Nothing is better than a mother’s breastmilk when it comes to feeding your baby. Anyone having trouble while breastfeeding or other reasons can introduce formula to babies. Now, many health organizations and doctors suggest new parents for opting this feeding method. But before you feed anything to your baby, you must know various things about it.
Things like formula ingredients, when do babies stop drinking formula, and much more. In the following write-up, we will discuss some formula feeding tips that will be helpful for new parents. You need to keep things fine for your baby because no one can compromise with the little one’s health. Let us discuss those tips:
1. Get Detailed Information About the Formula
Before you feed any formula to your baby, make sure that you read all the details mentioned on the label thoroughly. After getting detailed information, it will be easy to evaluate its consumption and benefits. Some babies are quite allergic to different ingredients, and you should check that such things must not be present in them.
Many doctors advised new parents to avoid cow or buffalo milk before their babies turn to one. Instead, you can give formula milk to them. You need to evaluate how and when you should feed your baby. You can check out Motherhoodcommunity.com for some guide on how to choose a baby formula for your little one.
2. Check the Feeding Bottles
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Before you feed formula to your baby, you need to check the quality of the bottle and nipple. If you prefer to buy a plastic one, make sure that it is BPA-free and good quality. It will be better if you consider the glass ones. But you need to take care of them a lot because it is easy to break if you mishandle them.
There are plenty of good companies that are manufacturing high-quality feeding bottles. After that, you have to check the quality of the nipple, the size of the hole and its material. It should be soft, and the hole should not be too big because the fast flow is not good for babies.
3. Set Up a Good Angle for Feeding
When you bottle-feed the formula, you need to set a good angle to avoid milk overflowing into the baby’s mouth. If you keep the bottle too high, the flow will increase, and it will cause air bubbles. You need to check the head of the nipple as it should always be filled with milk.
If there is no fluid, then it can cause gas in babies. You have to be very careful while feeding your baby through a bottle. The right angle of the bottle is a must to maintain for healthy feeding of milk to your little one.
4. Hold Your Baby for Burps
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If your baby is too hungry, he will love to sip all the formula altogether. The tummy size is too small, and they can vomit just after feeding. You need to take care of burps. For that, you need to hold your baby in many comfortable positions and pat the back of your baby.
You need to wait a bit until your little one burps the milk he consumed. In this way, you can note that your baby has digested the formula-fed by the bottle. There will be no air bubbles in his digestive tract, and he will be comfortable after the feed.
5. Make the Fresh Bottle Every Time
Many parents are too busy, and they already make formula bottles and keep them in the refrigerator. But it is an unhealthy thing you are doing to your baby. Whenever you need to feed the bottle to your baby, you have to make the new formula.
Ensure that the baby should consume the milk within half an hour because it can be dangerous for your little one. You have to be prepared while making the fresh formula-fed bottle every time. It is necessary to feed healthy milk to your baby.
6. Use Filtered Water
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The formula for babies is powder, and you need to add milk to it. You must use filtered water to make the formula. If you do not have filtered water, boil some water and cool it down before using it.
The boiled water will be of the same quality as the filtered one. If you live in an old house, then take care of the pipelines you are receiving water. It may contain lead, and it is quite dangerous for your little one. You need to take care of water quality before using it to make the formula.
7. Use Warm Water to Make Formula Milk
You must serve warm formula milk to your baby. But the heating method can affect the milk because overheating can cause hot spots. You need to warm the water and add scoops of formula milk. One can also keep the bottle in warm water to warm the milk.
You can also use bottle warmers to make the formula. It is a big no if you are microwaving the bottle. Before serving the milk to your baby, you need to check the temperature on your wrist. You need to be careful while choosing the appropriate heating method.
8. Keep Monitoring the Poop Color
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The color of the baby poop tells everything about its health. You need to keep monitoring the color to ensure that the baby is healthy or not. If you feed formula to your little one, then the poop color will be yellow or brown.
If you find another color, you need to talk to your pediatrician. There can be many other conditions that can change the color, but you must know the reason. Regular monitoring of poop color will ensure that your baby is healthy.
Final Thoughts
New parents get confused about what and how to feed their babies. These tips are helpful for new parents who are formula feeding their babies for the first time. You always wish for a healthy diet that you are serving to your baby.
