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Blends for babies

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 20.11.2021
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Blends for babies are a discharge of nutrition, which has a lot of suggestions, and a modern mom can not decide which blend will suit her child. The question of choosing a mixture for a child is not so difficult, considering even an individual approach. Therefore, the mother can choose the mixture herself, having carefully studied all the nuances and composition.

Varieties of milk formulas

The question of the benefits of breastfeeding is always and everywhere discussed. And every modern mother knows about the large number of those beneficial properties that are contained in her milk. But, despite this, there are situations in which the mother can not feed the child because of a lack or complete absence of milk. Also, some mothers do not want to breast-feed, so they disaccustom the baby.

The mixture can be used as the only food of the baby or in combination with breast milk. Milk mixture should always be prepared in accordance with the instructions, which means that no milk is used in place of the water usually used for cooking. Milk mixtures are designed to meet the basic nutritional needs of the child, although they lack some of the beneficial immune factors, enzymes and nutrients found in breast milk. If you decide to feed your child with a mixture, either as a single food or as a supplement to breast milk, you can choose from ready-to-use options or concentrated liquid or powder forms that should be mixed with water to prepare them before feeding the baby. Always follow the directions when preparing the mixture for your child. This means adding only a certain amount of required water and nothing else, including cow's milk. Cow's milk is not suitable for infants under 1 year of age, so it can not be used in place of water when preparing the mixture. Adding cow's milk can dilute your mixture and cause nutritional deficiencies in your child.

For mothers who breastfeed simultaneously and supplement the formula, mixing of breast milk and the prepared infant formula together is perfect, because both contain adequate nutrition for the baby, but this may not be the best idea from a practical point of view. The goal in breastfeeding and feeding is to maximize the amount of breast milk your child consumes. Therefore, if you mix these two types of feeding, you can get a little leftover formula, which is a waste of precious breast milk. Instead, many mothers who use formula-feeding try to offer breast milk first and feed the mixture only after the baby has received all of the breast milk. Thus, any uneaten part will be strictly from the bottle, and breast milk will not be wasted.

If mom has very little milk, then you need to start feeding the baby a mixture. How to transfer the baby to the mixture? First you need to decide on the mixture. If you have already done this, you need to carefully monitor the reaction of the baby, whether he likes it or not. If you decide to transfer the baby to the mixture, it is best to do it gradually to give your body time to reduce the amount of milk that is produced. This will also give your child time to adjust to having other meals.

Infants use another sucking action when they drink from a bottle, and this may take some time for the infant to get used to that kind of nutrition. But, nevertheless, sucking milk from the chest is harder than from a bottle, and eventually the child will understand this and he will like such feeding.

The first time the mixture is better to start to give, when your child is happy and relaxed, and not when he is very hungry, in which case he will be able to taste the taste. Your child does not need to drink all the milk in the bottle, let him eat, how much he wants and you should not force him.

If, despite all your efforts, the child still does not want the mixture, then you should try to mix the mixture with breast milk. To do this, use a breast pump to express your breast milk. Depending on your personal preferences, this can be done using an electric, manual or breast pump with battery power. The best time for this is when your breasts are full, usually in the morning. Collect your breast milk in an appropriate storage container. Most dairy pumps are supplied with their own containers and bottles for breast milk.

Somewhere in the middle of the day for the second or third feeding, mix the breast milk with the whole mixture in the bottle. Connect about three parts of breast milk to one part of the mixture, which first will not allow the baby to understand that it is not completely breast milk. Shake the bottle to mix two types of milk evenly.

Preheat the bottle to body temperature, because babies who are used to getting breast milk from the breast, may want a warm mixture. Heat the bottle by holding the bottle under a warm tap or putting the bottle in a saucepan with warm water for several minutes. Check the temperature of the liquid before giving it to your child.

How to teach babies to the mixture? The scheme for entering a mixture of babies has no special rules, only logical facts. Try to feed your child when he is hungry, because in that case he will be able to eat it. As a rule, children do not refuse such feeding. Then gradually increase the amount of the mixture and reduce the breast, if necessary. For example, if you plan to completely separate the baby from breast milk, increase the amount of the one-piece mixture that you mix with breastmilk in time until you give the baby a complete mixture. But still, if you do not breastfeed just because of work, then in the evening when you come home, try to give your baby a breast, so that he still gets all the nutritional elements.

If all efforts are in vain and the kid does not want the mixture, then you must always pay attention to it and do not force it. Maybe he just does not like the taste of this mixture. How to change the formula babe? To do this, you yourself should try and try a few options to choose a mixture that will appeal to you.

Review and names of infant formulas

How to choose a mixture of babies? The main rule - consider that if you choose a certain mixture, then you will feed the child to it for up to a year. Therefore, choose not only quality, but also the price that suits you. After all, sometimes when you change a mixture of babies suffer more because of intolerance, so you have to be sure that you can afford this or that mixture.

If the price suits you, then you should give preference to highly adapted mixtures that are as close to the properties of the mother's milk as possible. Feeding with a mixture of babies should start with a simple mixture in this series. If the child has certain problems, then it is possible to use mixtures with a composition that will be useful in a particular situation, but from the same line.

For example, a mixture of constipation for babies can help solve this problem, only after changing the nature of the mixture. Such dairy products contain lactulose, oligosaccharides and other substances that activate the movement of food in the intestines of the baby and prevent constipation thereafter. For example, the  mixture of Human Bifidus  has in its composition a special component of lactulose, which is not only a medium for the life of beneficial bacteria in the intestines of the baby, but in itself it causes contraction and accelerates its motor skills. This allows you to forget about problems such as constipation. Blends for babies from constipation also include: NAN triple comfort, Nutrilon comfort. Mixture Nestozhen also contains prebiotics, so it can be used for constipation.

