Q: Dear Doctor, please help me. My wife does not do exclusive breast feeding because everytime she finishes breast feeding our baby, he still cries as if hungry. So she often supplements with formula. But I noticed that two of our previous children suffer from vomiting and watery stool once they get to 4 months and as a result they lose a lot of weight. Pls what do I do to avoid this with my 3rd child? What formula is best for him to be big like a well fed child and to avoid the stooling and vomiting? Please help me.

A: Your wife’s breast milk is more than sufficient for your baby and with that, your baby will look extremely healthy…I can tell you from experience. My first baby always looked months bigger than her age…she grew that fast.

Your wife has to be patient when breast feeding. There are two types of milk in the breast milk: the fore and the hind milk. The fore milk is mainly water and low in fats. If you observe, it’s bluish in colour. It takes care of the baby’s thirst and that’s why you don’t need to give your baby extra water. It’s also rich in protein, carbohydrates and vitamins.

Now, if you finish giving just the fore milk and stop, the baby will be hungry thereafter as she has essentially only taken water. The milk that comes after the fore milk is thicker containing fats and has a whole lot of calories. The baby needs this to be very well nourished and to satisfy the hunger pangs. The longer a mother waits between meals, the more foremilk is produced and it takes your baby that much longer to get to the more filling hind milk.

So, let her feed the baby on demand and each session should last until the breast ‘feels’ empty. I say ‘feel’ because the breast never really empties out  After this, she should change to the other breast. When your baby turns 6 months, then we can start discussing formula milk options.

Part of the problem with formula feeds is ensuring that all the feeding bottles and associated equipment are kept clean and sterilised, mixing the right amount of formula and even knowing when to discard a feed that was not taken when made. Breast feeding is easy and effortless and provides all your babies need till 6 months.

For more you can read my post on breastfeeding, please click on this linkhttps://chatwithdrketch.com/2013/08/17/do-cool-mums-breastfeed/

Have a great evening ahead…and don’t forget the Chibok Girls in your prayers ‪#‎BringBackOurgGirlsAlive‬ We must not let these girls disappear! My heart aches.