3 months old baby how much feeding
3-Month-Old Baby: Milestones, Weight and Sleep
Life with a 3-month-old baby is all about settling into the parenting journey by establishing routines and getting to know your little one. There’s still some uncharted territory, but you may be feeling more confident in your abilities as a parent and excited about what’s to come with each passing day. Here, we’ll highlight some of the 3-month-old baby developmental milestones, answer some common questions about life at this stage, and reassure you that, although you may be short on sleep, you’re doing great!
Baby Development Milestones
There’s a lot happening this month as your baby grows and becomes more aware of their physical self and the world around them. Here’s a look at some of the developments you may observe.
Growth and Physical Development: Stronger by the Day
Thanks to developing bones and muscles, your baby is now able to stretch out their body, showing you just how long they are. On average, they’re probably growing about 1 to 1 1/2 inches per month and gaining about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds. Keep in mind that every baby is unique, and your baby’s growth may differ from these estimations.
Your 3-month-old baby is slowly gaining more control over their body and the way they move. As a newborn, many of their movements were involuntary reflexes, but now they may start to be more intentional as they move their head, hands, and feet, for example.
With their neck strength increasing, soon your baby may be able to hold their head up independently and look at people and things in their field of vision. At the same time, you may notice your baby begin to reach for objects nearby or follow moving objects with their eyes as their vision improves.
Senses: Building Blocks of Communication
There’s a lot to discover, and your 3-month-old baby is learning to take it all in, bit by bit. Your baby’s vision at 3 months is improving, and they’re now more aware of circular shapes and patterns, including spirals and curls.
Faces, especially yours, are among their favorite sights.
When it comes to hearing and speech, your baby has learned to associate your voice with comfort and love. Now, they’re likely becoming more aware of your tone and emphasis on certain words, and they’ll try to mimic those sounds.
At 3 months old, your little one is learning that conversations are a two-way process and picking up other concepts of communication. Watch as your baby takes in your delighted reaction to their babbles and their own delight in your singing or reading to them, for example.
Movement: A Full-Body Workout
At around this time, most babies’ movements become more deliberate, and you’ll probably start to see some exciting developments in your little one’s motor skills. Stretching their body out helps to strengthen their leg muscles, and this is just the preparation they need to be able to roll over. Rolling over probably won’t happen for another two or three months, but they’re getting ready!
Have you tried placing your baby on their feet while supporting them under their arms? You may notice they’re able to flex and straighten their legs on their own, which is great preparation for standing.
Try letting your baby bounce themself in this position and see how proud they are of this new ability.
You can help encourage your baby’s movement by providing daily tummy time sessions, handing toys to them, and letting them grasp at objects hanging from an infant gym or playpen. These activities can help your 3-month-old baby with motor development, hand-eye coordination, and other important skills.
And, it’s not only your baby’s legs that get a workout this month. Your 3-month-old baby can now open and shut their hands to grasp things, like toys or your fingers. By now, they’ve likely gained slightly better control of their arms, so they can attempt to reach for objects and may try to bat at something that catches their eyes. Your baby has probably also gotten more successful at bringing their hands to their mouth, so it’s time to be extra careful about what they may be able to get their hands on.
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Personality: Your Baby’s First “Conversations”
Watching a baby’s personality emerge is one of the many joys of parenthood. Have you noticed your baby is smiling more and responding to your voice? That’s great! It’s likely that they really enjoy playtime with you and other people, and they’re now able to express their enjoyment with their face and whole body.
They may even start to imitate some of your movements and facial expressions. If this isn’t happening yet, or if you’re wondering what a 3-month-old baby “should” be doing, remind yourself that all babies develop in their own way and on their own timeline.
Your little one may now be having “conversations” with you, though these mostly consist of back-and-forth exchanges of sounds, smiles, and gestures. These little “chats” you have with your baby are not just fun but also help build their trust in you and boost their self-esteem. If you have other children in your household, you may notice your baby is increasingly interested in them. At this age, babies often have favorite people and become quite curious about other little ones.
Babies make their needs known in different ways, and as a parent, you’ll get to know your own baby’s subtle (and not-so-subtle) cues that they need something. The ways they communicate with you are important parts of their personality and temperament.
Eventually, you’ll get to know your baby’s urgent needs by the way they cry or from their body language, and you’ll learn to distinguish these cries and gestures from one another. Your baby’s cries of hunger will likely sound and look different than their cries of pain. Similarly, you’ll get to know when they’re simply fussy, or when a change of activity or favorite toy can calm them.
Activities for Supporting Your 3-Month-Old Baby’s Development
Your baby’s healthcare provider will share a variety of ways you can help foster your 3-month-old baby’s development. Many of these suggested activities will encourage movement and help your baby master the skills they will need to roll over, sit, and hold their head up, whereas others will promote cognitive and sensory development.
Try the following strategies and activities to help support your 3-month-old baby’s development:
Practice tummy time. With you close by, place your baby on their stomach on a play mat or blanket for short stretches of time to gain more control over their legs, arms, back, head, and neck.
Promote hand-eye coordination. Encourage your baby to grasp for small objects like toys or your fingers. They’ll need this skill as they learn to bring their hands to their mouth successfully.
