries, bit her nails in despair, tried with all her heart to console him, but did not dare to disobey the doctor, who assured that a strict regime was the key to the child’s health and happiness. Today's mothers are lucky - doctors allowed them to follow their natural aspirations.

Moreover, severe gastric upsets have become rare due to the pasteurization of milk, its proper storage and hygienic care of the child. It took many years before doctors decided to try flexible feeding schedules. When a large number of observations were made, it turned out that irregular eating did not lead to gastric upsets or indigestion, or even to spoiling, as many had feared.

How to establish a regime.

It is important not to make your baby cry for too long. He doesn't mind being woken up 3-4 hours after his last feeding. Every child can get used to the regime and this will happen faster if the mother helps him. In addition, the intervals between feedings increase as the baby's weight increases.

A baby weighing from 2.5 kg to 3 kg usually needs feedings at 3-hour intervals, and children weighing 4-4.5 kg usually need feedings at 4-hour intervals. Most children begin to cope without night feedings after 1-2 months. Between the fourth and eighth month, babies begin to prefer a 5-hour interval and at the same time they stop waking up for evening feedings.

The mother can help the child in his quest for regular feedings and reducing their number. By waking him up 4 hours after the last feeding, the mother instills in the child the habit of a 4-hour feeding interval. If two hours after the last feeding the baby begins to whine, do not approach him for a while, give him the opportunity to fall asleep again. If he continues to cry, give him water or a pacifier. This way you will help his stomach adjust to longer feeding intervals. If the mother immediately feeds the baby as soon as he moves, even if no more than 2 hours have passed since the last feeding, then she will thereby maintain his habit of small portions and short intervals.

Different children need different amounts of time to get used to eating regularly. Most babies move to a 4-hour feeding window by the age of one month and skip night feedings if they are getting enough milk during the day and if they are nursing well and relatively calm. On the other hand, if the baby is inert in the first days and falls asleep in the middle of feeding, or, conversely, he is restless and often wakes up crying, or if the mother does not have enough breast milk at first, then it will be better for both you and the baby not to rush into establishing a strict regime. But even in this case, mothers should very gradually and carefully introduce the child to more regular feeding at intervals of 4 hours.

Sometimes between the 4th and 7th month of life, the baby behaves strangely during feeding.

The mother says that he greedily sucks on the breast or pacifier for several minutes, and then suddenly lets go and cries as if in pain. He's still hungry, but every time he takes the nipple (or pacifier) ​​again, he lets go earlier and cries. But he is willing to eat solid food. I think this is caused by teeth growth. It can be assumed that in the process of sucking, those gums, inside which teeth are already growing, also partly participate in the general movement of the muscles of the mouth, which causes an unbearably tickling sensation in them. Therefore, to help your baby, you can alternate between giving him milk and solid food, as he will still suckle quietly for a few minutes. If he is bottle feeding, you can enlarge the hole in the nipple so that he can get more milk in a short time (but do not use nipples with large holes while everything is in order, otherwise the baby's sucking needs will not be met). If he starts crying too soon after starting to nurse, don't let him nurse at all for a few days. Give him a cup if he can, or a spoon, or add more milk to his porridge and other foods. Don't worry that he isn't getting his usual milk supply. He compensates for his lack later.

It happens that a child refuses to take the breast when the mother is menstruating. Feed him these days from a pacifier. But the mother must suck milk from the breast so that its supply does not decrease. If, after the end of menstruation, the mother immediately stops giving the baby a pacifier, he will return to the breast again and the amount of breast milk will be restored.

An ear infection after a cold can cause pain throughout the entire jaw, and then the child will refuse to suck, but will be able to eat solid food.

Belching.

All children swallow a little air when they drink. This air collects in the stomach and causes distress to the baby. Some children are forced to stop eating because of this, while others do not stop until they drink all the milk. There are two main ways to help your child stop swallowing air. Choose the one that is more convenient for you.

The first method: sit the child on your lap, holding his back, and lightly stroke his tummy. Second, hold the baby in your arms so that his head rests on your shoulder, and lightly pat or stroke his back. Place a napkin or diaper on his shoulder in case he spits up some milk. Some babies burp air easily and quickly, while others have more difficulty. If the air doesn't come out right away, put the baby down for a minute and then lift him up again - this sometimes helps.

