A Bottle Fed


Executive summary about bottle-fed by Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE
Breastfeeding is the preferred method of infant feeding. If someone else will be feeding your baby, make sure they know exactly how to prepare the formula. Appropriate liquids to feed your baby from a bottle are breastmilk and formula. Babies need the nutrient fat for brain and nerve development.

Assess your needs.
1. Do you prefer reusable bottles or disposable?
2. How will you be cleaning your bottles?
3. What size bottles do you need?
4. How many bottles will you need?
Equipment needed for bottlefeeding:
1. Nursing bottles with caps. You may choose reusable bottles with sterile plastic liners.
2. Nipples.
3. A bottle brush and a nipple brush.

Once you have chosen and brought home the formula, follow these easy steps to prepare it to feed your baby:
1. Always wash your hands with soap and hot water before preparing baby's formula and bottles to prevent infection.
2. If you wash bottles, caps and nipples by hand, use a bottle brush. If the formula you've chosen is canned, clean the top of the can with soap and water. Use only fresh water directly from the cold water tap if you are mixing a concentrate. If you use cold tap water, let the water run for a short period of time before collecting water for formula preparation.
3. Babies can take cold formula, although they may prefer it warm when they are very young. Shake the bottle well before testing temperature. Overheated formula can cause serious burns to the baby.
4. Try to feed your baby the formula within 30 minutes after you make it. Once a baby has nursed from a bottle, microorganisms from the baby's mouth are introduced into the formula.
5. Do not freeze infant formula.

Bottlefeeding your baby:
1. Powdered formulas and concentrated liquid formulas need to be prepared differently.
2. Don't leave a bottle containing formula with your baby to calm him. Your baby's teeth are developing and milk, formula, juices that remain in your baby's mouth can lead to cavities.
3. Ask your health care professional before making changes in formula.

How to bottlefeed:
1. Never prop a bottle.
2. Touch the nipple to the baby's mouth and the baby will turn and grasp the nipple.
3. If your baby is gulping, the formula may be flowing too quickly. Check the nipple holes; they may have enlarged.
4. You should see air bubbles entering the bottle as the baby drinks at a steady rate. If no air bubbles appear, milk has stopped flowing.
5. Continue to feed until the baby indicates fullness.
6. Burp your baby on your shoulder by patting gently on the baby's back until you hear a burp. Don't be surprised if the baby brings up some formula along with the swallowed air.
7. Alternate arms during feeding.

Feed your baby when he seems hungry. Babies should not be hungry after a feeding. Never force a baby to finish what is in the bottle. Babies are the best judge of how much they need.

Most bottlefed babies want 6 to 8 feedings each day. For a 7-pound baby, this would mean 14 to 21 ounces of formula a day. When your baby begins to empty the bottle completely at 2 feedings a day, add an additional ounce to the bottle. Stay a little ahead of the baby and let the baby decide how much to take. If your baby begins to empty the bottle completely, add an additional ounce to your next bottle.

Most babies spit up milk after a feeding. The milk seems to overflow from the baby's mouth. Before feeding, place a bib under your baby's chin. Burp the baby carefully mid-way through the feeding, at the end of the feeding, and a few minutes after the feeding. Place the baby's head higher than the stomach for 10 minutes after each feeding.

The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition recommends that iron-fortified formula be used for all formula-fed infants. The feeding of iron-fortified formula to infants has been shown to practically eliminate overt iron deficiency.

Some babies have attacks of crying nearly every day, most often between 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. Just as the baby is about to fall asleep, another attack may occur. Some colicky babies cry less if they are kept in motion. Remind everyone that it is not the baby's fault, it is not your fault, and the baby will get over it.
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