Aid visual development. Your baby’s distance vision, color vision, and tracking skills are all improving during this month. Help them along by introducing stimulating colors, patterns, and textures for them to enjoy in the form of toys, books, colorful mobiles, play mats, and other activities.
Feeding Your 3-Month-Old Baby
Three-month-old baby feedings may become less frequent than they were in the early newborn days. Whether your baby’s nourishment comes from breast milk alone, or from formula, or from some combination of the two, most babies this age can consume a larger amount of milk at each feeding than they were able to in the previous two months.
So, how much formula or how many ounces of breast milk might your 3-month-old consume? It’s now about 5 to 6 ounces on average.
And how often does a 3-month-old eat when either breastfed or formula-fed? Their feedings will be less frequent, about 6 to 8 feedings in a 24-hour period.
Since every baby is unique, the amount of milk your little one consumes and their feeding frequency and schedule may differ from the average.
Tracking Wet and Dirty Diapers
Tracking diapers is a good way to gauge if your baby is getting enough to eat. Their stools may be more solid now and occur less often. As a newborn, your baby may have passed a bowel movement after every feeding, but your 3-month-old baby may only pass one once per day, or even once every two or three days. So, how many wet diapers might your 3-month-old produce per day? In general, you’ll know they’re feeding well when they produce around six wet diapers per day.
As you’ve no doubt noticed, your baby’s going through lots of diapers. Download the Pampers Club app, if you haven’t already, to turn all those diapers into cash back.
How Much Sleep Does a 3-Month-Old Baby Need?
At this point, your 3-month-old baby’s sleep schedule may be going through some changes.
All that growing they’ve been doing means that they’re able to eat more during the day and sleep more during the night. You may be wondering, should you wake your 3-month-old baby to feed? At this stage, it’s possible that your baby may require fewer or no night feedings.
And, what about your 3-month-old baby’s nap schedule? They may take two or three naps during the day, followed by a longer stretch at night. At this age some babies may sleep through the night, which can mean snoozing six to eight hours without interruption, but it’s important to remember that this doesn’t happen just yet for all babies.
How to Put Your Baby to Sleep
When putting your baby to bed at night, or for a daytime nap, follow these guidelines for safe, restful sleep and for reducing the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome):
Always on their back
Never in bed with you
On a firm, flat crib mattress with no loose bedding, toys, or bumper pads
Dressed comfortably for room temperature
With a pacifier, if needed.
Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep
It’s a good idea to aim for a consistent baby sleep schedule that suits you both. Try the following tips for a more restful night:
Establish a routine. Give your baby a gentle massage, read a story, or sing a lullaby. A bedtime routine that includes some or all these activities can help your 3-month-old baby wind down and get ready for sleep.
Let them settle down. Your baby may need a minute to settle down and get comfortable. It’s OK to let them wriggle, babble, or even cry a little before they nod off.
Minimize stimulation. If you need to attend to your baby during the night, try to minimize distractions. Keep the lights low and don’t talk very much during nighttime feedings or other visits to keep them calm and make it easier for them to drift back asleep.
Sleep Training
As your baby nears 4 months old, talk to their healthcare provider about sleep training—a science-backed process in which you teach your baby to fall asleep on their own and stay asleep longer.
If you’re considering sleep training but not sure where to start, download the Smart Sleep Coach by Pampers. This easy-to-use app walks you through the sleep-coaching process, includes a sleep-tracking tool that optimizes bedtimes, and offers effective meditations to help you stay present and positive in frustrating moments. You can get a head start on sleep training today by taking the free sleep assessment.
A Day in the Life of Your 3-Month-Old Baby
Life with your 3-month-old baby can be full of surprises. Even if following a set routine is a ways off at this point, you could glance at this guideline for feeding, sleeping, bathing, and playing to add a little structure and fun to each day:
Your Baby’s Health
Some health issues you may encounter this month may include:
Diarrhea. If your baby has loose, watery stools that amount to more than the number of feedings they’ve had that day, let your baby’s healthcare provider know.
Ear infections. Though older babies are more likely to experience ear infections, it's not unknown for a 3-month-old baby to have one of these. If your baby seems irritable or fussy all of a sudden, especially at night, and may be running a fever, contact their healthcare provider.
Rashes and eczema. If you see red, itchy, scaly patches of skin in the crooks of your baby’s elbows and knees, it could be eczema. Check in with your baby's healthcare provider if you see these patches, or if your 3-month-old baby has red rashes or peeling skin.
Spitting up. Spitting up a small amount after feeding or being burped is normal, and often happens within the hour after feeding. However, if your baby seems irritable during feedings or shows some other signs of being ill, contact their healthcare provider.
Infant Massage
You may be wondering if there’s anything you can do to promote health and wellness beyond your baby’s regular playtime activities.
Some babies enjoy the relaxation and bonding that comes from an infant massage. This activity can help strengthen your bond with your baby while reducing their stress levels, and possibly decrease their amount of crying.
Your baby’s healthcare provider may have some specific advice, but here are some basic steps to follow:
Create a relaxing environment. You can use your baby’s changing table or your own bed. Place your baby on their back and maintain eye contact as you begin to massage them.
Use a gentle touch. Use gentle strokes to massage your baby starting from their head, neck, and shoulders to their waist, thighs, feet, and hands.
Talk or sing. Your baby will feel more relaxed if you talk softly or sing a favorite song while massaging them.
