Comprehensive Guide to Bottle Feeding

There is a wide range of feeding equipment’s from different brands in market stores but the most popular are baby bottles and teats. Although there are different brands, no brand has been proven to be better than the other and the best thing to do is to try every brand until you get one that suits your baby.

There items are made from food-grade materials and you’ll find them in various shapes and patterns. The idea is to get a bottle with a simple design because it’s easy to clean.

Bottle feeding is typically used when you want to express breast milk in the milk bottles or when you want to feed your baby with infant formula.

How to Feed Your Baby

Support your baby’s head and seat them in an upright posture. This allow your baby to feed easily and swallow comfortably.  The teat must be full of milk, otherwise your baby will swallow air that lead to spit up.

Give your baby some brakes and burp your baby occasionally as this expels the swallowed air that leads to spit up and acid reflux. Your baby may cough while feeding and that’s why you should never leave your baby alone while feeding.

When your baby portrays signs of signs of satisfaction, rub or pat their back while in the sit-up position to rid-off the swallowed air.

For the first week, your baby may require little amount of formula. This may change after one week to between 150 and 200 milliliters which is the standard amount of feed a baby should take per day based on the baby’s weight.

However, newborns tend to feed little but quite often. The good thing is to feed them when they show signs of it. You will know if your angel is hungry if:

1. The baby begins to suck the fingers or anything around

2. The baby starts to move around after waking up

3. The baby starts to move the mouth and head around. They are probably looking for something to suck.

To know if your baby is having sufficient formula, check if your baby is gaining weight. The amount of wet and dirty diapers should change positively per day if your baby is getting sufficient formula.

Your baby may develop a habit of sleeping with the feeding bottle but do not allow that because:

1. Flowing milk may cause tooth decay: Once your baby sleeps, the flowing milk may soak the teeth manifesting as tooth decay.

2. Chocking hazard: if you can be choked by saliva while asleep, imagine what milk would do to your sleeping baby. Because a baby is not alert as you to wake up and counter the sleeping discomfort, reduce the risk by keeping the bottle away.

3. problems: the bottle’s milk may flow into your baby cavity when they sleep on a flat position causing infections to the ear.

Sterilize the Feeding Equipment’s After Feeding

Before sterilizing, clean all the feeding items immediately after a feed with hot and soapy water using a clean bottle brush. After this, rinse them in cold running water then sterilize.

There are three ways to do that:

1.      By use of boiling water: the first thing you’ll need to consider is if the item is safe to boil or not. That’s because items like teat are vulnerable to damage when immersed in hot water.

If the item is safe to boil, immerse in water and boil for up to 10 minutes. Be careful as this method can lead to burns and scalds. Also, make sure the children are not close to the boiling water and hot pans.

By use of steam: with this method, you can use a microwave or electric sterilizer. Place the items to be sterilized with the internal openings facing the sterilizer.

Because there are different ways to sterilize feeding equipment’s like bottles, it is always a good idea to follow manufacturers instructions with regard to how often to sterilize unused items and after how long they should be resterilised.

By use of cold water: immerse the feeding items in the sterilizing solution for up to 30 minutes. The bottles and teats should contain no air when placing them in the solution.

Do not use the same sterilizing solution after 24 hours. Prepare another solution and immerse the items. You can use a floating cover to maintain the items at the bottom of the solution.

The best thing is to follow instructions on the manufacturers label as most brands have a label containing a step-by-step guide on how to sterilize and wash the feeding equipment’s.

What is Infant Formula? Types and How to Prepare the Infant Formula

Infant formula is made from cows’ milk that is processed to meet certain standards to be appropriate to infants. Although there is a spectrum of brands in the market, they are mainly comprised of two types of proteins: casein and whey.

Types of Infants’ Formula

First Infant Formula

This is the first formula you give your newborn once they attain the age of 6 months. Give your baby this formula through the first year of life, then provide them with whole cow’s milk after one year of birth.

According to studies, this formula is best for newborns because it is based on whey in cow’s milk. This whey is easy to digest when compared to casein.

 Casein Infant Formula

This one is harder to digest when compared to first infant formula and that’s why it’s inappropriate to infants.

There are other casein-based baby formulas due to the explosive rise in formula manufacturers that are claimed to be of no benefit in infants. Just check the labels to see if it’s verified as first infant formula otherwise, you’ll end up picking the wrong formula if you’re not careful.

Soya Based Formulas

This type of formula is ideal to babies who are allergic to proteins in cow milk. Your doctor may recommend soya based formula but do not use it until it has been prescribed. Besides, your doctor may recommend a formula that’s utterly hydrolysed with proteins, and that’s why you should consult or talk with your doctor if your baby is allergic to specific formulas.

 

On the other hand, you’ll find two infant formulas- liquid and powdered infant formula. Liquid formula is ready-to- feed. It is safe and does not contain bacteria or microorganisms, reducing the possibility of infections. This formula is suitable to infants who are vulnerable to infections, weigh less at birth or those infants who are pre-term.

Unsused infant formula should be stored with the cut side upside down in a fridge and disposed after 24 hours.

Read more: Playpens for babies

Powdered formula needs some preparation with tap water. Here’s how to prepare the powdered baby formula:

1. Take a disinfected kettle and fill it with not less than 1 litre of fresh tap water. Boil this water and give it around 30 minutes to cool so that its temperature is not less than 70 degrees Celsius. (there are several ways to disinfect as I will explain below)

2. Place the bottle teat and cap on the upturned sterilizer lead and not on a dirty surface while you stand the bottle on a disinfected surface.

3. Next, put the correct amount of water as stated on the manufactures label. Scoop the formula also according to the scribbled instructions and level with a clean item like dry knife.

4. Pick the teat by the edge and screw with the ring. Use the cap to cover the teat and shake the solution vigorously until the all the powder has dissolved.

5. Make sure the formula is at body temperature. Cool the bottle if its hot by running cold water on the bottom half of the bottle. The water should not touch the teat cap.

6. Finally, feed your baby and dispose any remaining formula. Note though that you can store the feed in a fridge for not more than 24 hours. Dispose the feed if it was not kept at room temperature.