Artificial feeding. 8 life hacks to help mom

Basic recommendations

When preparing formula for infants, strictly follow the instructions given on the packaging. In this case, you need to monitor the ratio of baby formula and water.

Hygiene rules must also be observed. The child’s immunity has not yet fully developed. As a result, the mixture does not need to be prepared in advance. It is recommended to dilute it right before feeding. When preparing baby formula, keep your hands, baby bottle components and measuring spoon clean.

Important! The water intended for preparing the mixture must be thoroughly boiled.

A specialized product for dietary therapeutic nutrition is a dry complete low-lactose mixture “Nutrizon advanst Nutridrink dry mixture.”

Key Features

• The product can be consumed as a drink or by tube
• Gluten free
• Packed in a protective atmosphere

Important

For energetic use only. Do not use parenterally. Take under medical supervision. May be the only source of power. Use with caution in children aged 1 to 6 years. Coagulation in the gastrointestinal tract is possible, for example, when interacting with drugs. Careful monitoring is required.

Recommendations for use

• In preparation for surgery and in the postoperative period.
• In critical conditions: burns, sepsis, multiple trauma.
• For diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT): radiation enteritis, chemotherapy, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, fistulas.
• For nutrition of patients with cystic fibrosis.
• With partial mechanical obstacles to the passage of food: tumors and injuries of the head and neck, impaired swallowing and chewing, strictures and partial obstructions of various parts of the gastrointestinal tract.
• For conditions associated with loss of appetite and/or refusal to eat: cancer, neurological diseases, mental disorders, liver disease, cardiopulmonary failure, AIDS, stress, sensitivity disorders.
• In case of malnutrition.

Contraindications

Contraindicated in children under 12 months and patients with galactosemia. Complete mechanical obstruction of the intestine. Intolerance to individual components of the mixture.

Preparation

1. 1. Wash your hands and use clean or sterilized containers to prepare the mixture.
2. 2. Make sure the package lid is clean.
3. 3. Measure the required amount of boiled water into a container and add the required amount of dry mixture. Use only the included measuring spoon.
4. 4. Stir until the powder is completely dissolved. Do not add medications or other substances to the mixture.
5. 5. It is recommended to warm to room temperature before use.
6. 6. Prepare food for one use. Feeding time with prepared food should not exceed 4 hours at room temperature.

Dilution table for Nutrizon advanced Nutridrink powder:

Storage

Store the dry mixture in a dry place at a temperature of 5-25º C. Do not store the dry mixture in the refrigerator. Always discard unused food. Store opened container tightly closed in a cool, dry place, but not in the refrigerator. Use the contents of the opened package within one month.

Manufacturer

“Milupa GMBH”, Schleyerstrasse 4, 36041 Fulda, Germany.

Importer

Nutricia LLC, 143500, Russian Federation, Moscow region, Istra, st. Moskovskaya, 48. Tel.

Manufactured/Expired until:

see bottom of jar

Net weight

322 g

Feeding scheme

The temperature of the milk mixture should reach no more than 37 degrees. For control purposes, you can drop 2-3 drops of the drink onto the wrist area. The liquid should be warm, not scalding.

The amount of formula consumed by the baby depends on the following factors:

• Times of Day;

• child's appetite.

The child should drink baby formula until he is completely satisfied. Any remaining milk after feeding should be thrown away. Already diluted mixture should not be reused.

How to properly heat baby formula

If you need to dilute the milk formula in advance, it needs to be stored somehow and warmed up for the baby if it gets cold. How long can ready-made baby formula last at room temperature and in the refrigerator, and can baby formula be reheated? Experts answer questions that are difficult for parents unequivocally. Pediatrician and leading expert of the online school for future and established parents “SMART Mama” Polina Aleksandrovna Kizino will tell you everything.

— Polina Aleksandrovna, is it possible to heat up baby formula - what do doctors and manufacturers say?

— There is no general recommendation prohibiting heating the mixture. Another question is how and why to do this. Mixtures that are sold ready-made are naturally heated. Dry mixtures must be diluted with water at the required temperature, and in this case the need for heating is lost.

— And if the situation forces you to prepare the mixture in advance, what should mom do?

— It is theoretically possible to warm up baby formula that has been diluted in water and not used for a certain time. But we must try to avoid this moment. A fresh portion of food can be prepared immediately before feeding the baby using separate containers with a dispenser for dry formula and a thermos with hot enough water so that it has time to cool to the desired temperature by the time the formula is diluted. When traveling by car, it makes sense to use mobile water bottle warmers; they are often powered by a car cigarette lighter.

— Is it true that some mixtures can be heated, while others cannot?

— You can and should heat up ready-made liquid mixtures, which are sold in tetra packs. It is simply impossible to do otherwise; the child will not eat cold formula. There are no labels on dry milk formulas with contraindications for heating. However, diluting the mixture with cold water and then heating it is illogical - it is initially diluted poorly in cold water. It is better to dilute the dry mixture with water at the temperature recommended by the manufacturer.

— Is it possible to heat baby formula in the microwave?

