Bottle feeding for new moms can be overwhelming. There’s so much to remember such as formula measurements and what type of milk is best for your growing baby.
For starters, you should always select the best organic toddler formula for your baby, especially during weaning. Organic toddler milk is healthier for your baby and babies between the ages of six and 12 months of age need more iron and vitamin D. So, follow on milk can give your baby all the vitamins and minerals he or she needs for healthy doses of nutrients.
To help you with the process, we’ve given you six formula feeding hacks for your growing baby. The following tips will make feeding time much easier for you, especially when it’s in the early hours of the morning.
1. Warm Bottle Water isn’t Needed
Some moms will insist on warming formula before feeding. But most babies don’t fuss about the temperature of the formula. Room temperature milk is fine for infants and toddlers & that makes it easier for moms when feeding time is late in the evening & early in the morning.
It’s advised to boil the water beforehand as heating the water will kill bacteria and germs. But this is done when prepping your baby’s bottles for feeding time. But it’s not necessary to keep the formula excessively warm.
Keep in mind that the formula shouldn’t be piping hot when you’re feeding your baby, because it can burn his or her mouth and oesophagus. To check if the formula is at a safe temperature for feeding, simply drip some of the milk onto your wrist. If the liquid burns you, leave the formula to cool down before you feed your baby.
2. Prep Bottles before Bed
Prepping your baby’s bottles before you go to bed will save you a lot of time. It will also prevent you making mistakes with formula measurements when you’re still half asleep. Boil the amount of water you need to make the formula before you go to bed. When it’s time for feeding you’ll have room temperature water that has been sterilised.
If you don’t feel like boiling water, buy bottled water from the shop because it’s filtered and healthier for your baby.
Another way to prep your bottles is by filling them with the exact amount of formula before you go to bed. When feeding time comes all you have to do is pour the amount of water needed for your bottle and shake it well.
3. Make the Formula In Advance
Making toddler milk in advance is for moms who prefer feeding their babies with warm formula. You can make bottles of formula before bed but it will need to be refrigerated if it’s going to be left out for a few hours. To warm the formula up you can put the bottle in a jug of boiling water.
You shouldn’t warm it up in the microwave because this will damage the plastic bottles and it’s extremely unhealthy for babies. It should take 15 minutes for the milk to warm up to room temperature if you place the bottle in a jug of hot water.
The method of making the formula in advance may not be suitable for feeding your baby at night or in the morning, because it can take a while to boil water and to warm up the milk. But it’s an ideal method when you have guests over or you’re hosting a party; it will reduce the steps needed to make the formula.
4. Split Formula Duties with Your Spouse
It’s not easy waking up early in the morning to feed a baby. Sometimes moms don’t get the rest they want because babies need constant care and attention & so it’s easy to make mistakes when prepping a bottle. Perhaps you should split feeding duties with your spouse.
Pick a time when it’s suitable for each of you to make the formula and to feed your baby. This way you’ll both get the experience of bonding with the baby while feeding him or her. It’s also a way you and your spouse can rest in between feeds.
5. Only use One Brand of Formula
Infants have sensitive stomachs so it’s advised that you don’t experiment with formulas unless you’re told by your doctor to change the one you’re currently feeding your baby. Changing formulas can give your baby stomach cramps, gas & constipation and cause vomiting.
But if you do need to change formulas, you can feed your baby the new milk in small quantities. Mix a quarter of the new formula in with the one you’re currently feeding your baby, so his or her immune system can adjust to the new milk.
If your baby hasn’t experienced any discomfort with the new milk you can make a complete switch to the new formula.
6. Know your Bottle and Teat Sizes
Start your baby off with the smallest bottle and teat sizes. The lowest teat size is to ensure the formula comes out slowly for your baby to drink. But as your baby grows bigger you must upgrade to larger teat sizes. A bigger teat has slightly larger openings for better formula flow.
Final Thoughts
Will you be using any of these bottle-feeding hacks? Let us know what your baby formula feeding methods are by leaving us a comment below. We love hearing from our readers and you may be helping new moms with more formula feeding methods that could save them a lot of time.