If your baby swallows so much air that he has to stop eating, let him burp and then continue feeding. At the end of each feeding, the baby should be given the opportunity to burp. If you put him in his crib before he burps, after a while the air in his stomach will start to bother him. Some children even experience pain from this. On the other hand, if your baby is having trouble burping but isn't bothered by it, you can hold him upright for a few minutes and then put him in his crib.

Here I want to mention one more fact that worries many young mothers. A child who has sucked a full portion of milk has a very swollen belly. This happens because the amount of milk he drinks at one time is much larger than the size of his stomach.

The child usually knows how much food he needs.

If he does not have enough milk or if the mother has less milk due to fatigue or nervousness, then the baby will wake up earlier each time and cry with a hungry cry that is already familiar to you. He will drink the milk to the last drop and look for more with his mouth and will try to suck his fist. If you weigh him, make sure he is gaining less weight than before. Some children become constipated from insufficient nutrition. If your baby is very hungry, he may start crying immediately after feeding.

If you encounter such signs, consult your doctor about increasing your milk intake. It is wise to give your baby more milk if he drinks every drop. But be careful not to insist if he doesn't want milk more than usual. If you are breastfeeding him and he wakes early, feed him even if it means an extra feeding that day. Emptying the breasts more frequently will stimulate the production of more milk if the mother's body is capable of it. If you used to feed one breast, now feed both.

How much weight should a child gain?

The most correct answer is this: the child himself knows how much weight to gain. If he is given more milk than he needs, he refuses. If he is given less, then at the next feeding he wakes up earlier and sucks his fist. When people talk about weight gain, they mean average numbers, but each child gains weight differently.

When calculating averages, doctors add the largest weight gain with the smallest and divide. Some children gain more weight, others less, and this is normal. However, slow weight gain may indicate that the child is malnourished or sick. If your child is gaining weight slowly, then you should take him to the doctor regularly to make sure he is healthy. There are children who slowly gain weight but show no signs of hunger. However, if you give them more milk, they will drink it more readily and gain weight faster. In other words, a baby doesn't always cry when he doesn't get enough milk. On average, children are born weighing 3.5 kg, and by 5 months their weight reaches 7 kg, i.e. doubles. But in practice, children born with low weight gain weight faster, as if trying to catch up with their larger brothers. A large baby may not double its weight by 5 months. The average baby gains about 900g per month in the first 3 months (160-200g per week). Of course, some healthy children gain less weight, while others gain more. By 6 months, the average weight gain drops to 500 g per month (100-120 g per week). From the 9th to the 12th month of life, the average weight gain decreases further to 300 g per month (60-80 g per week). And in the second year of life, the child usually gains 200-250 g per month. The older the child gets, the slower and more regularly he gains weight. As a child's teeth grow, his appetite usually decreases and he may not gain any weight for several weeks. When he is healthy, his appetite returns and his weight increases faster.

A child's weight change from week to week does not mean anything. His weight at each weigh-in depends on the fullness of his stomach, bladder or intestines. If you weigh him one morning and see that he has only gained 100g in the last week when he previously gained 200g, do not assume that he is malnourished or ill. If the child looks completely healthy and happy, wait a week or two - perhaps in the next week he will gain more weight. But always remember that the older he gets, the slower he gains weight.

Benjamin Spock "The Child and its Care"

All mothers know that breastfeeding is the best way to feed a baby. But still, sometimes questions may arise: “Is this correct?” And this is regardless of whether the baby is breastfed or is. Therefore, it is worth considering the main problems and questions that arise in this big matter.

