Bottle feeding a Baby – Things you should know

For a mother to choose bottle feeding her baby instead of breast feed her baby, comes from many different reasons. And a mother should not feel guilty to have making such decision, because there are millions of kids out there have grown up healthy from formula.

For breast-fed baby to learn to drink from a bottle is also important from beginning. We can offer the baby boiled plain water from a small bottle to pacify the baby between nursing times. When the mother decides to wean a baby of three or four months who has never had a bottle feeding before, the baby will obstinately refuse one. A frustrating time can be made from such a baby’s stubborn resistance to counter the mother’s insistence to bottle feeding the baby.

But if the baby has had experience with a bottle feeding before, a mother will find this no problem. Especially a mother who wishes to return to work outside home after breast-feed the baby. She can then leave a bottle of formula with the baby sitter to give to the baby as a lunchtime substitute for the breast. The baby as does a mother’s breast will soon adjust to a new schedule.

It is important to bottle feeding the baby at the same time each day. The working mother should drink plenty of liquids, avoid any kind of alcohols, and eat nutritious foods.

If you go to the market, you can see there are many types of formulas. Some ready to use directly from the can, others require the addition of water. If a physician does not suggest an alternative formula then a mother should continue using the same type that the baby first received in the hospital.

Some things to keep in mind are:

• Babies are not suitable with condensed milk
• Pasteurized cow’s milk should be introduced only after the baby is nine to twelve months old, and the milk still need to be diluted according to a physician’s instructions.
• It is sometimes necessary to add slightly more water to the formula than the instruction suggest as an aid to the baby’s digestive system.