Gauge their reaction. Continue the massage if your baby seems happy. If they seem restless or fussy, stop, as they’re probably not enjoying it.
You’ll want to wait at least 45 minutes after feeding before beginning a massage.
If your little one ends up enjoying this activity, it can continue well into their toddler years, too.
Development Tips for Your Baby This Month
Consider the following tips to help form a strong bond with your 3-month-old baby and foster a feeling of safety and security:
Consistently provide close physical contact. Hugging or cuddling your baby often can help increase their sense of safety and security. Make sure everyone in the household as well as other caregivers outside of the home provide similar loving care to your baby.
Read to your baby every day. Reading at this early stage not only boosts your baby’s language development but can help establish a lifelong love for reading and learning. Reading as part of a bedtime routine can also help calm and comfort your little one.
Show your baby colorful objects of different shapes, sizes, and textures. These items can be sensory toys, rattles, or plush toys (as long as the baby toys are appropriate for a 3-month-old).
You may also like to show your baby simple picture books with different colors and patterns and family photo albums.Talk to your baby throughout the day. Say your baby's name and use simple phrases to narrate what you’re doing when you're together, such as feeding, diapering, and bathing them. Respond to your baby when they make faces or gestures to encourage their attempts at "conversation." If you or your partner speak a foreign language, feel free to start using it with your baby.
Pay attention to your baby’s cues. Respond to your baby when they let you know that they're hungry, happy, upset, or tired. Your loving attention won’t spoil them.
Items You Will Need This Month
Here are some baby gear items you may want to purchase or acquire this month if you haven’t already:
Baby books. Dig out your favorite children’s books or head to the library or your local bookstore.
Baby swing. A baby swing is a great item to have on hand when you need to free your hands for a while and occupy your baby. The swinging motion can help calm a fussy baby and gently soothe them. If your baby falls asleep, move them to their crib.
Diapers, wipes, and diaper rash cream. You’ll always need diapering supplies, so stock up whenever you have the opportunity.
Baby pacifier. Some babies benefit from the use of a pacifier—it can serve as a soothing device especially as they fall sleep.
Baby monitor. If you don't already have a baby monitor, you might like to get one this month. There are many different models to choose from, including video camera baby monitors and ones that work with your smartphone.
Baby thermometer. Using a thermometer specifically designed for babies makes taking a temperature much easier.
Your Life as a Parent: Dealing With Sleep Deprivation
Missing those pre-baby mornings when you could sleep as long as you wanted? Any new parent can tell you sleep deprivation is a very real concern.
Of course, you want to be at your best for your baby, but lack of sleep doesn’t make it easy.
Here are a few suggestions to try to make things a little easier:
Get help. Share the load between you and your partner and/or other caregivers, like a grandparent or babysitter. For example, you and your partner could take turns handling your baby’s bedtime routine and putting your little one down to sleep.
Prioritize. Don’t try to do everything. Focus on the one or two things each day that absolutely must get done and let the other tasks fall to another day.
Don’t neglect meals and rest. Eat well and make sure you're drinking plenty of fluids. And take every opportunity to rest, such as by trying to sleep and nap when your baby does.
Take some me-time. This may be tough, but try to set aside 30 to 60 minutes a day just for you. It could include running a short errand by yourself, reading a book while drinking a mug of tea, or going on a brisk walk.
It’s amazing how refreshed you can feel after a quick break!
Checklist for This Month
If you haven’t already, schedule your baby’s next routine checkup. Your baby’s healthcare provider will track your baby’s growth, do a physical exam, ask you how you’re doing, answer any of your questions, and schedule or give any immunizations your baby may need. Learn more about your baby’s immunization schedule.
Start looking ahead—check out what kinds of things may happen when your baby is 4 months old.
Turning 4 months old is a big day for your little one. Download and print these milestone cards to celebrate and share the news with friends and family.
For even more information, sign up to get our regular emails:
Formula Feeding FAQs: How Much and How Often (for Parents)
Whether you plan to formula feed your baby from the start, want to supplement your breast milk with formula, or are switching from breast milk to formula, you probably have questions.
Here are answers to some common questions about formula feeding.
How Often Should I Feed My Baby Formula?
Newborns and young babies should be fed whenever they seem hungry. This is called on-demand feeding.
After the first few days of life, most healthy formula-fed newborns feed about every 2–3 hours. As they get bigger and their tummies can hold more milk, they usually eat about every 3–4 hours. As babies get older, they’ll settle into a more predictable feeding routine and go longer stretches at night without needing a bottle.
Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about feeding your baby, especially if your baby is very small, is not gaining weight, or was born early (prematurely).
How Can I Tell When My Baby Is Hungry?
Signs that babies are hungry include:
- moving their heads from side to side
- opening their mouths
- sticking out their tongues
- placing their hands, fingers, and fists to their mouths
- puckering their lips as if to suck
- nuzzling again their mothers' breasts
- showing the rooting reflex (when a baby moves its mouth in the direction of something that's stroking or touching its cheek)
Babies should be fed before they get upset and cry.
Crying is a late sign of hunger. But every time your baby cries is not because of hunger. Sometimes babies just need to be cuddled or changed. Or they could be sick, tired, too hot or too cold, in pain, or have colic.
How Much Formula Should I Feed My Baby?
