What kind of feeding is more useful for the child?

• Natural or artificial feeding?

Undoubtedly, natural feeding (that is, breast-feeding) is much better than artificial feeding. The tremendous advantage of breastfeeding is the absolute sterility of breast milk. In addition, breastfeeding is a huge saving of money. But the main advantage is that the child gets the most complete product for himself. There is another advantage that is often overlooked: breastfeeding better suits the baby's need for sucking. He can suck his breast as much as he wants. Therefore, children who are breastfed rarely suck their fingers.

Mothers breastfeeding their babies say that they feel great pleasure in that they give their child what no one else in the world can give him. Mother and child are happy from mutual affinity, and their love for each other is growing.

When breastfeeding, you must adhere to several rules. This is the purity, regularity, convenience of the position of the mother and the baby when feeding, alternating breasts.

Observance of cleanliness does not imply washing the breast before each feeding, but you need to wash your hands.

Regularity of feeding is not necessarily a strict adherence to a predetermined interval between feedings. Now, under regularity, we understand a regime in which a child does not starve, but eats when it is necessary for him. There are two types of feeding: feeding by the clock and a free feeding regimen.

The mode of feeding by the clock provides for 7 meals a day at intervals of 3 hours and a night 6-hour break. This mode, although more convenient for a woman (she can plan her work around the house), but not always suitable for the baby. After all, if 15-30 minutes before the next feeding the child starts to cry, it means: he is already hungry. Why should he "marinate", delivering him (and himself) unpleasant emotions.

With free feeding, the child is fed at any time, when he "asks". After all, different babies need different amounts of milk. So, children weighing less than 3.5 kg, enough three-hour interval, but sometimes children with a weight of 4 kg can not stand more than three hours.

Thus, with free-feeding in the first month, there may be 11-12 feedings. In addition, more frequent application allows to maintain lactation. With the free mode of feeding, it is most difficult to provide yourself with a full sleep, since a child can demand a breast in the middle of the night. It is possible that you will feed the first month or two at night. Although it is worth trying to withstand a night's sleep by feeding the baby at 24.00. Perhaps he will be born until 6:00.

Normal feeding usually lasts no more than 15-20 minutes, because in the first 5 minutes a child sucks 50% of the milk he needs. But children are all different: some are stronger, others are weaker; some have time to be saturated in 15 minutes, while others need 40-50 minutes. However, if you will "kill" every hour for every feeding, then you will not be able to do anything about the house. Therefore, if the baby actively sucked at first, and then began to doze, but when you try to take it away from your breast, it starts sucking again, it's best to take it from your chest. Most likely, he will get what he is currently under, in the next feeding. In addition, too long sucking can lead to cracking of the nipples.

Many people are interested in the question: Does the baby have enough milk? For this it is necessary to carry out control feeding. True, you need to have a balance for this at home. You weigh the baby before feeding, and then, after feeding, weigh again. And in the same diapers.

The difference obtained is the amount of milk sucked by the baby. True, the amount of sucked milk does not always give an answer to the question: does the child have enough food. If your child calms down after feeding, maintains the usual intervals between feedings, adds weight and grows, and a chair at him or after each feeding or, at least, at least two or three times a day, you can assume that he eats normally.

The first half a month the volume of milk eaten should be equal to 1/5 of the child's weight, from 1.5 to 4 months - 1/6.

For the first month the child should add about 600 g to the original weight (birth weight). But the fact is that in the first 3-4 days there is a so-called physiological loss of mass. This is due to the fact that in the early days the child can not eat more than 10 g - the stomach is too small! And this amount, of course, is not enough. And the child starts using his own reserves. Usually, the physiological loss of weight does not exceed 150-200 g. Thus, during the first month of life the child adds about 800 g, but if you subtract the physiological loss of mass, it turns out about 600 g. In the future, for each month to six months the child adds about 700-800 g, and the second half a year - for 400-500 g. For each individual child, the increase may be different. Do not be surprised if your child adds 1 kg to any of the months. Usually the average values remain stable for half a year.

• Should the baby be tightly wrapped before feeding and sleeping?

Previously it was believed that the child should be tightly swaddled, bind the legs, so that they are even, and if they are crooked to be leveled. It was also believed that the child's handles should be swaddled so that it does not scratch itself, is not afraid of his own hand.

Now the approaches are somewhat different. Since the child in his mother's womb was relatively free in his movements, actively moved his hands and feet, then why after birth is he wrapped tightly? Try to swaddle yourself before going to bed and go to bed. You either do not fall asleep at all, or you will wake up very soon. Scientists have proved that a person in a dream turns around every 15-20 minutes. So why should we deprive such a possibility of our most beloved little man!

If you want to immediately begin tempering, you do not need to throw the baby in cold water, like Charkovsky, but just put him to sleep naked (the room temperature should be at least 24-25 ° C). If you are not yet ready for such an extreme, then put on it a shirt, fastened in front, or a T-shirt and pants like sliders. Instead you can wear a T-shirt. To prevent the child from scratching his face, he needs to cut off the marigolds regularly. If you want, you can put on a ryazhonku with sewn up sleeves. During the sleep, the child does not need to be heavily wrapped (provided the room temperature is normal). It is clear that you are worried about not being frozen, but overheating is also a serious problem for a newborn. But going out for a walk with a stroller, especially in the cold season, it is probably better to swim a baby and at the same time observe the rule: the baby should have one layer of clothing more than you.