Question
Does an artificially fed baby who is nearly four months old need to be fed on demand? How often should they be fed, and when can complementary foods be introduced, and what should be provided first?
Answer
On-demand feeding is applicable to breastfed infants, but it is not convenient for parents to manage and may lead children to comfort themselves by suckling on the breast, even developing a milk addiction. At this age, changing diapers about every three hours is sufficient. It’s advisable to start introducing complementary foods after four months. Initially, rice porridge is recommended. You can start by adding egg yolks to the milk, starting with a sixth of an egg yolk and gradually increasing to a quarter, then a half, and finally a whole one.