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Mommy & Baby: Facts On Feeding
by: Kirsten Hawkins
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How you choose to feed your baby, bottle
or breast, is a decision you alone get to make. Do not listen to
pressure from outside sources that tell you that you “must”
choose one way or another in order to be a “good mom,” or that
you are “doing harm to your baby” if you opt against what they
tell you. The fact is, your baby needs food. If you give your
baby the nutrition she needs, you are a good mom. Period!
Whatever form of feeding you choose, the most important thing to
consider is the gentle, tender cuddling you provide for your
baby during the feeding.
Mother’s milk is the complete and perfect
food, and is nothing short of miraculous. But if you choose to
feed formula, you’re not a bad mother, and you’re not doing
irreparable harm to your precious bundle of joy. While
breastfeeding is preferred by most pediatricians, there are
women who are unable to successfully nurse their babies, and
then there are moms who are unable to sustain the feeding
patterns they are told are “necessary” to breastfeed. |
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| With parent-directed feeding (PDF),
parents will feed their babies on a 2-3 flexible routine based
on the baby’s cues. Crying is a late hunger cue, so don’t assume
that your baby doesn’t need food until she cries. Some newborns
can go 5-6 hours between feedings, which is entirely inadequate
for their nutritional needs. This is why solely following baby’s
cues may lead to a sickly, undernourished baby who has failure
to thrive. Under-fed babies often lack the strength to cry and
thus don’t get fed at the appropriate intervals.
So how do you nurse successfully with PDF? You establish the
routine—most newborns can go between 2.5-3 hours between
feedings. This time is counted from the beginning of feeding to
the beginning of feeding. Latch the baby on to your breast
appropriately and allow the baby to nurse. Your child will
receive foremilk first—a watery thin milk with little nutritive
value.
As your baby drinks the foremilk, you will experience letdown
in which your glands will release the rest of the milk stored in
them—sometimes this is tingly or painful, other times moms have
no sensation. The milk your baby now gets is the hindmilk, it is
rich, fatty, and full of nutrients. The best indication that
you’ve achieved letdown is the consistent and rhythmic
swallowing as your baby nurses. Once your milk comes in, most
mommies have success nursing for 15 minutes per side, which
permits baby to receive the hindmilk she needs to grow strong
and healthy.
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