- Breastfeeding
One particular change you may see now or during the next few months is that baby’s feedings may become shorter, and spaced farther apart. He may start to take only one breast at each feeding. This is because baby becomes more efficient at nursing, and can get more out in a shorter time. We suggest you continue to feed baby on cue, and do not let baby go more than every 3 to 4 hours during the day without a feeding. Try to give him both breasts. You may let him sleep all night long if he will. Make sure you are getting enough DHA in your diet! - Formula
Baby should continue to get 2 to 2 ½ ounces per pound of body weight every 24 hours. On average this usually means 30 to 36 ounces per day. - Water and juice
It is okay to give baby several ounces of water each day out of a bottle or sippy cup. Avoid juice for now since it is mostly sugar with very few vitamins. - DO NOT START ANY BABY FOODS YET
Until recently, it was commonly believed that babies should start foods at four months of age. This has changed. The standard recommendation now is to start solid foods around 6 months of age, or later if baby does not seem interested. Researchers recently found that babies who start solid foods at four months have a higher chance of developing allergies later in childhood, and delaying foods until six months or older decreases the chance of allergies. One misconception is that babies need food to thrive at this age. This simply is not true. Babies do not need anything besides breastmilk or formula for the entire first year of life. We recommend you wait until 6 months before introducing foods. If any allergies run in your family, then baby has a high chance of having allergies as well. It would be especially important to delay foods in this case.Click here to read more on “why you should wait” to start solids.
