Breast Feeding Basics For Your Newborn Baby
|
It is a myth that bottle-feeds and breast-feeding is equally good. Mother's milk is the best for proper growth of the child. There are certain nutrients in the mother's milk that helps the baby fight illnesses while also promoting brain development. As compared to breast fed babies, the formula-fed babies are more prone to illnesses.
Ideally you should start breast feeding the child within 2 hours of its birth, but do not worry if for some reason you are not able to do so - many mothers feed their children after a few days because of some medical reasons and they turn out to be just fine. Apart from milk avoid giving the child any water or pacifier because the child is still learning to breast-feed and things like the bottle nipple and pacifiers can confuse the baby while nursing because milk doesn't flow as fast as it does through bottles.
Do give the child enough time to breast-feed. Don't limit the time. It could frustrate the baby. An average of about 10 to 45 minutes can be taken by the baby to completely satisfy itself.
So how should you hold your baby during breast feeding? The answer to this is that see to it that the gums of the baby are on top of the areola because there is a chance of nipples becoming sore if the baby just chews on the nipple instead of taking in the areola. You can hold the baby in a cuddling position and feed it or you can lie on your side placing your baby facing you. Usually when the baby has had enough milk it will let go of the nipple on its own, but the baby takes usually half an hour on each side.
We'll now move on to another critical issue which every breast-feeding mother needs to know about ? what to eat during the process of breast feeding. It is very important for a breastfeeding mother to have a healthy and balanced diet. A variety of foods are required during this period including:
· Get lots of vegetables and fruits ? try and have an intake of 5 portions a day of fruit and veg.
· For additional energy try and take in starch rich foods such as bread, pasta, potatoes, pulses and rice ? this will provide a good source of energy.
· Foods such as wholemeal bread, vegetables, pulses, cereals and pastas will provide fibre ? women occasionally experience bowel problems after childbirth and an intake of fibre on a daily basis will help with this.
· Proteins such as lean meat, fish, eggs and poultry.
· Try and get two portions of fish per week (including some oily fish). Do not exceed 2 portions of oily fish per week.
· Dairies such as cheese, milk and yoghurt are an excellent source of calcium and should be included in a breast feeding mother's diet.
· Some doctors advise taking vitamin supplements such as Vitamin D (10 mcg per day). Your doctor will be able to advise which supplements will be right for you.
In addition to the foods that you should eat above there are certain food types that you should steer clear of at this time. As above you should restrict your intake of oily fish to two portions per week but you should also avoid eating more than one portion of swordfish, marlin or shark per week as these fish contain high levels of mercury. You should also be careful with your intake of caffeine and alcohol. It is true that some breast feeding babies react to the foods that their mother has consumed. Some doctors believe that it is wise to lay off peanuts during this stage as well ? approximately 2% of the population is allergic to peanuts ? however your baby may have a higher chance of being allergic if the mother/father/brothers/sisters have problems such as asthma, eczema or hayfever. If you believe your baby may be at risk due to these factors it is worth consulting your doctor.
Keziah Engineer is the author of the best selling ebook "THE BABY CARE BOOK" ? a resource that teaches new parents absolutely everything they need to know about their newborn babies: http://www.global-ebooks.com/babybook.htm
|
|
|
Baby Speech Development - Lost For Words
As children are growing from todddlerhood to childhood parents are very aware and concerned about their child's development. One of the most grieved about concern is the development of speech. If you find that your child's gurgles are not developing into "mama" and "dada" within a short period of time, this will cause anxiety for most.Your child is two years old and is still not talking. She says a few words but in comparison to her siblings and other children her age she is way behind. You will probably try to explain it away vari...(related: Babies Help Articles)
A Baby Shower Cake Is The Highlight Of The Baby Shower
When you're holding a baby shower one of the most important items that you'll serve is the baby shower cake. Cakes should be the highlight of the food lineup and s...(related: Babies Help Articles)
Babies Born During The Sign Of Gemini
Your Gemini Baby..May 21 - June 20Gemini children are lively youngsters who can seem to be everywhere at once! They can be precocious and are often chatterboxes. Your Gemini baby will love to explore and needs plenty of space to do so. In fact, a Gemini baby may become irritable if cooped up. Geminis are friendly and bright and alert. A young Gemini will enjoy playing with toys that involve ...(related: Babies Help Articles)
How To Choose A Baby Bathtub
Choosing a baby bathtub is likely one of the easiest decisions you'll have to make when it comes to acquiring supplies for the new arrival. Basically, if it holds water, you're all set.There is little in the way of advantages to baby bathtub designs. Your basic tub shape, made of s...(related: Babies Help Articles)
Choose The Perfect Baby Shower Gift
The first thing you should do when trying to choose the perfect baby shower gift is consider the parents. Quite frankly, babies do not have the awareness or the ability to complain when you buy them weird stuff. But their parents do. A great baby shower gift is something the baby's parents will think is cute, funny, entertaining, or ...(related: Babies Help Articles)
Coping With Colic
A new baby with colic is one of the most difficult problems a new parent has to cope with. Most new parents are under pressure trying to deal with a new routine and lack of sleep, the added burden of a crying infant you seem powerless to help can be overwhelming. The only comfort that can be offered is, with 1 in 5 babies developing colic, many other parents are suffering too and that by the time the baby is four months old the problem normally disappears.The normal symptoms of colic are continuous lou...(related: Babies Help Articles)
Strange Facts About Babies And Parenting
Did You Know:Men are officially the best at changing baby! Research shows that the average time taken by a woman to change baby is 2 minutes and 5 seconds, whereas the average man takes 1 minute and 36 seconds! Expert in male and female behaviour Corinne Sweet says 'Changing baby is essentially a mechanical process, men approach it like a pit stop; they want it over as quickly as possible'. So come on gu...(related: Babies Help Articles)
Aromatherapy For Babies
Before reading this article keep in mind that most doctorsdon't recommend the use of aromatherapy on babies that reless than three months old. This is because the nasal ands...(related: Babies Help Articles)
Tips For A First-time Mom
Having a baby can be one the most life-changing experiences there are. And not all those changes will be easy to cope with. Here are some tips for a first-time Mom, to help you get through the rougher times.The vast majority of women today, are working when they become pregnant. That means making a decision whether to stay home with the baby, or return to work. This is something you can consider during your pregnancy, weighing the pros and cons of your inc...(related: Babies Help Articles)
How To Stop Toddlers From Biting
It is an unfortunate fact of life but, unfortunately, toddlers and biting frequently go together. It is a painful time for both the toddler and th...(related: Babies Help Articles)
site-map - Copyright © 2008 | Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved. | Babies Help Articles