3 MONTHS and laughing!
VITAMIN D Reminder: The CDC recommends all infants who drink LESS than 32 oz (1 L) of formula daily to receive 400 IU of vit D. Especially at northern latitudes, and especially dark-skinned infants who have higher levels of melanin to block UV light absorption, vitamin D supplements help ensure a healthy immune system, bones and teeth. See our post on vitamins for more information.
GROWTH: At about 3 months of age, most babies slow down their growth rate; they won’t be gaining weight or length as fast as when they were a newborn. As a general rule, baby girls usually double their birth weight by 4-6 months, and baby boys double their birth weight by 3-5 months. As long as they are growing consistently (it’s normal for growth to gradually fluctuate across 1-2 channels on their growth chart) and your health care provider is not concerned, all is well! You can always call us if you have specific concerns.
BOTTLE FEEDING Reminder: If your baby takes breast milk or formula in a bottle, always hold your baby while bottle feeding, never prop the bottle, lay baby down to sleep with the bottle, or put juice, cereal or anything other than formula (mixed properly) or breast milk in the bottle. You want your baby to bond with YOU, not to the bottle! Maintain eye contact with your baby while they are feeding. Babies have meals and snacks just like we do, and they won’t always take the same amount. Always hold the bottle in a “gravity-neutral” position so your baby can take the feeding at their own pace, take breaks, and take as much or as little as they need. See our Bottle Feeding Guide for more detailed information.
WHEN TO START SOLIDS: The most recent guidelines on infant feeding make a distinction between TASTING vs EATING. Research is showing that babies who are exposed early (as early as 4 months) to “tiny tastes” of food tend to become better eaters and accept a wider variety of food. If you are exclusively breastfeeding your baby is already getting hints of different flavors through your milk; for example, if you eat a lot of garlic, your baby will taste the garlic in your milk. It is OK to dab small amounts of liquid or pureed food of any kind on your baby’s lips or tongue (soup, sauce, or rub your finger on a fruit or cooked vegetable) so they start getting exposed to different flavors. However, please wait until your baby is developmentally ready to take larger amounts of food from a spoon that requires them to move it around in their mouth and swallow it.
Signs of being ready for spoon feeding include:
- Sitting up with little support
- Good head control/neck strength
- Showing a very strong interested in food
- Able to reach out, grab, and bring something to mouth
- When you touch your baby’s lips, he opens his mouth and his tongue stays back and flat in his mouth instead of coming forward to suck (he is losing the rooting reflex)
We hope you have received news about our INFANT FEEDING CLASS. It is free, offered the first Thursday of each month from 6:30 – 7:30 pm either virtually or in the classroom (location updated monthly). You can bring your baby and anyone else who is interested in attending! We teach you everything you need to know about starting your baby on solids, including showing a video and doing a “taste-test” so that you can experience for yourself how your baby learns to chew and swallow different textures of food. Most parents are worried about their baby choking, and we spent time on this topic too. Contact us if you would like to attend this class and we’ll get you on our list!
DISCLAIMER: We know when you surf the web for information, you can get conflicting results, and it’s not easy to know whether you are finding evidence-based, high quality recommendations. That’s part of our job here at Kodiak KINDNESS; we are here to support your informed decisions about infant feeding through your baby’s first year. We’ve done some background work, and to the best of our knowledge, this post reflects current best practices. However, the information contained in this post and any links contained herein is for your informational use only; it is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Furthermore, Kodiak KINDNESS is not responsible for the accuracy of any information contained in this post or links contained herein; it is for you to review at your own risk and discuss, as needed, with your health care professional in order to make a plan that suits your individual circumstances.