Bottle feeding

Breastfeeding is the best nutrition for babies. However, bottle feeding is ideal if you do not want to or cannot breastfeed yourself. Bottle feeding is also known as ‘artificial feeding,’ which essentially means that you determine how much food your little one receives. But whether you bottle-feed or breastfeed, your child needs the same amount of nutrition in both cases.

Take into account the bottle, milk, teats, hygiene, and more. Even when switching from breastfeeding to bottle feeding.

Bottle feeding is available in many different varieties. For a healthy baby, you can use complete infant formula for the first 6 months. When your baby is six months old, you can switch to follow-on milk.

For complaints such as colic, there is special formula containing prebiotics. These are easily digestible fibers that keep the stool softer. There are also special formulas for babies who spit up frequently.

It is becoming increasingly common for a child to be hypersensitive to certain substances in regular milk, requiring the use of a special milk that does not contain these substances. Additionally, there are special formulas for children with less common metabolic diseases.

The midwife will guide you through this during the first week.

Dutch tap water is suitable for baby food, except if you have lead pipes (especially in old houses built before 1945); in that case, use spring or mineral water (still).

Preparing food:

Ensure that the bottle, teat, and other materials are thoroughly clean: rinse them with hot water, boil them, use a bottle sterilizer, or the dishwasher.
Check the pacifier for cracks and irregularities. You should replace a pacifier approximately every six weeks.
Wash your hands before preparing the bottle.
The packaging indicates how much powder to use for preparation. Generally, this is one level measuring spoon per 30 ml of water.
Heat the water in the bottle warmer, microwave, or a bowl of hot water to the required (lukewarm) temperature.
Add powder, shake… done!

These are the different types of bottles

Standard bottles
Anti-colic / anti-reflux bottles: these bottles have a valve that allows you to vent the bottle, so that your baby does not swallow air, which can lead to flatulence or reflux.
Angled bottles: these are the bottles you sometimes see with a strange shape. These bottles make it easier for the nipple to stay filled and reduce flatulence. The special shape makes the bottles more difficult to clean.
Wide-neck bottles: these bottles make bottle feeding more similar to breastfeeding. A handy bottle, therefore, when you start bottle feeding.

Good to know: plastic bottles are more convenient and cheaper than glass bottles, but they do need to be replaced every few months to prevent bacteria from growing in the scratches on the bottle.

The different types of bottle teats

You can choose between a latex or silicone bottle teat. Latex is softer but breaks more easily and therefore needs to be replaced more often. Bottle teats are available in sizes small, medium, large, and X-large, or 1, 2, 3, and 4. This last teat size is for feeding thickened food and porridge. Choosing a teat remains difficult, as it depends on the sucking strength or the consistency of your child’s food. It is important to pay attention to the drinking speed. A feeding session should preferably last 20–30 minutes.

These are the different types of teats:

Standard teats: these are supplied with the standard bottles.
Anti-koliek / anti-reflux spenen: deze voorkomen winderigheid en reflux.
The 3-position teat: these teats can be adjusted so that the milk flow meets the needs of your growing baby.
Dental bottle teats: these teats are for babies who choke easily or who have a strong sucking reflex.

De meeste flesjes zijn verkrijgbaar in 3 maten: 120 ml, 240 ml en 330 ml.

Bottle warmer or microwave

You now know everything about the different types of bottles and teats. Now you can start warming up the bottle. You can use a bottle warmer or a microwave. Heat a 100-milliliter bottle for 30 seconds, a 150-milliliter bottle for 45 seconds, and a 200-milliliter bottle for 60 seconds. Swirl the bottle in between and at the end to distribute the heat evenly, so that part of the milk does not get too hot. Please note: breast milk must not be heated to more than 37°C.

Read more here about preparing formula. The amount of formula your baby needs depends on their weight and height, among other factors. Use our handy feeding schedule as a guideline for the amount of formula. Consult your doctor or the child health clinic to determine how much formula your baby needs from 6 months onwards.

Many bottle warmers can also be used as sterilizers. Should you decide not to buy a 2-in-1 bottle warmer and sterilizer, you can also sterilize the bottles and teats by placing them in boiling water for 5 minutes. This is only necessary for first use. After that, you can simply clean the bottles in soapy water or in the dishwasher (> 55 degrees).

Bron: www.nutricia.nl