Child Rasing

Breast milk is the best balanced food for a growing baby. Especially, it is very important to feed your baby colostrum that contains immunity factors and can help newborns avoid disease. Colostrum looks yellowish and thick, and is produced in the early days after baby’s birth.Other benefits of nursing are easy, convenient, and add the loving touch to your baby by the skin-to-skin contact. Therefore breastfeeding is the best thing to do.

Nursing your baby as often as he/she is crying and seems to be hungry. Early on, your baby may cry a lot for hunger (10-15 times per day) because your milk may not establish well or your baby may be not able to suck effectively. Generally, the length of each feeding is 10-15 minutes on both breasts.

Babies swallow air during nursing or bottle feedings. Burping helps to get rid of some of the air.
After feeding, hold your baby upright with his/her chin rest on your shoulder, and then gently pat or rub down to up your baby's back.

First of all, you should increase nursing frequency and do not give up breast feeding even you think you may not have enough milk.
Baby’s sucking can help to increase a hormone that stimulates a woman's breast to make plenty milk.It is also helpful to drink plenty of fluids (warm and plain taste vegetable soup etc) and eat well balanced diet (less animal fat, more vegetable, potato, beans, small fish, and sea alga, etc.).And you should get relaxed mentally and physically. If you are lack of sleep, take naps while your baby rests in daytime. You do not need to do everything yourself but let baby’s father or someone help so that you can have more rest.

At this time, some babies may have a regular feeding interval whereas others may do not.It is best to follow your baby’s pace.The following are possible signs of underfeeding. If you worry about not having enough breast milk for your baby, consult your doctor.

Often sucking about one hour.Not gaining enough weight.Having constipation tendency or a few times of urine putout.Always being in a bad mood.

If the mother’s milk is not enough, then supply formula for adequate nutrition.

• Baby’s sucking could stimulate the breast to make milk therefore you should feed breast milk first then give formula if it is necessary.
• Alternately nursing and using formula.
• To feed formula only in the afternoon or evening when breast milk flows less.

If the mother can not produce milk or is very ill etc., then formula feeding may be a choice.
Lately, formula is definitely better than it used to be.Babies love to be held gently. Holding and feeding your baby will keep a well skin-ship with him/her.
Let Dad use a bottle to feed your baby and give mother more time to rest. It is very important to enjoy the experience of bonding closely with your baby and enhance the emotional connection between parents and infant either while nursing or bottle feeding.Generally, per formula feeding is about 10-15　minutes. Milk drops can be adjusted by the nipple’s hole and fastening ring.

Feeding interval gradually becomes regular (at 3-4 hour intervals). The amount of breast milk or formula a baby eats is decreased, because the baby’s brain is more developed and is able to feel full and adjusts the amount of milk he/she takes. And, there may be irregular behaviors during feeding like being attracted to other things or playing and drinking etc. If the baby looks healthy, no need to worry.

In order to let infants get used to other tastes and the spoon other than breast milk or formula, try to introduce fruit juice to your baby at 3-4 months. You can start with diluted fruit juice (diluted in 2 to 3 times by adding cold boiled water) on one spoon before giving more and introducing wending foods.If there is no dislike or diarrhea, keep diluted fruit juice to a minimum (no more than 50cc per day) so that it will not affect the amount of nursing or formula. You can give your baby diluted fruit juice between milk feeds, after bath, or after taking the baby for a walk.Try to introduce vegetable soup after your baby has gotten used to fruit juice.You can cook vegetable soup with cabbage, onion, carrot etc. that are less smell and less scum, cool off then feed your baby. Do not force your baby to take the soup or juice if it is refused.