Often in the maternity home of young mothers, panic is covered: "Does my child have enough milk?", "Does he get everything he needs from my milk or does he need supplementation?". The task of our today's article is not only to acquaint you with the meaning of the key pediatric term "supplementary supplement", but also to determine the basic rules for the introduction of supplementary feeding for a child who is breastfeeding.
What is supplementation?
First of all, let's talk about the difference between "complementary" and "complementary". While with the lure it is necessary to encounter any kid (these are all kinds of mushrooms and juices that are allowed to enter the baby's menu when he turns 6 months old), not every child needs supplementary supplement, but only one who lacks the amount of mother's milk. Supplementary feeding, then with a milk formula or donor milk, the mother's lack of milk for a baby breastfeeding is being filled.
The introduction of complementary feeding is an extremely important event, especially for the newborn. Necessity and the scheme of its introduction are determined by the attending pediatrician on the basis of objective indications. You can not assume that you do not have enough milk if the child adds weight, is cheerful and is satisfied with his life; a small amount of your milk can indicate both its chemical characteristics and the individual needs of your child.
How to enter and give supplementary feeding?
But if your attending physician still determined that the child needs supplementation, take note of the following immutable rules for its introduction:
- With the introduction of a supplement for breastfeeding during breastfeeding, attention should be paid to the minimal changes in the child's stool, the condition of the skin, the mood of the baby. Incorrect mix selection can lead to sleepless nights, and to irritability, indicating that this mixture does not suit you.
- The smaller the child, the more gastroenterological or allergic problems in the anamnesis (in parents, grandparents, the baby), the better the mixture should be. In this case, it is best to introduce the first supplement
in the form of hydrolyzate proteins - mixtures, for the assimilation of which the least effort is required from the digestive tract of the baby, and gradually switch to "ordinary" mixtures, whose variety on the shelves of stores increases every year. - Supplementation can be given only after the child is first put on the breast (otherwise, the amount of milk produced by the mother's breast will only decrease).
- If the amount of supplement is small, it should be given from a spoon or from a cup; if the volume is large, use only a hard pacifier with a small hole, so that the mixture does not flow out by itself, but comes out drop by drop when sucking. Thus, the process of this sucking is simulated, and the child does not lose the habit of "working" to get his milk.
Finally remember that the best food for crumbs is the milk of its mother, so try to minimize the amount of complementary foods, even if its need is determined by specialists.