The Right Ways to Feed Your Little Ones

Feeding a little baby is an amazingly spiritual and satisfying experience. It’s a moment to connect with your little one, watch him/her move in your palms and love and caress him/her. Feeding your baby from a bottle or breastfeeding him/her is a choice that’s completely yours to make. However, many parents make use of both these methods in different scenarios.

For now, we are going to concentrate on breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is perfect for your baby. Breast milk comprises of all the vital nutrients that a newborn would need for his growth and development. The list of benefits is endless.

Breastfeeding and Diseases

Newborn babies are prone to all kinds of diseases. It has been found that babies who are are breastfed have a significantly lesser risk of developing diarrhoea, constipation, ear infections, asthma, diabetes, respiratory problems and other common allergies.

Mothers also stand to benefit from breastfeeding. Breastfeeding catalyses postpartum recovery and also reduces the risk of uterine, ovarian and breast cancer.

Is your baby ready for Breastfeeding?

It’s often difficult to tell when your baby might be ready for another round. Here are some ways:

• When hungry, babies generally open up their mouths wide (as if they are yawning) with their tongues touching their bottom gum.
• Another way your baby is going to indicate that he or she is hungry is by bring his/her hands upto the mouth.
• Lastly, if all other methods to gain your attention fail, your little one will start to cry. Care should be taken! When babies cry, they breathe in and breathe out rapidly. It’s important for you to calm them down before you start feeding them.

How Often and For How Long?

Babies that are 3-4 days old need to be fed at least 8 to 12 times a day. This would mean that you will have to feed your babies every 2-3 hours.

Babies, initially, may need to be fed for about 5-10 minutes only. After the first week, they will need to be fed for 10 minutes or longer.

Take care as to change your breast every time you feed your baby!