Track your health and
nutrition the easy way.

Before your child is born, it is important to decide whether you will be formula feeding or breastfeeding. This is a personal choice, and one that you and your partner should decide together, before your baby is born. Most formula fed newborns will eat every two to four hours, taking two to three ounces of forumla at a time. Most breastfed newborns will eat every one and a half to three hours, feeding for ten to fifteen minutes on each breast. By four to eight weeks, your baby should be on a more predictable schedule. Always be sure to burp baby during and after feeding. Burping your baby every two ounces will help him to release air that could cause gas later on.

Bottle Preparation

Clean bottles well with soap and warm water immediately after use and before next feeding. Follow complete instructions on package for preparation directions. Never dilute your baby’s formula to save money! This starves your baby of the nutrition he needs to develop properly. Pay close attention to your baby’s incoming teeth. Don’t microwave your baby’s bottle, as it can create hot spots in the bottle and seriously injure your baby. Don’t boil water for powdered formula - it is not necessary and can make the formula too hot. Warm tap water is fine. Don’t leave prepared bottles un-refrigerated, since prepared formula can spoil and make your baby sick.

Feeding habits to avoid

Propping a bottle where your baby can drink is very dangerous, as your baby cannot control the bottle, and can easily drown or choke. Giving a breastfed baby a bottle before he is four to six weeks old can confuse him and make him refuse the breast. Putting a bottle in bed with the baby also poses a choking risk, as well as causing tooth decay. Putting cereal in the bottle can expose your baby to too many calories too fast. This may lead to overeating habits, obesity, or even diabetes later in life. Feeding honey to a baby is dangerous because of honey's consistency. This is a choking hazard. Introducing solids before four to six months may cause your baby gas pain, because he cannot digest the food yet. It can also lead to overeating habits, obesity, or diabetes, like feeding cereal too early.