Father feeding his baby a bottle of formula, cradled in the crook of his arm

Your tiny human is here! And while you may have been warned about the lack of sleep, you may not have realized all of the pressures or difficulties surrounding feeding. If so, you are not alone.

SO many new parents tell us that feeding is one of the biggest stressors during the newborn stage. And this was true no matter how they chose to feed, whether it was via breastmilk, formula, or a combination.

Here are 3 things parents like you wished they’d known sooner when it came to feeding.

 

  1. You can change how you choose to feed your baby.

    You may have planned to feed your baby one way during pregnancy, but find that it isn’t realistic, or even possible. That’s okay. You can always change how you feed your baby.

    Maybe you planned to follow the WHO recommendation to exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months but find that you need or want to offer bottles of formula before then. Again, it’s totally okay. Parenthood involves constant reevaluation and pivoting based on the reality of your unique situation.

  2. You don’t need to warm your baby’s bottle.

    Seriously, if your baby is crying for their bottle, whether it’s a bottle of expressed breastmilk or formula, try offering it to them straight out of the fridge or at room temperature. You may find that they happily take it, saving you both time and tears. If your baby will accept formula or breastmilk at room temperature (as long as it follows the guidelines we talk about below) or from the fridge, there’s no harm in giving it to them!

  3. You don’t always have to toss a bottle out because you accidentally left it out or because your baby didn’t finish it.

    Expressed breastmilk and formula may have more shelf-life than you think, meaning you may be tossing out a good bottle for no reason!

    For bottles of freshly expressed breastmilk:

    • You can leave these out at room temperature (which is generally considered to be anything less than 77°F) for up to 4 hours.
    • If your baby has drunk from the bottle, use the remainder within 2 hours.

    For bottles of formula:

    • You can leave a bottle of freshly prepared formula out at room temperature for up to 2 hours.
    • If your baby has drunk from the bottle, use the remainder of the formula within 1 hour.
This post is sponsored in partnership with Bobbie. We only recommend brands and products we genuinely love.