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These guidelines will help you choose healthy food for your baby and toddler.

• Breast milk is best.
• If you cannot breastfeed, use an infant formula until baby is 12 months old.
• Give babies and toddlers enough to drink.
• Start solids with one new food at a time.
• Change variety, texture and quantity as your baby grows.
• Healthy eating habits start early.

Successful breastfeeding is best for babies.

Breast milk is specially made for your baby:

• it's the perfect food for baby
• it changes with your baby's needs
• it helps protect your baby against infection
• it lowers the risk of allergies
• and it's cheap, safe, environmentally friendly and ready to use!

Young babies need to be fed often and on demand

Baby's appetite, happiness, weight gain and lots of wet nappies tell you how much milk baby needs.  If baby is hungry after feeding from one breast, then offer the other breast.  After feeding on both breasts, begin the next fee on the breast used last.

You can express breast milk.  It will keep refrigerated in a sterilised container for up to 48 hours.  It can also be frozen for 3-4 months in a fridge/freezer or up to 6 months in a separate deep freeze.  Remember to put the date on the container.

Bowel motions are soft, a bright colour and often very frequent, but each baby is different.  breastfed babies don't usually get constipated, even though some babies only have a bowel motion every few days.

Formula Feeding

For many reasons, some parents choose to use an infant formula.  There are a lot of brands to choose from.  Once you have found a formula that suits your baby it is best to keep to the same one.

• Always wash your hands before preparing bottle feeds. 
• You must wash and sterilize all feeding equipment until baby is at least three months old (including any items used with breast milk).  When baby is older, thorough washing is enough.

• Make up formula carefully using instructions on the can.  It shows the amount your baby needs each day.  use the scoop provided with each can and make sure the powder is a level scoop that is not packed down.
• In the first three months, use boiled, cooled water to make up formula.
• Formula can be heated by placing the bottle in a container of hot water.
• Microwaves can heat unevenly.  If using a microwave, shake the milk thoroughly after heating and leave to stand 5 minutes.  Shake again.
• Continue using breast milk or formula as the main milk until baby is a year old.
• Soy infant formula should only be used under the direction of a health professional.
• Condensed and evaporated milks should not be used for babies.
• Before feeding baby, always check the temperature of the formula by putting some on the inside of your wrist.  it should just feel warm.
• If baby is hungry and demands more, give more formula at each feed or add an extra feed.  Do not alter the strength.
• Bowel motions will be firmer and darker in colour than those of a breastfed baby.
• After 6-8 months baby can have small amounts of cow's milk used in cooking or as yoghurt, custard or cheese.
• After 12 months, the main milk for toddlers can be whole milk - full cream or homogenised.

If you need advice and support with breastfeeding or formula feeding ask for help from:

Babies and toddlers need enough to drink

Babies should get most of their drink as milk, either breastmilk or formula.

Your baby or toddler may need extra water in a bottle or feeding cup:

• when the weather is very hot
• if baby or toddler has a temperature and is feverish
• if baby or toddler had any vomiting or has diarrhoea.

• Healthy babies should generally have 6 or more very wet nappies a day.
• In the first 3 months, all water baby drinks should be boiled and cooled on the day it is used.  Boil for 3 minutes on the stove top or until an automatic kettle switches off.
• In cities and towns you can use water from the tap after baby is 3 months old.  If you are concerned about water quality continue to boil and cool water.  Water from tanks or bore holes should still be boiled and cooled for babies and toddlers until they are about 18 months old.
• Drinks containing natural or added sugar such as fruit juice, cordials and fizzy drink can damage developing teeth.  If you are offering fruit juice, make sure it is very diluted - just enough to colour the water.  Keep sweet drinks for treats.  Tea, coffee and alcohol should never be given to babies and toddlers.  They are stimulants which can make then very restless.
• Babies should not be left with a bottle to suck on for a long time.  Milk or fruit juice in a bottle will coat their teeth long after feeding is finished.  This damages developing teeth and will make then decay.