How to Bottle Feed a Baby ?

Generally, baby bottles are of three types: glass, plastic and bottles made of plastic, which have throwaway plastic liners. Bottles made of glass have excellent durability but they are not lightweight and are prone to breaking. Bottles made of plastic are light in weight and are strong. Bottles having liners also come in handy because the liners don’t need sterilization every time. They have one drawback that they are expensive as compared to the other two. Some of the plastic bottles are so designed as to allow very little air in baby’s stomach while taking feed.

Similarly, nipples are also of many types. They are available in rubber as well as silicone. A nipple should preferably be changed after every three months. For older babies, nipples having bigger holes should be bought.

Temperature Of Bottle and Milk: A majority of babies likes feed at room temperature only. However, if your baby likes warm feed, heat the bottle (having the feed) by placing it in hot water. You can also place your bottle under running hot water from the tap. By this method you do not run the risk of making the bottle too hot and you are also able to find out he temperature of the feed by placing some drops of feed on your hand or wrist. Avoid placing the bottle in the microwave oven because it results in the uneven heating of the feed. All the more, the bottle may be slightly hot, whereas the feed inside it may be extremely hot. This can be very dangerous for your baby.

Baby Bottle Feeding Tips: The time of feeding the baby brings pleasure both for the baby as well as the person who is administering the feed. Always maintain body contact with your baby at the time of feeding and if possible indulge in hugging also. When your baby has finished almost half of the feed, take the baby in your arms and make it burp so that any gas that has collected in its stomach is released.

A practical rule is to make your baby burp when it has eaten about 2 ounces of the feed. If this is not done, your baby may wake up and cry. Its sleep will remain incomplete and that would not be good for its health.