Mama, baby's hungry!

Tita Len-len's Wais Tips

By Lenlen Pataytay

                I have been gone far too long! The NewsRecord's writing space is now far too small for all of us writers and contributors. Indeed, there are just so many stories to tell.

                Now, let me pick up where I have left my on-line readers, on feeding infants.

                Okay, the rigors of modern career life push women to bottle-feed their babies. But bottle-feeding often pose health risks including colic and diarrhea.

                Bottle-fed babies have watery stool due to several factors. One is the water mixed with the formula milk. Most pediatricians today recommend distilled water. Distilled water has undergone a process called distillation which removes contaminants and minerals such as calcium and iron. Water is boiled until it changes into steam and it is allowed to cool until it changes to liquid again.                 

           While distilled water is preferred over purified, there are some experts who maintain that tap water sourced from a pure mountain spring is still the best.

                 Another factor, which I have much to say about, is the quality and cleanliness of the feeding bottles. It is very important that parents, especially mothers, choose quality feeding bottles made of food grade, heat resistant plastics that do not contain harmful chemicals. And, it is equally important to maintain the hygiene of those bottles.

                If you are washing bottles, never let salt out of reach. Since most bottles today are made of plastic, they usually absorb the smell of their contents and even that of the washing detergent. Salt is an antiseptic agent that cleans plastics (the kind of clean that squeaks when rubbed) and it washes off the smell, too! Good-bye bahong sabon and bahong pan-os nga gatas! Sometimes babies lose their appetite for milk when the bottle smells soap or stale milk. So an odor-free bottle is a child's best friend.

                First, wash the bottles and all its parts including the teet with warm soapy water and rinse it well. Then, wash them with warm water with salt. Dissolve salt and rub some generous amount on all parts of the bottle and rinse.

                If the baby already plays by himself and has the tendency of putting things in his mouth (more than a year old), it is already pointless to sterilize the bottles by boiling. The child ingests more bacteria by putting things in the mouth than by using bottles that have not been sterilized.

                However, mothers have to note that bottle feeding does not readily mean formula feeding. Milk from the mother can be expressed using a breast pump, stored safely and hygienically, and fed to a baby using a bottle. One more tip though: Electric pumps prove to be more effective than hand-held pumps.