First days

Even in the maternity hospital, a young mother must be explained in detail how to feed a newborn baby: how often it should be done, how to understand whether the baby is full or still hungry. But you can stock up on such information in advance in order to understand what you will have to face. It is important to know that at first the mother’s child will not eat milk, but colostrum - a harbinger of milk, which will somewhat make it easier for the child to get used to new, heavier food. And after some time - from a couple of days to a week - the colostrum will end, and the baby will receive milk. For a new mother, it is important to figure out how to breastfeed a newborn baby, because the baby is still very weak and can simply fall asleep during feeding, or maybe, as mothers like to say, constantly “hang” on the chest. There is no need to be indignant or angry about this; breastfeeding will be adjusted in a fairly short time. Most often this happens during the first month of the baby's life. Having waited a little and suffered until lactation is established, the mother will understand that not everything is so scary and difficult, and will find only advantages in breastfeeding.

Feeding schedule

Many mothers may be concerned that their newborn asks for the breast too often. Should he indulge him in this or should he strictly adhere to the time frame? There is no clear answer here. Pediatricians recommend feeding your baby no more often than every two hours. But in the first month of a baby’s life, you shouldn’t use this rule, because... Due to weakness, not every baby can eat the amount of mother’s milk required for him at one time. And sticking to a schedule means keeping your baby hungry. It is for this reason that when it seems that the child does not have enough food, many mothers decide that the newborn is not getting enough to eat and needs to be given formula as complementary foods. This is one of the biggest mistakes, because over time the baby will regulate the flow of milk on his own, breastfeeding technique will improve, and formula will not be needed at all.

Dangers

If a young mother decides to figure out how to feed her newborn baby, she needs to know what to pay attention to and what to completely avoid in the first months of the baby’s life. First of all, the usual danger is fraught with enormous danger. Until the mother has established lactation, it may be difficult for the child to eat milk, but over time everything will pass, you just need to be a little patient. If the mother decides to pump and give her milk through a bottle, this can lead to the baby completely refusing the breast, because drinking through a hole in the nipple is much easier than trying and pulling food from the mother’s breast. Also, you should not pay attention to advice when someone recommends giving your child water through a bottle from the first days of life. Firstly, this can lead to breast refusal, and secondly, until the age of 6 months, the baby does not need anything except mother’s milk. Every mother needs to clearly understand and remember this.

First feeding

If your baby is already six months old, you need to figure out what you can feed your baby at 6 months. This process must be started slowly, introducing no more than two products per week. The volumes of the first portions should be minimal - no more than a teaspoon. Having tried all the vegetables and fruits separately, you can start making fruit and vegetable purees without fear of an inadequate reaction of the baby’s body to all the products tried.

Most expectant mothers begin to prepare for the birth of their baby in advance. Usually from the very first days of pregnancy. And if the birth of the first child is coming, then even earlier: even before it begins. For their education, convenience and psychological comfort, a lot of special literature has been published, videos have been made and training programs are conducted. And yet, every woman, on the eve of a new addition to the family, strives to learn as much as possible about the upcoming troubles and to master all the intricacies of handling a newborn child. Especially when it comes to his nutrition. After all, its complexity lies not only and not so much in the diet, but in the very process of eating food by a little person.

He cannot use either a plate or a fork, and even with the help of a spoon it will not be possible to feed him right away. The newborn also does not have his own teeth, and they will not appear soon. All this little hungry baby can do is suck and swallow. And on these two reflexes the entire process of his nutrition is built, and for his mother - the feeding process. Nature has prudently made sure that they are easily realized naturally. All of us, both humans and most warm-blooded animals, belong to the class of mammals, which means that after birth our offspring receive the necessary nutrients from mother’s milk. But modern man has become so alienated from nature that even these basic processes of his life and development are often disrupted. And then a vital question arises: what and how to feed a newborn baby?

Mother's milk and artificial feeding
Feeding a newborn baby with mother's milk is a natural process formed as a result of a long and complex evolution of biological species. It meets all the needs of an organism starting life and takes into account the peculiarities of its structure and functioning. This is not difficult to verify if you consider how different the composition of milk and the feeding period are in different mammals. As for humans, feeding with mother’s milk from the first minutes of life ensures the newborn’s proper development of the digestive system, metabolism and immunity. And all alternatives to breast milk are only conditional substitutes that are not capable of creating optimal conditions for the development of tissues, organs and their systems. Children who have not received the required amount of breast milk adapt more slowly to the outside world and develop differently physiologically and psychologically.

