Bottle-feeding Equipment and its Care

Proper care should be taken to sterilize the bottles to prepare it for bottle feed. Bottle should be boiled well along with other equipment to prevent infection. Here is a list of equipments needed for bottle-feeding and precautions that should be taken. Read on.If you are bottle-feeding your baby, you must take right care of all the bottle-feeding equipments. If right care is not taken, it can prove hazardous to your baby. Let us take a look at the equipments that are required for bottle feeding and how you can take care of such equipments. In this articleWhat equipment do I require for bottle-feeding?How do I sterilize bottles and teats?How do I sterilize bottles and teats in electric steriliser?What are the risks of not cleaning the bottles properly?What kind of precautions should be taken? What equipment do I require for bottle-feeding?3 or 4 bottles and 4 to 6 teats with covers so that you will always have one sterilized bottle on hand, ready to feed your hungry baby.A spare container, like a bottle, jar or jug with a cover, for storing milkTeaspoon for measuring sugar to add to cows milkCleaning brush and detergentHow do I sterilize bottles and teats?First, you should wash all the equipment with detergent in hot water. Use a bottle brush to clean the insides of the bottle and use a little salt to clean the teats. Rinse them thoroughly. Place the equipment in a container of water, cover it and boil for 20 minutes. Once you boil all the equipments, remove it safely from the water and keep them on a clean surface. After these equipments get dried, keep them in a clean and safe place. How do I sterilize bottles and teats in electric steriliser? Electric sterilisers are quite simple to use. They come with the instruction manual. You need to first check the recommended amount of water that needs to be added to the sterilizer. You can place the teats, bottle and teat rings inside the steriliser and cover it with the cover provided by the manufacturer. Once the process is completed you can put the machine off. What are the risks of not cleaning the bottles properly? Let us take a look at the probable risks of not sterilising baby’s bottles properly. A lot of germs can be attracted to the baby’s bottle if it is not cleaned properly. Such unclean bottles can even get infected with hepatitis A or rotavirus. It can be responsible for disorders like vomiting, diarrhoea and cramping in babies.It can also cause disorders like dehydration in them. Unclean bottles can also become a breeding ground for bacteria which can cause illnesses like food poisoning in babies. What kind of precautions should be taken? Here is the list of precautions that you need take if you are bottle-feeding your baby. Keep two or three bottles so that you can use the other ones when you are sterilising the used one. Do not use same bottle for a long time. After sterilising the bottle-feeding equipments, check that there are no traces of milk left in them. Make sure that your hands are clean while preparing your baby’s bottle. Keep all the bottle-feeding equipments in hygienic place. Make sure that these equipments are kept out of the reach of insects. Check the bottle properly while filling it. Keep these bottle-feeding equipments out of the reach of infected person. Do not leave the bottle with milk or formula in it as it will attract more bacteria. Do not feed the milk or formula that is left in the bottle for a very long time. Taking care of bottle-feeding equipment is extremely essential. Feeding baby with contaminated bottle can give rise to serious health complications. Therefore, it is better to be safe than sorry. Make sure that you follow the hygiene care regimen of bottle-feeding equipments to the ‘T’ to ensure safety of your baby.