Artificial breastfeeding

It is usually decided to choose artificial milk (or formula) if the baby, perhaps premature, struggles to feed through breast milk, if breastfeeding is painful, due to problems of distance mother / baby, or if the mother has problems health and take medications that can cause problems for the baby.

To prepare the bottle you have to sterilize it and have very clean hands, in this you have to put low-mineral water and add the required measuring spoons as suggested by the pediatrician; then shake it to ensure that the powder melts well, then put it in the special bottle warmer or in a bain-marie and before giving milk to your child, you need to drop the milk on the back of your hand to feel the temperature. While breastfeeding, check that there is always milk in the teat and that the exit hole is appropriate for the age and needs of the baby.

Once opened, the milk powder must be consumed or kept in the fridge and will keep for a maximum of 24 hours.

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The baby will feed at intervals: only by resting will he be able to understand when he is full. For bottle feeding, the number of meals cannot be predicted, it is good that he is the one who regulates himself. In the first few months it will feed little and often (2-3 hours), the baby's stomach is so small that it can contain only a minimal amount of food; it is important to monitor its growth by weighing it once a week and consulting with the pediatrician. As the child grows, he will demand more and more doses.

Normally, newborns take between 150ml and 200ml of preparation for each kilo of body weight per day in the first trimester of life. The quantities are indicated on the box but are indicative, the pediatrician will expressly say what the child needs. Never force the baby to finish the bottle: it is a mistake because you risk feeding him in excess and incurring a harmful overweight or refusal of food. With artificial milks it is possible that the stools are too hard and dry until reaching the situation of true constipation: in these cases, consult the pediatrician who will be able to review the baby's diet.

Symptoms of a hungry baby are when he wakes up and puts his hands and fists in his mouth, sucks, whimpers, kicks. It is important to find a comfortable place to breastfeed, hold your baby in your arms with the head supported and well elevated with respect to the abdomen.

See also:
Parents' mission: the advantages and risks of self-weaning
Baby's first days of life. How to live them serenely?
The first month of life of the newborn
First year of life. The advice quarter by quarter
The golden rules of breastfeeding
Breastfeeding and work, a possible combination?
Weaning
The baby bottle