Many parents still doubt whether they provide their newborns and babies with an appropriate diet. This article discusses newborn nutrition, which is what the baby should eat during the first weeks and months after birth.
Exclusive Breastfeeding for Up to Six Months
The World Health Organization recommends that mothers should make every effort to maintain breastfeeding for the first six months of their baby’s life. This should be on-demand feeding (you do not stick to any time frame but attach the baby to the breast when it requests to do so). During the first six months of life, the baby’s body does not need any other products. The exception is when breastfeeding is impossible, and parents use baby formula, such as HiPP combiotic.
Breast milk ensures proper development and meets the energy and nutritional needs. It is also perfect when the baby is sick or on hot days. The only difference is that the baby usually demands breasts more often during such periods. Breast milk also ensures proper nervous system development, reduces the risk of overweight and obesity in a child, helps to build immunity, and reduces the risk of allergies and malocclusion.
Breastfeeding benefits not only the baby. Thanks to it, the mother understands and meets the newborn’s emotional needs easier. Besides, breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Breastfeeding also has undoubted economic advantages and is simply convenient for many mothers.
What if the Mother Cannot Breastfeed?
While breast milk is the best food for any newborn, there are circumstances where it is not possible. There may be several reasons for this, although there are very few typical medical contraindications. Any problems with lactation or the mother’s reluctance to breastfeed should always be the reason for consulting the midwife or doctor. After a supporting conversation, many mothers decide to continue breastfeeding.
Regardless of the situation, however, the basis of the infant’s nutrition should be milk. If breastfeeding is impossible, the doctor’s or midwife’s task is to select the appropriate organic formula for babies that will provide the necessary nutrients and will be tailored to the individual baby’s needs.
When to Expand the Baby’s Diet?
During the first weeks and even months of the baby’s life, the parents should not worry about expanding its diet. And the answer to the question, “When to start giving regular foods to the baby?” is simple. It is the baby who will let you know when it is ready to expand the diet. Your baby will start taking a sitting position, become interested in your meals, and try to grab pieces of food from your plate.
Such behavior can sometimes be misread by parents at the 3-4 month of life when the baby begins to drool intensely and put everything in its mouth. This is not yet a sign of readiness to expand the diet!
Your baby will eventually show signs of being physically ready to expand the diet around the sixth month. In some babies, this readiness appears a little earlier, while in others, a little later. WHO emphasizes that some infants may require a more individual approach. This especially applies to children under specialists’ care for various health reasons.
Remember to breastfeed the baby until at least six months, and give the new products to the baby to let it get used to the new structure and consistency of the food. Do not consider expanding the diet as giving the baby a separate meal right away. This should not be done by replacing one breastfeeding with a regular meal. When expanding the diet, you should also try to maintain breastfeeding for as long as possible. Offer your baby the breast before giving a new product or right after it.
