Baby Feeding

Feeding your baby can bring a surprising number of questions. How often should they feed? Are they getting enough milk? What if breastfeeding is difficult? Which formula should you use? And later, how do you know when your baby is ready for solid food?

There is no single feeding routine that suits every baby or every family. During roughly the first six months, NHS guidance recommends breast milk or first infant formula as your baby’s main source of nutrition. Solid foods are usually introduced from around six months, alongside breast milk or first infant formula.

How you feed your baby may depend on your circumstances, health, preferences and how feeding develops after birth. You may breastfeed, use formula, express milk, combination feed or move between approaches. What matters is that your baby is fed safely and that you can access qualified support if feeding is painful, difficult or worrying.

Understanding your baby’s feeding cues

Babies do not always feed according to a neat timetable.

NHS breastfeeding guidance encourages responsive feeding, sometimes called feeding on demand. This means responding to signs that your baby is ready to feed rather than waiting for a fixed time.

Crying can be a late sign of hunger. Earlier feeding cues may include your baby becoming restless, moving their head and mouth around, sucking their fingers or making sucking movements.

As you spend time together, you may start recognising your own baby’s signals more easily.

Responsive feeding also means noticing when your baby has had enough. During a bottle feed, for example, the NHS advises allowing your baby to take breaks and not forcing them to finish a bottle.

If you are worried about how often your baby wants to feed, how much they appear to take or a significant change in their usual feeding pattern, speak to your midwife, health visitor or GP.

Breastfeeding your baby

Breastfeeding is a skill that you and your baby learn together. For some parents it becomes comfortable fairly quickly. For others, positioning, attachment, milk supply or pain can make the early days much harder.

A comfortable position and effective attachment can help your baby feed well. NHS guidance describes signs of good attachment, including your baby’s mouth being wide around the breast, their chin touching the breast and their cheeks staying rounded while they suck.

You may be able to hear or see your baby swallowing during a feed.

Breastfeeding should not remain persistently painful. If your nipples are sore, feeds hurt or you are worried about your baby’s attachment, ask a midwife, health visitor or breastfeeding supporter to watch a feed.

This can be much more useful than trying to solve the problem alone from written instructions.

How can you tell if a breastfed baby is getting enough milk?

This is one of the most common worries in early breastfeeding because you cannot see how much milk your baby has taken.

The NHS advises looking at the whole picture rather than trying to judge a feed by its length.

Signs that breastfeeding is going well can include hearing and seeing your baby swallow, rounded cheeks during sucking, your baby appearing calm during feeds and coming away from the breast themselves at the end of a feed.

Weight gain and wet and dirty nappies also help healthcare professionals assess whether a baby is getting enough milk. The expected number and type of nappies changes during the first days after birth, so use current NHS guidance and advice from your maternity team rather than a general rule found online.

If you are concerned about milk supply or whether your baby is feeding effectively, ask for help early. Your midwife, health visitor or a breastfeeding specialist can assess feeding and advise you based on your baby.

Formula feeding your baby

First infant formula is the only suitable alternative to breast milk during the first year, according to NHS guidance. If you are formula feeding, there is no need to choose the most expensive brand. Infant formula sold in the UK has to meet nutritional standards.

You also do not need to move your baby onto follow-on formula at six months. NHS guidance says first infant formula can remain your baby’s main milk drink until they are 12 months old.

Formula needs to be prepared carefully because powdered infant formula is not sterile.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions exactly and use the correct amount of water and powder. Adding too much powder can cause constipation and dehydration, while adding too much water means your baby may not receive enough nutrition.

Feeds should be prepared as your baby needs them wherever possible.

If you are unsure how to prepare formula safely, ask your midwife or health visitor to show you. The NHS also provides step-by-step guidance for making up bottle feeds.

Keeping bottles and feeding equipment clean

Bottle hygiene matters whether a bottle contains formula or expressed breast milk.

The NHS advises cleaning bottles, teats and other feeding equipment thoroughly and sterilising feeding equipment until your baby is at least 12 months old.

Bottles and teats should be cleaned in hot, soapy water after feeds and rinsed before sterilising. There are different recognised sterilising methods, including cold-water sterilising solution, steam sterilising and boiling appropriate equipment.

Follow the instructions for whichever method and equipment you use.

If bottles, teats or other feeding equipment become cracked, torn or damaged, replace them.

Preparing feeds can feel complicated at first, but the process usually becomes familiar with repetition. Until then, keeping the NHS instructions accessible in the kitchen can be more useful than trying to remember every step.

Combination feeding

Some families combine breastfeeding with bottles of expressed breast milk or formula.

