Things you need to know about Formula Feeding

Formula feeding or Infant formula or Formula milk is the next best alternate for breast-milk. I always intended to exclusively breastfeed my little one for first 6months. This was a decision that I had taken based on the challenges for a formula fed child. So when I could not exclusively breastfeed my baby it broke my heart but the child's immediate need and health was my priority so on doctor's advice I started giving him limited amount of formula milk. You can read about my journey of breastfeeding here- https://mytrystwithpen.blogspot.com/2019/05/breastfeeding-journey-of-formula.html

Formula is a boon for those who due to some reasons cannot breastfeed. Upto 1year of age it is recommended to not give animal milk to the baby hence formula comes to rescue for those who cannot breastfeed.

Before starting or deciding to start the formula I would suggest you understand the benefits and challenges of formula feeding. It will help you in making an informed decision.

Formula feeding benefits and challenges-

Benefits

1. Convenient- It is convenient; anybody can prepare and feed formula to the baby. It helps take the feeding load off your shoulders.

2. Flexible- It is more flexible than breast feeding as you do not have to look for nursing places in public, you can feed anywhere, anytime and you do not have to set a routine like somebody who is pumping and feeding.

3. No Dependence on mother’s diet- A breastfeeding mother need to take care of her diet as it affects the baby but that is not the case if you are formula feeding.

Challenges-

1. Less beneficial than breast-milk- As compared to breast-milk formula is less beneficial for the baby. There are many hormones, antibodies and anti-viruses which are present only in breast-milk.

2 It lacks antibodies- Formula milk does not contain the antibodies which prevent the baby from infections. Hence lower immunity for the baby.

3. Need lot of planning and organising as compared to breastfeeding- As you further go through the article you will know the kind of preparation that goes in formula feeding, unlike breastfeeding which can be done anywhere and without any logistics.

4 Might make the baby colicky- Formula is hard to digest so the stool will be more firm as compared to a breastfed baby. It is hard to digest hence the baby might feel gassy.

5 Expensive- Formula feeding is expensive. Unlike breast-milk which is free of cost. With the arrival of baby your expenses suddenly increase manifolds. Feeding formula will definitely be a costly choice.

For a more clear comparison, see the below image-

In case you do not wish to put your baby on formula, try talking to your doctor or some lactation consultant and find out ways to breastfeed. Once you have exhausted all the options only then you should resort to formula feeding.

 In case you are going ahead with formula feeding, it is important to know a few details-

1. Decide on the formula brand- there are several brands of infant formula milk available in the market. Most popular ones are-
Similac, Enfamil, Nan-Pro, Lactogen
There are some age-wise variants of these products available eg. Nan Pro1 is for babies upto 6months and Nan Pro 2 for 6+ months, so do check and purchase accordingly.

You can choose any of these formulas as recommended by your pediatrician, and depending on what suits your baby. Check if the baby is colicky or if the formula causes diarrhea or vomiting, if yes then you should switch from the formula that you are currently giving. Every baby responds differently to different formula. Some babies feel colicky with Nan Pro but my baby was perfectly fine with it. If the formula that you are feeding does not suit your baby, you can anytime change the formula, there is no problem with that.

I would also suggest you ask your doctor for some medicine in case your baby gets colicky.

2. Usage- The formula can be used to feed any healthy term baby- as small as a newborn. You can start it anytime during the first one year and discontinue anytime you feel your baby does not need formula.

3. How to prepare- in order to use the formula it is very important that you read the instructions about the preparation mentioned on the packet. I used Nan Pro 1 it needs to be prepared with water in a very specific ratio- 1 scoop in 30ml of water. Ensure that you follow the instructions, if you add less water it will be heavier for the baby to digest, might make him constipated or colicky, if you add more water you end up diluting it.

The water to be used for preparation, need to be properly boiled and cooled to room temperature and stored in a clean container. The scoop to be used need to be dry, the scoop is already provided with the packet.
The bottles to be used for formula feeding need to be properly sterilized.

4. Storage- Formula needs to be used within a stipulated period after the packet has been opened. So do not feed it to the baby once it has crossed that period. Check the instructions on the packet to understand for how long you can use the formula.

Also the packet needs to be stored in a clean, dry, airtight container at room temperature. These are also available in tin containers, try getting those as these are easier to store.
Once prepared, the formula should be consumed within an hour. I would suggest that you discard if there is anything left after feeding the baby. Do not store a prepared formula and feed the baby.

5. Frequency and quantity of feed- It depends on your feeding status whether you are exclusively formula feeding or doing a combination of breastfeed and formula feed. The baby requires 30ml of breastmilk every hour but during a few initial months when the baby’s stomach is small it might need even lesser than that. If the baby is formula fed he might need little less as the formula takes longer to digest and for the same reason the formula fed babies tend to sleep for slightly longer duration. For proper diet requirement at each stage consult your pediatrician.

Few more tips-

1. It is very easy to overfeed the baby when feeding through a bottle as babies do not have control over the milk flow from the bottle. So understand the baby’s requirements and feed only when you are present with the baby to avoid any problems caused by over-feeding.

2. Formula milk should never be heated. If you need to add it to the baby's food (fruit puree etc), add it once the puree has cooled down. If you need to feed the baby during winters when the water at room temp is cold, you can use lukewarm water to prepare the formula.

3. While travelling I always used to carry measured formula powder in multiple clean dry feeding bottles and 1 separate bottle for water. So whenever I need to feed the baby I would pour the required amount of water in one of the feeding bottles and prepare the feed. For the next feed I would take a different feeding bottle and prepare the feed. This made formula preparation during travel easy. You can even carry the entire box of formula but then you will end up measuring the powder each time and then preparing it.