Mixed feeding of newborns: how to organize it correctly

The period of breastfeeding for every woman is accompanied by severe neurosis and anxiety. Additionally, the situation can be aggravated by doubts and fatigue. Psychological factors negatively affect the volume of milk produced. Breastfeeding is a beneficial process for mother and baby. This is evidenced by numerous scientific studies. Experts recommend extending this process to three months.

Many mothers do not have all the necessary knowledge to properly organize this process. You should not refuse it without preliminary diagnosis. It may be possible to restore lactation with the help of doctors' advice. It is also important to know how to supplement with formula while breastfeeding. The child should not remain hungry, but receive all the necessary amounts of vitamins and minerals.

Basic principles of mixed nutrition

Supplementary feeding should be used if the baby does not receive enough milk from the mother. It is allowed to use a formula whose volume is less than half of breast milk. This is necessary for a child in the following cases:

the baby is lagging behind in weight gain;
the baby was born prematurely;
the mother has to take medications that cannot be combined with breastfeeding;
circumstances that do not allow combining lactation with everyday responsibilities.

A mixed diet does not always lead to a transition to a completely artificial option. Experts recommend not exceeding the volume of formula by more than 30-50% of the total volume of breast milk. It is important to provide psychologically comfortable conditions for mother and child. Thanks to this, it is almost always possible to switch to breastfeeding six months after the baby is born.

At the first stage of transition to this feeding regimen, it is necessary to calculate the portion for which the baby does not finish eating. The easiest way to do this is with the help of a breastfeeding specialist or pediatrician. Additionally, it is recommended to learn about methods for increasing lactation in the future.

Supplementary feeding is introduced only after consultation with a doctor.

First of all, you should regularly put your baby to your breast. Constant tactile contact and expressing the remaining volume will also help increase the volume of breast milk. The supplementary feeding process can be done not only with the help of a bottle. A special spoon or syringe is also suitable for this. It is not recommended to use a pacifier as it does not teach the baby to suckle properly. He, in turn, quickly gets used to it and relaxes. The bottle disrupts the breathing process, and therefore the baby becomes restless. If the mother is constantly working, then breastfeeding the newborn must be done at least twice a day.

Supplemental feeding is done only after the baby has completely emptied both breasts. It is important to simultaneously reduce the volume of the mixture. On average, the number of times a baby is put to the breast during the day should be at least five times.

Measured bottle feeding

You can help your baby cope with bottle sucking and avoid overeating by taking periodic breaks during feeding. When you notice that the baby’s forehead is wrinkled, the eyes open wide, the fingers tense, and swallowing turns into choking, without removing the bottle from the mouth, tilt the baby a little forward so that the milk flows away from the nipple. Once he has managed the flow of milk, continue feeding. If you find it easier to remove the bottle from your baby's mouth, place the pacifier on his lips as if you were saying "shhhh" ("Quiet!") so that he doesn't get upset and knows that the food isn't going anywhere. After a pause, offer the bottle again, but if the baby refuses to eat, do not insist. This means that he is full.

Selecting a mixture and calculating the quantity

It is important to correctly calculate the required additional volume. To do this, use the following scheme:

Baby less than 10 days old – 2% of body weight.
From 10 to 60 days – one fifth of the baby’s body weight.

The feeding frequency is approximately eight times a day. With the help of supplementary feeding, you can provide your baby with all the necessary minerals and trace elements.

When choosing the manufacturer and composition of the formula, you should take into account not only the age of the child, but also the presence or absence of health problems. Appointments are made by a breastfeeding consultant. Today there is also a wide selection of mixtures that help cope with a number of problems.

The mixture is most conveniently administered using a syringe.

How to make sure your baby needs supplementary feeding

Does the baby need to be fed additionally? It is not difficult to understand that a child does not have enough food. To do this, you need to weigh him before and after each feeding, thereby calculating the amount he eats at a time and per day. For an accurate determination, you should use the table, according to which in the first days of 1 month a child needs 25–60 ml and 250–300 ml of milk per dose and per day, respectively.

