Food and nutrition.pdf

Chapter 10Infant NutritionTWO MONTHSBaby will get all of his nutrition from breast milk or an iron fortifiedinfant formula until he is four to six months old. There is no need tosupplement with water, juice or cereal at this time. He should now be ona more predictable schedule and will probably be nursing or drinking 5-6 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours.Feeding practices to avoid are putting the bottle in bed or proppingthe bottle while feeding, putting cereal in the bottle, feeding honey,introducing solids before 4-6 months, or heating bottles in the microwave.Also, avoid the use of low iron formulas, which are nutritionallyinadequate to meet the needs of a growing infant. These types of infantformula do not contain enough iron and will put your child at risk fordeveloping iron deficiency anemia (which has been strongly associatedwith poor growth and development and with learning disabilities). Ironfortified formulas do not cause colic, constipation or reflux and you shouldnot switch to a low iron formula if your baby has one of these problems.FOUR MONTHSAt this age, breast milk or formula is the only food that your babyneeds and he should be taking 5-6 ounces 4-6 times each day (24-32ounces), but you can start to familiarize your baby with the feel of a spoonand introduce solid baby foods. See the Guide to Starting Solids for moreinformation, especially if your child is at risk for developing food allergies.Cereal is the first solid you should give your baby and you can mix itwith breast milk, formula or water and feed it to your baby with a spoon(not in a bottle). Start by feeding one tablespoon of an iron-fortified Ricecereal at one feeding and then slowly increase the amount to 3-4tablespoons one or two times each day. This is a very important source ofiron for your growing infant (especially if you are breastfeeding). Youcan then start with vegetables at about six months of age.Your baby will probably have given up middle of the night feedings