In the first few weeks, give 2- to 3-ounce (60- to 90-milliliter) bottles to your newborn. Give more or less depending on your baby’s hunger cues.
Here's a general look at how much your baby may be eating at different ages:
- On average, a newborn drinks about 1.5–3 ounces (45–90 milliliters) every 2–3 hours. This amount increases as your baby grows and can take more at each feeding.
- At about 2 months, your baby may drink about 4–5 ounces (120–150 milliliters) every 3–4 hours.
- At 4 months, your baby may drink about 4–6 ounces (120-180 milliliters) at each feeding, depending on how often they eat.
- By 6 months, your baby may drink 6–8 ounces (180–230 milliliters) about 4–5 times a day.
Watch for signs that your baby is hungry or full. Respond to these cues and let your baby stop when full. A baby who is full may suck with less enthusiasm, stop, or turn away from the bottle.
Why Does My Baby Seem Hungrier Than Usual?
As babies grow, they begin to eat more at each feeding and can go longer between feedings. Still, there may be times when your little one seems hungrier than usual.
Your baby may be going through a period of rapid growth (called a growth spurt). These can happen at any time, but in the early months are common at around:
- 7–14 days old
- between 3–6 weeks
- 4 months
- 6 months
During these times and whenever your baby seems especially hungry, follow their hunger cues and continue to feed on demand, increasing the amount of formula you give as needed.
Is My Baby Eating Enough?
At times, you may wonder whether your baby is getting enough nutrients for healthy growth and development.
Babies who get enough to eat seem satisfied after eating and are regularly peeing and pooping.
At your baby’s checkups, the doctor will review your baby’s growth chart, track your little one’s development, and answer any questions. Talk to your doctor if you have any concerns about your baby’s feeding and nutrition.
Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: November 2021
Breastfeeding on demand
You can often hear from a nursing mother: "I feed on demand, my baby requires a breast every 3.5 hours." Or: “I have always fed on demand. In a year, we already had 1 feeding in the evening, and my child calmly refused to breastfeed. Before talking about the demand of the child, it is necessary to find out what modern women mean when they say - "I breastfeed."
Modern mothers consider breastfeeding necessary for feeding their baby. Just for feeding. Breast milk is food, the mother supplies the baby with the nutrients necessary for growth and development.
When a baby suckles at the breast, he eats. Breastfeeding makes sense only as a process of supplying proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and microelements.
During suckling, the baby receives the nutrients it needs with mother's milk. This is the absolute truth. There is another unconditional truth, which is not given any importance in modern society, it is not taken into account and is not considered. Breastfeeding for a child is communication with the mother. We need to figure out how the child understands feeding on demand? Can he understand anything at all? Is there any difference for him how he is fed, for 15-20 minutes after 3.5 hours or in some other way?
What is on-demand feeding
On-demand feeding of a newborn baby means putting it to the breast for every squeak or search. Squeak and search movements in newborns, even as early as the second or third day of life, begin to appear much more often than after 3.5 or 2.5 hours. The need for attachments increases rapidly, and by the 10-12th day of life, the need to attach to a child may occur 15-16 or more times a day.
Applications vary in duration. The baby can fall asleep and sleep while sucking for, for example, 1.5-2 hours. Can release the breast after 1-2 minutes. And then ask her again. Why does a child need such frequent contact with his mother's breast?
That's why. Being in the mother's belly, in a calm, familiar environment, listening to the noises of the mother's body, being in a warm, cramped, confined space, the baby sucked his fist, fingers, loops of the umbilical cord, swallowed amniotic fluid. Learned to suck and swallow. After birth, experiencing discomfort for any, the most insignificant reason, the baby tries to get rid of it. You can get rid of discomfort by getting into the usual conditions of a comfortable stay. The only place where the baby after birth can feel the sensations familiar to him is in the arms of the mother. The only familiar action is sucking. The only familiar taste and smell is the taste and smell of milk and lube in the areola. Milk and lubricant have an odor and taste similar to the taste and smell of amniotic fluid.
Therefore, experiencing discomfort, the baby squeaks, or begins to look for an object to suck with his mouth. Ideally, it is immediately applied to the chest. The baby becomes warm, cramped, he hears the beating of his mother's heart, breathing, grumbling in the intestines, he sucks and feels the familiar taste and smell. If such an action happens constantly, the baby gains confidence, no matter what happens, he will solve all his problems with his mother. The place of comfort is now under the breast, and you can suck on the breast.
This whole process is biologically justified. A newborn child does not feel the feeling of hunger, this feeling is not formed in him. It will begin to form at about two months of age. How to feed a creature that does not experience hunger ?! How to encourage him to take some action to get food? This can be done only at the expense of some other incentives. This stimulus for the newborn is constant bodily discomfort, thanks to which he wants to suckle all the time! The most intense, frequent and prolonged sucking in infants is observed in the first two or three months of life.
It is in these first months that the main weight gain of the baby occurs.
Feeding in the first month
Baby falls asleep with breast in mouth, sleeps sucking for a while. Falling asleep deeply, lets go of the chest. After sleeping for a while, he wakes up, and is applied on awakening. After sleep, he can stay awake for some time, for example, an hour and a half. During wakefulness, he may feel discomfort 2-3 times, for example, from a completely natural desire to pee, and having called his mother for help, having kissed for a couple of minutes, he will do his deeds. Then he will want to sleep, feel discomfort and, kissing his chest, will again fall asleep sucking. After some time, he will wake up and attach again. Then again a little "walk". And after some time, he will fall asleep at the chest again.
