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hi everybody melissa here this show is
about the basics of bottle feeding with
formula
there are really three different main
types of formula and you're going to
talk to your doctor and figure out which
one is the right choice for you but I'm
going to quickly run through them here
okay number one cow's milk formula I've
got some examples here I have Similac
and I have Enfamil you can also find
lactose free formulas here's one that is
a soy-based infant formula and you can
get lactose free formulas that are based
on cow's milk so talk to your doctor
figure out which one you want to use
when it comes to what type of formula
again three main types powdered formula
and then you can also get liquid formula
or concentrated liquid formula now most
people I know use the powdered formula
for a couple reasons number one it's
very easy with powdered formula to make
smaller or larger quantities and not to
waste it it's also good storage wise
because it doesn't take up as much space
and it does tend to be cheaper however
if you're going on a long trip or
something like that and you don't think
you're going to have access to water you
might want to consider one of the liquid
formulas it's sort of a nice option so
in terms of how to prepare and store
powdered formula first make sure you use
an iron fortified infant powdered
formula per the recommendation of the
american academy of pediatrics during
your baby's first year of life always
check the expiration date on the formula
kin formula can go bad and can be unsafe
for your baby once a kin is open it's
good for one month
lastly formula actually has a very short
shelf life after the powder is mixed
with water so do not leave powdered mix
formula room temperature for more than
an hour and always throw out what your
child does not drink good reason not to
make more than you need once you mix the
powder with water it will keep for up to
48 hours in the refrigerator okay now
can I use tap water in making formula
this is something on which you should
check with your
doctor I did talk to my doctor about
this and he said in New York City it's
fine but you have to make sure because
in some cases actually fluoride levels
can be too high and doctors will want
you to alternate between using tap water
and using other types of water so this
is something you should check out okay
so let's now get down to the mechanics
of how you're going to prepare your
formula now the first thing you want to
do you want to make sure you have a very
sterilized bottle and nipple and that
your hands are clean so wash your hands
carefully and Here I am I've got my
bottle I'm going to use a born free
bottle and born free actually has these
nice inserts these all of course have to
be clean too and the first thing I'm
going to do is I'm going to put my water
in my bottle not the other way around
because that can skew the measurements
of the formula so I'm just for for
demonstration purposes I'm going to pour
up to four ounces and I'm using my Brita
so this is tap water but it's it's
sterilize tap water so I go right up to
the four ounces on the bottle and then
I'm going to add my formula I'm going to
use the one that I've already opened
wait like that one I got to get the
similac okay so typically with formula
one level scoop of the formula is equal
to two ounces of water so we have four
ounces here not being a great
mathematician but that's going to tell
me I need two scoops of formula and I'm
going to make sure that they are quite
level all right so I round it out like
this and then I use my clean index
finger to just just like that just like
you were making you know just like you
make your cookies when you don't want to
overdo it on the salt or the sugar okay
so there I go and --duck --duck --duck
nice smooth rounded scoopful it's really
really important that you don't
underestimate it in terms of the
quantity of formula you want to make
sure your baby's getting all that
nutrition and you cannot under do it
that's very very important it's better
to use room-temperature water because
that's going to dissolve more quickly
and more easily in your bottle so now
I've attached my little of Born Free
piece I'm screwing on the top of my
bottle make sure you get this on level
and tight sometimes when I'm in a hurry
it goes on slanted and then it will leak
then I'm going to put on my top and I'm
just going to shake and I'm going to
wait and those clumps are going to go
away and I'm going to
wait until the formula is completely
dissolved into the water do not give it
to your baby before it's completely
dissolved into the water okay I'm not
drinking this on camera guys you're
gonna have to imagine how good it is for
the baby I'm not going to go that far
but I'm going to make sure it looks
totally incorporated okay looking good
shake it back and forth looking good
okay let's talk a little bit about
warming up your baby's bottle and how
you're going to want to do that do not
warm bottles in the microwave this can
cause unevenness and temperature the
best thing to do is to take your
prepared bottle of formula out of the
fridge one hour prior to use or place
your bottle in a pan of hot water then
test a few drops on the back side of
your hand to make sure it's not hot but
just lukewarm when it comes to bottle
feeding your baby and I'm a big fan of
back position but make sure that you're
sitting in a way that's very comfortable
for you and the baby is nicely propped
up and you want to make sure that her
head is over her tummy and then when you
give her the bottle I'm going to keep
the top on here because otherwise it's
going to start to leak down you want to
make sure that there's no air at all in
this nipple area so that there's not any
excess air that your baby is ingesting
because this can cause colic or gas and
a very very fussy fussy baby so you're
going to sit like this you're going to
prop up your bottle it's going to be
kind of coming from up above and you're
going to start giving your baby the
bottle in that way so I hope that these
little tips will help you and give you a
formula to your baby and I'll see you
next time
