Babies Need Only Breast Milk or Formula Now
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding your baby for a year. Breastfed babies are less likely to get colds, ear infections, diarrhea, and allergies and are less likely to experience Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), diabetes, and obesity. Breastfeeding also helps immunizations work better, but breastfeeding alone doesn’t protect your baby from diseases that vaccines can prevent. Be careful about buying or sharing breastmilk. It could be dangerous for babies. If breastmilk isn’t bought from a safe source or isn’t handled properly, babies can get sick. Ask for help if you’re having trouble breastfeeding. Talk to your doctor about connecting with a lactation consultant. For answers to breastfeeding questions, visit http://www.lllofwa.org/helplines. If you're on the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, call your local WIC clinic.
Vitamin D is important for everyone. Give a vitamin D supplement to your baby if you breastfeed or if your baby drinks less than 32 ounces of formula a day. Ask your baby’s doctor or nurse about an iron supplement if you only breastfeed or more than half of your baby’s feedings are breastmilk. Your baby may need an iron supplement until iron rich foods are introduced at six months of age.
Hold your baby and talk to him or her while feeding. Your baby needs to cuddle with you and look at your face even when he or she is able to hold a bottle.
Your baby's tummy won’t be ready for solid foods, including baby cereal, until about four to six months of age. You'll know your baby is ready when he or she can sit with support, hold head steady, and swallow food from a spoon. Feeding your baby solids before he or she is ready may increase risk of obesity, food allergies, and constipation. Adding cereal to your baby's bottle won’t help him or her fall asleep or sleep longer.
Read the Nutrition for Infants, Birth to Six Months (PDF) brochure for more helpful information.