How to Bottle Feed

When you bottle feed a baby, you're providing her with the nutrients she needs to grow and develop. At the same you are developing your bond with her by holding her close. Follow these steps to learn how to properly feed your new arrival.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Sterilize new bottles, nipples and rings prior to using them by placing them in a pot of boiling water for five to seven minutes. Remove the equipment and allow them to air-dry on a clean towel.
2. Fill the bottle with formula or expressed breast milk and then attach the nipple and the ring.
3. Warm the bottle in a pan of hot, but not boiling, water or run it under the tap in your sink. Warming a bottle before giving it to your baby is not necessary, but some babies prefer it.
4. Bring a pillow, burp cloth, the bottle and your baby to a comfortable chair or sofa where you will sit to feed your baby.
5. Place your baby in your arms and position her head in a semi-upright position in the crook of your arm.
6. Insert the nipple of the bottle into her mouth and tilt the bottle upward. Ensure that the neck and nipple of the bottle are always filled with formula or breast milk to prevent your baby from swallowing air.
7. Burp your baby each time she drinks two ounces to allow her to release the air she's swallowed while drinking her bottle.
8. Feed the baby on-demand when she seems hungry, or every two to four hours. Feed your baby more formula or breast milk if she is still sucking on the nipple once the bottle is empty.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you've sterilized all bottles, nipples and rings before using them for the first time, you can clean them in hot, soapy water, or in the dishwasher following subsequent uses.
• A newborn baby will drink about two to four ounces during each feeding in the first month.
• Never microwave a bottle to heat it. Microwave ovens heat unevenly and can create hot pockets in the food or beverage being warmed and can burn your baby's mouth.
• Never feed your baby while she is lying down because the formula or breast milk can flow into the middle ear causing it to become infected.
• Do not prop a bottle to stay in your baby's mouth. This can cause your infant to choke.
• Don't force your baby to finish every drop of her bottle if she doesn't want to.