The daytime naps of a one-month-old infant feeding on demand vary in duration and number. There can be 4-6 dreams during the day, and they can last from 5-15 minutes to 2-2.
5 sometimes 3 hours. "Around" each dream, the baby is applied to the chest, and applied between dreams several times. At night, the child falls asleep at the breast. Usually in the early morning hours, he begins to fuss and apply. In the morning, he almost never fully wakes up. The baby sleeps, from time to time, sucking on his mother's breast. Waking up in the morning, the baby is again applied to the chest. If you count all the attachments that have happened in a baby of one month of age, then approximately 16-20 attachments are obtained. This is how a newborn human cub behaves if it is given the opportunity to behave in accordance with physiological and psychological needs, which, by the way, are genetically determined. The child of the first months of life does not separate his personality from the personality of the mother and from her breast. Mom and her breasts, and everything connected with them, are the universe of the baby and himself.
In most cases, a modern woman, being afraid to “accustom a child to hands”, strives to limit his requests for sucking.
A pacifier and a bottle of tea or water come to her aid in this matter. They, too, can be sucked ... The need for sucking seems to be satisfied. But only the need for communication with the mother during suckling is not satisfied, the peculiar chain of mutual assistance and cooperation between mother and baby is destroyed, the formation of maternal affection and concentration is disrupted. Is the difference in the two actions noticeable to the reader: the baby cried, the mother took him, put him to her chest and started rocking him, or gave him a pacifier and started rocking the stroller, even with the words “Why are you crying, my sun?”
The modern woman who gives a pacifier and pumps a stroller is not a bad person deliberately harming an infant. She is simply in captivity of prejudices regarding the relationship between mother and baby. She does not know how to behave correctly, does not know what to do in accordance with the natural needs of the child. If you tell her what the child really needs, she will exclaim in horror: “What is it, don’t let him get away with?!” Indeed, the child of the first months of life must not be let off the hook.
For a woman who does not know how to comfortably carry a baby, and who does not know how to feed him in various positions (sitting, lying, standing and even moving), this can be very difficult. Especially if she is not sure of the correctness of her actions.
An action that should become automatic for the mother of a newborn: when the baby cries or shows other signs of anxiety, put the baby to the breast.
What's next?
The baby is growing. A fairly stable rhythm of daytime sleep begins to form in him, and a 3-4-month-old baby behaves quite differently from a newborn. Feeding on demand at this age looks something like this...
- At three months, the baby has 10-12 feeds during the day and 2-4 at night. There are frequent applications for a short time, but their number is reduced. There may be a long night break in feedings, about 5 hours, but this is very rare. Much more often the night break is 2.5-3.5 hours. By this age, the baby's body is noticeably rounded.
- At four months, the baby begins to breastfeed noticeably less frequently. The main feedings are associated with sleep: the baby suckles before bedtime, during awakening and during sleep, both daytime and nighttime. In this regard, he has a fairly accurate feeding regimen. And many babies stop breastfeeding when they wake up after daytime sleep, sometimes as early as 2.5-3 months.
- At five months, the baby has 8-10 daytime feedings and 2-3 nighttime, attachments as well as in the fourth month of life, are organized around dreams - the baby eats when going to bed and some babies suck during awakening.
- At six months, the feeding regimen changes. The most active sucking shifts to the last 2-3 hours before waking up from a night's sleep. The period of daytime wakefulness can be divided into two periods: in the morning, when the baby sucked during the night is rarely applied to the breast, and in the evening, when attachments become very frequent. In total, there can be 7-10 day applications and 3-4 night applications.
At this age, the baby begins a period of acquaintance with new food - pedagogical complementary foods. Sometimes there are attachments associated with the introduction of complementary foods, the baby “washes down” samples of new food with mother's milk. But many children do not want to drink complementary foods. When complementary foods are introduced to an on-demand baby, it is never meant to replace feedings with complementary foods. This is practically impossible, because the main feedings of the baby are associated with sleep, and mother's breakfasts, lunches and dinners, during which the baby gets acquainted with new food, are located between the baby's dreams, during his wakefulness. - At seven months, the frequency of application is about the same.
- At eight months, the feeding regimen changes. Since the baby shows high motor activity and is very busy exploring the surrounding space, in the daytime he forgets to breastfeed. In this regard, the number of daily feedings can be reduced to 6-8 times.
The baby compensates for the reduction in daytime feedings by increasing the frequency and duration of nighttime feedings up to 6 times. - In the second half of the year, babies who stopped breastfeeding when waking up after daytime naps recall this habit again. The baby’s daytime sleep in the second half of life, as well as in the region of a year and older, looks something like this: the baby falls asleep sucking, sleeps quietly for a while, for example 1-1.5 hours, then starts tossing and turning, fiddling, worrying, at this moment the mother lies down next to , gives him a breast and the baby can fill up 10-15-30 minutes sucking. Mom may well use this time for her own rest - lie down, read, while the baby sleeps while sucking. I know my mother, a lover of embroidery, who used this time specifically for embroidery ...
