Objective vs Subjective Fact vs. Opinion

Breast Feeding Vs. Bottle Feeding: Pros and Cons The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) indicates that breastfeeding is the best way to nourish babies and should be the main source of nutrition for the first 12 months. Breast-fed babies will generally nurse every couple of hours, eating more often than bottle-fed babies as human breast milk is more easily digested. Not all new mothers are able to breast feed, so some must rely on bottle-feeding. Although no infant formula is the exact same as human breast milk, they are supplemented with vitamins and minerals to help ensure that nutritional needs are met. If you choose not to or are unable to breast feed, your baby’s pediatrician can help you decide which infant formula is best for your baby. Infant formulas come in three forms: Ready-to- use, concentrated liquid or powdered. When preparing formula, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions exactly. Adding too much water may prevent your baby from getting the calories and nutrients necessary for proper growth, while not adding enough water to the concentrated formula may cause diarrhea or dehydration, or be higher in calories than needed. Cow’s Milk vs. Breast Milk or Formula Your baby can digest breast milk or formula more easily and completely than cow’s milk. Cow’s milk contains a high concentration of protein and minerals that can stress your baby’s immature kidneys and cause dehydration. In addition, this feeding lacks the proper amount of iron and vitamin C that is needed. In some babies, feeding cow’s milk may cause iron-deficiency anemia. The protein can irritate the lining of the stomach and intestine, leading to blood in the stool.

Stage 1 - For Beginners & Older Your baby is just about ready to start eating single-ingredient solid food. Since this is a whole new stage of feeding, we’ve put together information to help answer your questions. When to Start Solids At this stage, most nutrition will still come from breast milk or formula. But as a rule of thumb, most babies are ready for solid foods at about four to six months. Your baby is ready for solids when: He can sit with your support He can hold his head up and turn his head away when he's full He can take food from a spoon and learn to swallow When introducing solids, start with single- ingredient foods first to check for allergies. Most pediatricians recommend starting with a single-grain cereal, like Beech-Nut® Rice Cereal, because it’s easier for babies to digest. Once he has tried a single-grain cereal, start introducing single-ingredient foods, one at a time to detect allergies, for three to five days.

Stage 2 - From About 6 Months Although most of your baby’s nutrients will still come from your breast milk, she’ll also be building a taste for more food. It’s time to add combination foods for added variety and flavor. ew Varieties and Flavors Are you noticing lots of changes in your baby’s hunger and feeding patterns? Now that she’s eating single-ingredient foods regularly, she probably wants more. You can add combination foods to her diet for extra variety and flavor. Most of her nutrition will still come from breast milk or formula, but you can add Beech- Nut® Stage 2® single-ingredient and simple- combination foods for greater flavor and variety in her diet. You can also still feed her Beech-Nut Stage 1® foods.

Stage 3 - From About 8 Months They grow up so fast, don’t they? Your baby may have teeth by now. And as he continues to grow, you can keep adding new foods with more complex tastes to his diet. Bigger Baby, Bigger Appetite As your baby’s appetite grows, solid foods are becoming a larger part of his diet, though breast milk or formula is still providing about 60 percent of his nutrition at this stage. Although he may want more "grown-up" foods, be sure to balance his diet with Beech- Nut® Stage 3® foods, plus his Beech-Nut Stage 1®, Beech-Nut Stage 2®, and Good Morning™ favorites. At this point, his most important nutritional need is still iron. Try Beech-Nut® Stage 3® foods like Oatmeal & Pears with Cinnamon, and Rice Cereal & Pears. You can also keep feeding him Beech-Nut cereals. Although he may want more "grown-up" foods, be sure to balance his diet with Beech- Nut® Stage 3® foods like new fruits, plus Beech-Nut Stage 1® and Stage 2® varieties.

Stage 4 - From About 12 Months At Beech-Nut, we strive to provide the most nutritious and best tasting food choices for toddlers. This is reflected in each and every one of our Stage 4 toddler products. Our Stage 4 Meals and Snacks use only natural and essential nutrients of the highest standards. Then proactive nutrients do even more by helping support healthy growth and development. When Curiosity is King Your little explorer is ready for more substantial meals. Toddlers need about 40 calories per pound of body weight each day to meet growth and energy needs. Beech-Nut® Stage 4® meals are convenient, microwavable meals that are great-tasting! But the most important thing to remember is to keep mealtimes fun! After about 12 months, your toddler’s appetite may drop suddenly. It may seem as if your toddler should eat more because she seems more active, but her growth rate has slowed, and she really doesn’t require as much food now. Toddlers have small stomachs so three meals and two snacks each day is about right. Of course, your toddler may want to eat a lot one day and almost nothing the next. As long as you’re providing well-balanced meals on a regular schedule and they’re eating them most of the time, you should be fine.

Stage 5 - From About 24 Months By the time, your child is two years old, she should be able to self-feed and is most likely very eager to make her own food choices. She will increasingly enjoy eating food that the rest of the family eats, and will be trying out a big range of taste and textures.