Safe bottlefeeding

Do you make up a day's worth of bottles in the morning, pop them in the fridge and grab one at a time throughout the day?

Stop it right now. Now we know that germs can breed in formula milk, even when refrigerated, here is what you should be doing before every feed:

Wash hands, boil water, then let it cool for no more than half an hour. Sterilise your bottle, cap, ring and teat while you wait. 

Remove the sterilised bottle from the steriliser. Keep the teat, ring and cap on the steriliser lid to avoid putting them on the work surface.

Fill the bottle with exactly the amount of cooled boiled water that you need. If you want to use the rest of the water for another feed, store it in a sealed flask - don't leave it in the kettle.

Loosely fill the scoop with milk powder and level it off without pressing down.

Add the correct amount of milk powder to the water.

Hold the edge of the teat, put it on the bottle and then screw on the ring to hold it in place.

Cover the teat with the cap and shake the bottle to dissolve the powder.

Check the temperature - it should feel blood-warm. if it needs cooling, hold the capped bottle under cold running water.

Feed your baby.

• Don't keep leftover milk  for another feed

• Don't leave your baby alone with a bottle propped up - she could choke.
  

 

 

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