How to bottle-feed: Chopsy Baby Guide to Bottle-feeding
Bottle-feeding a baby is a contentious subject, as much as that of a mother’s right to breastfeed a baby in public. For some reason, everybody has strong feelings about the ‘right’ way to feed a baby. This has left mothers of both methods to be vilified, even in public by total strangers.
A quick scan of public forums for mums and even the story comments on newspaper websites, will find opinions ranging from bottle-feeding mothers are lazy, evil, selfish and don’t want the best health benefits for their baby. Astonishingly, beliefs held by some breastfeeding mothers are that bottle-feeding mothers don’t want the pain or hassle that breastfeeding brings and that a bottle-feeding mother will never have the same strong bond with their child that only breast-feeding can bring.
Chopsy Baby editor Jen Smith, flies the flag for a mother’s right to bottle-feed without discrimination. Here you will find some advice on the realities of bottle-feeding that won’t be in the books.
Be organised
That bottle-feeding mothers are lazy is a total myth. Feeding a baby with formula and by bottle is no cop out. Bottles need to be washed, sterilised, filled and plenty of expensive formula needs to be in the house.
Advice from the Department of Health states that a new bottle of formula should be freshly made each time. But, it is not the Department of Health who has to get up and make it at midnight, 2am, 4am and 6am.
If you decide to make some bottles up in advance of night feeds, dedicate a shelf in the fridge to baby milk and always rotate it in the same order. Even in the middle of the night, you will know which bottle of milk is next.
Jen says: “I never make up just one bottle at a time, but between two and four at a time to make sure there is plenty ready when needed. No, it’s not what is advised to do, but two babies down the line have coped this way and have never become ill because of it.
“I always make with freshly boiled water, mix well, allow to cool slightly then fridge straight away. Mums quickly get a feel for what is safe. ”
Get the right style bottle
We have put a selection of our favourite bottles here: http://chopsybaby.com/magazine/?p=11055
For formula fed babies, go for nice wide necked bottles found with the better quality brands. Avoid the cheaper options with their narrow necks. You will struggle to get powdered formula inside. They are usually taller making it harder to mix formula and can be slightly harder to clean well.
Mixing formula
Read all the instructions and then make with common sense. Department of Health advice suggests that those making up formula milk should use freshly but not repeatedly boiled water. It should not be allowed to cool for more than half an hour because the hot water will help to kill any bacteria lurking in the milk mix.
Safety advice adorning packets of powder will advise not to use boiling water due to the risk of scalding. Further instructions recommend shaking the bottle well to mix the formula – which mixes best in very hot water.
Never shake a Doctor Brown’s bottle unless you want to create a volcanic effect.
Warming the bottle
You must never warm a bottle in a microwave. This is because hotspots may occur in powdered milk and scald the baby.
Get a cheap plastic measuring jug, a pound shop one is fine. Bottles will heat up faster in a plastic jug than a glass jug. Do keep jugs of hot water well back to avoid injury.
Before giving to a baby, test the temperature by shaking a few drops onto your inner wrist. Do take care. If it’s very hot it’s going to hurt and even gentle shaking can result in a fountain effect coming out of the teat and even the sides of the screw top rim.
Keeping the bottle cool
When in the house, always keep freshly made milk in the fridge. When out of the house try to judge how many you will need and during the warm months, pack a picnic ice pack in with the milk. It is also possible to take bottles of cooled boiled water and add formula as needed.
Leaving the house
It can be hard to judge exactly how much milk you will need for long days out. It is always worth carrying a carton of pre-made formula with you and a sterilised bottle. If you run out whilst you are away from home, it is not the end of the world. Most supermarkets or pharmacies sell disposable sterilised baby bottles and most cornershops will stock at least one brand of cartoned baby milk. If it isn’t your usual brand, it will be better than nothing. Department of Health advice says there is no evidence to suggest that swapping brands of formula will cause any harm or good.
Isn’t breast always best?
No breast is not always best. Bottle-feeding mothers are not evil and formula is not akin to feeding a baby a Happy Meal. Bullying tactics and sniping towards bottle-feeding mothers by the militant breast brigade is shameful. Mothers may not be able to produce enough milk for a baby for a variety of reasons. Lone parents may not have the time and weeks to dedicate to establishing a breast-feeding routine. For some mothers, breastfeeding may simply not work out. The amount of time and effort it takes in organising the day around bottle-feeding means these mothers are far from lazy.
Formula milk is better than a dehydrated baby and after close inspection, there is no skull and crossbones warning sign on packets.
Jen says: “My eldest child was bottle-fed formula from six weeks. He is a strong, boisterous child who has not been plagued by the illnesses touted through the breastfeeding propaganda. Few colds, no dodgy stomachs and never sick.
“In contrast, another family member did fully breastfeed their child, who had diarrhoea, sickness and constant colds. So boo sucks to research really.”
Teat confusion
Many mothers will be familiar with the frantic bottle and dummy hide game as they hear a militant midwife thundering towards the front door. If a particularly sucky baby settles better with a dummy or has an occasional formula top up, why rock the boat? Not all babies will get nipple or teat confusion. Many babies will take to mixed feeding quite well and sometimes as a mother, you have to trust your instincts and get the midwife to back down.
A neat trick for mixed feeding mothers is to use nipple shields. This way the mother can continue to breast and bottle feed, with the nipple shields fooling the baby into thinking they are drinking from a bottle.
Sterilising
The quickest, easiest and cheapest way to sterilise is to use a microwave steam steriliser. The nifty device, depending on brand and bottles, will steam between four and six bottles at a time. If you don’t have a microwave, you can get hold of one from a supermarket along with a steam steriliser for cheaper than buying a bulky and difficult to shift electric steriliser.
In an emergency, boiling water in a large container, or even a Pyrex dish, some cling-film and a microwave will be ideal. For power cuts or travelling, a bottle of Milton’s cold water sterilising fluid on standby is a good idea.
Make sure before you sterilise that the bottles are washed well. Formula milk can leave a greasy residue. Leaving bottles to soak in very hot soapy water for ten minutes prior to a proper wash can help remove this.
Buy a good bottle brush from the start. A bottle and teat brush such as one made by Tommee Tippee will clean bottles well. Bristle brushes are better than those with foam teat cleaners.
www.tommeetippee.co.uk/product/closer_to_nature_bottle_teat_brush/
Bottle-feeding is hard work. Well done you for keeping up with the never ending cycle of washing up, buying formula, heating kettles and making up formula. Night feeds will also subject you to night light pain when you have to stand in the kitchen concentrating on the kettle with the harsh light invading your sleepy brain.
Don’t rise to the smugness of those in their ivory towers thinking you are less of a mother for not breastfeeding. A happy, contented, well fed baby is all that matters.