Nurture and Nourish

A Nutrition Guide for New Moms sponsored by:

This resource offers practical nutrition tips, recipes, and evidence-based learning modules to support mom and baby’s growth and wellness from day one!

– Learning Modules

Prenatal nutrition is very important and the first step to ensuring health and wellness for you and your baby!

Check out our learning modules to learn more about prenatal nutrition and nutrition for healthy moms during substance abuse recovery!

Prenatal nutrition provides the essential nutrients that support your baby’s growth and your health during pregnancy. Learn more here.

Good nutrition helps restore physical health, stabilize mood, and support the body’s healing during addiction recovery.

Baby’s First Few Months

AAP, WIC, USDA Nutrition Recommendations:

Breastmilk or formula should be your child’s sole nutritional source for six months. When you add solid foods to your baby’s diet, continue breastfeeding until at least 12 months or longer. During this time, you and your pediatrician will need to pay attention to her feeding pattern and make sure that she’s getting enough for growth.

One of the most common questions new parents have is how often their baby should eat.

The best answer is surprisingly simple: in general, babies should be fed whenever they seem hungry.

For babies born prematurely or with certain medical conditions, scheduled feedings advised by your pediatrician are best.

For most healthy, full-term infants, parents can look to their baby rather than the clock. This is called feeding on demand, or responsive feeding.

Hunger Cues

• A hungry baby often will cry. But it’s best to watch for hunger cues before the baby starts crying, which is a late sign of hunger and can make it hard for them to settle down and eat
• Some other typical hunger cues in babies
  • Licking lips
  • Sticking tongue out
  • Rooting (moving jaw and mouth or head in search of breast)
  • Putting their hand to mouth repeatedly
  • Opening their mouth
  • Fussiness
  • Sucking on everything around

Every time your baby cries or sucks it is not always because they are hungry. Babies also suck for comfort. Sometimes babies just need to be cuddled or changed.

How Much do Babies Eat?

All babies are different! Some like to snack, others drink more and go longer between feedings.

Birth-6 Months:

• Most newborns eat every 2 to 3 hours, or 8 to 12 times every 24 hours. Babies might only take in half an ounce per feeding for the first day or two of life, but after that will usually drink 1 to 2 ounces at each feeding. This amount increases to 2 to 3 ounces by 2 weeks of age.
• At about 2 months of age, babies usually take 4 to 5 ounces per feeding every 3 to 4 hours.
• At 4 months, babies usually take 4 to 6 ounces per feeding.
• At 6 months, babies may be taking up to 8 ounces every 4 to 5 hours

**Most babies will increase the amount of formula they drink by an average of 1 ounce each month before leveling off at about 7 to 8 ounces per feeding.

**Solid foods should be started at about 6 months old.

Underfeeding or Overfeeding:

Babies are usually pretty good at eating the right amount, but they can sometimes take in more than they need.

Infants who are bottle-fed may be more likely to overfeed, because drinking from a bottle may take less effort than breastfeeding.

Overfed babies can have stomach pains, gas, spit-up or vomit and be at higher risk for obesity later in life.

It’s better to offer less, since you can always give more if your baby wants it. This also gives babies time to realize when they’re full. If you are concerned your baby wants to eat all the time―even when they are full―talk with your pediatrician.

Pacifiers may be used after feeding to help sooth healthy-weight babies who like to suck for comfort, rather than nutrition. For babies who are breastfed, it’s best to wait to offer pacifiers until around 3 to 4 weeks of age, when breastfeeding is well-established.

Trouble Gaining Weight:

Most babies will double their birth weight by 5 months of age and triple their birth weight by their first birthday. If your baby is having trouble gaining weight, don’t wait too long between feeding―even if it means waking your baby. Be sure to talk with your pediatrician about how often and how much to feed your baby.

How to Know if Baby is Getting Enough to Eat:

A newborn’s diaper is a good indicator of whether he or she is getting enough to eat. In the first few days after birth, a baby should have 2 to 3 wet diapers each day. After the first 4 to 5 days, a baby should have at least 5 to 6 wet diapers a day. Stool frequency is more variable and depends whether your baby is breastfed or formula fed.

During regular health check-ups, your pediatrician will check your baby’s weight and plot it on a growth chart. Your baby’s progress on the growth chart is one way to tell whether or not they are getting enough food. Babies who stay in healthy growth percentile ranges are probably getting a healthy amount of food during feedings. Try Baby Center’s on-line growth tracker here.

Sample Daily Menu:

Example of an appropriate meal for a 1-year-old who is about 21 pounds

Breakfast

• ½ cup of iron fortified breakfast cereal or 1 cooked egg
• ½ cup of whole or 2% milk
• ½ banana, sliced
• 2 – 3 large sliced strawberries

Snack

• One slice of toast or whole wheat muffin with 1-2 tablespoons of cream cheese or peanut butter or ½ cup of yogurt with cut-up fruit
• Water or ½ cup whole or 2% milk

Lunch

• ½ sandwich: sliced turkey or chicken, tuna, egg salad or peanut butter
• ½ cup cooked green vegetables
• ½ cup of whole or 2% milk

Dinner

• 2-3 ounces cooked meat, ground or diced
• ½ cup cooked yellow or orange vegetables
• ½ cup whole grain pasta or potato
• ½ cup of whole or 2% milk

Food Ideas and How Much:

• Infants – 5 months
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Supper
    • 4-6 ounces of breastmilk or formula
  • Snack
    • 4-6 fluid ounces breastmilk or formula
• 6-11 months
  • Breakfast:
    • 6-8 fluid ounces breastmilk or a combination of the following:
    • ½ ounce infant cereal
    • 2-4 tablespoons meat, fish, poultry, whole egg, cooked dry beans, or cooked dry peas
    • 1-2 ounces of cheese; or 0-4 ounces of cottage cheese
    • ½ cup of yogurt
  • Snack/lunch ideas:
    • Fruit
    • Roll-up snacks,or “inside-out sandwiches”
    • Low-fat dairy foods
    • Hard-cooked eggs
    • Whole-grain crackers/graham crackers, whole grain breakfast cereals
    • Fruit/ Veggie smoothies or Homemade Ice pops/ baby foods