Bottle Feeding Baby Without Guilt
How to Bottle Feed with Confidence and Comfort
It is important to know that infant formulas on the market are regulated in terms of their content. They are manufactured to resemble human breast milk as closely as possible. So, there is not significant difference in the constitution of different brands of formula. What a parent will find is that formula is available in cow-based or soy-based. Most physicians recommend trying the cow-based formula first. Then, if a reaction or allergy develops, try a soy-based formula. Check with your physician or pediatrician for suggestions. He or she may have suggestions based on your genetic history, or updated information on products available.
Formula is available in powder, liquid concentrate and ready-made packages. The powder is the least expensive and must be mixed with water. The liquid concentrate is more expensive and must also be mixed with water to make it consumable. The ready-made cans or "bottles" are the most expensive and can be served to the baby "as is." These are great for travel and visits. Be sure to read the expiration dates on formula cans as they do have a finite shelf-life. This is especially important for parents who like to "stock up" to save even more money. Make sure you'll be able to use the formula before it expires.
Once formula has been prepared, it can be stored for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Some parents prefer to make up a day's supply of formula so it is ready - either in individual bottles, or in a sterilized container in the refrigerator. Bottles can also be made up one at a time. A parent can even measure out the exact amount of powder into bottles and add water later - this is also handy for families on the go. As a rule, your baby will be consuming about 2 1/2 ounces of formula per pound of weight during a 24 hour period. A ten-pound infant will be eating approximately 25 ounces of formula each day.
Although sterilization was once a major chore for new parents, the latest theory is that after initially sterilizing newly-purchased bottles, nipples and covers - washing and sterilizing in a hot dishwasher is just fine. You can purchase a handle little basket that fits in a dishwasher and holds nipples, rings, covers and other small items so everything can be washed with ease. You will still want to rinse bottles after use and a bottle brush is an essential cleaning tool.
There are many choices available to parents regarding bottles and nipples. A trip to your local department store or baby supply store will be an educational experience. Some parents find their babies are not the slightest bit picky and will take formula from any source - but many parents need to do some experimenting to find the feeding system that is the best fit for their particular child.
The actual feeding-time experience can be quite similar to breast feeding - except that others (father, siblings, grandparents) can be involved in the wonderful, bonding that can occur during a feeding. Set aside time to relax, focus and enjoy feeding the baby. A comfortable feeding position or special chair are a big help. Hold the baby close (skin-to-skin contact is known to improve bonding), support the baby's head and hold in an upright position, and tilt the bottle so that the baby can feed without sucking in air. If the baby sucks so as to create a vacuum in the bottle (the nipple will flatten and baby won't be getting any formula), gently move the nipple in the baby's mouth to release the vacuum.
Take time to burp the baby during a feeding and never prop a bottle or leave a baby alone during feeding. This can cause choking.
Bottle-fed babies tend to feed less often than breast fed babies, but this is by no means a rule. Each infant is an individual and just when you think you've gotten into a routine, things are likely to change with a growth spurt or developmental change. Like breast-feeding, it is best to feed "on demand" and let your baby tell you when he or she is hungry and ready for a feeding.
As you develop confidence in your bottle-feeding choice, you will feel less susceptible to the comments of strangers and family members who believe breast is best. Most bottle-feeding parents develop some "pat answers" for comments, such as "We all enjoy feeding the baby," or "Bottle feeding works really well for our family." You probably won't want to get into philosophical debates about the merits of breast vs. bottle. After all, the focus is on your growing, thriving, healthy baby!
Published by Kori Rodley Irons
Kori is a freelance writer, public relations and nonprofit management specialist living in the Pacific Northwest. She also raised three children as a single parent and is an activist involved in various comm... View profile
- Guide for Bottle Feeding For those mothers who want to bottle feed their babies, here are some guide and factors to consider in bottle feeding.
- Top Tips for Bottle-feeding Your Baby If you cannot breastfeed, you can bottle-feed your baby with an infant formula made from modified cow's milk. Ordinary cow's milk, goat's milk, evaporated or condensed milk are not suitable for babies under one year old.
- Baby's Only Organic Toddler Formula (Dairy Based) by Nature's One: Review If for some reason you must use formula instead of the infinitely-better-for-baby mother's milk, seriously, there's only one formula you should consider: Baby's Only Organic Toddler Formula.
-
A New Study Indicates that Breast-fed Babies Are Smarter Than Bottle-Fed...
A new major study indicates breast-feeding makes baby smarter due to a special gene that babies inherit from breast-feeding mothers.The findings may be particularly important in...
- Birth Control Options for Breast Feeding Mothers This is a article on the different types of birth control available for breast feeding mothers.
- Breast-Feeding Better for Baby and Mother Than Bottle Formula; May Prevent Cancer,...
- Breast-feeding Vs. Bottle Feeding
- Pregnancy Week 38: Breastfeed or Bottle Feed
- What's a Mother to Do? Should You Breastfeed Your Baby or Bottle Feed?
