Tips for Bottle Feeding
Bottle Feeding
Tips for Bottle Feeding
If you are going to feed your baby with a bottle, you need to be very careful. Here are some tips that can help you in the process.
Bottle and Nipple Selection
You need to be careful in selecting the nipples for your bottles. Nipples are available in a variety of shapes, so you will need to select the one your baby likes. When buying nipples and bottles, you should check the age range because the ‘flow’ is different for kids of different ages.
How to Mix Formula Milk
Be very careful in mixing formula milk. It is a common practice in Pakistan for mothers to add more water in formula if the baby shows signs of colic. Well-meaning people who think that a baby cannot digest the milk due to its thickness often advise this. Please, never experiment with thinning formula without having the proper knowledge. Mix formula as directed; adding more or less water can make your baby seriously ill. Let the doctors do their work—you just be a mother, father or grandmother.
No Juices or Cola in Bottles
It is also a common practice in Pakistan for women to give juices or even soft drinks like Coca Cola to kids who are being bottle fed. Packaged juices are not recommended for kids, and soft drinks are very dangerous for young children. This is also potentially unhygienic, as people mistakenly think that they don’t need to sterilize the bottles every time after such feeds.
Choosing a Formula Milk
It’s best to discuss which formula milk is better with your doctor. If you opt for cow’s or buffalo’s milk, discuss it with your doctor. She or he will give you the best advice. If your baby shows symptoms like diarrhoea, vomiting, or other signs of allergies, then you may need to change milk. But don’t change your formula without consulting your paediatrician.
Risks of Leaving Your Feeding Baby Unattended
Pakistani women have to cope with all their household chores alone, which leaves them no time to rest. That is why mothers often leave their babies unattended while they are drinking milk from a bottle. Don’t do this until they are mature enough to manage holding a bottle by themselves, as there is a risk they will choke. Tooth decay is also the result of wrong positioning of the bottle during feeding, which may happen when a baby is left alone.
Every Baby Doesn’t Always Burp
Babies usually burp after a feeding. Try to burp your baby after feeding him or her with a bottle, but if your baby seems fine, then don’t force them to burp. It is not necessary for a baby to burp after every feeding. Stay relaxed!
Problem of Warming Milk in the Microwave
The temperature of bottled milk must be room temperature or lukewarm. You will need to check this before giving it to your baby. Don’t use the microwave, please. Using a microwave for warming milk in bottles is not good for your kid’s health. Avoid heating the formula milk on a stove, too. Both of these methods can cause uneven heating of the formula, which will result in hot spots that could burn your baby. Instead, the proper way of warming milk is to put the bottle in warm water for a while.
Leftover Milk
As a parent, you know how much milk your baby can have at one time, so don’t mix more formula than you need for one feeding. If you do, don’t freeze or save the leftover milk—throw it away. And once a baby has drunk milk from a bottle, don’t use it again. During feeding, the baby’s saliva can come in contact with the formula milk in the bottle. Nutrients found in the formula milk combined with the baby’s saliva provide a breeding ground for microorganisms.
Sterilizing/Boiling Bottles
Each time you use a bottle, you need to sterilize it. To do this, you can use a standard sterilizer, or you can just boil them for five minutes and wash them with plain water later.
Note: Don’t buy a sterilizer just because it’s cheap. It’s better to boil instead of using a sterilizer that you’re not sure was made according to international standards. A salesman in any baby shop will try to sell you one of these!
http://www.pakparenting.com/tips-for-bottle-feeding/http://www.pakparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/baby-taking-bottle.jpghttp://www.pakparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/baby-taking-bottle-150x150.jpgBaby FeedingBottle Feeding Tips for Bottle Feeding If you are going to feed your baby with a bottle, you need to be very careful. Here are some tips that can help you in the process. Bottle and Nipple Selection You need to be careful in selecting the nipples for your bottles. Nipples are available...Pak Parenting Teamkhadija Imtinanadmin@pakparenting.comAdministratorPak Parenting
Leave a Reply