At 2 months, the volume of one-time consumption increases to 125 - 150 ml, and daily consumption - to 800 g. At 3 months, the baby needs to eat up to 180 ml at a time and about 900 grams. per day. The exact amount is determined by the formula, where the result is 1/6 of his body weight.

Reasons for refusing supplementary feeding that raise doubts among parents

Mothers must take all the information into their possession in order to make a choice and organize breastfeeding. The joint option is used for a number of reasons. In this case, parents simply cannot afford to do otherwise.

Breastfeeding specialists warn mommy that the list of the following symptoms does not at all mean the need to introduce supplementary feeding:

the baby cannot calm down at the mother’s breast for a long time;
the woman notes an almost complete absence of hot flashes;
during pumping, a small volume of milk is obtained;
the baby shows a lack of weight gain;
during special weighing it was determined that the baby received an insufficient dose of milk during feeding;
the baby is capricious due to abdominal pain;
Diathesis is observed on the skin.

During the feeding process itself, gross mistakes are made. This may be indicated by an unpleasant odor from the breast and pain in the nipple area. You should also not strive to accustom your baby to a certain schedule. A woman can learn about all these nuances from a breastfeeding specialist.

Mommy needs to listen to her baby. It is not allowed to introduce feeding according to a certain scheme for children under one year old. It was suggested by Soviet pediatricians. However, statistical studies have determined that its use is inappropriate. This is especially true for babies on mixed feeding. Some doctors try to almost forcefully transfer the child to artificial feeding. Thanks to this, you can easily calculate the portion and feed your baby according to a certain time. It is also impossible to accurately track the composition of a mother's milk, since she eats different foods and dishes every day. Based on such reasoning, some doctors seek to make their life easier and advise switching to mixtures. Most often this is not advisable. In any case, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the child’s body and the presence of any diseases.

The risk of giving in to your fears and doubts also increases. Today, all pediatricians strive to dispel them as much as possible. The doctor must analyze each case separately and use all possible ways to preserve and restore lactation. Unfortunately, it is rarely possible to find a specialist of the required level in a regular city clinic.

Until the child is three months old, a woman should be attentive to herself. You need to ensure yourself a good night's sleep before six in the morning. At the same time, you need to carefully monitor your weight gain according to the table. The pediatric approach is regularly reviewed, so blind reliance on it is not recommended. Parents should carefully monitor the baby and trust their inner instinct.

Most often, a woman refuses to breastfeed of her own free will. At the same time, she is embarrassed to express it out loud and tries to do it in a roundabout way. In this case, the body senses her mood and tries to succumb to the demands. It should be noted that after breast milk it becomes easier for the baby to constantly eat formula. A woman’s body instantly reacts to her mood. This is why in some cases milk disappears due to excessive headaches due to fatigue. In this case, even lactogonic drugs and teas may be ineffective. Mood is a complex thing, on which a large number of processes depend. If a woman has no desire to breastfeed, then it is best to switch directly to the artificial option. In this case, it will be possible to save your nerves and provide the baby with everything necessary.

When malnourished, the child becomes irritable

A woman is always looking for excuses if she does not want to breastfeed. If there is a need to improve the flow of milk, then, on the contrary, she will use all available methods and look for information on this issue everywhere. To do this, schemes are implemented to calculate the required amount of power. The main thing is to find an effective option, and not just look for an excuse. There is no compromise on this issue. In this way, the woman is trying to completely relieve herself of responsibility for feeding the baby. Experts do not recommend forcing the mother herself to continue breastfeeding. Indeed, in this case, negative emotions will be transmitted to the child, which are guaranteed to have a negative impact on his well-being. Artificial feeding can easily solve such a difficult problem.

