Despite pediatricians’ claims that the best food for newborns is breast milk, not every mother can breastfeed. Therefore, if you face such an issue, the question arises: what is the right formula for your little one? And how to choose the right content of the product, taking into account all peculiarities of development? Let’s try to figure it out.
How to Choose Formula?
There are two types of formula: it could be liquid and powder. The first type of formula is sold as a dry powder that is needed to be filled with water of a certain temperature, according to the instructions. The liquid formula is ready-made food in a tetra pack. It is only heated to the desired temperature. The disadvantage of this type is that its shelf life is only a few days.
First of all, the choice of formula for a healthy full-term baby is based on age. There are age-divided formulas and universals(that are not divided into stages like those made in the USA). Usually, the age-divided categories formula made in Europe looks like this:
- 0 – suitable for children from the first days of life, and is also intended for premature, low birth weight babies
- 1 – from 1 to 6 months
- 2 – intended from 6 months to 1 year
- 3 – from 1 year and older.
- Sometimes, you can find stage 4 for kids older than 12 months.
The reason for the stage-divided formula is that with the growth and maturation of a kid, the needs of its body also grow and change. Accordingly, the content and energy value of the formula must also change that’s why the manufacturers took care of this fact when producing the baby feeding. For example, a newborn kid will require another amount of some trace elements than a 6 months old baby.
How to Understand Formula is not Suitable?
- A child has allergic reactions, rashes, or redness of the skin.
- A baby faces disorders of the gastrointestinal tract such as constipation or loose stools, flatulence, and bloating.
- A newborn is restless and looks sick.
- Frequent and copious vomiting are signals that you should pay attention to the composition of the mixture and replace it.
Adverse symptoms may occur when switching a child to another formula, especially at an early age up to 4-6 months. Therefore, the diet should not be changed without an urgent need and a pediatrician’s recommendation.
If a baby has an allergy predisposition to cow milk protein, a pediatrician may prescribe formula based on goat milk such as Holle. For kids with low hemoglobin and older than 3 months there is infant milk with high iron content. Specialists have developed formula containing soy protein for those with lactose intolerance.
The other important thing is the choice of manufacturer. Of course, it is better to entrust your choice to companies that have long established themselves in the market. To do so, you can consult your pediatrician. After all, the experience of pediatricians allows us to draw certain conclusions. Holle company is a trustworthy brand that has a longtime history and proven quality of all produced baby food.
