Proper Feeding of a Newborn

New mothers always worry about doing everything just right from holding their precious bundles of joy to feeding and caring for them. When moms bring their newborns home they can be overwhelmed with new responsibility and worry. How will you know your baby is getting everything he or she needs? How do you know if you are feeding your newborn properly?

Fortunately, the nurses at the hospital help new moms with diapering, breast feeding, or even bottle feeding baby. New moms are even sent home with feeding instructions, just in case. If you are a new mom and you have questions your pediatrician is more than happy to help. They have heard them a million times before, so do not be embarrassed to ask.

Follow the instructions you have received from the hospital. Newborns usually eat every three hours. If your baby is crying for food between feedings, then you need to consult the pediatrician and feed that child more.

When you first bring your newborn home, he or she will eat about three ounces of formula. You will need to burp your baby after every ounce. If you forget to burp your baby, he or she will get air in their tummy and it will cause discomfort and spit-up. If you are breast feeding, you will want to burp your baby when you change sides.

Breast feeding causes a lot of worry for a mom because there is no way for her to know when or if her baby has gotten enough food. Mom can relax. Most babies know what their bodies need to sustain them because they have a survival instinct. They will actually tell you when they are full. If you keep putting food in their mouth though, they will eventually eat, but they will also get sick.

Newborns sleep a lot. If they sleep through their feeding time, you have two choices. You can try to keep them awake and feed them so they are on a schedule, or you can let them sleep through their feeding time and feed them when they wake up. Newborns will let you know when they are hungry. At night you may consider letting them sleep through their feeding if they do not wake up on their own.

If you do not feed them every three hours exactly, they will cry for their food. It is important to give them two to three hours in between feedings so they can digest their food. Feeding after three hours is also best to reduce acid reflux in newborns.

If your baby is happy between feedings and not getting hungry, then you are feeding your child properly. If you are feeding your newborn as recommended and you are burping your newborn as recommended, you are probably feeding your child properly. If your baby does not tell you how much food he or she needs and you feel you are overfeeding, consult a pediatrician. You really do not need to worry about overfeeding because most babies will throw up if they have too much food. Do what your maternal instinct and your pediatrician tells you and your baby will be fine.