By Insider Envy Staff
Common Challenges with Formula Feeding and How to Overcome Them
SPONSORED BY BYHEART
The choice of what to feed your baby is one of the most important decisions you make as a parent...
Looking to start feeding with formula? You’ve come to the right place! Keep reading for tips on how to tackle some of the most common challenges new parents may face when starting to feed with formula.
Challenge 1: Finding the Right Formula
With so many formulas on the market, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. Should you prioritize price, accessibility or nutritional content? Organic or not? It’s enough to make a new parent’s head spin.
Here at Insider Envy, we love ByHeart for offering a whole nutrition infant formula that’s held to the highest safety standards (they’ve won 3 Clean Label Project certifications!). ByHeart is the only US-made* infant formula to use organic, grass fed whole milk, not skim, which has healthy fats. Plus, they ran the largest clinical trial by a new infant formula brand in 25 years — and the results are in: when compared to a leading infant formula, ByHeart offers clinically proven benefits such as easier digestion, less spit-up, and softer poops, plus enhanced nutrition absorption and more efficient weight gain.
Challenge 2: Proper Preparation and Storage
Properly preparing and storing your infant formula is important for keeping your baby safe and well-fed while ensuring your own peace of mind. According to the CDC, for newborns under two months, boil the water for 5 minutes before mixing it with your infant formula in order to sterilize it (for babies over 2 months, tap water is fine!). Of course, once the water has been boiled the formula will be too hot, so be sure to let it cool a bit before feeding your baby. Always follow the instructions on the can when mixing baby formula, and remember to shake (not stir!) in order to mix.
In terms of storage, fresh is always best, so be sure to use your mixed infant formula within two hours of preparing it. If you aren’t going to use it within two hours, you can store it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. That being said, don’t save any extra formula left in the bottle after feeding, because over time, bacteria can grow when the formula mixes with your baby’s saliva.
Challenge 3: Dealing with Digestive Issues
Dealing with infant digestive issues can make those already exhausting early days of parenthood feel even more trying. Some common signs of digestive issues in formula-fed babies include gas, constipation or reflux.
Sometimes, a simple change in position can make a difference. Be sure you’re holding your baby in a slightly upright position with the bottle held horizontally. Letting the bottle’s nipple fill up with milk entirely helps prevent your baby from consuming excess air, which can help to ease gassiness.
Finding the right formula can be key to helping alleviate digestive issues. We love ByHeart because when compared to a leading infant formula, it’s clinically proven to help reduce spit-up and produce softer poops (plus lots of other benefits like more efficient weight gain and enhanced nutrient absorption!) And, like breast milk, ByHeart uses a mix of whole and broken-down proteins — it’s the best of both worlds, in that it offers the balanced nutrition of whole proteins with the increased digestibility of broken-down proteins.
As with any other persistent issues you notice with your baby’s health or comfort, always be sure to consult your pediatrician.
Challenge 4: Establishing and Maintaining a Feeding Routine
When it comes to feeding your baby, responsive feeding is a great way to bond with your baby, learn to pick up on their hunger cues, and most importantly, teach them healthy eating habits that will last.
The gist of responsive feeding is to let your baby determine when they eat and when they get full. This works by paying attention to your baby’s signs of hunger (like touching their mouth, clenching their fists over their stomach, stretching their arms and legs and making sucking noises), as well as signs of fullness like turning away from the bottle or breast. Responsive feeding takes time and attention, but it’s worth it for the benefits: a stronger bond with your baby, and a child who understands their own hunger cues as they grow and develop.
ByHeart is a great formula to try responsive feeding with — it’s clinically proven for longer stretches between nighttime feeding sessions** compared to a leading infant formula, which means you might just get some shut eye even when you’re letting your baby determine their own feeding schedule.
Ready to shop ByHeart’s clinically proven***, award winning formula?
* with globally-sourced ingredients
** at four months
*** versus a leading infant formula
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