Bottle brush
Washing-up liquid
Pair of Marigolds
Washing up and sterilising safely
As well as bottles, teats and the formula milk, you’ll need a steriliser and a bottle brush for washing that is never used for general washing up.
1 Always wash the bottles and teats thoroughly as it is not possible to sterilise something that is not clean first.
2 Wash in warm soapy water very thoroughly.
3 Rinse in cold water afterwards to remove soap residue.
Then always follow the manufacturer's instructions to sterilise.
Choosing the right size teat for a bottle
Your baby needs to have a teat which gives them their milk efficiently; if it is too slow it can cause wind and slow down their feeding, or if it is too fast they can cough and splutter a little bit. Each size increases the flow of the milk, so the older your baby gets the faster they’ll be able to down that milk. You’ll get a sense of how long your Little One will take to have their feed.
Trust Yourself
Am I Using the Right Teat?
If your LO is taking longer than 35 minutes to finish a bottle, they need a faster-flowing teat.
How to make up a bottle of formula
There are several formulas on the market and the choice is yours as to which one you use. What goes into formula milk is adapted as time goes on, so if your mum tells you she always fed you on brand X, it won’t be the same formula it was then, so use whatever you want, it’s just a question of choice.
How much formula should I use?
The thing with formula milk is that the instructions on the packet are only a guide. Your baby will have their own requirements, so it’s important to discuss how to make up the bottles and the amount they need with your midwife or health visitor. If your baby is past the newborn stage, whether you are new to formula-feeding or just want to be sure your Little One is getting all they need, don’t hold back – talk to a health professional (it’s what they’re there for!).
Never be tempted to put in an extra scoop of formula powder, as it over-concentrates the salts and nutrients and can lead to hypernatremia* very quickly.
Babies can have cold formula as well if needs be. There is also ready-made formula available but this is more expensive than making it up yourself, so just do whatever is right for you at the time.
Making Up a Bottle of Formula
1 Use water that has been freshly drawn, boiled and cooled (although the water does still need to be hot emough to dissolve the powder).
2 Always put the water in first and count the number of scoops you use.
3 Add in the same number of scoops of formula as water, e.g. 3 fl oz (90 ml) of water to 3 level scoops of formula, or 4 fl oz (120 ml) of water to 4 level scoops is just right.
4 Put the top on the bottle and shake. Cool it down rapidly as it will be too hot to give to your baby straight away.
5 Test the temperature on the inner part of your arm to feel how warm it is before you give the bottle to your baby, and be careful it’s not too hot.
Perfecting your bottle-feeding technique
Always ensure that all the formula feed is at the top end the bottle with no gaps for air to get in for the perfect bottle-feeding position. Before you start a feed, check you have everything that you will need at arm’s length. Using feeding time to have a much-needed sit-down gives you more time to bond with your baby; so get comfy with a cushion for back support and a footstool if you want one. Fewer demands on you during feeding time will also give you the opportunity to tune in to how your baby feeds and whether you need to make any little adjustments. After feeding, your baby may need winding (winding techniques are in the A–Z section).
Your baby may take the bottle with no hesitation and suck away merrily, but some babies do not open their mouths easily and can be challenging to feed. If your baby seems to be angry or upset and cries and refuses to take the teat, put the bottle aside. Settle them using the Up-Down Technique (in Chapter 3) and wait till you’re both calm to try again.
Trust Yourself
Taking a Bottle
Gently tickle the corner of your LO’s mouth. This causes the baby to turn towards the teat and take it.
How many feeds does my baby need?
It’ll take a little bit of trial and error, and timings and quantities will change as they grow, but if you work towards getting these things in place you’ll be well ahead of the game. Having a timetable in your head to help you shape your day is helpful, but babies sometimes don’t fit the mould of a strict feeding schedule, though you’ll notice patterns emerging. Here’s what you can do to get off to a flying start with formula-feeding.
Trust Yourself
Has Your LO Had Enough?
Babies feed on demand and have an inner clock that tells them when to feed and how much to have. Listen to your baby – they’ll tell you when they are hungry and when they are full.
Frequency of feeds
Do feed your baby on demand, but be careful not to let your baby go more than four hours in the daytime without a feed. As you can imagine, your baby’s stomach is only as big as their tiny clenched fist, so roughly, depending on the baby’s weight, try 2–3 oz (60–90 ml) every two to three hours at first, and then 3–4 oz (90–120 ml) every three to four hours when you feel they can go a bit longer between feeds.
The quantities and frequency of feeding change all the time, and no doubt you’ll find that your Little One’s needs do vary. If you use a timeframe of no more than four hours between feeds during the daytime in the early weeks, it may help you to avoid having to do frequent feeding at night. Sometimes, especially if a baby is jaundiced, they may be sleepy and will sleep longer than three to four hours. Once they have reached four hours since the start of the last feed, just pop their legs out of their babygro and take off their blanket to let the cool air wake them up naturally. If they are being a real sleepyhead, talk to your Little One and gently move them to wake them up to feed. (Make sure you’ve made up a bottle ready to go – they won’t want to wait once they’ve been woken up!)
I remember when ... I was a student health visitor nearing the end of my training. We could choose another part of the UK to work in for two weeks of alternative practice and I requested South Wales. I stayed with my sister Bridget in the Gower and was fortunate enough to be assigned to a very experienced health visitor in the Mumbles. It was very different to where I had been working, as 95 per cent of mums in the community regularly attended baby clinic after the primary visit, and generally you didn’t visit them at home unless there was a serious problem because home visits provoked a certain amount of curtain-twitching from the neighbours. At one baby clinic a mum arrived with a three-month-old baby. He was a very good size and his mother said to the health visitor, ‘I’ve