— The microwave oven does not destroy any elements of the mixture. But there are pitfalls that are not immediately noticeable. In the microwave, the mixture is heated unevenly, and very hot spots may form locally. Accordingly, if the temperature rises excessively, proteins may coagulate or certain nutrients may be destroyed. No one can guarantee what will happen in a particular microwave oven - they all have different wattages and configurations.

“Then what’s the best way to heat up baby formula?”

- To ensure that the mixture is heated correctly, ideally you should use a water bath. Even in the instructions of manufacturers of ready-to-use liquid mixtures, heating is recommended in a water bath.

— Polina Aleksandrovna, is it possible to reheat baby formula?

— Reheating is not recommended. If the prepared mixture was heated up and it cooled down again, it is better to dilute a fresh portion.

Do bottles need to be sterilized?

It is recommended that everything that "touches" the baby's mouth be sterile until 3 months of age. This includes bottles, pacifiers, etc. The most accessible method of sterilization is boiling for several minutes (5-10) in a pan of water. Currently, there are many devices for sterilization on the market, most of them operate on the same principle – steam treatment.

Plastic bottles should be approached with caution. Some of them emit harmful substances when heated. For this reason, it is necessary to find out what material they are made of, whether it is suitable and whether it is resistant to heat. This problem can be avoided by using glass bottles, so if you are unsure about safety, choose them.

Life hack 1. Faithful helpers

You can speed up the process of preparing a “dish” as much as possible with the help of simple assistants:

Thermopot

This “cross between a Great Dane and a rhinoceros”, in the sense of a teapot with a thermos, is very convenient for families with artificial children. If the house has a thermopot, then boiling water (or water at the required temperature) will be available around the clock. At night, the thermopot can be moved to the nursery or bedroom to eliminate the need to run to the kitchen from the process of preparing the mixture. Modern thermopots consume less than 1 kW per hour.

If there is no thermopot, a regular thermos will replace it. It is also convenient during travel.

Important! In a house where an artificial baby is growing up, there must always be either special baby water or chilled boiled water (for drinking or bringing the mixture to the desired temperature).

How does a microwave oven work?

To begin with, it is worth understanding the very principle of operation of a microwave oven. Microwave stands for ultra-high frequency current. Inside the device, behind a special panel, there is a special device that emits radio waves. It's called a magnetron. The waves affect the water molecules contained in food, causing them to vibrate rapidly. The friction of the molecules against each other increases, causing them to heat up.

If the product does not contain a sufficient number of charged molecules, it is impossible to heat it in the microwave. But the water itself can be brought to an even higher temperature than when boiling. Microwaves penetrate only 2-3 cm into a heated dish or liquid, but in depth they encounter resistance from water molecules. This is how it turns out, the product is heated from the inside. The heated areas transfer heat further, and as a result the entire volume warms up.

A quick and easy way to reheat

The second way to heat baby puree is even simpler and more convenient. You can use a bottle warmer that is designed specifically for this purpose. In such devices you can set the desired temperature and in just a few minutes you will receive baby food that is ideal for your baby. At the same time, it is absolutely not necessary to check every minute how the bottle is warming up. When the desired temperature is reached, the device will turn off itself, and excessive heating will not occur.

This option will certainly be appreciated by mothers of twins and triplets, because you can put several bottles in the warmer at once. Another advantage is that when closed, the device maintains the desired temperature of the mixture or puree for a long time. This device can also warm up expressed breast milk. The contents of any container are heated evenly, exactly to the set temperature, without the risk of loss of nutrients.

How to heat baby food in a water bath?

But if heating expressed milk, baby formula or purees in the microwave is not recommended, then how can you bring them to the desired temperature? There are 2 convenient ways to do this. The first is a water bath. Fill a saucepan or deep bowl with hot water and place a bottle in it to allow the mixture to heat up. But to quickly heat up this water, you can use a microwave oven without any fear.

The optimal temperature for baby food is 36-38°C. You can check the degree of heating of the mixture using a special non-contact thermometer or simply apply a couple of drops of the product to your wrist. The same water temperature is suitable for diluting the mixture.

It is important to remember that a mixture that has already been heated once is not suitable for reheating. After placing the bottle in hot water, you need to constantly monitor the degree of its heating. Bringing baby food to a hot state and then cooling it down is not the best option. To ensure that the temperature of the product rises evenly, it is recommended to shake the bottle periodically, mixing its contents.

Artificial feeding: questions and answers

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Thermometer for measuring the temperature of baby food

It allows you to quickly and accurately determine the temperature of formula or other baby food. Although you can do it the old fashioned way by dripping the prepared mixture onto the inner bend of your elbow. And even without this, in a week or two you will learn to “feel” the temperature no worse than the most “advanced” thermometer.

Sterilizer

On average, an artificial newborn eats 7–8 times a day. Of course, you can have 2-3 bottles and wash them often. But not all children give their mother the opportunity to even comb their hair or have lunch on time, let alone wash the dishes several times a day. Therefore, it is most convenient when the number of bottles available corresponds to the number of children’s “feasts”. Then the bottles can be sterilized once a day. An inexpensive, capacious microwave sterilizer is ideal for this. A couple of water bottles and pacifiers will also fit there.