- Breastfeeding becomes more frequent at nine to ten months. In the daytime, this is 4-6 full feedings and about the same number of attachments for various reasons.
The baby has new reasons for attachment. If, during active actions to master the world, the baby fills a bump or gets scared, he calms down with his mother's breast. There may be situations when you can comfort the baby by sitting next to him and hugging him. At night, 4-6 feedings remain, the baby begins to suckle more actively in the morning between 3 and 8 hours. - At eleven months, a baby can already have 2-3 complete complementary foods. Initiation to adult food in the mind of a child is not associated with breastfeeding: attachment to the mother's breast is something other than the desire to get enough of the product they like. As a rule, after the baby has eaten, he feels the need to attach himself to the breast. The number of daily feedings remains the same in the child, but the number of short-term attachments increases. There are active mid-morning feedings between 4 and 8 o'clock in the morning.
- At ten or twelve months, the baby, if he is already walking, can sometimes breastfeed every time he comes to his mother, i.
e. about every 15-30 minutes. Attachments around dreams and night sucking persist. Therefore, if a mother says that a child suckles once or twice a day, this means that there is no feeding at the request of the child. There are restrictions imposed by the mother, with which the baby has come to terms. He treats breast sucking like food, sucks on a pacifier or a finger to fall asleep or soothe, or falls asleep just like that, without calming down. - At twelve months, the baby is applied in about the same way.
- At the age of one and a half years, there may already be one daytime nap, so there are fewer attachments associated with sleep. Preserved for morning sucking. The baby is very free with his mother's breasts. Sometimes it happens that he comes up to suck just for pleasure. For example, like this: he comes up, climbs on his knees, looks into his mother’s face, smiles, starts to swarm in his shirt, gets breasts, smiles at his breasts, sucks for 30 seconds and leaves.
As for the number of feedings per day when feeding a child on demand, their number is almost never less than 12. A newborn has 12 or more attachments, mostly they are all associated with dreams. And a child, say 1.5-2 years old, can also have about 12 attachments, only 3-4 are associated with sleep, and the rest are short-term attachments for various reasons. I suggest to all mothers reading this text - do not count the application, do not notice their duration. Breastfeed your baby as often as he asks, when you feel the need to.
Moms who don't think about breastfeeding without looking at the clock may get the impression that when breastfeeding on demand, the mother can do nothing but feed the baby. This is wrong. After the birth of a baby, a mother begins another life, she is called life with a baby. That's all. The child is with the mother, not the mother with the child! Feel the difference! You need to be able to organize your life in a different way, in the first months, of course, the help of loved ones is very necessary.
In the tradition of many peoples, it was customary for the first 40 days after childbirth to remove a woman from any housework and household chores, she was engaged only in a child. In some nations, objects that the mother of a newborn touched were considered “unclean”, therefore, they preferred to protect the mother from the rest of the household, allocating her a separate “corner” of the house, where no one bothered her and she did not interfere with anyone. Among the Slavs, such a restrictive custom was called a six-week. By 1.5-2 months, the rhythm of daytime dreams begins to form, and the baby has a kind of “regime”, the mother becomes more free.
For a mother who can't imagine breastfeeding without looking back at the clock, and who is sure that the “right” baby is the baby lying quietly in her crib all the time, feeding on demand will be a complete hassle. It will be much easier for such a mother if she stops looking at the clock and ties the baby to herself with a large scarf or uses a patchwork holder (sling).
It will become easier for her if she stops running between the nursery and the kitchen, but takes the baby with her to the kitchen and carries him around the house with her, doing housework, in a box, a cradle, a special chair, if she tries not to put him off often, and pick up as soon as possible, postponing the baby only in case of emergency and not for long.
Breastfeeding is not the same as house arrest. In the conditions of modern society, it is possible to organize the exit of a nursing mother to work from about 6 months of age of the baby. If necessary, you can start working from the age of 4 months, but, of course, it is better not every day of the week and not full time. It is the responsibility of a breastfeeding consultant to help a mother organize her return to work.
Sometimes, when I advise mothers on breastfeeding, I suggest that they forget for a second that they are already living in the 21st century. I propose to return, for example, to the cave and ask what they will do if the child woke up at night, how to calm him down? If you are walking through the forest and trying not to attract the attention of predators, how to make the baby silent? If the child is thirsty, what will you give him? What is the baby used to, for thousands of years of its existence? To the fact that he sleeps on his mother while she wanders through the forest with a digging stick in search of roots, and wakes up when mother stops.
Since mom stopped, then there is time to wake up and suck. Therefore, even now the child sleeps well, tied to the mother with a patchwork holder, wakes up when the mother, having done a few household chores, sits in a chair to take care of the baby.
Some mother, reading about the cave, will be offended, saying that she is a civilized creature. But please think. Man, mother's breast and mother's milk have been created by evolution over millions of years. They are made for each other. Baby food has created progress and more recently. The skills of motherhood and breastfeeding have also been lost by our society quite recently. A person is not physiologically adapted to artificial feeding and a pacifier. The mother's breast will not produce enough milk at 6-7 feedings per day. Nature did not know, when creating man as a mammal, that the time would come when the need for breastfeeding would be satisfied by some kind of pacifiers and nipples.
