(HealthDay News) -- It's important for new parents to understand what and how often your baby needs to eat, and how that schedule should change as your baby matures.
The U.S. National Library of Medicine offers these guidelines to help plan your baby's feeding:
- Babies who breast-feed typically need to be fed once every one to three hours.
- Babies on a diet of formula need to be fed every two to four hours, as formula takes longer to digest.
- You should never give a baby younger than 1 cow's milk, since it is difficult for an infant to digest.
- Don't attempt to give baby any solid food until at least 4 months of age, preferably 6 months of age.
- Begin introducing solid foods between 6 months and 12 months of age, starting with pureed or mashed foods, and graduating to more solid foods.
- Introduce new foods one at a time, and monitor closely for signs of allergic reaction. New foods should be introduced only when an infant is hungry.