PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- Some pediatricians say what and how much you feed a child in the first few months can set a pattern for life and prevent obesity.

More and more health officials say breast milk gives the best nutrition for infants.

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Valerie Butler knew breast-feeding would be an incredible bonding experience for her and her baby, David.

"It made me feel close to my baby. I feel I know my baby well," Butler said.

A nurse by trade, Butler said she knew there were health benefits to breast-feeding, and she saw them firsthand after breast-feeding her first child, Erin, for just over a year.

"She's maintained a healthy growth curve and is proportionate in height to weight, which is the most important thing," Butler said.

It was an easy decision when David was born.

Pediatricians said infants who are breast-fed are not only healthier than bottle-fed babies, but they also have less of a chance of becoming overweight.

"It also gets mom back to prenatal weight faster," Dr. Pat Colander said.

That makes sense to Butler, who relies on what she calls "natural portion control."

"When you breast-feed, you don't know how much they eat," she said. "It's their first lesson in eating until they are full and then stopping."

"Breast-fed babies tend to eat less than formula-fed babies, and have a leaner weight at 1 year of age than formula-fed babies," Colander said.

Breast milk changes constantly to meet the nutritional needs of a growing baby.

Doctors say even one feeding makes a difference, so new moms are encouraged to give it a try.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast-feeding for the first year of a child's life.

New moms can get extra help and guidance through the La Leche League, a group founded to give information and encouragement to all mothers who want to breast-feed their babies.