Changes that occur during the formation of the personality of a child who did not have full contact with the mother during prolonged breastfeeding are noted by modern research by psychologists and sociologists.
These are changes with a minus sign. It would be better if they were not, these changes.
Breastfeeding is important not only for the baby, it is also important for the mother. During on-demand feeding, the woman's feelings change, a stronger attachment to the baby is formed, the woman becomes more sensitive to the needs of the baby. Deeper affection and understanding are not only preserved in infancy. They persist for life. For clarity, imagine what happens to a woman’s feelings if she tries to “withstand” a child, endures his crying, anxiety. What happens to a woman if she uses the recommendation from one very popular parenting book: "Go to the child if he cries for more than 15 minutes"? Speaking in abstract terms, humanity is interested in reviving the practice of breastfeeding. The revival of this practice is impossible without mothers realizing the true reasons for the child's need for attachment to the breast.
Lilia Kazakova, pediatrician,
head of lactation and childcare counselors
How much should a baby eat from birth to one year?
Children's appetites vary: some prefer to eat more often, while others refuse to eat even when it's time to feed.
However, there are general rules and recommendations for the frequency and amount of infant feeding. We will figure out how much a child should eat in order to avoid malnutrition or overfeeding, how to improve the baby’s appetite and find out that he is hungry, and also dispel some myths about nutrition up to a year. Pediatrician Ekaterina Borisovna Bulavina acts as an expert on the topic.
— Ekaterina Borisovna, how does a child's appetite change with age?
— Appetite is a concept independent of age. A child is already born with an excellent appetite, and over time, only the amount of food eaten changes. Appetite depends primarily on the state of health of the child, the degree of maturity and growth phase, as well as on the type of feeding, genetic characteristics. Intensively growing baby eats with great desire; during periods of growth retardation, his appetite is somewhat reduced. But it is important to remember that refusal to eat can be caused by health problems, so a visit to the doctor in such cases should not be postponed.
Causes of decreased appetite in infants:
| Pediatrician's help is required if the child's refusal to eat is accompanied by:
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— How to restore a child's appetite?
- Most often, the appetite returns on its own, as soon as the irritating factor ceases to act on the child.
If the baby has recently been vaccinated or the loss of appetite is associated with teething, then active intervention by the mother is not required. If the child is healthy and simply does not like the offered food, the taste of milk or formula, then you can try to improve his appetite. The surest way is to let the baby get hungry. Active games, long walks in the fresh air, observance of time intervals between meals, lack of snacks usually lead to the proper result: the child quite willingly eats the offered dish. At five or six months, the baby is already ready to show interest in food - during this period, active eating behavior should be developed. Let him watch the table setting, watch adults eat, play with a spoon and a plate, try new types of food (this is the so-called pedagogical complementary foods). Such an active interest only contributes to a good appetite.
— Is there a difference in appetite between breastfed and formula-fed babies?
— There is no significant dependence of appetite on the type of feeding.
Both on breastfeeding and on artificial nutrition, there are little ones and babies with a good appetite. Babies on the breast may ask to eat more often, as milk is digested faster and easier, and then it seems that the baby is hungry. Children on the mixture well withstand the prescribed intervals between feedings, and appetite has nothing to do with it.
- How can you calculate the amount of food for an infant? How much should a baby eat at 2 months, 6 months and 8 months? How much should a child eat at 1 year old?
— Special formulas are used to calculate nutrition for children up to 10 days of age. Further, the amount of food is calculated taking into account the weight of the baby.
Monthly infant food intake
- from 10 days to 6 weeks of age - 1/5 of body weight
- from 6 weeks to 4 months - 1/6 of body weight
- from 4 to 6 months - 1/7 of body weight
- from 6 to 8 months - 1/8 of body weight
- from 8 to 12 months - 1/9 of body weight
a child of three months of age should not exceed 850 ml per day, for a four-month-old - 900 ml per day, after five months - 1 liter per day, regardless of weight, based on which the amount of food is calculated.
— How often should a child be fed?
— A breastfed baby is fed on demand, there is a special schedule for a formula-fed baby. Depending on age, the frequency of feeding changes downwards:
- 1-3 months - meals 7 times a day, with 3 hour intervals between meals. Sometimes feeding is allowed 6 times a day with an increase in the night interval.
- 3-6 months - meals 6 times a day at intervals of 3.5 hours.
- 6-12 months - meals 5 times a day with daily intervals up to 4 hours, night break 6-8 hours.
— Why is overeating dangerous?
- It is almost impossible to overeat while breastfed, but formula-fed babies sometimes suffer from this. The problem usually lies in an unsuitable nipple, through which the child sucks out the prescribed portion too quickly: the satiety signal does not have time to reach the food center. The baby asks for more, and mom happily offers an addition. As a result, the resulting portion exceeds the volume of the stomach, its walls are overstretched, excess nutrition is regurgitated, the first problems with the gastrointestinal tract appear, and improper eating behavior is formed.
Habitual regurgitation leads to gastroesophageal reflux disease, and heavy feeding leads to weight gain. Measures taken by the mother during and after feeding will help minimize the manifestations of reflux.
