Infant Feeding
Formula Feeding Basics
Safe formula feeding from the first bottle to 12 months: preparing feeds, sterilizing, amounts by age and a simple feeding log.
C$19.99Buy
Infant feeding courses, from first feeds to first foods
Six courses that follow Health Canada and Canadian Paediatric Society advice on breastfeeding, combination feeding, pumping, formula and starting solids, with logs, charts and cards for the kitchen.
- 6 courses
- Tools in every course
- Certificate included
Health Canada recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, with breastfeeding continuing for up to two years or beyond as other foods are added. Breastfed babies need a vitamin D supplement of 10 mcg (400 IU) every day from birth. Babies who get only formula do not need the drops, because infant formula already contains vitamin D.
If your baby is not breastfed, or you combine breast and bottle, a commercial cow's milk-based infant formula is the usual choice. Cow's milk, goat's milk and plant-based beverages are not suitable substitutes in the first year. For powdered formula, Health Canada advises boiling the water for 2 minutes. For babies born premature, with a low birth weight or with a weakened immune system, mix the powder with water cooled to 70 °C (about 30 minutes after boiling), then cool the bottle quickly and feed promptly; for healthy babies born at term, boiled water cooled to room temperature is acceptable. Use a prepared bottle within 2 hours once feeding starts, and keep any you make ahead in the fridge at 4 °C or below, using it within 24 hours.
Solid foods start at about six months, while breast milk or formula remains the main source of nutrition. Iron-rich foods such as meat, cooked egg, legumes, tofu and iron-fortified infant cereal come first, offered two or more times a day, and lumpy textures should be on the menu no later than nine months. Your public health nurse, family doctor or nurse practitioner, or your provincial health line on 811, can help with questions along the way.
All infant feeding courses
Infant Feeding
Combination Feeding Education
Breast and bottle together, done calmly: plan your feeds, protect your milk supply and learn paced bottle feeding step by step.
C$24.99Buy
Infant Feeding
Expressing & Storing Breast Milk
Hand expressing and pumping explained, with a pumping planner, a storage times chart, milk labels and a cleaning checklist.
C$24.99Buy
Infant Feeding
Returning to Work While Breastfeeding
Keep breastfeeding after parental leave with a routine that fits your job, a calm expressing audio and a milk hygiene checklist.
C$19.99Buy
Infant Feeding
Starting Solid Foods
From readiness signs to the first two weeks of foods, with an allergen log, a baby food diary and a gagging vs choking card.
C$24.99Buy
Infant Feeding
Baby-Led Weaning Education
Finger foods made calm: safe shapes and sizes, gagging vs choking know-how and a first foods tracker, from about 6 months to family meals.
C$24.99Buy
Pick the course for your feeding stage
Milk feeds
- Formula Feeding Basics: step-by-step preparation, cleaning and sterilizing, amounts by age and a feeding log.
- Combination Feeding Education: mixing breast and bottle while protecting your milk supply, with a paced bottle feeding card.
- Expressing and Storing Breast Milk: pumping schedules, labelling, storage and cleaning equipment.
- Returning to Work While Breastfeeding: a pumping-at-work schedule, a script for talking to your employer and a freezer stash planner.
First foods
- Starting Solid Foods: readiness signs, a plan for the first two weeks, introducing common allergens and telling gagging from choking.
- Baby-Led Weaning Education: offering soft finger foods from the start, with safe shapes and sizes and a meal ideas planner.
What the infant feeding tools do
- Formula preparation card and sterilizing checklist: each step in order, on one page for the kitchen counter.
- Feed logs and pumping planners: track feeds, pumping sessions and stored milk across the day.
- Readiness checker: the signs that a baby is ready for solids, such as sitting up without support and no longer pushing food out with the tongue.
- Allergen introduction log and first foods tracker: record each new food, the date and how it went.
- Gagging versus choking card and safe shapes guide: how each one looks and sounds, and how to prepare foods to lower the risk.
When to call your care provider, 811 or 911
Call 911 if your baby:
- is choking and cannot cry, cough or breathe
- has swelling of the face, lips or tongue, trouble breathing or repeated vomiting soon after a new food
- is floppy, hard to wake or turning blue
Contact your family doctor, nurse practitioner, public health nurse or 811 the same day if your baby has fewer wet diapers than usual, is refusing feeds, has a fever or keeps vomiting, or develops hives or a rash after a new food. If a breast becomes red, hot and painful, or you have a fever while breastfeeding, get advice the same day too.
Infant feeding courses: your questions
When should my baby start solid foods?
At about six months. The Canadian Paediatric Society describes the signs: your baby sits up without support, has good neck control, keeps food in the mouth rather than pushing it out, opens the mouth as food comes near and turns away when full.
Does my baby need vitamin D drops?
Breastfed babies, including those partly breastfed, need 10 mcg (400 IU) of vitamin D every day from birth. Babies fed only formula do not, because formula contains vitamin D.
When can my baby have cow's milk?
Homogenized (3.25% M.F.) cow's milk can be offered from 9 to 12 months, once your baby is eating a range of iron-rich foods. Health Canada advises keeping it to no more than 750 mL a day.
When should I introduce peanut and egg?
The Canadian Paediatric Society says common allergens such as peanut products and egg can be introduced when other solids start, usually around six months, and kept in the diet several times a week once accepted. For babies at high risk of allergy, for example with eczema or a parent or sibling with allergy, they can be introduced from about four months if your baby is ready. Talk to your health care provider first if you are unsure.
Which foods are choking hazards for babies?
Foods that are hard, small and round, or smooth and sticky. Examples include whole nuts, popcorn, raisins, hard candy, whole grapes and hot dogs (cut them lengthwise), fish with bones and hard raw vegetables (grate or cook them).
Is there anything my baby should not have before age one?
Honey, because of the risk of infant botulism. Cow's milk, goat's milk and plant-based beverages should not replace breast milk or formula as the main drink, and sweetened drinks are best avoided.
Official sources
- Health Canada: Nutrition for healthy term infants, birth to six months
- Health Canada: Nutrition for healthy term infants, 6 to 24 months
- Health Canada: Infant nutrition
- Health Canada: Preparing and handling powdered infant formula
- Canadian Paediatric Society: Introducing common allergenic solids
- Caring for Kids (Canadian Paediatric Society): Feeding your baby in the first year
Feel ready for the next feed
Print the preparation card or the readiness checker and keep it where you will need it.