How often does a 3 month old baby feed
Your Baby's Growth: 3 Months (for Parents)
Reviewed by: Cristy A. Wong, MD
en español El crecimiento de su bebé: 3 meses
Most babies continue to grow in weight and length this month.
How Much Will My Baby Grow?
The first few months of life are a period of rapid growth. Your baby will gain about 1 to 1½ inches (2.5 to 3.8 centimeters) in length and 1½ to 2 pounds (681 to 907 grams) this month. These are just averages — your baby may grow somewhat faster or slower, and is likely to have growth spurts.
Your baby can go through periods of increased hunger and fussiness. This increase in hunger means your baby is going through a period of fast growth (a growth spurt). If you breastfeed, you might find your baby wants to eat more often (sometimes every hour!) during certain times of the day. This is often called "cluster feeding." Formula-fed babies may want to eat more often or will drink more formula than usual during feedings.
You'll learn to see the signs that tell you that your baby is hungry or when your baby is full. You will know your baby is hungry when she seems restless, cries a lot, sticks out her tongue or sucks on her hands and lips. You will know your baby is full when she is no longer interested in feeding or just falls asleep at the end of a feeding session. Remember, babies' tummies are very small and they need to be burped after feedings to release gas that can cause discomfort.
Your doctor will measure your baby's weight, length, and head circumference and track his or her growth on a standardized growth chart (there are different charts for boys and girls). Your baby might be large, small, or medium-sized. As long as this growth pattern stays consistent over time, chances are your baby's progress is just fine.
If your baby is born prematurely, keep in mind that growth and development should not be compared with that of a full-term child. Preemies will need to be followed more closely and may need to be weighed more often during the first months to make sure they are growing properly.
They have some catching up to do!
Should I Be Concerned?
If your baby is not growing at the expected rate, or the growth rate slows, your doctor will want to make sure your baby is getting enough to eat.
The doctor may ask you about:
- How many feedings a day your baby gets. At 3 months old, a breastfed baby may feed 8 times in a 24-hour day; formula-fed babies usually eat less frequently, about every 4 hours.
- How much your baby eats at each feeding. A baby generally nurses for at least 10 minutes, should be heard to swallow, and should seem satisfied when done. At this age, bottle-fed babies may eat up to 6 to 7 ounces (177–207 milliliters) at each feeding.
- How many bowel movements your baby has each day, and their volume and consistency. Most babies will have 1 or more bowel movements daily, but it may be normal to skip 1 or 2 days if consistency is normal. Breastfed babies' stools should be soft and slightly runny.
The stools of formula-fed babies tend to be a little firmer, but should not be hard or formed.
Most of the time, a baby's growth will be tracked over the next few months during routine well-baby visits. But if your doctor is concerned about your baby's growth, he or she will want to see your baby more often.
What's Next?
Your baby will continue to grow in length and weight at a steady rate. By 4 months, most babies have doubled their birth weight.
Reviewed by: Cristy A. Wong, MD
Date reviewed: January 2019
How Often Should My 3 Month Old Eat?
3 months already!!
Your baby is 3 months old!! You will be starting to notice your little one is able to tolerate longer stretches of awake time throughout the day, starting to smile, vocalizing, following objects with eyes, and lifting head when placed on tummy! So many developmental changes and also changes in size!! In another three months (by 6 months of age), your little one will have doubled their birth weight!
With all these changes, these first few months may have been a bit of a blur! No matter how old your baby is, when it comes to feeding, I always tell parents “don’t watch the clock, watch your baby”.
Look for those early feeding cues like hands to mouth, opening mouth, rooting…and feed your baby on demand. Crying is a late sign of hunger and an upset baby is much more challenging to feed.
