Baby Blog – News & Tips on Organic Parenting

Bottle-Feeding a Newborn Baby

July 5th, 2010

If you decide to bottle-feed you should be content with your decision. Do not feel guilty, or think that you are giving your baby second best. Such feelings will only take away the pleasure you should get from feeding your baby. Make the most of each feed by settling comfortably and giving your baby all your attention.

How to Bottle-feed

Store the bottles in the refrigerator until needed and make sure that any unused milk is thrown away after this time. Never reuse leftover milk because it is a potential breeding ground for bacteria. Some babies are quite happy to take their bottles at room temperature but it yours prefers warm milk, heat the bottle either in a normal bottle warmer, or by standing it in a jug of hot water. Always test the temperature on the inside of your wrist to make sure that it isn’t too hot before giving the bottle to your baby to drink.

Check that the milk is coming through the teat at the right speed. If your baby is having to work hard to get the milk, the flow is too slow and you need a teat with a bigger hole. It, on the other hand, your baby seems to be gulping a lot and the milk is leaking out of the corner of his mouth, the flow is too fast and the teat should have a smaller hole. If the teat flattens while you are feeding, pull it gently out of the baby’s mouth to release the vacuum, then insert it again.

You may want to encourage feeding by stroking the teat across your baby’s mouth. Once his mouth has opened, place the teat between his lips and your baby should start sucking. Keep the bottle tilted so that milk fills the teat completely and your baby doesn’t suck in air, which can cause wind. Never leave your baby to feed from a bottle on his own because he could vomit and choke. Don’t add solids such as rusk, cereal, or baby rice to bottle feeds — this could cause choking.

The amount of milk your baby needs at feeds will change as he gains weight. At first he may take only a couple of ounces but this will increase. Your health visitor will give you a growth chart to check on progress.

Wind can sometimes be a problem, so try stopping halfway through a feed and wind your baby by holding him against your shoulder, or propping him up on your lap while you rub his back. You may want to do this after the feed has finished as well. The baby may bring back a small amount of milk during or after a feed; this is called possetting and is quite normal. It the vomiting becomes frequent or violent, you need to consult your doctor.

Tags: baby, bottles, feeding, food
Posted in Organic Baby Food | View Comments

FDA Warns of Infant Exposure to BPA

January 18th, 2010

The Food and Drug Administration is encouraging families to limit their children’s exposure to a chemical found in thousands of household products.

CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace reports that, for years, concerned mothers, environmental groups and some scientists have been warning that Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, is unsafe, and can lead to cancers, diabetes and other diseases.

Tags: bottles, BPA, recalls, safety, video
Posted in Baby Product Safety | View Comments

Should We Be Afraid of BPA?

May 18th, 2009

In the wake of some nationally groundbreaking laws being passed to ban the sale of baby bottles and sippy cups containing the chemical BPA, many people are hitting Google to find out what the concern is all about.  I wanted to quickly outline for you what BPA is and some of the concerns over it that have led such bodies as the country of Canada, the state of Minnesota, and now the city of Chicago to take steps toward the restriction of this chemical in products intended for use by babies.

BPA or Bisphenol A is a chemical used in the production of some plastics and has been suspected of being harmful to humans since the 1930’s.  Over time it can leach into the contents of a plastic container, especially containers that have been exposed to heat or strong detergents such as in a microwave or dishwasher.  Some studies have connected BPA to quite a few nasty things including but not limited to reproductive disorders, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and even obesity.  There is still a debate over whether or not BPS is actually harmful enough to humans to merit being labeled toxic.  However, it should be noted that Walmart stopped selling food containers, water and baby bottles, sippy cups, and pacifiers containing bisphenol A in all of it’s Canadian stores and planned on phasing out the products in US stores during 2009.  Earlier this year chemical giant Sunoco announced that it would be refusing to sell the chemical to any company planning on using it in the production of food and water containers for children younger than 3.  A recent study of note comes for Harvard University and the CDC involving 77 Harvard students showed some startling results.  The joint study showed the students as having a 70% increase in urinary levels of BPA after drinking cold liquid from plastic bottles made with BPA for one week.

If this information makes you want to steer clear of BPA here is how to identify it in plastics.  Look for the small recycling looking symbol with the number in it on the bottom of the container.  This is called the resin identification code and is used to show the family of plastics your container comes from.  Types 3 and 7 are the two that may contain BPA.  The other major source is canned foods that have a plastic lining.

It is scary that we use such risky chemicals in our day to do lives but extremely encouraging that these days such attention is brought to these issues as public awareness seems to be growing all the time.

Tags: baby, bottles, BPA
Posted in Baby Product Safety, General | View Comments