Feeding Your Infant (4-36 months)
George Skarpathiotis, M.D., S.C. provides high quality, accessible, and well-coordinated care such as: routine and urgent medical care, immunizations, chronic health care needs, and consultations. Our model of care helps simplify and streamline routine administrative needs and processes, including issuing referrals, ordering labs and imaging, and issuing prescriptions.
Some of the services we provide to our patients and parents are:
Breastmilk or iron fortified formula recommended by your doctor is all your baby needs for the first 4 - 6 months of life. If you’re breastfeeding, remember that your baby may have a growth spurt around 4 ½ months to six months of age and will want to breastfeed more often. This will last about 1 - 2 days until your milk supply increases. Breastfeed your baby as often as he/she wants.
At 4 - 6 months your baby may begin to eat cereal. Some of the signs of readiness are:
- Baby can hold head up well
- No head lag when pulled up by arms
- Can move food from the front to the back of the mouth
- Is showing some interest in food
Start with rice cereal. 1 tablespoon of dry cereal and add about 1 oz of breastmilk or formula to it. Give it once a day for about 3-4 days. Once baby is used to spoon-feeding increase the cereal to 2-3 tablespoons twice a day. Still offer formula or breastmilk after the cereal but give less than a normal feed would be. Give rice for about 2 weeks then you may introduce oatmeal cereal for about 1 week.
After your baby has tried both cereals and is able to tolerate them, you may then introduce vegetables. The recommended sequence of vegetable order is yellow-orange-green. Give the same food for about 4-5 days to make sure baby tolerates the food fine. Give a small amount the first day, 1 tablespoon, and then slowly increase up to the whole stage 1 jar.
Always introduce new foods in the morning or early afternoon. Look out for any rashes, projectile vomiting or explosive diarrhea. These would be signs of feeding intolerance.
Once your baby has tried all the vegetables, you may add fruit as a third meal. Again do only one new fruit at a time and switch every 4-5 days. At this point, your baby will be eating 3 - 4 tablespoons of cereal in the morning, fruit for lunch, and vegetables for dinner.
Bottle Feeding
| Age | Pumped Breast Milk | Infant Formula |
|---|---|---|
| 4 - 6 Months | 4 - 6 feedings per day, 6 - 8 oz per feeding |
4 - 5 feedings per day, 6 - 8 oz per feeding |
Feeding tips:
- Whether you feed your baby store bought food or make your food at home, take the amount of food out of the jar and put it in a small dish. Do not feed the baby from the jar. Return the jar to the refrigerator. Throw away any opened food after 24 hours if not used.
- When making your own food, DO NOT give home prepared spinach, beets, or carrots until your baby is a year old. Commercially prepared baby food spinach, beets, and carrots are acceptable. DO NOT use canned foods when making your own baby food.
- At about 6 months of age you can advance to Stage 2 foods if you are using commercially prepared baby foods. Once your baby is eating 3 solids a day, the bottle intake may decrease to about 20 - 24 ounces a day.
- DO NOT force feed. Your baby will turn its head away or close its mouth when full. Watch your baby’s cues.
By 6 months of age, your baby’s nutritional needs are increasing and your baby is now ready to eat more foods. Breastmilk and formula are still an important part of your baby’s diet and should be given until your baby’s first birthday.
If you’re breastfeeding during the next 6 months, each feeding may still last 20 - 30 minutes. Your baby may also want to breastfeed more often when its teeth come in.
If you’re thinking of weaning your baby off of breastmilk, do so slowly and ask your provider for tips. If you do decide to discontinue using breastmilk, iron-fortified formula should be used in place of breast milk. If you wait until your baby is one year of age, you can wean directly to whole cow’s milk given in a sippy cup.
If you have not done so yet, solid foods should be introduced to your baby.
Bottle Feeding
| Age | Pumped Breast Milk | Infant Formula |
|---|---|---|
| 6 - 9 Months | 3 - 5 feedings per day, 6 - 8 oz per feeding |
3 - 4 feedings per day, 6 - 8 oz per feeding |
Feeding tips:
- Whether you feed your baby store bought food or make your food at home, take the amount of food out of the jar and put it in a small dish. Do not feed the baby from the jar. Return the jar to the refrigerator. Throw away any opened food after 24 hours if not used.