Breastfeeding
Newborn babies that are breastfed will feed more frequently as they are setting up your milk supply. Their stomach size starts off very small, about the size of a marble, so a much smaller capacity (¼-½ oz.)! Breastmilk is easier to digest so breastfed babies will feel hungry sooner. By the time your little one is 3 months old their stomach has grown to about the size of an egg (2½-5 oz capacity). Since their stomach capacity is larger, they can take in a greater volume of milk. You may be noticing your 3-month-old needs to nurse less often and you are able to develop a more reliable schedule! Keep in mind, as your little one grows there will always be growth spurts where feeding frequency will pick up for a short time and then normalize again.
On average, a 3-month-old breastfed baby will feed every 3-4 hours, about 7-9 times per day.
You will notice your baby feeds more efficiently and is probably done in half the time it used to take for a feed. Same rules mentioned above still apply to a feed, don’t watch the clock and worry about how long the baby has been on the breast, watch the baby for signs of an effective feed. An effective feed includes big sucks and swallows at the breast. When that changes to more of a flutter suck then that’s the sign they have transitioned into using the breast more for comfort than nutrition. This is a great time to try a breast compression (cupping your breast with your hand like a “C” pressing back, hold, squeeze forward and repeat). This will give the baby a surge of milk and encourage them to actively suck again. When that sucks slows again, take them off, burp, and repeat on the other side. Once done at other side, your breasts should feel soft and empty, baby should be content, and this is the perfect time to find your little one some sleep!!
Bottle Feeding
Of course, for breastfed babies we have no idea how much they are getting volume wise, we just watch for that effective feed.
If you are bottle feeding, the amount will vary but a 3-month-old baby typically takes 4-6 ounces 5-7 times per day. Formula takes a little longer to digest, so you might be able to get a slightly longer stretch between feeds with a bottle feed baby.
Bottom Line
The best sign that your little one is getting an adequate amount of milk, no matter whether they are breast or bottle feeding, is always be sure you have appropriate amounts of wet and dirty diapers. A 3-month-old baby should have at least 4-5 very wet diapers per day. Babies this age should poop once a day but may skip a day here and there. Formula-fed babies typically go a little longer between bowel movements. Another wellness indicator, is your little one should be steadily gaining weight at follow ups appointment with his or her health care provider.
Your doing a great job with your little one(s)! If you have any questions or need some help, please reach out to any of The Mama Coaches, we would be happy to help!!
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. nine0004
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? nine0004
What is on-demand feeding
On-demand feeding of a newborn baby means putting it on 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? nine0004
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.
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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. nine0004
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 waking. 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. nine0004
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. nine0004
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?” nine0004
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. nine0004
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. nine0036
- 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 feedings, as well as in the fourth month of life, they are organized around dreams - the baby eats when he goes to bed and some babies suckle when they wake up.
nine0036 - 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.
nine0036 - 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. nine0035 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.
- 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. nine0036
- 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. nine0036 - 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. nine0036
- 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. nine0036
I know my mother, a lover of embroidery, who used this time specifically for embroidery ... 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, basically 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. nine0004
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 not true. 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. nine0004
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. nine0004
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. nine0004
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. nine0004
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. nine0076
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. nine0076
— 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. nine0004
Causes of loss of appetite in infants:
| Pediatrician's help is required if the child's refusal to eat is accompanied by:
|
e. an allergic condition; — 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. nine0004
— 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. nine0004
Signs that the child is overeating
- Bruthing
- Luminous pain
- Frequent abundant stool
- Pathologically high weight gain
Signs that the child is not torn , active, inquisitive baby is unlikely to be malnourished. Lethargy, drowsiness, indifference are alarming signs.
Restless sleep may indicate malnutrition. nine0119 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; nine0036
- 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. nine0004
— 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; nine0036
- 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. nine0004
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 in the main meals the child eats little and reluctantly. 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. nine0004
— 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. nine0004
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. nine0004
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. nine0004 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. 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? nine0004 - 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. 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. nine0004 A good appetite for a child is the dream of every mother and especially a grandmother. Complaints about lack of appetite are the most common at the doctor's office. Everyone wants a magic pill to improve it, but unfortunately there is no such thing.
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. 
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. 