The mixture with dysbacteriosis in infants can also be selected according to the nature of the stool. After all, all the adapted mixtures have probiotics and prebiotics, which co-ordinate dysbiosis and stools simultaneously.

The mixture with diarrhea in the baby can be changed for a period of diarrhea, if this is a simple transient state against the background of infection, or if you are prone to diarrhea, such mixtures can be used on an ongoing basis. If a child has a diarrhea on the background of a viral infection, then it is good to use it, for example,  Human HN's mixture. It contains less lactose, which helps to digest the baby better and reduce diarrhea. When your baby is addicted to diarrhea, you should always give preference to a mixture that contains substances that prevent this condition. Such mixtures include Similac because of the content of the rice thickener, which has natural antidiarrheal properties.

Highly adapted mixtures allow you not only to choose a mixture by the nature of the chair, but you can also cope with other problems. For example, in preterm infants, in whom a sucking reflex is not developed, nutrition takes place only at the expense of special mixtures. The mixture for weight gaining babies contains hydrolysed compounds of proteins, fats, which are easily digested even at low weight. They are not replaceable for such babies until they can digest milk themselves. The most high-calorie mixture for babies is a mixture of liquid, which is designed for small children. They contain the maximum protein for better weight gain.

Speaking of other adapted mixtures, do not forget about the  Materna mixture, which is produced in Israel. This mixture is not only maximally adapted to breast milk, but also it has a lot of microelements, analogous to which is contained only in vitamin preparations. In Ukraine, such a mixture is not available for wide sale, you can only get it from abroad.

Among unadapted mixtures, mention should be made of the mixture of  Baby, which is not adapted to breast milk. But its cheap analogs are more useful and at a price acceptable - it is a mixture of Nutrilakt, Biolak.

Mixture in atopic dermatitis in infants is necessarily selected hypoallergenic. And such mixtures for infants with allergies are prescribed special treatment for 4 months, with further evaluation of the condition and response. If there is a result, then they switch to preventive hypoallergenic mixtures for another 4 months. Protein-free mixtures for infants are used as therapeutic mixtures - those that have a deep hydrolysis of protein, which prevents the body from perceiving these protein compounds as foreign. Which allows to eliminate atopy manifestations.

If you have established or are assumptions for cow milk allergy, then in this case mixes for babies on goat's milk (nanni, kabrita) are used. But you need to consider that there may be a cross-allergic reaction, so do not rely 100% on such mixtures. You can also use dairy-free desserts for babies, which are diluted with water and do not lead to allergic reactions.

Lactose-free mixtures for babies are a group that is used in children with lactose intolerance and in children with lactase deficiency. These mixtures have a specific unpleasant bitter taste, so as an experiment, moms should not use them without the advice of a doctor.

Soy mix for babies is also used if the baby has an allergy to milk protein or intolerance to milk sugar. Soy in this case can be an excellent source of proteins and other essential substances, without the risk of cross-allergy. 

Sour-milk mixtures for babies can be used in the diet from 6 months already. They provide the vital activity of the beneficial flora in the intestine, and also contain calcium and phosphorus for the development of the child. In the future, fermented milk products and foods should be in the diet of a child up to three years several times a week.

Milk porridge on a sour milk mixture can be prepared if the children do not want to eat a clean mixture. In such cases, to preserve the benefits of sour-milk products, one can resort to such cunning, because the sweetness of cereal will not allow the child to feel a sour-milk taste.

The reaction to the mixture in the baby should be evaluated after each new meal introduced. It is necessary to pay attention to possible allergic manifestations, stool. Allergy to the mixture in the baby can be for a certain vitamin in its composition, as well as a component. How is the allergy to the mixture in infants? It can be a rash on the cheeks or upper part of the torso, the handles, which naturally increases after taking this mixture. In such cases, the mother should study the composition of the mixture and find out what could have caused the allergy to exclude this component in another mixture.

The stool of a babe in a mixture can be very different and the main thing is that he does not cause the child's anxiety and stomach problems. The green stool of the infants on the mixture can also be, and it's not scary, because the stool is a waste material. And depending on the environment in the intestine and the nature of food, it can vary.

White language after the mixture in infants is a common cause for parents' anxiety. But this is quite normal, because after you eat your tongue is also colored by the color of the food you eat. Therefore, if there is simply a white language without rashes, then do not worry.

If the babies regurgitate after the mixture or if vomiting occurs after the mixture, this does not necessarily mean that it does not suit him. Perhaps you just overfed the baby, so try the next time to give less. The volume of the mixture for the baby depends on its weight and is written on each package.

What if the baby refuses to mix, eats or eats a little mixture? This is a signal that he does not like it to taste and needs to try to change to another brand. How to understand that the mixture does not fit the baby and what to do? If the baby is crying after the mixture or there is constipation in the baby after the mixture, then it is probably necessary to choose a mixture with a more comfortable composition for digestion.

The rating of mixtures for babies is very difficult to compile, because for each child something is appropriate. Parents themselves can advise this or that mixture, but not the fact that it is your baby that is suitable. After all, they can affect the child's chair in different ways, on gas formation, on the processes of digestion. Parents' reviews once again emphasize that for each child its own mixture is good.

The best baby formula, according to pediatricians, is not a certain firm, but one that suits your baby. After all, all companies in the field of child nutrition adhere to high quality.

The use of infant formula in breastfeeding should be a very important issue, because what parents feed the baby affects their growth and development. Therefore, before switching to milk mixes, you should study all the characteristics and choose the one that will best suit your baby, not only to taste, but also on other parameters. 

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