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It’s baby bottle time! Before rushing to the powdered milk and the bottle of water, follow the recommendations of the National Food Safety Agency on the matter. A good way to avoid possible contamination!
How to make a bottle? Hygiene rules
We start with the BA-BA: hygiene! The hands are a real nest for germs, all the more reason to wash your hands well with soap and water, before embarking on the preparation of the baby’s bottle. It is also thought to dry them well with a clean cloth or absorbent paper.
It is also recommended to clean the worktop on which we will prepare the bottle of our newborn. We then check the cleanliness of the bottles, teats and utensils (pods, knife, etc.) used. Note: the measuring spoon or pod supplied with the can of powdered milk must always remain dry and be discarded with each can as soon as it is finished.
Preparing the bottle with powdered milk: when to do it?
Early childhood specialists recommend prepare the bottle just before giving it to baby. We must therefore organize ourselves by gradually identifying the cycle of our infant and preparing his bottle quickly but carefully as soon as he demands it.
Likewise for outings, it is not recommended to prepare a bottle in advance where the germs could multiply! It’s best to slip a bottle of water and an airtight box, with just the right amount of powdered milk, into our changing bag, then mix the two ingredients when the time comes.
How to prepare baby’s bottle with powdered milk?
We get to the heart of the matter, here are the steps to prepare an impeccable baby bottle!
- We put the bottle on a clean work surface
- We put the amount of water needed, depending on the age and appetite of our little one
- We immerse the pod provided with the box of powdered milk and we scrupulously respects the quantities : we do not tamp the powder and we do not make rounded pods, at the risk of constipating baby!
- We use the blade of a clean knife to sweep any excess powdered milk from the measuring spoon. Better not to use your fingers, even washed, to avoid contamination by bacteria.
- The necessary quantity of powder is poured into the bottle, estimating approximately a level dose for 30 ml of water.
- The closed bottle is shaken vigorously, in order to replenish liquid milk. It is checked that there are no lumps or powder left in the bottom or on the walls.
- Baby bottles can be drunk at room temperature but if you want to heat it, it is important not that the milk exceeds 37 degrees. The bottle must be warmed either in a water bath or in a bottle warmer, but never in the microwave : the milk would then be much too hot and could seriously burn our baby. Once our bottle is heated, we shake it again so that the temperature is uniform and we check the temperature of the milk by pouring a few drops on our wrist.
- We give baby a bottle!
What water to prepare baby’s bottle properly?
We can either use tap water or low-mineralized bottled water for our infant’s bottle.
If bottled water is used, it must be the weakest mineralized, non-carbonated and marked “suitable for preparing foods for infants”.
If tap water is used, it is important to minimize the risk of germs developing by taking care that the water temperature is less than 25 degrees, do not use filtered water, let the water run for 1 to 2 minutes before filling our bottle and do not stick the neck of the bottle to the tap.
It is also important to find out beforehand whether our tap water is suitable for newborns, in case we live for example in an old building where there could be a risk of lead. The town hall or the Departmental Directorate of Population Protection can answer our questions on this subject.
If you are abroad and have doubts about drinking water, you can boil it and then wait for it to cool.
Liquid milks, what are the differences?
Liquid infant formulas have the same properties and nutritional qualities as powdered milk. On the practical side, they have theadvantage of being sterile and ready to use. Just empty the necessary amount into baby’s bottle. As for its price, it is not higher than other classic infant formulas. Any opened bottle can be kept for a maximum of 48 hours, in its original packaging and in a cool place, between 0 and 2 degrees.
How and can we prepare a bottle for an infant in advance?
Once reconstituted, infant milk is very fragile and microbes develop very quickly. It is for this reason that it is strongly recommended to throw away any bottle started by baby that he wouldn’t have finished. A bottle must be consumed within half an hour if it has been reheated and within an hour if it has been left at room temperature: beyond that, it must be discarded.
Even if it has not been started, it is not recommended to prepare our baby’s bottles in advance and then to keep them. This can be done in a very exceptional way, provided that it is well stored in the refrigerator, at 4 degrees maximum.
What is the material needed to prepare a bottle?
To prepare a bottle, we will therefore need a bottle, a pacifier, a measuring spoon and the blade of a knife. Then to wash it, we will use a swab or bottle brush. Once baby has feasted on his bottle, we rinse it with cold water. In hot water, it is cleaned with a little washing-up liquid, with the help of a swab or bottle brush – an elongated brush.
The pacifier is washed by removing the ring and the cap to make sure there is no milk residue. Rinse thoroughly and then dry the bottle in the open air, on a drainer, upside down. No need to use a cloth which might deposit germs. The swab is also washed, which is also allowed to air dry, the brush facing up.
It is also possible to clean bottles and teats in the dishwasher but only if the latter are made of silicone and not rubber, if the washing temperature is at least 65 degrees and if our machine has a drying cycle.
Once our equipment is well cleaned, we can either leave it in the open air until the next use, or keep the empty bottle in the refrigerator, provided it is dry.