Image credit: iDiva
There might not be a ‘right’ way to bottle feed your baby. However, there are some positions and methods you can do to make it a more comfortable and pleasant experience for baby and you.
Here’s the bottle-feeding do’s and don’s to look out for:
Don’t
Tilt the bottle too high
The bottle should always be parallel to the floor, never tipped up too high. Baby should be propped up into a sitting position or at a 45-degree angle. Avoid feeding baby in a lying down position – especially if it’s a newborn. This will prevent choking and reduces the amount of air baby is sucking in.
Force to finish
Feed smaller amounts and follow baby’s lead when baby pushes the teat out. Don’t try and force it back in. If baby is fussing, it usually means that they are trying to tell you something. Perhaps she’s full, need a burp or flow is too fast. Attempting to force feed her will not solve the problem and may even make the situation worse. Try taking a break and continuing it 15 minutes later or feed in small, frequent feeds.
Swaddle
Avoid swaddle baby during feeds. Baby’s hands should be free so you can check for signs of stress and so baby can participate in the feeding. Swaddling also stimulates a cosy and conducive environment for baby to sleep – it’s frustrating when baby falls asleep halfway through the feeding!
Force the teat into baby’s mouth
Instead, encourage baby to open her mouth by gently stroking her lips with the bottle teat. As they get older, they will willingly open their mouths to accept the teat when they’re hungry.
Do
Use a slow flow teat
Use a teat that is age appropriate for your baby. If you notice that baby fusses when you feed, you might be using a teat that is too big or too small for them. It takes some trial and error to figure out what works best for your baby. Some babies prefer a faster flow – watch their cue!
Bond with baby
Use feeding time as an opportunity to bond and connect with baby. Look at her, smile and talk while feeding. Never leave baby unsupervised with a bottle – especially a newborn!
Mix it up
Alternate sides that you feed baby to mimic breastfeeding. Avoid feeding baby facing away from you. Take this break to burp baby before continuing again.
Apply pressure to chin
Applying gentle pressure under baby’s chin will encourage her to feed. Pressure from the teat on the roof of her mouth may trigger her sucking reflex.
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You’re going to need all the help that you can get when baby’s around, no matter whether you’re a first-time mum or if you’ve got a bit more experience under your belt! That’s where Combi’s Joy Parenting Station comes in to save your day – it’s easy to use and has multiple functions that’ll make your life so much easier, baby’s life so much more fun, and save you quite some money.
What a parenting station can do for you is simple but oh so effective – it frees up your time to work on other things around the house (e.g. housework or chores, cooking, ironing, laundry) while keeping baby entertained and safe! And Combi brings to the table (or rather, your house’s floor) the top quality Joy Parenting Station from Japan, which does all that and much more.
Fun and Comfort for Baby
Joy… really does bring joy to both parent and baby! The station comes with a colourful toy bar that’s easy to attach and detach, and has dangling toys that’ll grab baby’s attention with their colour and sounds.
Babies are naturally curious, and they’ll definitely try to reach out and grab things, which is good when the things they’re trying to grab aren’t dangerous! The toy bar is adjustable with different angles, allowing baby to get optimal grabbing positions.
Give them the chance to engage their senses while playing with the toy bar – they’ll be safely secured by a child-proof harness, all while sitting in comfort on their cushion.
What’s more, baby will be able to enjoy using the station until they’re around 18 kg, which should be when they’re around 4 years old.
Versatile and Flexible
The Joy comes in 2 modes, the daybed and swing chair modes, 5 angles for reclining, and 5 levels of height – you’ll definitely find the best mix of positions both of your needs.
Thanks to the adjustable sitting positions and height of Joy, as well as their smooth and sturdy wheels, you can roll baby with you to whichever room you want to at home! Once you’re there, all you need to do is to lock the wheels and movement, and baby will always be around you.
After baby’s tired from all their excitement, or when it’s their nap time, all you need to do is switch it to bed mode and gently rock them to sleep. What’s more, you can easily remove the toy bar to provide less distraction for baby.
As baby grows, so does the Joy – its food tray can be extended outwards to give baby the space they need. Talking about food… things will get messy and dirty!
No doubt about it, babies love to experiment with things, and it’s usually things that make a funny sound when they shake or throw it. So for things that go ‘splat!’, ‘sploosh!’ or a variation of that, look no further than food.
