Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated : July 19, 2018 8:43 AM IST
No matter how well you feed your child before bedtime there are going to be nights when your baby might just wake up in the middle of the sleep wailing for a feed. For mothers who exclusively breastfeed this is not a problem like others. In fact, they can just pick up the baby, get her close to her bosom, nurse the baby and get her back to sleep. But mothers who bottle feed, feeding a child at night might be a problem. You cannot just keep a bottle of milk ready and go off to sleep for it can go rancid when your child wakes up and wails. You cannot keep it very hot as it might not come down to a temperature that is palatable for your child. Here are 10 bottle feeding problems that every mother faces.
So here are few things you should keep in your mind when you use a bottle for night time feeds:
If you have pumped and stored breast milk in the refrigerator then keep the bottle to thaw even before your baby goes to sleep. In this way when your child wakes up at night the temperature of the milk will come down to normal and it will be easy for your child to have it.
If you are giving your child formula don't prepare it beforehand and keep it at your bedside. Formula once made should be consumed within half-an-hour. Instead, keep it ready by your bedside. If you want, put the scoops of formula in the feeding bottle and keep it ready. Then all you have to do is just add warm water and make the feed when your baby wakes up. If your baby doesn't finish the entire feed then discard the remaining feed, never store it for later use.
If you are giving your child cow's milk then warm up the milk and keep it wrapped in a towel or bottle cover to keep it from going cold. if you are boiling the milk at night then enough care needs to be taken that when you are offering it to your child it should be at room temperature or just warm enough so it doesn't make your baby's lips and mouth burn. Alternatively, you can keep the hot milk bottle submerged in a pan of cold water so that it comes down to room temperature by the time your child wakes up for a feed.
Remember, mothers if you are not breastfeeding it is going to be extra work while you switch to bottles so be ready to put in the labour. This is the least we could offer you in terms of tips to make it easier for you.
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