What Is a Baby Feeding Schedule?
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JOHN WHYTE: Hello.
I'm Dr. John Whyte, the Chief
Medical Officer for WebMD.
Most people have had RSV,
or Respiratory Syncytial Virus,
by their second birthday.
But it's not just a virus that
affects children.
You can get it again at any age.
And for many older adults,
it can lead to hospitalization
and a serious illness.
To help dispel the myths
about who gets RSV,
I'm here today with Dr.
Archibald Pannone,
a geriatrician from UVA health.
Thanks for joining me.
LAURIE ARCHBALD-PANNONE: Thank
you for having me.
JOHN WHYTE: Why do people think
of RSV as a pediatric disease?
Why are we hearing about it now
in older adults?
LAURIE ARCHBALD-PANNONE: RSV,
or Respiratory Syncytial Virus,
can infect any of us.
But when we see the worst
outcomes, we see the worst
outcomes in small children
and older adults.
And what we've seen
over the past decade or so
is that not only are more
older adults becoming infected
with RSV,
but more older adults are having
bad outcomes
from their infections with RSV.
So we're seeing older adults,
my patients, the people
I see in clinic,
we're seeing them get infected
with RSV,
get pneumonia, become ill,
requiring hospitalization
and sometimes
serious hospitalizations.
JOHN WHYTE: How serious is RSV
for older adults?
LAURIE ARCHBALD-PANNONE:
As we get older or if we have
any other sort of underlying
medical conditions,
we can be more at risk
for having
significant infections,
significant clinical
implications from infections,
including shortness of breath.
We can develop pneumonia.
We can require hospitalization
that maybe we need to use
supplemental oxygen or even
a breathing machine.
As we get older as we have more
medical conditions,
we're at higher risk for having
those types of bad infections
if we get infected with RSV.
JOHN WHYTE: Who should consider
getting the vaccine?
LAURIE ARCHBALD-PANNONE: So
the vaccine can prevent
infection, but what it's really,
really good at
is preventing bad infection.
And so older adults, and older
adults especially with any sort
of underlying medical condition
like lung diseases,
cardiac diseases, but really,
any older adult, should consider
getting the RSV vaccine
because it really is the best
opportunity we have to decrease
our risk of having a bad RSV
outcome from either not getting
it at all or having it just
be a minor cold.
What do older adults need
to know about RSV
and how to protect themselves
from it?
RSV is a respiratory virus.
And so it's transmitted
in the air similar to the flu
virus or COVID.
Some important things to keep
in mind in terms of keeping
ourselves safe
are to not be around someone
if they're actively sick or ill,
to keep our distance until we
get better.
We can practice good hand
hygiene, like using hand
sanitizers or washing our
hands properly
as we're going through our day.
We can also make sure that we're
up to date
on all of our vaccines
to make sure that our body has
the best protection that we can.
And if we do start to feel sick,
it's important that we call
our medical team to make
sure we're getting the best
care as soon as we can.
JOHN WHYTE: Thank you
for sharing
this important information
with us today.
It a pleasure talking to you.
LAURIE ARCHBALD-PANNONE: Thank
you so much for having me.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
It’s simple: You should nurse or offer a bottle whenever your little one is hungry in the first few months as a newborn. And your baby is going to let you know, loud and clear! But crying isn’t the only clue.
Following your child's lead, instead of trying to stick to a strict time-based schedule, is often called “demand feeding” or “feeding on-demand.” Since your infant can't actually say "I'm hungry,” you’ll want to learn to look for cues that it's time to eat. These may include:
- Leaning toward your breast or a bottle
- Sucking on their hands or fingers
- Opening their mouth, sticking out their tongue, or puckering their lips
- Fussiness
Crying is also a sign of hunger. But if you wait until your baby is very upset to feed them, it can be hard to calm them down.
How Often Should I Feed My Baby?
Every child is different. It also depends on whether your baby is drinking breast milk or formula, since they digest breast milk more quickly.
If you're breastfeeding, your newborn will probably want to nurse every 1.5 to 3 hours. As they get older, they’ll slowly start to nurse less often and fall into a more predictable pattern.
Newborns should nurse eight to 12 times a day for the first month; when your child gets to be 4 to 8 weeks old, they’ll probably start nursing seven to nine times a day.
If they’re drinking formula, your baby will probably want a bottle every 2 to 3 hours at first. As your child grows, they should be able to go 3 to 4 hours without eating.
Newborn growth spurts and hunger
You may notice that your baby sometimes wants to eat more often or a larger amount than normal. This usually happens when a child is growing rapidly. Your child may go through growth spurts around these ages:
- 7-14 days
- 3-6 weeks
- 4 months
- 6 months
How Much Should I Feed My Baby?
There are general guidelines, but no hard and fast rules, for how much your baby should have at each feeding. It depends on their own habits and rate of growth, plus a few other things, such as their age and how often they feed.
Babies usually drink more each time (and feed less often) as they grow and their stomachs can hold more. If you breastfeed, your baby may drink a little less each time but feed more often than babies who get formula.
Most babies add about 1 ounce to what they drink per feeding with each month of age. This levels off when they’re about 6 months old, when they usually drink 7 to 8 ounces per feeding. Here’s about much your baby should drink at each feeding when they are:
- Newborn to 2 months.In the first days after your baby is born, they may want only a half ounce of milk or formula at each feeding. This will quickly increase to 1 or 2 ounces. By the time they’re 2 weeks old, they should drink about 2 or 3 ounces per feeding.
- 2-4 months.At this age, your baby should drink about 4 to 5 ounces per feeding.
- 4-6 months. At 4 months, your baby should drink about 4 to 6 ounces per feeding. By the time your baby is 6 months old, they’ll probably drink up to 8 ounces each time you feed them.
Not sure if your baby is getting enough to eat? You can probably relax. If your child has four to six wet diapers a day, has regular bowel movements, and is gaining weight, chances are that they’re doing just fine. If you have any concerns, give your pediatrician a call.
When to Start Solids
Your baby needs to reach certain stages of development before you add solid food to their diet. If you breastfeed, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests that you feed your baby breast milk alone until they’re about 6 months old. Many babies are ready for solids when they’re about this age.
Here’s how to tell if your baby may be ready for solid food:
- They can hold up their head and keep it steady while seated in a high chair or other infant seat.
- They open their mouth for food or reach out for it.
- They put their hands or toys in their mouth.
- They can take food from a spoon and swallow it instead of dribbling it all out.
- They have doubled their birth weight and weigh at least 13 pounds.
When to Wean
Most babies are ready to be weaned from the bottle by 12 to 18 months, but exactly when it happens is up to you and to your baby. Your baby may be ready to start to wean when they:
- Enjoy solid food more
- Eat on a regular schedule
The process takes time, and you can help your baby make the change by giving them a cup to try when they’re around 6 months old. Generally, you should stop bottle use by the time your baby is 2 years old.
If you breastfeed, the AAP suggests that you continue to feed your baby breast milk along with solid food until they’re at least 1 year old. Your child may give you clues that they’re ready to wean. They may:
- Show more interest in solid food or drinking from a cup
- Not want to sit still while you breastfeed
You may want to wean your baby for your own reasons. The process works best when it’s gradual. The AAP notes that if it’s what you and your child want, you can continue to breastfeed after your baby reaches their first birthday. Make sure your baby is getting enough calories, as breastmilk or formula are not enough after age 1.