The thing is, baby isn’t doing this to annoy us! They’re just curious about cause and effect, and the things that bear the brunt of their curiosity are usually cloth-based items. Joy’s seat cushions are reversible for when you need a quick fix, and once you’ve got the time, they’re easily machine-washable.
And once you need to store it away, the Joy is compact and easy to fold! Discover the joys of the Combi Joy Parenting Station, and marvel at the freedom it gives you!
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You’ve been told that your newborn needs to be fed every 3 hours but what do you do when he has been sleeping for 5 hours straight? We totally understand your reluctance to wake someone who’s fast asleep so peacefully and also the fact that you spent 1 hour trying to put him to sleep earlier. We feel you!
But while a newborn’s feeding schedule can seem like a chore, it is especially crucial for them at this moment! Yes, even if it means to wake them up from their slumber.
Why should you wake them?
Baby’s digest milk quickly
Especially so if he is breast fed. Also, a newborn’s tummy is really small and so he will need the frequent feedings to keep him full. A formula fed baby on the other hand can last a little longer (about 4 – 5 months).
Babies can sleep through hunger
When baby is awake, he will usually show you hunger signs. He cries, try to root, suck on his fingers. However, when they’re sleeping, it is easy for them to sleep through the hunger. Especially if they have jaundice, which makes them extra sleepy.
They need to gain weight
While it is completely normal for them to lose a few grams during the first few days, they will need to put it all back on eventually to stay healthy.
It’s good for your milk supply!
Frequent nursing from the start helps to establish your milk supply. Not nursing on demand will affect the supply needed to meet baby’s needs.
How to wake baby (and keep them awake)
If baby still refuses to stay awake, leave him be! If he misses a feeding, he will likely make it up at the next one. Look out for signs that baby is feeding well:
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Image credit: Darryl Harris Jr. via Getty Images
Setting up and decorating your baby’s nursery is very exciting for new parents! While you’re filled with joy and excitement to create a beautiful space for your little one, it is equally important to keep it baby safe.
Here are 5 ways to ensure a safe environment for baby:
Crib placement
Place the crib near your bed so you’re able to hear and keep a lookout on baby. While co-sleeping might seem more convenient now, introducing baby to her own crib from the start will make her more acceptable to sleeping on her own in the future.
Also consider the area around the crib. As baby gets older and starts to climb, keep the crib far away from windows or anything they are able to grab onto (like hanging lights, shelving, curtain cords).
Crib safety
It is tempting to place soft toys in your baby’s crib, but blankets, pillows and toys of any kind pose a risk of suffocation and should never to used in a crib. Remove all threats from baby’s crib with the exception of a fitted sheet and a thin, mattress cover. Babies generally do not need to use a pillow until they are much older, so don’t worry about them being uncomfortable.
Ensure safe furniture
Make sure that the furniture such as dressers, bookshelves, full length mirrors are anchored to the wall, or sturdy enough to take it will not topple over your baby. Once they get older, make sure that all doors and drawers are fitted with childproof locks.
Avoid getting huge toy chests or containers that your little one can climb into. The last thing you would want is to have your child trapped in there without you realising.
Electrical safety
Put plastic outlet protectors over all unused electrical outlets and ensure that long wires are tucked away neatly, preferably out of baby’s sight and reach. Avoid having floor lamps which can be easily pulled over.
Changing table
Ensure that your baby’s changing table has a safety belt to prevent them from rolling off – anything can happen within a split second, so let’s be safe. But never, never, leave baby unattended on the changing table!
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Chinese Pediatric Massage, more commonly referred to as paediatric tuina, is not just a helpful aid in treating common ailments in babies and young children, but it is useful as a preventive measure too. Find out more about this unique form of external therapy that is thought to have originated and practised in China for at least 700 years.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is fast catching on as a highly effective treatment in paediatric care, and its therapeutic methods include tuina, acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, ear-seeds, guasha (skin scraping) and plum-blossom needling. In particular, parents of younger children are turning to paediatric tuina, viewing this as a more proactive method to reinforce the constitution of weak and sickly children. Among practitioners, tuina is also generally the preferred method as it can be applied on children from birth to about 4-6 years of age.
