Bottle feeding do’s and dont’s
Brought to you by Closer to Nature
Closer to Nature’s tips and tricks will keep you on the right track when it comes to bottle feeding your baby.
Finding the right position
Do's
- Make yourself as comfortable as possible; you could be there for a while.
- Hold your baby at a 45 degree angle so their bottom rests on your lap. This can reduce the amount of air baby consumes while feeding.
- Bond with your baby. Enjoy this experience while it lasts; talk, or even sing, to baby while making eye contact.
Don't
- Leave your baby unattended, even when they are able to hold the bottle themselves.
- Hold the bottle too flat. Tilt the bottle so the teat is filled with milk to avoid baby ingesting too much air.
Making a Bottle Feed and Bottle Care
Do's
- Buy new bottles for each new baby.
- Make up bottles one at a time. It may be easier to store the cooled, boiled water sealed in the bottles and then add the formula at feeding time.
- Check the temperature of the milk in your baby's bottle before feeding. Squirt a few drops on the top of your hand - it should be body temperature.
- Wash the bottles you have used in warm soapy water before sterilising using your Bottle and Teat Brush (there is no need to sterilise the brush itself), then rinse.
- Inspect bottles and teats before and after each feed for signs of wear and tear.
- Discard any unused milk after baby has been fed.
Don't
- Use bottles that are badly worn or scuffed or scratched.
- Put boiling water straight from the kettle into your bottles. Allow it to cool for approximately 30 minutes.
- Heat bottles in a microwave. This can lead to hot spots and destroy nutrients in your formula milk.
- Use the door compartments when storing bottles in the refrigerator as the temperature changes every time you open the door.
- Thaw breast milk in a microwave. Allow it to defrost at room temperature.
- Mix formula and breast milk. Breast milk can be kept whereas formula milk must be discarded soon after preparation. Mixing the two can thus lead to wasted breast milk.