Babies digest breast milk faster than formula milk so they feed more frequently. Infant formula takes longer to digest and thus may be considered more filling than breast milk.
Time and frequency of feedings.
Because formula is less digestible than breast milk, formula-fed babies usually need to eat less often than breastfed babies.
Healthy breastfed infants typically put on weight more slowly than formula-fed infants in the first year of life. Formula-fed infants typically gain weight more quickly after about 3 months of age. Differences in weight patterns continue even after complimentary foods are introduced.
Never force a baby to finish their bottle. Try not to compare the amount of breastmilk in a bottle to formula in a bottle because they will mostly likely be different. Breastfed babies typically eat less at a feeding because breastmilk has more nutrients per ounce, and babies digest breastmilk more fully than formula.
“Any amount of breast milk is beneficial, and it's okay to supplement with formula if that's what's best for you and your baby,” Simpkins says. “If you are supplementing for medical reasons or want to maintain your milk supply, I recommend pumping to keep up with the baby's demand.”
Mother's milk and formula are metabolized differently.
Formula-fed babies use the nutrients in formula less efficiently,8 so they may need more milk to meet their nutritional needs. Formula is also missing hormones, such as leptin and adiponectin, which help babies regulate appetite and energy metabolism.
A baby who's exclusively breast-fed gets about half of his or her daily calories from the fat in breast milk. As a result, caloric restrictions aimed at reducing weight are not recommended for babies 2 years and under. Excess fat and calories can still be a concern, though.
Myth: Babies who have been breastfed are clingy.
Breastfeeding provides not only the best nutrition for infants, but is also important for their developing brain. Breastfed babies are held a lot and because of this, breastfeeding has been shown to enhance bonding with their mother.
Breastmilk or infant formula should be your baby's main source of nutrition for around the first year of life. Health professionals recommend exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, with a gradual introduction of appropriate foods in the second 6 months and ongoing breastfeeding for 2 years or beyond.
Research shows that there's little difference between the total amount of sleep that breast-fed and formula-fed babies have . It's unlikely your baby would sleep better with formula milk, though there are some differences between breast-fed and formula-fed babies when it comes to sleep.
New mums should be advised that it is normal for their baby to cry more if they are breastfed, say experts. The Medical Research Council team says this irritability is natural, and although formula-fed babies may appear more content and be easier to pacify, breast is still best.
Breastfed babies cry more, laugh less, and generally have "more challenging temperaments" than formula-fed infants, a study has found. But such behaviour is normal, and mothers should learn to cope with it rather than reach for the bottle, according to researchers.
You'll also want to pump when you're away from your breastfeeding baby. Whether you'll be gone for a night or a weekend, bring a pump and aim to pump about as often as your baby would nurse, so your body will continue to make milk at about the same rate.
Enfamil Enspire is one of the most similar baby Formula to human milk, especially nutritionally. Although it often costs a little more than other options, it contains nutrients only found in mother's milk, making it perfect for breastfed infants. First and foremost, it includes lactoferrin which is found in colostrum.
This difference is attributed to the higher energy and protein content of formula and a higher volume of consumption, which may lead to greater weight gain in formula-fed infants compared to breastfed infants during early infancy [13].
Gifted or above-average IQ levels were noted more often in the breastfed group (35%) than in the bottle-fed (23%) or mixed-fed (31%) groups. Below-average IQ levels were seen more often in the mixed-fed group (29%) than in the breastfed group (19%).
Breast milk is easily digested, so newborns are hungry often. Frequent feedings helps stimulate your milk production during the first few weeks. By the time your baby is 1–2 months old, he or she probably will nurse 7–9 times a day.
That said, it's not a guarantee that you'll gain weight after you stop nursing. “Some women actually lose weight after weaning,” Cording says. It's worth checking in with yourself if you're concerned about your overall health or feel like your eating habits haven't been the best lately.
While breastfeeding burns about 500-700 calories extra per day to fuel milk making, this may not always contribute to weight loss postpartum – many factors like pre-pregnancy weight, diet, physical activity level, etc will impact weight loss after birth (Institute of Medicine, 2002; Dewey, 1994).
Breastfed babies have a lower risk of asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Breastfed babies are also less likely to have ear infections and stomach bugs. Breast milk shares antibodies from the mother with her baby.
For mothers, failure to breastfeed is associated with an increased incidence of premenopausal breast cancer, ovarian cancer, retained gestational weight gain, type 2 diabetes, myocardial infarction, and the metabolic syndrome.
“The first four to six weeks are the toughest, then it starts to settle down,” says Cathy. “And when you get to three months, breastfeeding gets really easy – way easier than cleaning and making up a bottle. Just hang in there!”
Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the occurrence of SIDS by over 50 percent by improving the immune system, promoting brain growth, reducing reflux and a variety of other factors. While six months of breastfeeding is recommended, only two months of breastfeeding is required to significantly cut the risk of SIDS.