Everyone is well aware of the fact that newborns need feeding all through day and night. Remember that for two months old, it is more about a routine and less about a schedule. Over time, you will get into a routine with your baby. You will start understanding his needs and wants. When he is hungry, sleepy, or wants to play. Crying is the only way of communication for your baby at this age. Feed your baby whenever he is hungry. As formula milk and breast milk are the only foods that your baby can have at this age.
Feeding your two months old baby:
Parents are often in the confusion that they should start feeding solid foods to their two months old? They would have heard people say that solid foods help your baby sleep soundly at night. But to start feeding your little one solid foods is not the answer to all the things you hear from other people/parents.
Doctors and researches suggest that until four to six months of age, babies do not need any kind of solid food. Breast milk or formula milk is the only food known to have all the nutrients that a two months old need. If you start feeding solids to your baby at an early age, they can develop some kind of food allergies later on. Their digestive system cannot digest solid foods properly at this age. Their body might cause an allergic reaction by treating the solid foods as foreign bodies.
There can be another risk of choking. Giving solids to your infant may cause choking. At this age, they are not ready to swallow anything but only liquids. If you still try feeding him solids, his tongue will automatically push the food out of his mouth.
You will get to know when your baby is ready for solid foods. When he starts sitting properly with support, he has good neck and head control and can turn his head away if he does not like the food. Then you can say that now he is ready for solid foods. It happens when your baby turns four months or six months old. Before that, breast milk or formula milk is the only food that perfectly meets his nutritional needs.
How much and how often should you breastfeed your two months old?
As your baby gets older, he starts sleeping for more extended periods at night and breastfeeds less often. Your baby is eating well if he is active and seems alert. He must be growing, developing, and steadily gaining weight. A two months old baby eat from six to eight times per day. A healthy baby poops and wets his diapers regularly.
How much and how often you should formula feed your two months old?
Formula milk takes more time to digest than breast milk. In case you are bottle-feeding your baby, he might have fewer formula milk feedings than a breastfed baby. As your little one grows, he will start eating more than before. He will also start taking longer gaps between every feeding. Moreover, you will notice that his sleep time has become longer. At this age, your baby will drink around 4 to 5 ounces of formula milk in each feeding.
You can overfeed your baby with a bottle as it is easier to drink from a bottle as compared to breastfeeding. Never force your baby to finish the bottle, especially when he shows the signs that he is full. Always make sure that the hole on the nipple of the bottle is not too big. If the hole is bigger than the average size, it might cause choking. It additionally increases the risk of tooth decay or ear infection.
How can you reduce spitting up in the early months?
If your baby spits during burping or after eating, it’s normal. Spitting up in smaller amounts is not a problem unless it starts bothering your baby’s health. The following are some techniques that can help you in reducing spitting up in the early months.
- Do not overfeed your baby.
- Make him often burp and on a regular basis.
- Do not play with your baby in a vigorous baby after feeding.
- Only feed him when he gets very hungry.
- Make sure to keep your baby in an upright position during and after feeding for almost an hour.
What a two months old need in 24 hours period?
- Eating: Your baby needs twelve to twenty-four ounces of milk to drink every day. It can be either breast milk, formula milk, or the combination of both.
- Sleep: A two-month-old baby sleep for 16 hours a day. It includes the night time sleep and naps as well. Babies take at least three naps a day at this age. First, in the morning, second in the afternoon and third in the evening. Number of naps can vary from baby to baby.
- Playtime: Playtime for babies of this age is very less. You can read some books to them, or you can give them a bath. You can also consider giving them a massage in your free time or going on a walk.
What do most children do by this age?
Following is the list of activities that a two months old can perform effortlessly.
Social and Emotional
- Starts to grin at the camera
- Can quickly quiet or calm himself (may carry hands to mouth and suck on hand)
- Attempts to look at their parent’s camera
Language/Communication
- Coos makes sputtering sounds
- Turns head towards the sound
Cognitive (critical thinking, problem-solving and learning)
- Focuses and faces the camera
- Starts to follow things with eyes and can recognize people from a distance
- Begins to act exhausted (cries, makes a fuss) if an action doesn’t change
Development/Physical Development
- Can hold head up and starts to push up when lying on belly
- Can make smoother movements with their legs and arms
A sample schedule for a two months old baby:
- 7:30 am – Wakes up hungry, and feed.
- 8:00 am – Playtime!
- 9:00 am – Nap number 1.
- 10:30 am – Wakes up. Cries and feed.
- 11:00 am – Playtime 2!
- 12:30 pm – Nap number 2.
- 2:00 pm – Wakes up again and feed.
- 2:30 pm – Playtime number 3! It is probably going to be the longest staying awake break of your baby. So go out for a walk, to get some natural air, or to do some errand.
- 4:00 pm – Nap number 3.
- 5:30 pm – Wakes up and feed.
- 6:00 pm – Play! For some children this age, this is the scandalous Witching Hour, that particular time of day where there’s nothing that appears to satisfy the infant. Tighten up your belt! Try not to stress. This stage is brief, and within the next some weeks, he will get out of this fussy phase.
- 7:30 pm – Sit down! It is the ideal opportunity for your relaxing and quiet evening schedule: books (honestly, you can and should!), shower, or feeding.
- 8:00 pm – Baby sleeps.
- 10:30 pm or 11:00 pm – “dream feed,”
- Nighttime feedings – Vary.
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