Signs that the child is overeating
- Bruthing
- Lumber of abdominal pain
- Frequent abundant stool
- Pathologically high weight gain
Signs of
The pediatrician should be contacted immediately if the child:
- refuses any offered food, water;
- shows signs of disease;
- loses weight;
- gives out dry wrinkled skin, little saliva, cries without tears;
- has infrequent stools, infrequent urination;
- regularly does not eat the prescribed norm;
- asks for more food, does not eat;
- sleeps badly, wakes up frequently and cries;
- often spit up, he is troubled by abdominal pain, problems with stool;
- sluggish, lags behind peers in psychomotor development.
— Do I need to supplement my baby at night?
- Night feedings are vital for a child up to 6 months of age, and should not be weaned from them earlier, unless the child himself sleeps peacefully all night.
The child of the first months of life is not able to endure a long break in feeding. From the age of six months, you can try to wean the baby from eating at night, but the optimal age for this is after a year.
— When to introduce complementary foods and how to combine them with infant formula and breast milk? What proportions would you like to maintain?
- Complementary food is always offered to the baby before or instead of breast milk or formula. Complementary foods start with small portions, so the required amount of food per feeding is supplemented with breast milk or formula. Gradually, the frequency of introduction of complementary foods and its volume increase, displacing milk feedings:
- 4-6 months - 1 feeding with complementary foods and 5 feedings with breast milk or formula;
- 5-7 months - 2 complementary feedings;
- 8-10 months - 3 complementary feedings;
- after 1 year - 1-2 milk feedings, all other meals should contain complementary foods.
— How does a child's appetite change after the first year of life?
— After a year, physiological changes occur in the body, which largely determine the eating behavior and nutritional needs. The period of intensive growth ends, the child enters the phase of stabilization of mass growth indicators. Consequently, the energy requirement is somewhat reduced relative to the needs of a rapidly growing six to ten month old baby. Parents often notice that a child just a couple of months ago ate much more willingly.
The spectrum of activity after a year is higher: the baby masters the process of walking, constantly explores something, it is difficult for him to concentrate on one thing and sit still. He is often distracted, including from the process of eating, often snacking on the go. And it seems that the child eats little and reluctantly at the main meals. But if you sum up all the snacks, then in the end you get a completely sufficient daily amount of food, divided into microportions.
Yes, parents often notice a decrease in appetite in children after a year. However, this is due to the physiology of their growth and maturation.
— Ekaterina Borisovna, please comment on the myths around the appetite and nutrition of babies.
1. The baby is crying, which means he is hungry
— This misconception concerns more natural feeding. Sleepless nights with frequent awakenings, restless intermittent sleep during the day - in such a situation, the mother tries to feed on demand, each time offering a breast, but the baby sucks a little and quits, continuing to cry. At this moment, the mother convinces herself that she does not have enough milk, the child is hungry - and runs to the store for the mixture.
In fact, the baby may cry for various reasons: colic, headache, full diaper, uncomfortable clothes. And before you feed, as soon as he began to cry, you should try to eliminate all other causes of discomfort. The mother's delusion that there is a shortage of milk is the most common reason for switching to artificial feeding.
2. Feeding according to the regimen is better because the child has time to get hungry
— Each child is an individual, and a well-functioning feeding regimen for one baby may not be suitable for another. The child may want to eat half an hour earlier, and an hour earlier (or later) than the due date. This does not mean that he has to cry all this hour if the feeding time has not yet come and the mother is trying to keep the regimen. While the mother maintains the prescribed interval, the child experiences stress, which negatively affects his development and eating habits. If the child often asks for food, it may be worth reconsidering his diet. It's best to ask your pediatrician about this.
3. In the case of on-demand feeding, having become accustomed to calming down at the breast, the baby will then all the time seize stress breasts as soon as they are hungry. But if the mother tries to feed the baby more so that he sleeps longer, she does him a disservice: this is how the body gets used to making reserves, because the next feeding is not soon.
4. The baby lacks nutrients, and the sooner you start complementary foods, the better
— Indeed, earlier apple juice was introduced into the child's diet almost from two months. But it has long been scientifically proven that there is no benefit from this. Modern ideas about the timing and products of the first complementary foods are based on numerous studies. And the young mother should follow exactly them, and not grandmother's advice on the benefits of semolina in two months.
5. The baby gains weight “incorrectly”
— I often hear about well-fed babies that they are “thin”, but the neighbor's children, for example, weigh ten kilograms at five months. Whether weight gain and height correspond to physiological norms can only be assessed by a pediatrician using special centile tables. And it is wrong to draw premature conclusions only on the basis of a visual examination of the child and its comparison with others.
- To summarize. How to understand that the baby is full?
- Observe his behavior. As saturation increases, swallowing movements become less frequent, replaced by sucking. A well-fed baby himself stops sucking at the breast or bottle. If the feeding is delayed and the mother doubts whether the child has eaten, it is worth trying to take the breast - a well-fed baby easily releases it from his mouth, a hungry baby is naughty, makes search movements with his fingers.
It is worth remembering that the breast for a child is not only a source of nutrition, but also a means of comfort, a guarantee of safety. Babies can hang at the breast for a long time, and this does not always mean that they are hungry. If the mother is in doubt, you can try to calm the child in another way. A well-fed baby will most likely fall asleep, a hungry baby will insistently demand a breast and calm down only when he receives it again. After saturation, the child usually falls asleep or continues to stay awake in a good mood, smiles at his mother, and coos.
