Breast and Formula Feeds
The amount of formula taken during a feed will vary from one infant to the next. The table below is a general resource on typical feeding amounts. Paying attention to your infant’s signals to help figure out when he/she is hungry, or becoming full during a feed, will help you understand how best to handle your baby’s nutritional needs.
Age | Average amount taken each feed | Frequency |
Newborn | 2-3 ounces (60-90 ml) | Every 2-3 hours |
1 months old | 4 ounces (120 ml) | Every 3-4 hours |
2 months old | 5 ounces (150 ml) | Every 4-5 hours |
4 months old | 6 ounces (180 ml) | Every 4-5 hours |
6 months old | 6-8 ounces (180-240 ml) | Every 4-5 hours |
**As your baby grows and settles into higher feeding volumes, he/she should not drink more than 32 ounces (960 ml) in a twenty-four-hour period.
Starting Solids
Before too long, you will begin to wonder about when and how to introduce solid/puréed foods into your child’s diet. Current guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests introducing solids at about 6 months old. However, infants as young as 4 months old may start to show signs of readiness and interest in experiencing solid foods.
Knowing the signs of readiness is an important part of introducing purées at an appropriate time. Some indicators that your child may be developmentally ready for solids include:
Once you’ve determined that your child is ready to start solid foods, deciding on what to feed them and how much will naturally be your next questions. In the recent past, parents could count on receiving very specific instructions on what color sequence, food type, and order of flavors to introduce. Guess what, you’ll be glad to know that according to updated guidelines offered by the American Academy of Pediatrics, introducing solids can be done with a lot more flexibility and fun.
Here are some tips to help get you and your baby started on your food adventures:
** Special note: Cow’s milk introduction before 1 year old is not recommended. However, you may introduce processed dairy products such as yogurt into your baby’s diet before their first birthday.
Ensuring that your infant is getting adequate rest is an important part of his/her growth and development. Just like older children and adults, there will be some variation in the amount of time spent sleeping. Most young infants require somewhere between 14-16 hours of sleep over a 24-hour period. During the first few months of life, you will notice that your baby will only sleep for periods of about 2-4 hours, mostly due to the need to wake for feeds. These “blocks” of sleep will gradually lengthen, and sometime between 4-6 months old, this will become 6-8 hour periods of sleep. Naps will still be a part of your daily routine and for those infants over 6 months, anywhere from 2-4 naps will be required up until a year old.
Over the first two to three months, your infant should start to normalize their sleep-wake cycle, developing a pattern similar to our own. To promote this transition, maximize interactions with your baby when he/she is awake during the day. Providing stimulating playtime, for example, in a well-lit environment will help you achieve this. At night, focus on predictably soothing bedtime routines. Given enough time, the natural sleep rhythm will take shape.
By the time your infant is 6 months old and likely sleeping for longer stretches at night, it is not unreasonable to begin teaching him/her how to self soothe. To start developing this ability, get in the habit of putting your baby to bed while drowsy. Placing your infant in his/her crib while drowsy but still awake will help to break the association that someone is needed in order to settle himself/herself back to sleep.
After conquering these initial milestones, you may feel as if you are on cruise control, when all of a sudden, nighttime wakings resurface. There is a simple explanation for this seemingly inconvenient situation. Around 9 months old (may be earlier for some infants), babies develop the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen. In other words, they realize that when you leave a room, you are not gone forever; all they need to do is summon you with a cry. The good news is that this sleep milestone won’t last forever and there’s a healthy way to get through it all. First, continue to maintain nurturing bedtime routines. Then, if your infant does awaken during the night, simply check in and help settle him/her back to sleep. Over time you will notice that your child will develop the ability to return to sleep independently.
SIDS
Just as much as it is a priority to establish regular routines for good sleep hygiene, it is even more important to ensure a safe sleep environment. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) claims the lives of a significant number of infants each year in the United States. SIDS is the sudden and unexpected death of a baby younger than 1 year old. Placing your infant on his/her back to sleep (for naps or at night) on a firm mattress with well-fitted sheets, is one of the most important things you can do to reduce the risk of SIDS. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has developed a list of recommendations that has been shown to reduce the risk of sleep-related deaths in this age group.
Please familiarize yourself with these recommendations and do share them with anyone who helps you care for your infant:
Watching your baby develop new skills and abilities while exploring the world around them comes with lots of anticipation and excitement. Keeping up with routine well-child visits and discussing any concerns you may have with your pediatrician will help your child achieve their maximum potential each step of the way.
Every child develops at their own pace. However, there are generally accepted timeframes for which certain abilities are expected to emerge. These abilities are known as developmental milestones. Interacting with your child regularly to help promote growth in the areas of social, language, cognitive/thinking, and motor skills will help with their progress. Additionally, identifying “red flags” in their development is very important. A red flag signals that a child may be at risk of not achieving an expected milestone. Early referrals and evaluations are key steps in addressing any possible delays. In fact, obtaining a baseline developmental evaluation for any concerns is as simple as contacting your state’s early intervention program. It does not require a referral. For patients of our clinic, we welcome you to discuss your concerns with us and utilize the link below to initiate an evaluation of your child’s development at anytime:
Nevada’s Early Intervention Programs
Please use the checklist links below in conjunction with routine visits to your pediatrician to help monitor your child’s progress: