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you cannot or do not want to
breastfeed or provide expressed
milk from a bottle, your baby
needs both a substitute for
breast milk, as previously
outlined and some compensation
for the psychological and social
aspects of breastfeeding. When
bottle feeding, always hold your
baby in one arm or lying
alongside you on a bed, and turn
your baby towards you whilst it
is drinking. If at all possible,
hold the bottle alongside your
naked breast. Having the baby
stripped down at least to its
diapers also aids skin-to-skin
contact. Use pillows to support
your arm and the baby as needed.
Always cradle your baby’ s
head in a semi upright position
and support the head. Remember -
never prop the bottle, which can
cause the child to choke or
increase the risk of ear
infections. Switch arms
regularly to relieve discomfort
and so that the baby will learn
to feel at home facing in either
direction. Look at, touch, and
talk to the baby during the
bottle feedings. If it is not
possible for you to give the
child its bottle all the time,
limit the number of people who
feed it to two – you and the
father. This continuity is
important for your child’s
ability to bond. Nuzzle the
bottle teat against your
baby’s lips and wait for it to
take in the teat. Never force
the teat into your baby’s
mouth against its will. In any
event, bottles should always be
used under adult supervision.
Use a soft bottle teat, which is
shaped in such a way that the
baby has to open its mouth wide,
just as it would at the breast.
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Baby
bottle tooth decay is the most
common cause of tooth decay in
children under the age of 3. It
happens when a child is soothed
with a bottle or put to sleep
with one, and the front lower
teeth are continuously in
contact with the carbohydrates
in milk which can cause tooth
decay. For the same reason, your
baby or infant should also not
be allowed to continuously suck
on a bottle during the day.
Tip: when you do give your baby
a bottle to help him get to
sleep or to calm him down, use
pure water in the bottle. Or
better still use a soother,
which encourages the
all-important production of
saliva - nature’s natural way
of protecting against tooth
decay. A soother with a
textured teat, such as the
unique MAM
Diamond Soother is
particularly recommended. The
baby’s gums are gently
massaged by the soft structures,
the sucking reflex is enhanced
and thus saliva production is
increased.
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| Gluten
is found in the grains of wheat,
rye, oats and barley and can
lead to the condition known as
coeliac (celiac) disease if a
child has a tendency towards
gluten intolerance. Do not feed
your baby with semolina made from ground wheat
- before 6 months. Please ask your
doctor when you should start to
introduce gluten-based
foodstuffs into your child’s
diet. |
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