There are many reasons you might choose combination feeding. You may want your partner to participate in feeds, you may be returning to work, you may need to supplement feeding on professional advice, or a combination may simply work better for your family.

If maintaining your breast milk supply is important to you, speak to a midwife, health visitor or breastfeeding specialist before regularly replacing breastfeeds with formula. NHS guidance explains that milk production responds to how frequently milk is removed from the breast, so introducing formula feeds can affect supply.

There is no need to treat a change in feeding method as a failure. Feeding plans sometimes change because babies and parents have individual needs.

Burping and feeding comfortably

Babies can swallow air while feeding, particularly from a bottle, and some may need help bringing it up.

Some babies need burping during a feed, while others need it afterwards. Your baby may show signs of trapped wind by becoming uncomfortable during feeding.

The NHS advises supporting your baby’s head and neck and gently rubbing or patting their back when burping them.

You do not need to spend a long time trying to produce a burp if your baby appears comfortable.

If your baby regularly seems distressed during or after feeds, refuses feeds, vomits repeatedly or you are concerned about reflux or another feeding problem, speak to your health visitor or GP rather than repeatedly changing formula or feeding techniques without advice.

When should a baby start solid foods?

The NHS recommends introducing solid foods from around six months old.

By this stage, babies are more likely to have developed the skills needed to manage food safely. NHS guidance describes three signs of readiness that should appear together: being able to stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady, coordinating their eyes, hands and mouth to pick up food and bring it to their mouth, and swallowing food rather than pushing it back out.

Some behaviours are easily mistaken for readiness. Chewing fists, waking more often at night or wanting additional milk feeds do not necessarily mean your baby needs solid food.

Starting solids earlier is not a reliable way to make a baby sleep through the night.

If your baby was born prematurely, ask your health visitor or GP for individual advice about when to begin introducing solid foods.

Starting solids without putting pressure on yourself or your baby

The first weeks of solid food are about learning as much as eating.

At around six months, breast milk or first infant formula continues to provide much of your baby’s energy and nutrients while they become familiar with different tastes and textures.

You can offer appropriately prepared vegetables, fruit and other suitable foods. NHS guidance encourages gradually introducing a variety of foods and textures as your baby becomes able to manage them.

Some babies take to new foods enthusiastically. Others need repeated opportunities before accepting a taste or texture.

Try not to judge progress by how much food disappears from the plate.

Give your baby time, allow them to go at their own pace and pay attention to signs that they are hungry or full. Mealtimes do not have to look tidy to be useful.

Always supervise your baby while they are eating and make sure they are sitting safely upright.

Food allergies and starting solids

Foods that can cause allergic reactions can be introduced from around six months as part of your baby’s diet.

NHS guidance advises introducing potential allergens one at a time and in very small amounts so that you can identify a reaction more easily.

Potential allergens include eggs, foods containing gluten, nuts and peanuts, seeds, soya, fish, shellfish and cows’ milk when used appropriately in food.

Whole nuts should not be given to babies because of the choking risk. Follow NHS guidance on preparing allergenic foods in an age-appropriate form.

If your baby has a diagnosed food allergy or eczema, or there is a family history of food allergies, eczema, asthma or hay fever, speak to your GP or health visitor before introducing allergenic foods.

If you think your baby has reacted to a food, seek medical advice. A severe allergic reaction requires emergency help.

Try not to compare your baby’s feeding with someone else’s

Baby feeding is particularly vulnerable to comparison.

One baby may breastfeed frequently while another takes bottles at different intervals. One may become interested in solids quickly while another needs more time to become comfortable with new textures.

Growth, nappies, behaviour and feeding effectiveness are more meaningful than whether your baby follows another family’s schedule.

If you are worried, professional advice is more useful than comparison.

Your midwife, health visitor, GP or feeding specialist can look at your baby’s individual circumstances rather than giving you a rule designed for every baby.

When to get professional advice

Contact your midwife, health visitor, GP or another appropriate healthcare professional if feeding is painful, your baby is struggling to feed, you are worried they are not getting enough milk, their feeding pattern changes significantly, they are repeatedly vomiting, or you have concerns about their weight, nappies or general wellbeing.

Seek medical advice promptly if your baby is not feeding normally and you are worried, has noticeably drier nappies than usual, is unusually sleepy or difficult to wake, has breathing difficulties, or shows other signs of being unwell.

If you suspect a food allergy after starting solids, stop and seek appropriate medical advice. Call 999 if your baby develops signs of a severe allergic reaction, such as significant breathing difficulty or swelling affecting their breathing.

NHS 111 can advise if you need urgent medical help and are unsure what to do.

Feeding questions are common. You do not need to wait until feeding has become unbearable or you are certain something is wrong before asking for support.