Increasingly, “prevention rather than cure” is becoming the first line of defence for concerned parents who would rather improve the existing health of their child as opposed to starting treatment only as and when symptoms develop. For parents seeking alternative solutions to conventional western medicine, paediatric tuina is also considered safer with less side effects, as it can reduce the amount of conventional drugs children are required to take; antibiotics for example.
So what exactly is paediatric tuina? Generally, it is a form of external therapy that is applied to stimulate specific acupuncture areas on the body, in order to treat and prevent ailments common in young children. However, unlike acupuncture, massage techniques are used instead of needles to influence and regulate the flow of qi (circulating life force) within the body, strengthen the immune system, and even help mental development.
How Tuina Can Help
“According to Chinese medical theory, children correspond to the rising of yang energy within the yin. A characteristic of their energy is its volatility, which means rapid changes in the state of their health,” says Dr Elisa Rossi, MD, an acupuncturist and licensed psychotherapist.
“They get sick very easily, yet respond to treatment just as quickly. When they are ill, it is often possible to balance their energetic systems using small and gentle interventions. Chinese medicine thus helps accomplish this very effectively,” continues Dr Rossi.
TCM practitioners note that many paediatric ailments such as constipation, poor sleep, agitation, rashes, cough, catarrh or asthma arise due to “accumulations” that revolve around overindulgence, especially food. Food accumulation does not refer to acute indigestion however; but rather an excess that comes from eating food of the wrong quality, quantity and frequency. As a result, this excess can adversely affect the body’s qi, stools, emotions, and so on, hence creating blockages which will then need to be released. Accumulation also easily transforms into heat within the body, which is also the cause of “heaty” conditions such as the build-up of phlegm.
Without being too invasive, paediatric tuina is thus able to free accumulations and expel the body’s excess heat while also reinforcing qi. “We see big changes in treating children who are tired, whining, clinging, have poor appetite, lack of energy or get sick often,” highlights Dr Rossi, who, since 2005, has also run Xiaoxiao Clinic, a paediatric centre that specialises in treating children using tuina and acupuncture techniques.
“We can also do a lot for babies who wake up many times during the night, for toddlers who are agitated, angry or stubborn, or older children who are hyperactive, with difficulties in concentrating and staying still. Some other paediatric problems that are easy to treat include acute abdominal pain in infants, constipation, diarrhoea, and nocturnal enuresis; other issues such as eczema or asthma take longer to cure, but Chinese medicine is still a good choice for them.”
Tuina – An At-Home Possibility
“Paediatric tuna is significantly different from tuina for adults,” says Dr Rossi. “It requires specialist training because of the specific features of children’s physio-pathology, symptoms and diagnosis. On the other hand, because it uses only a few, relatively simple, main techniques, it can be learnt fairly easily. Basic sequences can also be taught to parents.”
Tuina treatment for children is generally a sequence of 8-10 massage techniques (fa), mainly pushing (tui) and kneading (rou) along specific lines or points. Each fa is usually done for 1-2 minutes, with the child either lying down or sitting in the lap of the parent. Traditionally on the hand and forearm points, the right side is used for girls, the left for boys, with other points/lines used bilaterally.
Parents or caregivers can apply a simple sequence of tuina techniques to be applied once a day at home or more often if the child is having a more serious ailment such as fever. The order does not matter, but the techniques should be applied together and can even be done while the baby is sleeping or feeding. The stimulations should also be “neither too light to obtain an effect, nor too heavy, unpleasant or harmful,” advises Dr Rossi.
Because of tuina’s popularity, some parents are also opting to attend courses conducted by certified therapists, to learn more about techniques and how to administer these to their children at home. In fact, most practitioners actually encourage the extension of the treatment beyond the confines of the clinic, particularly if parents notice that their child is under any kind of stress, or if the child seems less energetic or exhibits an imbalance of energy.
Besides basic tuina techniques that may be designed according to the needs of the individual child, parents are also advised how to modify their child’s diet and daily habits. Once parents get familiar with administering therapy to their child, the treatment is reinforced, and they are also empowered with improved self-confidence in understanding their child’s health and temperament. Overall, a better child-parent relationship is further fostered in the long haul as the power of touch is extremely beneficial for closer bonding.
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Copyrighted Pregnancy & Baby by Mummys Market 2019