Particularly important is breast milk, or more precisely colostrum, which is formed in the mammary glands after childbirth. Putting a baby to the breast immediately after birth gives him a few milliliters of this super-nutritious liquid, which creates reliable immunological protection, affects his endocrine system and helps establish a subtle psychophysiological and biochemical connection between him and his mother. However, this does not mean that a child whose mother, for one reason or another, was unable to breastfeed him immediately after birth, will grow up differently from his milk-fed peer. It’s just that special attention needs to be paid to the nutrition of such babies and specially supplemented with all those substances that are naturally contained in mother’s milk. For this purpose, the modern food and pharmaceutical industries produce special nutritional formulations designed to feed children from a very early age.

Breastfeeding is usually called natural, and any other - artificial. But even in this division, not everything is clear. First, breast milk can be produced directly by the baby's mother, or it can be produced by another breastfeeding woman. In both the first and second cases, nutrition can be considered natural. In addition, even if the mother does not allow the child to suckle, she has milk and expresses it into a bottle from which the baby drinks - this is also natural nutrition for him. Donor milk from a nurse, given in a bottle through a nipple, can also be considered natural, that is, natural feeding. There are also different options for so-called mixed feeding. For example, if breast milk makes up at least half of the baby’s nutrition, we can talk about natural feeding. And only after the daily volume of breast milk has been reduced to 1/3, as well as the complete replacement of breast milk with substitutes, does nutrition become artificial.

Thus, if you do have milk, but it is not enough to meet the full nutritional needs of your newborn baby, do not rush to completely abandon breastfeeding or bottle-expressed milk. After consulting with your doctor, you can supplement and “improve” natural feeding, but unless absolutely necessary, it is not recommended to completely cancel it. Medical professionals have several ways to determine a child’s daily nutritional needs. With their help, they can calculate how much extra formula your baby needs to give each day, in addition to breast milk. The same doctor will recommend an adapted formula that is best suited for your child. This is a well-established practice all over the world, and there is no need to fear it. Just as you shouldn’t refuse professional advice and independently prescribe feeding your newborn with animal milk (cow’s, goat’s, etc.).

The fact is that, as already mentioned, the nutritional needs of cubs, and therefore the composition of milk, differs markedly among different biological species. The milk of most animals contains much more fat than human milk, its protein has a different amino acid composition, and the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6, necessary for the development of nerve centers, and iron is reduced. All this is taken into account by manufacturers of adapted milk nutrition. Since the digestive system of a child under 3 months cannot yet absorb dairy-free products, special milk-based formulas are enriched with vitamins, microelements and other nutrients necessary for full development. And although they are less natural than human milk, they are absorbed much better than animal milk. They are specially processed and therefore safe for the developing organism. In addition, adapted milk formulas vary depending on the age of the child and have a clear division into feeding phases. In other words, the range of artificial nutrition is quite diverse and allows you to fully feed a newborn baby even in the absence of breast milk until he is able to consume complementary foods and “adult food” in the form of vegetable and fruit purees, cereal porridges, meat, etc.

How to breastfeed a newborn
So, in the previous section we found out the two most important principles of feeding a newborn baby. The first is that feeding should be complete. The second is that, despite many life-saving alternatives, there is no better product for feeding an infant than breast milk. And it’s best if it’s his mother’s milk. Such nutrition ensures normal growth, development and functioning of all organs and systems of the young body. This is especially important from the moment of birth and during the first year of life, when the baby should receive at least 80% of nutrients from mother's milk - pediatricians all over the world agree on this opinion. But how to properly feed your baby this ideal product in order to establish contact with him and transfer all the necessary nutrients and emotions from the mother? Nature itself will tell you this, but you can prepare in advance with the help of these tips:

1. Place for feeding. It is very important that it is comfortable and quiet, allowing you to relax and the baby to fully surrender to the sucking process. In the maternity hospital, this will most likely happen the first time right in the delivery room, and then in the ward. At home, it is better to choose a wide sofa or chair for feeding, in which you can lean back and recline. In addition, many different devices have been invented for the convenience of a nursing mother: these are pillows shaped like a horseshoe, various soft supports, etc. The main thing is that you feel comfortable and that nothing distracts your baby from eating. This process may take a long time, so place a book, magazine, or a couple of biscuits next to you.
   
