Breast milk is nature’s best nutrient for a baby. Your body is so incredible that it prepares you to feed and care for your baby. As an expectant mother, you want to give your baby the very best, which is precisely what you do when you choose to breastfeed.
Breastfeeding is a Great Choice
Breastfeeding gives your baby all the nutrients it needs during your child’s first months on earth. Not only is breastfeeding wonderful for your baby, but it is also an excellent choice for you. When you breastfeed, your body responds to your baby by burning calories so that you may lose your baby’s weight faster. Additionally, when you breastfeed, you save yourself a considerable expense and a lot of headaches. Baby formula is expensive, and worrying about carrying your baby’s formula around is annoying. When you breastfeed your baby, you have everything your baby needs to feed; it is a miraculous food.
How to Care For Breast Milk
Ideally, you will breastfeed your baby directly from the breast whenever it needs to be fed, but sometimes that is not possible. If you are like many mothers, you will need to go to work or leave your baby with someone else from time to time. When moments like this occur, you will have to store your breastmilk. Breastmilk should be stored in the freezer, and you should thaw your breastmilk in the refrigerator. You want to put dates on your breast milk and use the oldest milk before the newer. If you want to know, can you reheat breast milk? The answer is “yes.” you have to be careful of how you heat the milk. You never want to warm breast milk in the microwave. A microwave can destroy some of the valuable nutrients in breast milk. Instead of using a microwave, heat the warm water in a pot on the stovetop, and warm the water inside the hot water. You can also run the bottle under running hot water as well.
How to Feed Stored Breast Milk
You do not need to warm your stored breast milk if you do not want to. If you choose to heat your breast milk for your baby’s comfort, make sure that you test the warm breast milk on your arm before you feed it to your baby. You can feed your baby the breast milk directly from the bottle. Before feeding your baby, shake up the breast milk to combine the fat that may have been separated while it was stored. If your baby does not finish the entire bottle, you can keep the rest of the milk in the fridge. Ensure you feed your baby your breast milk within a few hours of storing it.
Cleaning of Baby Feeding Items
It is important to properly wash all of the items that you use to express your milk. Each time you use the pump, take it apart and clean all the things used. Wash these items in a dishwasher if possible. If you do not have a dishwasher, you can also wash all of the items by hand. When washing by hand, ensure that you have a separate basin and separate washing brushes only used for your baby’s feeding items; you do not want these items to get contaminated by the germs in your sink. Wash all items with soap and warm water, and ensure they are completely dry before you use them again.
What If You Can’t Breastfeed
If you are a mom that desires to breastfeed but cannot because of health problems or other issues, there is no need to feel guilty; you are doing the best you can do to take care of your baby. If you are totally against formula, some mothers donate breast milk. Contact a local midwife to get information about these services. If you choose to use formula, you should know that tens of thousands of grown adults were fed formula, and they are happy and healthy today; formula can be an excellent substitute for breastmilk.
No mother is perfect, but you are researching and taking your baby’s health seriously, so you should feel proud of yourself. Being a mom is a hard job, and you are doing a great job. You are trying to give your baby the best chance to live a healthy and happy life. Your baby is fortunate to have a mom like you.