Breast milk is actually the only food your baby
will need until 4 months of age, although most
babies do well on breast milk alone for 6 months
or better. There is really no advantage to
adding other foods or milks before 4 – 6 months,
except under unusual circumstances.
Water
Breast milk is over 90% water. Even in the
hottest days of summer, a baby won’t require any
extra water. If a baby isn’t feeding well, they
still don’t require any extra water – although
they will need the breast feeding problems to
be fixed.
Vitamin D
Although breast milk doesn’t contain much vitamin
D, it does have a little. The baby will store up
vitamin D during pregnancy, and remain healthy
without any vitamin D supplementation, unless you
yourself had a problem with vitamin D deficiency
when pregnant.
Exposure to the outside will give your baby
vitamin D, even in winter and when the sky is
covered. An hour or more exposure during the
week will give your baby more than enough vitamin
D.
Iron
Breast milk contains less iron than formulas do,
especially those that are iron enriched. Iron
will give the baby added protection against
infections, as many bacteria need iron in order
to multiply.
The iron found in breast milk is utilized well
by the baby, while not being available to
bacteria. The introduction of iron should
never be delayed beyond the age of 6 months.
Breast milk is the best that your can feed
your baby, as it provides everything he will
need for probably the first 6 months. After
the first 6 months, you can introduce solid
foods to your baby if he is taking an interest
to them.
(word count 286)
PPPPP