Best Way to Feed Your Baby Properly

Feeding your baby will take up a lot of your time but it can be a great way for you and your baby to bond and enjoy each other. Your breast milk provides her with all her nutritional needs for healthy growth and development. Around four to six months she will have probably doubled her birth weight and will need more solid, nutrient-rich food to fuel her growing energy needs.

Breast-feeding

Breast milk is very easy for your baby to digest and absorb, and has very little “waste”. It is much easier for your baby to absorb than formula. And the composition of breast milk adapts constantly to suit your baby’s ever-changing needs: your breast milk is very different when your baby is newborn to when she is six months old.

The first “milk” your baby receives after birth is colostrum, a yellow, creamy substance that is high in antibodies, vitamins, and proteins.

After three or four days your breast milk will come in. At the beginning of each feed your baby will gulp down the thirst-quenching foremilk. This is high in lactose (milk sugar) but low in fat. Once her thirst has been met, her sucking will change to a slow, rhythmic action, as the fat-rich hindmilk comes in. A special enzyme in the milk enables the fat – essential for healthy growth – to be absorbed in your baby’s system.

Health benefits

Breast milk far outstrips formula in its nutritional content – it contains more than 100 ingredients that are not found in cow’s milk and which can’t be made in a factory, for example. Because it is abundant in antibodies, it is extremely beneficial to your baby’s immune system, and provides protection against a whole range of illnesses, including stomach, ear, and respiratory infections. It is also believed to protect against allergy-related conditions, such as asthma and eczema, and against childhood diabetes and some forms of cancer.

Getting started

Breast-feeding is a very rewarding experience. However, some mothers find it difficult to establish breast-feeding to begin with. Your baby may take time latching on, or she may want to feed all the time, giving you sore nipples and making you worry that you cannot satisfy her. Or your breasts may become “engorged” with milk. Try to get plenty of rest, drink more fluids than usual, and eat healthily. Most mothers do manage to overcome these early problems and go on to enjoy breastfeeding their baby for months.

If you have any concerns about breast-feeding, talk to your health visitor, doctor, or a breast-feeding counsellor. They will be able to offer you support, encouragement, and professional advice.

The benefits of expressing

Expressing and storing your breast milk gives you flexibility without reducing your milk flow. It enables someone else to feed your baby sometimes, either simply because they would like to, or to give you a break once in a while. It also allows your baby to continue to enjoy the benefits of breast milk for a period after you have gone back to work.

Just because you’re breast-feeding, it does not mean that your partner or other caregiver cannot feed your baby whenever it suits. There are a variety of pumps available to buy or rent, enabling you to express some of your milk into a bottle. You can then store the milk in the fridge (if you are planning to use it within 24 hours), or in the freezer for future use.

Bottle-feeding

If, for any reason, you cannot or choose not to breast­feed from the start or when you go back to work, years of scientific research have produced formula milks that meet your baby’s requirements. Most of these are made from row’s milk with modified protein, carbohydrate, fat, and added vitamins and minerals that contain a ratio of the proteins similar to those found in breast milk. Some also contain added long-chain fatty acids, although not in their natural form.

•  Cow’s milk alone is not recommended for babies under one year, as the high protein and salt levels are not easily digestible, and it is low in vitamin C and iron, which is necessary for healthy growth. However, it can be mixed with your baby’s first food, such as baby rice, from six months.
•  There are also soya-based formulas, which are made from soya plant protein modified with vitamins and minerals. These are often used as an alternative if your baby suffers from intolerance to cow’s milk protein, which affects two per cent of infants.

If your baby is bottle-fed, one of the most obvious benefits is that you can share feeding with your partner or other family members and caregivers.