Introduction:
How hungry is your baby? or, is this the right amount of food for the baby? These are the questions that every new parent faces. For the first few years, the amount of food and quality of food plays a major role in their development. While newborn babies solely depend on breast milk as their primary source of food for the first whole year, the second year should be no different in terms of feeding breast milk along with other food. Every child is different, and the amount of food required is different as well. When hungry or full, babies give signs while feeding, and with understanding their cues, parents’ job of feeding them becomes much easier.
How Do We Know if the Baby Is Hungry?
Sign language is something that a toddler can easily learn. Also, there are many other cues that a child shows while hungry. For instance, crying is the most common sign. In the case of five months old, the baby often shows signs of hunger like putting hands in the mouth, turning their head towards the bottle or breast, hand gestures like clenching palms, and puckering of lips. On the contrary, if the child is full, he shows signs like turning away his head from the bottle or breast and relaxed palm.
For babies older than six months, the scenario is a little different, as he starts to understand the food and try to point it out, opens their mouth when food is offered and gets excited at the sight of food. When their stomach is full, they try to push away the food, turn away their head, and close their mouth or do not eat the food.
Food Chart:
Newborns:
-
As the primary source of food is breast milk for them for a few months, they should be fed according to their needs, which is usually every two to three hours during the day and night.
-
The mother should provide a comfortable environment for the baby to feed properly. This cluster feeding pattern is harmonized with a growth spurt, and with time the baby gets habituated to the feeding pattern.
-
Some doctors suggest not letting the newborn sleep while feeding, and it is best if they feed at least eight to ten times per day, that is two to three ounces per feeding.
-
If a mother is facing an issue with breastfeeding, using a breast pump is the best option to provide food for a baby. However, with pump milk, there should be extra precautions taken, such as the right temperature to store milk.
-
In the same way, bottle feeding should also be introduced to babies by mothers.
-
Furthermore, if the mother is unable to produce breast milk, a baby can also feed the infant formula as per the doctor's suggestion.
1 to 3 Months Old
-
During this phase, babies are more interactive about being hungry or full.
-
With age, children also develop an appetite with a regular feeding schedule.
-
At this point, the baby eats about four to five ounces every four hours. And in the alternative, if the mother is using the formula, four to six ounces is a good amount per feeding.
4 to 6 Months Old
-
Babies are introduced to solid food at this stage.
-
Along with one to two spoons of solid food, babies should be given at least four to six ounces of milk until they are four months old, and when they turn five, they should be given at least eight ounces of milk every four or five hours.
6 to 9 Months Old
-
At this stage, the amount of solid food should be increased.
-
Also, the amount of milk should be at least six to nine ounces per feeding for every three to four hours. The primary source of nutrition for babies is still milk, and caregivers should not stress about increasing the solid food diet to more than two to four tablespoons.
-
The solid food that a baby can eat is yogurt, strained vegetables, fruit, and boiled pulses.
9 to 12 Months Old
-
The baby requires seven to eight ounces of milk along with solid food for their appetite.
-
At this stage, babies are able to recognize and enjoy the taste of different food. So, any crushed solid food is good to go.
After 12 Months
-
As the physical activities increase for babies of this age, they get more hungry.
-
With the consultation of the pediatrician, babies are given solid food along with at least two to three cups (24 ounces) of milk.
As per Hopkins, the recommendations of all children's articles are given in the table form below about how much and what meals to introduce to a certain age group of babies.
What Are the Complications Related to Overfeeding?
If the parents have a proper understanding of a child's food needs and the signs they use when they are hungry or full, the chances of overfeeding them are next to none. There are many physical and behavioral complications a caregiver faces if they are not able to interpret the signs of overfeeding.
-
The habit of newborns falling asleep while breastfeeding is commonly seen in their earlier days. However, if this habit cannot be changed, the baby carries this in their later age as well. Somehow they interlink the connection between falling asleep and feeding. As a result, if a baby is sleepy, he shows signs of hunger and cannot differentiate the difference. Even if the mother has already fed the baby before putting him to sleep, he will be cranky and want milk again to get sleep. All of these result in an overfed and cranky baby.
-
In the scenario described above, the constant cry for food disturbs the sleep of the baby and mother. All night, crying and wailing result in interrupted sleep resulting in growth-related issues in babies. Additionally, frequent feeding can lead to frequent changes of diapers, inability to sleep at night, and constant burping.
-
There are some babies born with leaner bodies than others, but sometimes this concerns their parents so much that they end up overfeeding their baby, and that results in weight-related issues in them.
-
In some cases, where babies are born prematurely or with abnormally less weight, doctors suggest parents opt for fortified milk or formula. For babies with issues, this is the best source of nutrition, but for normally weighed babies it provides them abnormally high amounts of calories and nutrition. Pertaining to which there are many stomach-related and digestion-related issues seen in them.
Conclusion:
The right amount of food is a crucial part of the child’s growth. As discussed in the article, overfeeding habits can be very dangerous for the physical and mental health of the baby. The right amount of food as per the baby's need is much more important than random or frequent feeding. Thus parents or caregivers should consult pediatricians before adapting their child to random feeding habits or diets.