2. Feeding position. The most natural breastfeeding position for a woman is lying on her back on a high pillow. At this time, the baby is on her stomach and rests on her arms and legs. You can also lie down on your side, then the baby will also be positioned on its side and suck on the breast that is higher. Use both hands to hold it down. The positions need to be changed from time to time to use both breasts and develop the different milk lobes. To feed your baby while sitting, lean back on the pillow, do not bend your spine, and use your hands to make a “cradle” in which to place the baby.
   
3. Breast preparation. First of all, it consists of personal hygiene: wash your breasts daily with mild soap, dry them with a hard towel and give them air baths, that is, let’s “breathe.” Ordinary underwear is not suitable for a nursing mother: the bra must be natural in fabric composition, suitable in size and well support heavy breasts, have a special design of clasp and cups to facilitate the feeding process. Small and naturally inverted nipples need regular massage so that feeding does not cause discomfort to either you or the baby.
   
4. Psychological preparation. Your decision to breastfeed your newborn baby must be firm and sincere, otherwise do not be surprised by the small amount or disappearance of milk. Natural feeding is the most important stage in establishing a psychological connection between mother and baby, so treat it with appropriate responsibility. Your family members should also understand this and surround you with attention and care. Only in such an atmosphere will feeding truly benefit both participants in the process. Many young mothers even admit that while feeding their baby they get real pleasure, they can relax and even doze off.
   
5. Attaching to the breast. You need to do this correctly from the very beginning to avoid injury to the nipples and inadequate feeding of the baby. The most serious possible problems are squeezing of the milk ducts and cracked nipples. The first trouble can be avoided if you feed the baby in a timely manner and do not let the milk stagnate in the breast. To prevent cracks from appearing, teach your baby to swallow the nipple deeply enough so that he cannot chew it with his gums. The optimal depth of swallowing is when the nipple touches the baby's palate. And under no circumstances should you let your baby suck on the breast if the nipple already has cracks or if sucking causes you severe pain. Such sacrifices on your part are not good for you or the baby!
   
6. Duration of feeding. A very individual parameter. Some babies suck greedily and with appetite, and fill up quickly. Others must first “taste” the milk and eat their meals slowly. Sometimes the duration of feeding can reach an hour or even two. Do not rush the baby and let him empty the breast - not only he needs this, but also you. Don’t forget that while sucking, your baby not only gets satiated, but also calms down, warms up with your warmth, listens to your breathing and heartbeat. Do not deprive him or yourself of this pleasure, so that he literally absorbs care and love with his mother’s milk. At this time, no one bothers you to talk on the phone, watch a movie or read.
   
7. Feeding frequency. There is such a thing as feeding on demand. This means that you will put your baby to your breast when he wants it. If it seems to you that this happens too often, then remember that during intrauterine development the child receives nutrition continuously, and this is natural for him. Breastfeeding is a period of smooth transition from merging with the mother's body to independent functioning. Especially in the first months of life, when the baby may ask for the breast even every half hour. If you calmly satisfy his need, over time he will get used to the fact that there is always food and will learn not to be nervous while waiting for it, but to wait calmly, and the periods between feedings will increase to something comfortable for him and for you.
   
8. Expressing milk. It is normal and even necessary if you have more milk than your baby can eat. However, this process still causes a lot of controversy between its adherents and opponents. The former recommend pumping as a way to stimulate lactation and prevent milk stagnation, while the latter consider it unnatural and disruptive of the natural composition of milk. You should know that expressing milk is indicated when you need to store it for future use, but it is absolutely not necessary if you are constantly near your baby and can breastfeed him. Special breast pumps are designed for expressing breast milk; they are sold at any pharmacy. Breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator without pasteurization for 12 hours.
   

Learning to breastfeed is not difficult even if your parents did not have children younger than you and you have never seen how it is done. The female body is designed to feed a baby and easily adapts to this process, especially under the guidance of attentive and experienced obstetricians. Think of breastfeeding as a temporary but wonderful experience, a period of closest communication with your baby. Believe me, you won’t even notice how he grows up and becomes more independent, and you will remember with a smile how you held him to your chest and listened to his delicious smacking. After a while, when you start giving your baby complementary foods, you may even miss these moments of solitude with him.

