Q: How often should my baby be eating?
A: If it’s possible for you to breast-feed, breast milk is the best food for babies. Expect your newborn to feed about every two hours. Feeding can last anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes on each side. The more the infant nurses from the breast, the quicker your milk will “come in” and the more milk you will be able to produce. Supplementing with formula can sometimes hinder successful breastfeeding.
Q: How do I know when to start feeding my baby solid food?
A: The practice of introducing solid foods and liquids other than breast milk or formula during the first year of life has varied over time and across cultures. The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that solid foods be introduced around 6 months of age. Whenever you start your child on solids, begin with foods such as mashed bananas or rice cereal.
Q: My child/baby has a fever — Now what do I do?
A: More than almost any other condition, fever causes parents to worry. Because many types of infection do not tolerate elevated temperatures, fever is nature’s way of fending off disease. For this reason, it is not necessary to get your child’s fever back to normal when they are sick. The important factor with fever is identifying the underlying cause for the fever and addressing this problem properly. If you have questions about what to do when your child has a fever, you should call your pediatrician and follow his or her advice.
Recent Comments