Baby Care: First Year

Lesson 5: Feeding: Breast and Bottle

Formula-Feeding and Concerns

You have several choices among formulas, bottles, and nipples. Try different ones until you and your baby are satisfied. Not all formulas are the same. Some are made with cow's milk, others with soy. Some contain whole proteins, others contain predigested ones. Some contain lactose and iron, others don't. Consult your doctor about the best choice for your baby.

Bottles: Besides traditional glass or plastic bottles, there are plastic nursers with disposable bags that collapse as your baby feeds to reduce the amount of air he swallows. Try several different bottles until you find the one that fits you and your baby.

Nipples: The standard bulb nipple best allows your baby to form a tight seal. The orthodontic nipple inserts farther into her mouth allowing natural milking action of her tongue, but requires that you keep the nipple turned correctly. The expandable nubbin nipple elongates while your baby sucks if her mouth is open wide enough and if she sucks hard enough.

Getting Started:

1. Prepare formula as directed on its container.
2. To warm the formula, run warm tap water over it. Don't use the microwave because it heats unevenly and your baby could get burnt.
3. Shake a few drops out onto your inner wrist to test the temperature. Milk should drip, not flow, from the nipple. It should drip at least one drop per second.
4. While feeding, hold your baby close, look at her, and hold her bottle near your breast. Her head and body should be facing the same direction. Tilt the bottle up so the air rises to the bottom to prevent her from sucking in as much air.
5. Stop feeding your baby if she falls asleep. As a general rule, feed your newborn to six-month-old two to two and one-half ounces per pound of her body weight (125 to 150 milileters per kilogram) each day. She won't drink as much at first.
6. Immediately refrigerate unused formula for use within three hours.
7. Hold her upright to burp. Place one hand on her belly and pat her back with the other. Or place her over your shoulder and pat her back.

Because formula is more concentrated than breast milk, give your baby at least one bottle of water each day.

Sterilyzing: A dishwasher with 180 degrees Farenheit (82 degrees Celcius) water temperature will sterilize bottles and accessories. If you don't use a dishwasher, wash your equipment in hot soapy water and rinse in hot water. Boil your equipment for ten minutes in a covered pan. Place your equipment on a clean towell to dry.

(See page 202 in The Baby Book for information on weaning your baby from the bottle.)

Formula-feeding Concerns

Formulas get better as new elements are discovered in breastmilk and imitated in formula, but no formula is a completely satisfactory replacement for your breast milk. It is an effective alternative for most babies as formula-fed babies appear to grow normally. However, formula causes an allergic reaction in your newborn's intestines during the early months, and can be dangerous for some babies. For example, formula-fed infants have a greater risk of developing juvenile (Type I) diabetes. Formula-feeding has only been common for the past fifty years so it should still be considered experimental. We don't know all the long-term effects of being reared on formula.

Both cow's milk and soy, the common bases in formula, are potential allergens. Formula doesn't change with the individual growth patterns of your baby, and it doesn't contain illness and disease-fighting factors and digestive enzymes as breast milk does. The iron in formula is not as easily absorbed as the iron in breast milk. Sucking an artificial nipple uses different facial muscles than breastfeeding, and may affect swallowing development.

  1  2  3  4  5