How to feed a newborn with formula
Breast milk is the ideal food for a newborn. But there are situations when natural feeding is impossible or it has to be abandoned for one or a number of reasons (smoking, drinking alcohol, certain diseases and/or taking medications). In this case, special adapted milk formulas are prescribed for feeding the newborn baby. There are also such concepts as supplementary feeding (the introduction of additional products into the child's diet if mother's milk is not enough) and complementary feeding (a gradual transition from breastfeeding to eating regular foods), as well as the use of nutritional supplements. All these nutritional options, especially from the first days of life, must be carried out very carefully and according to certain rules:

1. Choosing an adapted diet. All the variety of cans and boxes with artificial mixtures are labeled taking into account the children's age for which they are intended. It can be indicated either in words (for example, “from 0 to 6 months”, “from 6 months to a year”, etc.) or by a special index (1 - can be used from birth, 2 - from six months, 3 - after 1 year of life). The composition of such mixtures is close to the composition of human milk in terms of the quantity and quality of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. High-quality baby food is quite difficult to produce, so it cannot be cheap. Cheaper formulas are usually called partially adapted, and can only be used for older children, after about 6 months of age. It is more convenient and practical to use dry rather than portioned liquid mixtures. They can be standard physiological, for children without special nutritional needs, or therapeutic, taking into account certain deviations in digestion and weight gain.
   
2. Amount of artificial nutrition depends on the age, weight and speed of development of the baby. On average, it is recommended to give a child up to 150 ml of formula for each kg of his weight. A child under 1 month old can eat no more than 30-60 ml of formula per meal. If the baby does not receive enough nutrition, he will slowly (relative to standard norms) gain weight and become moody and restless. Excessive nutrition results in excess weight, bloating and frequent regurgitation. In addition, it is recommended that formula-fed babies be given more drinking water because formula is typically thicker and more concentrated than breast milk.
   
3. Preparation of an artificial mixture. Each package contains detailed instructions. Compliance with the dosage indicated in it is necessary, because an excess of the formula will lead to overfeeding, and a deficiency will lead to the child not being satiated. Be sure to boil the water intended for preparing the mixture and cool it to a temperature of about 36-37°C, that is, body temperature. The mixture is scooped out of the package with a measuring spoon and poured directly into a bottle of water, where it is convenient to stir until completely dissolved. After this, the freshly prepared mixture can be given to the child immediately.
   
4. Formula feeding occurs using a bottle with a nipple. Most babies prefer bottles with a volume of 150-200 ml, with a wide neck and a separate nipple. The size of the hole in the nipple should be such that the liquid first pours through it in a thin stream, and then comes out at a speed of about 1 drop per second. If your baby falls asleep while feeding and there is still formula left in the bottle, be sure to empty it and prepare a fresh portion for the next meal. However, never leave your baby alone while feeding. Hold the bottle and generally stay close to at least create the illusion of maternal feeding.
   
5. Precautions for artificial feeding. Pay attention to how satisfied the baby is with the shape and size of the nipple on the bottle - it may need to be replaced until the optimal configuration is found. Never replace the measuring scoop and only use the one sold with the mix package. Never prepare artificial food for future use, long before your child consumes it. Thoroughly disinfect bottles and nipples before each feeding. You should have several bottles and nipples in stock, as well as equipment for washing and sterilizing them.
   

Even the highest quality adapted formulas cannot completely replace breast milk. And yet, depending on life circumstances, do not despair if you cannot provide your baby with natural nutrition. With proper and attentive care, love and care, with complete and properly selected and prepared artificial nutrition, you can easily raise a healthy, strong and happy child. The main thing is not to forget that a newborn child is connected with his mother on an emotional level and subtly senses her mood and attitude. Therefore, no matter what you feed your baby, give him enough warmth and attention, do not skimp on physical contact, play and talk with him. Don't forget to give your bottle-fed baby what he should receive from his mother's milk: love, tenderness and care.