When it comes to feeding your child through the use of a baby bottle there are a few important things to remember. The first and, most significant, thing to recognize is the safety of your child. Is their head back too far? Are they able to drink the contents in the bottle without inhaling too much air? Am I able to leave them unattended during the feeding process? Secondly, you want to choose the right bottle for your child. There are a wide variety of different baby bottle ranging from standard, to angle-neck, all the way to wide. These bottle all have particular functions and specialize in different areas. Lastly, as a loving parent, you want to be sure that your child is consuming the proper amount of formula at the right time of day. That ensures that they aren’t over eating or under eating.
A common mistake new parents make is assuming that their baby is a bottle drinking expert right from the start. This is untrue. You’ll need to pay close attention to your child to make sure that they know how to drink from a bottle without endangering themselves. For starters, if you hear a lot of noise and sucking sounds coming from your baby while drinking, they’re probably taking in too much air. This is never a good thing. To prevent this, try holding your baby at a 45 degree angle. While doing so, make sure that the nipple and neck of the bottle is filled with formula. And finally, never prop a bottle, opting to leave your child unattended. This is extremely dangerous and can cause your baby to choke without you being there to watch over them.
If you’re going to use a combination of breast feeding and bottle feeding you may want to consider a wide bottle. They’re slightly shorter and broader than standard bottles, but feel more breast-like than standard bottles. This is especially helpful when you’re beginning to wean your child off of the nipple on onto a bottle. Angle neck bottles allow less airflow into the nipple of the bottle due to their angled neck, allowing more formula into the nipple. And standard bottles are the ones normally seen. They are good for new parents since they come with the least amount of maintenance.
For the first few weeks following an inflexible feeding schedule isn’t the best idea. A general idea of when feeding time should be can be worked out within a month or two. It’s advised that you initially offer to feed your baby every two to three hours. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to feed them, but the offer is always a good idea. And when they’re done eating don’t force them to continue, but you may want to leave the bottle there with them as a way to show them that it’s a source of comfort and nutrients.
Using baby bottles doesn’t have to be tricky at all. In fact, it should come as a great weight off of your shoulders when it comes to feeding your child. Baby bottles allow practically anyone to feed your little bundle of joy. Remember to maintain the safety of your child above all else, choose the right bottle for the occasion, and to allow leniency when it comes to the feeding times of your child.