Videos you might be interested in
Videos you might be interested in
Videos you might be interested in
Suggested for you
Suggested for you
Suggested for you
Suggested for you
Birth to 4 Months Old Baby Food Ideas & Feeding Tips
Most paediatricians suggest that it is best to feed your baby breastmilk exclusively for the first six months after birth. However, for some, it might become necessary to supplement with formula. In the first year of birth, babies will gain thrice their birth weight. Thus, it becomes essential that they get all the necessary nutrients right from birth.
Which Nutrients are Important for the Child at this Stage?
Your baby needs the following nutrients to grow and develop well:
Folate – this is essential to help the cells in baby’s body to divide.
Calcium – helps in ensuring your baby has strong teeth and bones.
Iron – besides boosting blood cells, it helps in brain development. Your doctor might suggest iron supplements if your baby is exclusively breastfed.
Fat – ensures healthy hair and skin while providing protection against infections. It is also useful in brain development and provides energy.
Zinc – encourages cell repair and growth.
Carbohydrates and proteins – these are necessary to ensure your baby gets the required energy and growth stays on track.
Vitamins – different types of vitamins such as A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, D, E, and K are also essential to facilitate and enhance the normal functioning of the brain, immune system, nervous system, and blood clotting.
Infant formulas are usually fortified to ensure that they are as similar to breast milk as possible. Apart from the above nutrients, some formulas might also have essential fatty acids like DHA and ARA, nucleotides, prebiotics, and probiotics.
Feeding your Baby: Birth to 4 Months
It is important to encourage healthy eating habits in your baby right from the start. Baby feeding plans can usually be broadly categorized into three – baby-led schedules, parent-led feeding patterns, and combination feeding schedules. As the term indicates, baby-led schedules are determined by your infant and tend to be unstructured. Parent-led routines are where there are specific times for eating, playing, and sleeping. Combination feeding schedules tend to be flexible and though fixed by parents, can accommodate the child’s wishes to a certain extent. You have to determine which of these works best for your family based on baby’s needs and your daily lives.
How much and how Often should you Breastfeed?
As your infant grows older, the number of feedings will decline. Your baby is likely to sleep longer and have fewer bowel movements. On an average, your baby will feed about six to eight times each day. If your baby is alert, happy, active, gaining weight, developing well, wetting and soiling an adequate number of diapers each day, then it is likely that your baby is getting enough food. But if your infant seems unhappy after every feed and wants to continue feeding or is cranky and cries a lot, then it might be due to inadequate feeds.
How much and how Often should you Formula-Feed?
Breastmilk is easier to digest than formula. Thus, babies on formula are likely to feed less frequently than those who are breastfed. As they grow older, the number of feeds will decline further. It is important to take care not to overfeed your baby because it is easier for babies to drink from a bottle than the breast.
Feeding Tips to Feed a Newborn to 4-Month-Old Infant
The nutritional requirements of babies will vary as no two babies are alike.
Cues That Your Infant is Hungry
Your baby starts opens his mouth and turns his head towards the breast or the bottle.
The infant starts sucking on his fingers or hands.
Baby is extremely fussy and cries with clenched fists.
Signs of a Satisfied Baby
Baby is no longer interested in the breast or the bottle.
Falls asleep immediately after feeding.
Hands are relaxed and suck very slowly.
Other Things to Remember
Babies tend to have growth spurts, and for some, it can be at the start of the second week and again between three and six weeks.
Spit ups are common in young babies because the muscular valve connecting the oesophagus and the stomach is immature. This allows some of the stomach contents to come back up.
Bowel movements may be as frequent as one after every feed or even once a day or once in three days. This will vary from baby to baby, and so long as your baby is keeping to his schedule, everything should be fine.
For a 1-month baby, food will be all liquids. Avoid giving babies solid foods until they are at least six months old.
When breastfeeding, be sure to switch breasts midway. This way, you will ensure constant milk supply and also avoid engorgement. It can take your baby anywhere between five to 15 minutes to empty one breast. Changing breasts too quickly can deprive your child of the rich hindmilk which is extremely nutritious and filling.
Be sure to burp your baby every time you switch breasts. Babies who spit up a lot may have to be burped more often.
For a 2-months baby, food choices are limited. This is also true when it comes to a 3-months baby. Food is ideally breast milk or formula for infants up to six months. If for some reason, you need to start solids early, you can come up with a 4-month baby food schedule in consultation with your doctor.
Since babies have small tummies, they need to be fed frequently to meet their growth and developmental milestones. Since babies survive solely on milk, either breast milk or formula, for the first four months of their life, it is important to ensure that these are nutritional. Breastfeeding mothers need to eat a healthy diet as this is what gets passed on to the baby. When picking a formula, choose a reputed brand which is adequately fortified.
Disclaimer: This information is just a guide and not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified professional.
Also Read:
Common Digestive Problems in Babies
Introducing Water to Babies
Food Ideas for 4 to 6 Months Old Babies Read more
Suggested for you
Sweet Pongal
Sweet Pongal, called as Sakkarai Pongal in Tamil Nadu and Chakkara Pongal in Andhra Pradesh, is a South Indian delicacy that is prepared as ‘prasadam’ or ‘naivedyam’ and offered to the deity on the occasion of Pongal, a four day long harvest festival that falls in mid January. This staple recipe is made with jaggery, ghee and nuts. The addition of nutmeg and cardamom, makes it smell and taste absolutely divine. A must-have-anything-sweet-just-can’t-resist recipe is what it is!
