There's a lot of education and primers on breastfeeding, but not so much on formula feeding. So here's a primer on my experiences with it. It's not as tricky as breastfeeding, but I definitely had to look up information.
Picking a brand of formula is actually kind of easy because American (and I assume other country's) formula is tightly regulated. They're all basically the same other than the add-ons like DHA, and even most brands stock most of the add-ons. No matter what you buy, it's designed to be as close to human breastmilk as science can manage. If you have no ethical objections to cow's milk, start there (otherwise go for soy) and the off brands have the same factories making it as the major brands, so you're not missing anything other than cost if your baby's happy on it. (ETA: there is latitude in the particular blend of oils used, and your baby might tolerate some brands better than others because of that). We went for the Target version of Similac Advance because we picked it arbitrarily and it worked. Some brands have as a selling point that they're "gentle" which usually means the proteins are more processed down to their component amino acids to make them kinder on your baby's stomach. It might be worth looking into those for mild reflux, but for medical issues, I'd talk to your pediatrician rather than trust me. :D
If you have a safe source of water, there's no reason not to get the powder, other than maybe some premixed stuff for the first week if you're worried about messing up when they're little. I used tap water filtered through our refrigerator's system and it seemed fine.
Your kid will likely spit up. It will likely look like a lot. It's not actually all that much (talk to doctor if you're worried of course). Knock over a small glass of water. You'll be amazed how much it can spread. Changing brands probably won't help. As long as they're gaining well and seem happy, try not to worry. My daughter magically stopped spitting up after 5 or so months. You can try adding simethicone gas drops to the bottles. It makes all the bubbles clump up, so they pop easily rather than making a foam. It didn't seem to change things, but it also passes through the digestive system harmlessly.
You can try changing bottle types too. My daughter would suck on anything with a nipple, and we generally used the Avent Naturals. We tried Dr Browns, but I really hated dealing with the extra vents, and feeding was messier, so we stopped using those. No advice on how to introduce a bottle when they're fighting, or what to do if they're picky because mine didn't care.
We switched nipple sizes between 1 and 2 depending on what we were struggling with. We started with the size 1s, because I was also breastfeeding. At various points in the year she seemed frustrated by the lower flow or inundated by formula flowing too fast, so we switched. I could never find a good rule of thumb.
Formula volume per day is also tricky. In general, a baby won't overfeed themself, but not necessarily so if you make it a sleep crutch (like we did! Whoops). When that habit wasn't an issue, she generally stopped when she was full and if it seemed like she drained it all down, we offered her more in 2 ounce increments. We logged all her feeds so it was easy to adjust and we'd stock bigger bottles if that was an issue. Her first 6 months were all over the place in terms of volume, and we just kind of adjusted based on what she seemed to want. For months 6-12, she went to a consistent 24 ounces spread across 3 or 4 bottles, with ever increasing solid intake. I think that's not uncommon.
To prepare, we had powder dispensers we scooped the powder into each morning, and we filled up a corresponding number of bottles of water at the same time. She needed a bottle, we'd dump the powder in, shake it up, and go. Very fast process, other than occasionally spilling powder, and completely portable. Other people have said they like that strategy too. I've also heard good things about the Baby Brezza (I think it's called) and formula pitchers, but can't speak to them personally. She was fine with both cold and room temperature water, so we never worried about heating. Try giving it to them unheated at first and see if they'll go for it. It'll save you a lot of time.
Once mixed, it does go bad, especially once they've started drinking. It's like milk, so if it's out at room temperature for an hour, toss it. Same if the baby started drinking and didn't finish, don't try to save it. It looks like it's safe to keep untouched, mixed formula in the fridge for 24 hours.
We ran bottles through the sterilize cycle when we got them and otherwise we just used the dishwasher. You can use your own levels of risk tolerance on that. Well, we started by hand washing, but that got old fast. We got a net to keep the bottles from being tossed around, and a caddy for the collar and nipples. Then we got used to running the dishwasher every day. Ever since having our baby, we have a full load every day.
I feel like I'm forgetting something, so I'll edit in if I remember. Otherwise, please ask if you have questions, or chime in if you have different experiences. I know I don't speak for everyone.
Submitted January 07, 2018 at 09:57AM by Temmon http://ift.tt/2CPwIzu BabyBumps
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