Parenting Tips for Your 2 Month Old Baby
Hold your baby so he can see your face when you feed him. Feed him with breast milk or fortified infant formula. Do not feed him solid food yet.
Breast milk is best. It has all the nutrition babies need and protects against food allergies and some diseases. If you have started breastfeeding, keep up the good work.
Parents once thought that feeding solid foods at bedtime would help their babies sleep through the night. Not true! Feeding solids before your baby is ready may trigger allergies and/or cause him to eat too much.
Your baby’s digestive system is not ready to handle foods other than breast milk or infant formula. His tongue and swallowing movements won’t develop enough for solid foods until he is about 4 months old.
Your baby will be ready for solid foods when he can:
- Sit well with support
- Control his head and upper body well
- Turn his head away if he doesn’t like the food or if he has had enough
Be patient with your baby when he wakes up during the night. Night feedings don’t last forever. After this feeding, let him know that it is time to go back to sleep. Place him in his crib, swaddle him, or let him sit in an infant chair. Discourage your baby from playing after a nighttime feeding.
Babies will usually sleep through the middle of the night feeding by the time they weigh about 11 pounds.