Serves
Preparation Time
Cooking Time
6 People
10-15 Minutes
20-25 Minutes
Ingredients
1 cup Rice, raw
1/2 cup Moong Dal
1 cup Milk
200g Jaggery, shredded
4 tbsp Ghee
2 tbsp Cashewnuts
2 tbsp Raisins
¼ tsp cardamom powdered
A pinch of clove powder
A pinch of nutmeg powder
A pinch of Saffron
2 1/2 cups Water
Method
Step 1
Take a and heavy-bottomed pan and dry roast rice and green gram dal separately for a couple of minutes.
Step 2
Pressure cook the rice and green gram dhal with water and milk in 50:50 proportion for 3 whistles. Mash it well and keep aside.
Step 3
Dissolve the jaggery in around 3/4 cup water and keep it for melting on low heat.
Step 4
Heat till the jaggery melts and keep stirring till it becomes slightly sticky.
Step 5
Add the cooked rice and dhal to the jaggery and add 4 tbsp ghee.
Step 6
Fry the cashewnuts and raisins and add to the pongal.
Step 7
Add the powdered cardamoms, cloves, nutmeg and saffron.
Step 8
Mix well and serve hot.
Nutritional Information
Calories
477 K cal
Proteins
6.1 g
Total Fat
13.1 g
Total Carbohydrates
84 g
Cholesterol
25 mg
Sodium
2501 mg
Potassium
2133 mg
Read more
Suggested for you
Nikitha has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
1 hour ago
Q. can I wash milk bottles with geaser hot water?
Nikitha
Mom of a 9 yr 5 m old boy
1 hour ago
A. hello yes you can wash it which is absolutely safe and not a problem and in fact so keep it for few minutes would be a better option and also the safest option to this make sure the water is enough or with should be better and also safe when you rinse it for few minutes
Dr Vandan H Kumar has added a new answer
Trying To Conceive
1 hour ago
Q. #asktheexperts baby rashes cream
Dr Vandan H Kumar
Paediatrician
16 mins ago
A. for very mild rash you can apply coconut oil.
if the rash is increasing you can go for any rash cream available like rashfree / ezinapi / b4napi / zincal
if there is erosion of the skin and some bleeding is present then add t-bact cream to the diaper rash cream.
if it is still not improvingy then kindly meet your doctoru
Dr Vandan H Kumar has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
50 mins ago
Q. toddlers has no fever for 4 months is it ok
Dr Vandan H Kumar
Paediatrician
49 mins ago
A. yes
what you have described is totally normal and there is no need to worry regarding this. but if you feel that it it seems to be somethingf different you can meet your doctor regarding this and the doctor will guide you.
Dr Vandan H Kumar has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
45 mins ago
Q. my 2.6years oldgot fever in january until now no fever is there any problem if fever comes only immunity increases
Dr Vandan H Kumar
Paediatrician
44 mins ago
A. if the child is growing properly and there is proper growth and development then it is not necessary that the child should have fever for proper immunity and it is a good thing that the child is not having fever
Dr Vandan H Kumar has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
41 mins ago
Q. is it normal for toddlers get cold and gone in one day in these summers
Dr Vandan H Kumar
Paediatrician
25 mins ago
A. yes that's fine
you can go for home remedies like tulsi ginger honey (add honey if child is more than 1 year of age) combination which can be diluted with water and given frequently to the child.
also u can give turmeric with warm milk one or two times everyday.
give warm water to drink as well as nasal saline drops frequently. d
try to prevent temperature variations around the child that is from hot to cold and cold to hot environment.
keep the child well covered.
if the palms and soles of the child are cold then the child is feeling cold and you have to take preventive measures to make the child warm
Nikitha has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
23 mins ago
Q. from which month weight will gain
Nikitha
Mom of a 9 yr 5 m old boy
New Answer
A. hello in the first one baby weight will reduce and then it will start increasing and baby gaining a minimum of 600 g to 800 gram per month then it is a good weight gain and absolutely nothing to worry or not a problem and if the BM is S not sufficient you can give infant formula milk stage 1 using a bpa free bottle like babyhug
Check out this new Memory
Aarvee Aswani
Mom of a 1 m old girl
New Memory
0 Likes
0 Comment
Check out this new Memory
almas s
Guardian of a 1 m old girl
New Memory
#stylishbaby
0 Likes
0 Comment
Check out this new Memory
shreya suman
Guardian of a 6 m old boy
New Milestone
0 Likes
0 Comment
Check out this new Memory
Aarvee Aswani
Mom of a 1 m old girl
New Memory
#stylishbaby
0 Likes
0 Comment
Check out this new Memory
sandhya bachhawat
Mom of a 1 yr 4 m old girl
1 min ago
Ready for holi
0 Likes
0 Comment
Tell us more about yourself get More Personalised
- Infant0 to 6 Months
- Baby6 Months to 2 Yrs
- Toddler2 to 4 yrs
- Kids4-6 yrs
- Big Kids6+ yrs
- Expecting
- Trying to Conceive