- 5 Secrets to Successfully Bottle Feeding Your Infant
- Tips on Bottle Feeding Your Baby
- Breastfeeding Versus Bottle Feeding
|
|
- It's Already that Time: How Much Will You Pay for Summer Camp?
- To Punish Daughter, Dad Destroys Her Laptop: Tough Love or Too Extreme? (Video)
- What Do You Do with the Valentine's Day Cards Your Kids Bring Home from School?
- Why I Fired My Child's Pediatrician (And How it Saved My Son's Life)
- Parenting Guru: A special Valentine for a mystery 4th grade girl
12 Comments
Post a CommentIt's not just that "breast is best" but breastfeeding is the NORMAL way to feed an infant. Formula feeding is the exception, and parents should know about the risks and hazards associated with feeding their child formula.
Shame on all of you who feel so superior to those of us who fail at breast feeding. Shame on you for accusing us of not wanting what is best for our baby. It is absolutely absurd and evil for anyone to condemn parents who choose to bottle feed. I tried to breast feed my first child, and after several failures due to insufficient milk production, I switched to bottle. I tried pumping, talking to expert volunteers at la leche, and even my doctor. I believe my inability to nurse was partly due to my anxiety with my first child, since I had difficulty conceiving. I cried everytime I tried and failed. I felt I was not a good mother, and I was letting my precious child down. When I finally admitted defeat and switched to formula, I felt like a big weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I believe that bottle feeding was, in my case, in the BEST interest of my dearly loved child. It can't be good for a baby to be raised by a very stressed mother. And by the way, that child grew up to
Wow, "you will feel less susceptible to the comments of strangers and family members who believe breast is best" ??? Um, breast IS best, it's not just a belief. :) It's a shame that you're willing to settle for "just fine." Personally, I want my child to have the best of everything and breastmilk is well within most women's power to provide. (Don't bother with the whole "some women can't nurse" argument either, please-- I am one of those women everyone said "couldn't nurse." And actually, I'm nursing right now. :)
"In other words, bottle fed babies are healthy and develop just fine."... Except for the ones who die of SIDS, viruses, and bacterial infections because they were formula-fed. Formula kills 4 out of every 1000 babies who drink it, and the ones who survive past infancy--thankfully, the vast majority--are over 10 times more likely to be obese, diabetic, or depressed as adults I'm glad that it's available as a last resort, but it's utterly unreasonable to claim that they are "just fine" when it's actually a fatal choice for some babies.
i'm amazed at how blind and narrow minded can people be when they in any way advocate use of infant formula. It's BAD, BAD, BAD. Say, how can possibly a powder milk substitute can be good enough for even an adult? Or infant formula which even does not contain all the necessary elements which MOTHER NATURE put in a breastmilk? It is just a POWDER milk.!!!!! Only ignorant and/or highly arrogant parents can choose it instead of breastfeeding, or the lazy ones. And TIHOSE greedy billioniers brainwash you on the benefits of Similac so that they can make another billion or two...
It is amazing how a trend can brainwash so many people. I am not arguing that breast milk is not the best for your baby. It does contain all the nutrients and anti-bodies a baby needs, but isn't it amazing that many extremely intelligent well rounded adults today were bottle fed?? 20 years ago hardly anyone breast fed their children and isn't it amazing just how many intelligent people there are in the world that never had an ounce of their mothers milk. Some moms have to take prescription medications that prevent them from breast feeding. Some moms have problems keeping their milk supply up even when their child nurses every 2 hours, and some parents adopt children making it impossible to nurse. Do these things make you any less of a caring loving parent?? Sometime your made to feel that way just because you chose to use a bottle...I think it just isn't fair. Everyone should do what feels right for them..and look everyone here in there 20 or older managed to survive and grow i
I think it is rediculous the length that people go to, to make you feel guilty about formula feeding your child. I for one formula feed my child and he is an extremely happy, and healthy little boy. Even one of my articles that was completely reassuring that breast milk is best but reassured women who formula feed that formula is the next best thing you can do was bashed in so many words. It's crazy! I think its because a lot of the old cons pertaining to formula has changed and now people have no reason to bash formula. You should be ashamed of yourselves using scare-tactics and guilt trips to women who literally have no other choice but to formula feed their children.
Great article by the way!
I breast feed both of my children as long as could but after I returned to work by milk dryed up because pumping was very hard for me. It is because of judgmental people like you that I feel guily to have a bottle in public. I should not have to explane to anyone why my son has a bottle. He is happy health and growing just fine. I have done nothing wrong by him or my older daughter.
Moreover, feeding a baby a bottle is nowhere near comparable to nursing a baby. It is not anywhere near the same. Any mother who has breastfed AND bottlefed will tell you that.
Formula is not near as regulated as you think. It's not even mandatory in the US that formula companies include DHA. There have been dozens of recalls, and babies have died from contaminated milk and had serious problems related to nutrient deficiency because of inadequate formula composition. Bottle-fed babies are 14 more times likely to be hospitalized and are at increased risk of a number of ailments from ear infections to anemia. Their healthcare costs on average $1400 a year more than a breastfed baby.