- When making your own food, DO NOT give home prepared spinach, beets, or carrots until your baby is a year old. Commercially prepared baby food spinach, beets, and carrots are acceptable. DO NOT use canned foods when making your own baby food.
- At about 6 months of age you can advance to Stage 2 foods if you are using commercially prepared baby foods. Once your baby is eating 3 solids a day, the bottle intake may decrease to about 20 - 24 ounces a day.
- DO NOT force feed. Your baby will turn its head away or close its mouth when full. Watch your baby’s cues.
Your baby is now ready for more kinds of food. Breastmilk or formula is still an important part of your baby’s diet and should be given until your baby’s first birthday. But, now your baby will begin to eat more foods and drink less. Your baby will be interested in eating finger foods.
Breastfeeding during these 3 months is still an important part of your baby’s diet. Continue to breastfeed as long as you can. Your baby will probably breastfeed about every 4 hours with 4 - 5 feedings per day. Breastfeeding will decrease as more solid foods are given. A balance of breastmilk and solid foods is needed.
At this point, your baby is ready for table/ finger food. Some of the signs of readiness are:
- Your baby is developing the pincer grasp
- Your baby is transferring objects from one hand to another
- Your baby puts everything in his/her mouth
- Your baby moves jaw in a chewing motion
If Bottle Feeding
| Age | Pumped Breast Milk | Infant Formula |
|---|---|---|
| 9 - 12 Months | 3 - 5 feedings per day, 5 - 6 oz per feeding |
3 - 4 feedings per day, 5 - 6 oz per feeding |
Feeding tips:
- Let your baby try finger foods. Cut foods into small pieces that are easy to pick up. Good choices are: green peas, cooked cut-up green beans, cheese, sliced bananas, pieces of soft fruit, teething crackers, and toast.
- Your baby may eat foods from the table, as long as they are soft and easy to chew. DO NOT give your baby fried foods or highly seasoned foods.
- Avoid small, hard foods that may cause your baby to choke such as: raw carrots, nuts, popcorn, raisins, small candies, kernel corn or hot dogs.
- Your baby should start drinking from a sippy cup. Plan to take your baby completely of the bottle between 12 - 15 months of age.
- NEVER use honey or corn syrup.
At this age your baby can start eating what the rest of the family is eating. Encourage your child to start using a spoonfeed themselves.
After one year you may also switch to whole milk instead of breastmilk or formula.
Servings per day:
- 2 to 3 servings dairy (1 serving= 1/2 cup of milk, 1 oz of cheese, 1/2 cup of yogurt or cottage cheese)
- 4 to 6 servings of cereal and other grains (1 serving = 1/3 cup of cereal, 1/4 cup of pasta or rice, 1/2 slice of bread or bagel)
- 1/2 cup of fruit a day
- 1/2 cup of vegetables
- 2 servings of protein (1 serving = 2 tablespoons of ground meat, two 1 inch cubes meat, poultry or fish, 1 egg, 1/4 cup beans, 1 tablespoon peanut butter)
Your child will start communicating more about food choices at this point. Phrases like "more" or "all done" will also emerge.
Servings per day:
- 2 to 3 servings of dairy: (1 serving = 1/2 cup of milk, 1 oz of cheese, 1/2 cup of yogurt or cottage cheese)
- 6 servings of grains: (1 serving = 1/3 cup of cereal, 1/4 cup of pasta or rice, 1/2 slice of bread or bagel)
- 2 to 3 servings of fruit: (1 serving = 1/4 cup cooked or canned fruit, 1/2 piece fresh, 1/4 to 1/2 cup fruit juice)
- 2 to 3 servings of vegetables (1 serving = 1-2 tablespoons)
- 2 servings of protein: (1 serving = 2 tablespoons of ground meat, two 1 inch cubes meat, poultry or fish, 1 egg, 1/4 cup beans, 1 tablespoon peanut butter)