| Care and Feeding Babies and Infants This website
earns a commission from online advertising. The advertising
model used is called affiliate marketing and enables websites to
earn money for promoting products or services. Infants cry as
a form of basic instinctive communication.A crying infant may be
trying to express a variety of feelings including hunger,
discomfort, overstimulation, boredom, wanting something, or
loneliness.
Breastfeeding is the recommended method of feeding by all major
infant health organizations. If breastfeeding is not possible or
desired, bottle feeding is done with expressed breast-milk or
with infant formula. Infants are born with a sucking reflex
allowing them to extract the milk from the nipples of the
breasts or the nipple of the baby bottle, as well as an
instinctive behavior known as rooting with which they seek out
the nipple. Sometimes a wet nurse is hired to feed the infant,
although this is rare, especially in developed countries.
Adequate food consumption at an early age is vital for an
infant’s development. From birth to four months, infants should
consume breast milk or an unmodified milk substitute. As an
infant’s diet matures, finger foods may be introduced as well as
fruit, vegetables and small amounts of meat.
As infants grow, food supplements are added. Many parents choose
commercial, ready-made baby foods to supplement breast milk or
formula for the child, while others adapt their usual meals for
the dietary needs of their child. Whole cow's milk can be used
at one year, but lower-fat milk is not recommended until the
child is 2 to 3 years old. Weaning is the process through which
breast milk is eliminated from the infant's diet through the
introduction of solid foods in exchange for milk. Until they are
toilet-trained, infants in industrialized countries wear
diapers. The transition from diapers to training pants is an
important transition in the development of an infant/baby to
that of a toddler. Children need more sleep than adults—up to 18
hours for newborn babies, with a declining rate as the child
ages. Until babies learn to walk, they are carried in the arms,
held in slings or baby carriers, or transported in baby
carriages or strollers. Most industrialized countries have laws
requiring child safety seats for babies in motor vehicles. |