Studies have shown that the baby and mother should not be separated for long after childbirth. Otherwise, their connection is broken. Because of this, it is impossible to completely avoid hormonal imbalance, which in turn can lead to a decrease in the volume of milk in the mother’s body. Lactation, as a rule, fades away gradually. For example, it was found that if even someone else’s child is placed on a woman’s breast, the milk begins to actively flow. If a mother sincerely wants to feed her baby, then she will be able to psychologically overcome any obstacles and continue this process. Regular latching of the baby awakens the maternal instinct. Separation, on the contrary, can play a cruel joke and reduce its production. Common sense and the health of the baby should always remain first. You can improve lactation if you use all available and correct means.

System for simultaneous supply of breast milk and formula

During breastfeeding, lactation crises can occur quite often. As a rule, this process happens after the third month. The baby begins not to eat enough due to a small amount of milk.

This is easy to understand by a number of symptoms:

the baby does not want to take the nipple into his mouth;
there is severe irritability;
insufficient weight gain.

In this case, it is advisable to supplement the diet using an artificial formula. It will be possible to overcome the crisis without harm to the body of the mother and child.

Based on the external characteristics of the breast, it is not possible to correctly determine whether the baby is full. To do this, it is best to count the wet diapers that remain from the baby during the day. The normal number is ten to twelve. In this case, you should not forcefully give your baby artificial formula. A woman must constantly be in a normal emotional state; only in this case will she be able to unload her body.

The woman will certainly be put under pressure by relatives who will begin to doubt the amount of milk and the woman’s desire to breastfeed. In this case, you should not think only about self-realization. The baby's health should always come first. Postpartum courses can solve the problem, which will provide the woman with all the necessary information on a particular issue. Discussion of the problem can be found on forums on the Internet. Here people with similar problems gather and share their experiences in the process of solving them.

A well-fed child is the joy of parents

For babies from birth

These are optimally adapted infant formulas for supplementary feeding: they are as close as possible to breast milk. All of them are similar in their chemical composition and are enriched with the appropriate vitamin and mineral complex. The protein levels in such products should not exceed 1.6 g per 100 ml - the closer they are to breast milk (0.8-1.2 g/ml), the better the mixture will be absorbed by the child’s body and the less stress will be on the child’s kidneys . Pay attention also to the composition of the proteins. Casein protein predominates in cow's milk. It should be noted that it is poorly absorbed by the baby’s body. Therefore, whey proteins are additionally added to the mixture. The optimal ratio in this case is 40:60 (in favor of whey). The fat content in infant formula should be 3.5%. Moreover, milk fats are partially or completely replaced by vegetable fats: corn, sunflower or coconut oil. The most favorable ratio of calcium and fluoride is 2:1. It is in this proportion that both of these elements are best absorbed by the baby’s body.

Statistical data

Scientists were able to record the following facts during mixed feeding:

We recommend reading: Why a newborn does not get enough breast milk

When milk and formula enter the body, a different form of intestinal microflora is formed in the baby.
A detailed study of the structure of the gastrointestinal tract revealed different pH levels. This indicator is especially important in the first few days of a baby’s life. When breastfeeding, the likelihood of pathogenic bacteria developing and multiplying is less. There is also a bacterial flora that prevents putrefactive processes from starting.
If supplementary feeding is done in the first seven days of life, then in the future it will not be possible to form the correct acid-base environment in the intestines.
The use of mixed nutrition allows the formation of intestinal flora, which is completely similar to babies on artificial nutrition.
Supplementary feeding leads to the fact that bifidobacteria begin to dominate in the baby’s intestines. In parallel with this, colonization with anaerobic flora is carried out.
A small dose of the mixture instantly changes the structure of the microflora. The duration of the process is one day.
The mixture disrupts the entire intestinal system, and its further restoration will be difficult.
If the baby is likely to have an allergic reaction, the mixture can increase this sensitivity. However, planned supplementary feeding can be done in any case during the first three days of the baby’s life.