Tea Time: Infant Nutrition

Infant nutrition

• Breast vs formula
  • Benefits to mom and baby of breastfeeding
  • Formula is the right choice in some situations
• Follow baby’s hunger cues
  • Hands to mouth, rooting, tongue thrust
  • Feed baby before crying (this is a late cue)
• Follow baby’s fullness cues
  • turning away
  • falling asleep
  • breaking latch/suck
• Things to avoid
  • forcing baby to finish a bottle
  • using a bottle to sooth
  • propping up bottles with pillows/blankets
  • putting anything besides breast milk or formula in bottles (unless directed by doc)
  • no cow milk until 1 year
• Introducing solids
  • wait until 6 months, looking for signs of readiness
  • start with infant cereal, fruits, veggies
    • introduce one food at a time for 3-4 days at least
    • look for any negative reactions
  • breastfed babies will need a source of iron after 6mo of age (cereal)
  • gradually increase frequency of feeding and consistency
  • by 9 months, infants are ready for some table foods
  • eye yolks are ok
  • exposure to peanuts (maybe in powder form?) early on may be protective against development of allergies
  • meats, yogurt, cheese can be offered by 9mo
  • formula intake will decrease gradually
    • cow milk needs at 1 year are 2c/d (16oz)