How To Prepare Formula Milk For Your Baby?
Though breast milk is the healthiest for a baby, sometimes the lactation supply falls short. While we strongly recommend exclusive breast feed till six months, Formula Milk to supplement feed and its preparation, is often confusing for new parents. This article will guide you through the steps one needs to follow to prepare a bottle of baby feed.
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Breast Milk is liquid gold for a baby. Your newborn derives all his nutritional needs from it. All research points to the manifold benefits of breast milk. Exclusive breast feed for 6 months will keep your baby healthy and happy. Yet, at times the milk supply in a mother might fall short, especially during growth spurts. After 6months, some parents might choose to start formula milk along with breast feed and solid food. This new addition to the baby’s needs might confuse parents. Hence, I decided to share with you exactly how we prepared my son, Kabir’s, formula feed.
Keep this in mind before preparing formula milk for your baby
Hygiene► Before I take you through the steps, I have to highlight the importance of hygiene while preparing formula milk. One must always wash their hands properly, before touching anything that is related to baby feed. This will reduce the chances of any germs contaminating your baby’s milk. The feeding bottle, measuring spoon and all apparatus should be washed and sterilized before each use. Your feeding station, the area where your child’s formula is prepared, should be spotless clean. Dust, wipe, wash and sterilize. This will greatly reduce any chances of infections entering your baby.
Storage► Another important point is Storage. The lid of a formula tin should be tightly shut. Formula should be stored in a cool and dry place, away from sunlight. No moisture should enter it. Moisture would coagulate and contaminate the baby formula. Any coagulation in formula should be taken seriously. Dispose of that tin/pack immediately. Please do take the time to read all the details on the formula tin/pack. Your awareness keeps your baby safe.
Shelf-Life► Also, the marked shelf life of the formula should be adhered to. Most formulas advise it to be used within 3 weeks of opening. Once the formula tin is opened, keep a track of the days that have passed. Sometimes the baby consumes less formula in that time period. Do not use the formula if it’s past the shelf life. I do understand that formula is expensive, however as parents our baby’s health is of utmost importance.
I would strongly recommend for you to watch the video content linked here to understand our feeding station setup. We set it up in the corner of our bedroom itself, so that we could make a formula feed at a moment’s notice. Our set up was always kept clean. We chose to invest in a bottle warmer, sterilizer and a 1ltr flask (to keep boiled water hot for about 8hrs). We researched well to find the right bottles and formula for our baby. Do ask your pediatrician for guidance on the brand of formula that you should use.
Making Formula Milk for you baby
When you start formula, most pediatricians will advise to start with a small quantity. The bottles have ounces or ml marked on the side. Pour water from the flask as per your baby’s needs. Always firmly place the bottle on a flat surface. This would help you to exactly follow the measurement of water, that you pour into the bottle.
►The water should be lukewarm- around 40 degrees. The breast milk too is around the same temperature. Do not give boiling water or cold water to your baby. We boiled water twice a day and stored it in the flask. This eliminates last minute heating and cooling of water for the formula.
►The measurement of formula is always indicated on the tin. Usually, it is one scoop of powder for one ounce. The scoop (spoon) comes with the tin. Level the spoon and add the powder. Do not dilute the formula with extra water. This will take away the nutrition value from the baby’s feed.
►Cap the bottle tightly and shake it well. The formula should completely dissolve in the water. This step will greatly reduce the chance of indigestion. Once dissolved let the bottle rest for a minute or two, till the bubbles in the bottle settle.
►Meanwhile you can use the few minutes to put your feeding station into order for the next feed. Do not put the measurement spoon back into the tin. Wash it , sterilize and air dry, before using it again. Double check that the lid of the formula tin is tightly closed. Then test the temperature of the formula by sprinkling a few drops at the back of your hand. Your baby feed is now ready.
If you set up your feeding station well, this entire process just takes about 5 minutes. However, I would like to re-emphasize the importance of breast milk. Should you want to supplement it with a few formula feeds, do keep the above steps in mind. I would strongly advise not to give cow’s milk to a baby, when the baby is less than a year old. Cow’s milk has certain proteins that are very difficult to digest. Formula milk, though expensive, is meant for a baby. Hence breast milk should only be supplemented by formula.
I hope this article helps in solving most of your questions. You can always reach me by writing a message. Share it with as many parents as you can. Our experiences in parenting bring us into a close-knit family. Enjoy Simplified Parenting.
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