Feeding

Nutrition in the first year of life is an important and complex process, due to strict adherence to the rules, the adherence to which forms the health of the baby. Children grow up quickly, need a lot of energy and nutrients, which is why nutrition of the first year of life is so important for the child's proper development.

Breast milk is an indispensable food, the most important food for babies until at least twelve months of age. It contains not only the nutrients, vitamins, minerals necessary for growth, but also maternal antibodies that provide resistance to infections and protect the baby. The mother, as it were, shares her immunity with the baby.

TYPES OF FEEDING:

Natural feeding: the child feeds exclusively on high-calorie mother's milk (for example, complementary foods up to ⅕ of the total amount of food);

Artificial feeding: infant formula is an alternative to breast milk;

Mixed feeding: combining breast milk (at least ⅕ of the total) with supplementary formula.

Breastfeeding is much more than breast milk. This is a psycho-emotional contact between mother and child, which can only be achieved through breastfeeding. The chain breast pump - bottle - baby is permissible only in case of emergency, when the mother for some reason must leave and there is no way to take the baby with her, or there are strict medical contraindications. The best breast pump is a baby, the best bottle is the mother's breast.

Early attachment of the baby to the breast. It is possible, if there are no medical contraindications, to carry out immediately after childbirth, in the delivery room. With the first drops of colostrum, the child receives the necessary nutrients, immunoglobulins and psycho-emotional contact with the mother.

Feeding the baby on demand or free feeding. The first month of a baby's life is the most difficult, there is an adaptation to new living conditions outside the womb, in connection with which he needs nutritional and psychological support that the mother can provide. For mommy, this is the same difficult period, a lot of anxiety, worries, a change in life priorities and lifestyle, and therefore, lactation may be imperfect.

The first month of life is adaptive, mom and baby study together, develop a daily routine and gain new experience. In connection with the above, the baby needs more frequent latching to the breast, and only he regulates the frequency of feedings.

The baby should be fed while awake. Due to the fact that the mother's lactation period is accompanied by an increased sense of responsibility and anxiety, feeding the baby in a half-asleep state is a common mistake. This leads to frequent underfeeding, since after taking a few sips, the child falls asleep again.

During the period of breastfeeding, the child does not need additional supplements. In addition to the nutrients and immune systems, breast milk is believed to contain sufficient fluids. However, there are conditions of the baby, in which it is necessary to carry out milkings: various kinds of diseases, fever, regurgitation, loose stools and other pathological conditions.