How much and how often your infant feeds aren't necessarily signs of whether he is eating enough. On the other hand, failure to gain weight, nursing less frequently and wetting fewer diapers each day could indicate that your child isn’t getting adequate nutrition. Although breast milk provides the most nutrients for a baby, commercial infant formulas contain nutrients similar to those found in breast milk. If your infant is eating nutritiously, he should be gaining weight – eating more at each feeding, but less frequently throughout the day.
Step 1
Give your baby iron-fortified infant formula if you are not breastfeeding. According to Mayo.Clinic.com, some studies suggest that infant formulas enhanced with omega-3 fatty acids found in breast milk may contribute to brain development. Some infant formulas also contain probiotics, which can help boost a baby’s immune system, similarly to breast milk. Probiotics are good bacteria that reduce the growth of harmful bacteria in the digestive tract.
Step 2
Increase the number of calories your baby consumes in a day by adding an extra scoop of powdered formula to 8 ounces of prepared formula. This will bring each ounce of formula up to 25 calories. Although most concentrated formulas call for mixing equal amounts of formula and water, your baby’s pediatrician may instruct you to do otherwise. For infants 6 to 9 months of age, add one tablespoon of dry infant cereal to a 4-ounce jar of strained vegetable or fruit. Instead of peaches, pears and carrots, feed your baby higher-calorie foods such as bananas, peas, sweet potato and squash.
Step 3
Ask your pediatrician whether your infant needs a vitamin supplement, especially if she is drinking less than 32 ounces of formula each day. Generally, infants who are breastfed do not need supplements. However, if your baby was born prematurely or needs to put on more weight, your pediatrician may prescribe vitamins, iron or other mineral supplements. Sometimes preterm infants and other babies with a low birth weight require a special formula.
Step 4
Start feeding your baby some solid foods between the ages of 4 and 6 months. Before that time, your infant should be getting enough nutrition from formula or breast milk. Cow’s milk is not an adequate source of nutrition for babies under the age of 1, as it does not contain enough of the iron babies need to grow. Signs that your baby may be ready to add solid foods to his diet include holding his head upright, sitting without support and watching others eat.
Step 5
Begin by feeding your infant baby cereal. Once she masters that, give her baby foods or pureed foods. At first, give her foods that contain only one ingredient. Introduce a new food every three to five days to simplify the task of identifying any potential food allergies.
Step 6
Select infant cereals that contain the nutrients protein and iron. Your baby’s cereal should provide at least 1 gram of protein per serving and a minimum of 3 milligrams of iron, recommends Dr. William Sears, pediatrician and family nutrition expert. Infant cereals are enriched with iron since they usually supply about half of a child’s daily requirement for iron after being weaned from breast milk or formula. Choose cereals that contain whole wheat, oats and barley – all high-fiber grains. White rice cereals are easy for babies to digest but are low in fiber.
Things You'll Need
- Breast milk or formula
- Strained or pureed foods
- Whole-grain baby cereals
