A new mother does not need to be confounded by what food to feed her newborn. Scheduling your new baby's feedings is equally as easy, reports MayoClinic.com--most newborn babies get hungry every two or three hours and require around eight to 12 feedings each day. Your newborn's food of choice is breast milk, recommends both MayoClinic.com and the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, if you opt out of breastfeeding, an iron-fortified formula is also sufficient.
About Your Newborn
Your baby is born with certain primitive reflexes, says the Nemours Foundation. One of these is the sucking reflex, which makes your baby instinctively suck on your nipple or the soft nipple of a bottle. Until the age of 4 to 6 months, when soft solids can be added to your baby's diet, suckling is coupled with a tongue thrust reflex. This reflex causes your baby to push his tongue against a feeding spoon and other hard foods when you insert them into his mouth, according to the AAP. Don't feed your newborn solid foods. Only breast milk or baby formula is recommended for the first 4 to 6 months of your child's life.
The Best Food
Breast milk has distinct advantages as a sole source of nutrition. According to the Nemours Foundation, breast milk has all the vitamins and minerals your baby needs to grow. The lactose, whey, casein and fat in breast milk makes it easy for your newborn's fledgling digestive system to process. Breath milk also contains antibodies that protect your child against infectious diseases. The Nemours Foundation states that breastfed children are less likely to develop certain health conditions later in life, such as high cholesterol, allergies, asthma, diabetes and obesity. The American Academy of Family Physician's policy statement recommends that all newborns and babies be breastfed for the first six months of life, "with rare exceptions."
Other Options
Commercial formulas mimic the composition of breast milk, and while they come close, they're not quite the same, says the Nemours Foundation. If you can't breastfeed or choose not to, formula provides an efficient, attractive Plan B. MayoClinic.com says that most baby formulas are made from modified cow's milk, making it easier for your newborn to digest. For babies who are allergic to the protein in cow's milk, a soy-based formula or hypoallergenic protein hydrolysate formula may be substituted. MayoClinic.com strongly advises you choose an iron-fortified brand, if you choose formula to feed your newborn.
Supplementation
One caveat to breastfeeding is that mother's milk is deficient in vitamin D, which your newborn needs to absorb calcium and phosphorus needed to grow strong, healthy bones, according to MayoClinic.com. If you breastfeed your baby exclusively until he's 4 to 6 months of age, iron supplements may also be necessary. Ask your baby's doctor about whether supplemental vitamin D and/or iron is advisable. Otherwise, no other vitamins or supplements for children under 6 months of age are necessary, says the AAP.
Integrating Solid Foods
Your baby needs no other food than breast milk or formula until the age of between 4 and 6 months, when soft solids can be integrated into his daily diet as a supplement to breast or formula feedings. According to the AAP, most doctors point to rice cereal as the ideal first solid for your baby, followed by oatmeal and barley. Wheat and mixed-grain cereals should be offered last, due to the possibility of an allergic reaction.
