For a young mother, preparing a portion of baby formula can be quite difficult. The most basic points to follow are hygiene requirements and compliance with instructions. Let's take a closer look at the features of its preparation.
Kinds
Formulas that you can purchase for an infant are divided into dry and liquid formulas.
Dry
Dry ones are presented in powder form, requiring stirring with liquid before feeding, and the latter simply need to be warmed up. They are cheaper and are represented by a wider assortment (if a baby needs a medical mixture, it will most often be dry). Opened packaging can stand in the cabinet for 1-3 weeks.
Liquid
A liquid mixture is much more convenient as a food that you can take with you on the road. Thanks to the portioned packaging, when feeding it, dosage errors are excluded. However, such food is more expensive and cannot be stored outside the refrigerator for a long time.
Training
An adult should thoroughly wash his hands before preparing a portion and before feeding an infant. Bottles, teats, caps and other items used to feed the baby should be sterilized and dried after disinfection.
What do you need for cooking?
To prepare the mixture, you need to take:
- Boiled water (its temperature should be about + 40 + 50 degrees).
- Milk mixture.
- Measuring spoon.
- Sterile dry bottle (or several).
- Knife (this will help remove excess mixture from the measuring spoon).
If you are preparing a portion for a day in one container, then you need to take a sterile container on which there are divisions.
Dosage
To find out the required amount for one feeding of the baby, you should calculate the total daily amount of food taking into account the age and weight of the baby. For a baby in the first days of life (up to 10 days), calculate the daily volume using the formula: 70 * age (days) with a weight of less than 3200 grams. or 80 * age (days) with a weight over 3200 gr.
Further, the daily amount is calculated as follows: find your child's age and use a formula where part of his body weight = mixture volume per day.
- from 10 days to 2 months - 1/5 of its weight in grams;
- from 2 to 4 months - 1/6;
- from 4 to 6 months - 1/7;
- from 6 months to 1 year - From 1/8 to 1/9.
How to prepare a liquid mixture
After opening the package of the mixture, its contents should be poured into a bottle and heated to obtain the desired temperature. Opened packaging can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours.
How to prepare powdered milk mixture
- After boiling water, you need to cool it a little and pour it into a bottle or other container.
- Having opened the package of the dry mixture, put it in a measuring spoon and remove the “slide” formed on the spoon with a knife. Pour the required number of measuring spoons (check the manufacturer's instructions) into the prepared water.
- Close the bottle tightly and shake it several times until the dry ingredient is completely dissolved.
If the mixture is prepared for future use, it is placed in the refrigerator (but not in the freezer), and heated in hot water before feeding.
Tips
- Check with your pediatrician before making a choice.
- If it fits the baby, you should not change it without a serious reason.
- It is better to take water for preparing a portion intended for feeding children, and not tap water.
- It is best to prepare a portion for one feeding just before the food reaches the baby, however, it is permissible to prepare it for the future - for the whole day. In this case, food should be stored in a refrigerator.
- Do not measure a portion of the dry mixture "by eye". If the product turns out to be more concentrated, it can affect the baby's digestion, weight gain and kidney function. If the baby receives diluted food, then this will cause malnutrition.
- If you cook it right away for the whole day, it is more convenient to immediately place it in as many bottles as the baby will feed.
- If you give your baby a new mixture, the introduction of the new product into the diet should be gradual.
- The half-eaten mixture is best discarded, as is the product that has been in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
