Baby health care starts with feeding

Babies have an indissoluble bond with their mothers since infancy. During this period, the baby's world consists only of the mother's warm embrace and sweet milk. At this time, the whole family's attention is on the baby, but how to take good care of the baby's health starts with feeding the baby scientifically and nutritiously. It is said that babies who grow up with this kind of feeding are healthy and smart.

Feeding for 1 month old baby:

A one-month-old baby has left the neonatal period and his need for milk has increased significantly. Generally speaking, a baby's daily milk intake is between 500 and 750 ml. He needs to be fed 6 to 7 times a day, with each feeding containing about 80 to 125 ml. Babies should not be fed whole milk. If the mother cannot breastfeed for special reasons, infant formula should be chosen. Of course, the amount of milk needed will vary greatly depending on the baby's physique, digestive and absorption functions, and activity level. For a one-month-old baby, each breastfeeding takes about 10 minutes. If the baby always sucks the nipple after each feeding and his weight gain is slow, it means that the mother's milk can no longer meet the baby's needs and mixed feeding should be carried out. When mixed feeding, the principle of "breast milk as the main and other milk products as the supplement" should be adhered to.

Feeding for 2 month old babies:

Breastfeeding should still be continued for 2-month-old babies, and the feeding intervals can be appropriately extended. Generally, the baby should be fed once every 4 hours or so, and 5 to 6 times a day. The duration of each breastfeeding should be controlled within 10 to 15 minutes. Do not let the baby develop a bad habit of stopping and eating just because of the increased mobility. If there is not enough breast milk and mixed feeding is adopted, it is best to let the baby eat breast milk every morning, noon, before going to bed, and at night. For babies who are fed with infant formula, the amount of milk needed at this time may increase significantly compared to the neonatal period, but the amount of milk fed each time should be controlled within 200 ml; 2-month-old babies should continue to be fed fruit and vegetable juice, 20-30 ml each time, about 4-6 spoons, 1-2 times a day, and the concentration can be appropriately increased. At the same time, you should continue to feed cod liver oil. You can give 2 drops of concentrated cod liver oil every day, one drop in the morning and evening.

Feeding for 3 month old babies:

If a baby who is exclusively breastfed gains weight smoothly and the mother's breasts still feel full, it means that the mother's breast milk is sufficient and the baby should continue breastfeeding without adding other foods. As the weight gain of artificially fed babies slows down, the amount of milk they drink may decrease slightly, and sometimes they may even have a short-term aversion to milk. At this time, they should not be force-fed. Instead, they should still be fed on time based on the principle of "feeding on time", about once every four hours. You can add boiled water in between, but you must not let the baby stop eating, as this is not good for the baby's body and habit formation. If the baby is already accustomed to drinking fruit and vegetable juice, you can increase the amount, 40 to 50 ml each time, 2 to 3 times a day. At the same time, you should continue to feed the baby cod liver oil.

Feeding for 4 month old babies:

Four-month-old babies begin to enter the weaning period and need to add complementary foods, which indicates that the baby's growth has entered a new stage. During this period, breastfeeding should still be the main focus as much as possible, but the feeding time can be reduced to 5 times a day, 2 times each in the morning and afternoon, and 1 time before going to bed at night. No breastfeeding is required at night. However, in addition to feeding the baby breast milk during this period, semi-liquid complementary foods should also be fed to prepare the baby for eating harder solid foods in the future. In addition to continuing to feed your baby fruit and vegetable juice, you can also add complementary foods such as fruit puree, vegetable puree and liver puree to supplement the nutrients needed for your baby's growth and development. In addition, you should continue to feed cod liver oil, 2 drops each time, twice a day.

Feeding for 5 month old babies:

The food for 5-month-old babies should still be mainly breast milk or other milk substitutes, and the feeding method and time can be carried out according to the method of last month. In terms of adding complementary foods, if the baby's digestion and absorption are good and the bowel movements are normal, you can increase the amount of fruit and vegetable puree fed. At the same time, due to the increase in baby's weight and activity, in addition to the above foods, starchy foods (such as rice flour paste, rice porridge, soft noodles, etc.) and vegetable oil are also needed, because the secretion of amylase in the baby's digestive tract increases significantly at this time. Timely addition of starchy foods can not only make up for the lack of dairy energy, but also cultivate the baby's spoon-using and chewing habits. In addition, you can also add some fish paste made from flatfish, yellow croaker and other fish, because fish meat is rich in phospholipids and protein, and the meat is tender and easy to digest, which is very suitable for infants and young children. At the same time, you still need to continue feeding cod liver oil, 2 drops each time, twice a day.

Feeding for 6 month old babies:

A 6-month-old baby is already relatively strong and has much greater mobility than before, so his requirements for energy and nutrients are also higher. For babies who are bottle-fed, they used to be mainly fed with formula milk, but now they can start drinking fresh milk. If your baby is still only eating breast milk, you must consider adding complementary foods. If your baby is not willing to eat complementary food, you can feed him complementary food first and then breastfeed him every time he is hungry. At the same time, as the baby grows, the intervals between feedings should be gradually extended, the time of each feeding should be reduced, and the amount of complementary food should be gradually increased. Generally speaking, babies should eat porridge twice a day, half a bowl each time, and can also eat a small amount of broken noodles, and make sure to eat one egg yolk every day. Six months is the time when babies start to grow teeth, so you should add a variety of complementary foods such as egg yolks, fish paste, animal blood, etc. to porridge, and give your baby some harder solid foods such as crushed biscuits, toast, etc., which can promote the eruption of teeth on the one hand, and let the baby practice chewing on the other.