The bottle: useful tips for mothers.

The bottle is one of the most used tools for the baby food in the first period of life of the newborn. It is used for lunch, with dissolved biscuits, for a snack, for water, chamomile and for the last meal before bedtime. As for breastfeeding (generally the newborn should be breastfed up to around 7-8 months), also for the bottle the child has his own times and needs to be respected, which should not be underestimated. On average, the little one feels the need for a bottle up to the age of 12 - 18 months (although experts say that, from the age of six months, it is possible to offer him the irreversible cup: practical, easy to handle and adaptable to his needs) . 12/18 months, it might seem too advanced an age to still use the bottle; but the exact age does not matter, as in any other approach of the child (crawling, first steps, abandoning the diaper).

The method of sucking the milk from the bottle is a procedure that combines business with pleasure: the baby still feels the sensation of the mother's breast (and this gives him security and sweetness) and, moreover, facilitates the acquisition of milk, avoiding that this can go wrong with him or he may even be inhaled. There are many types of baby bottles on the market: it also depends on the selection criteria! There are those made of unbreakable plastic (ideal for sudden falls due to the sudden movements of the child) and those that are heat resistant, but also those that are tapered, small, wide and squat.

The characteristics to be evaluated in the bottle are:

· The handle (perhaps those with the hole facilitate the grip of the baby, who feels the bottle more firm);

· The teat and its holes: for the first months of life (up to four months) the flow of milk must not be too abundant, in order to prevent the baby from suffocating or having coughing fits. Better a teat with a small hole and that allows a minimal and gradual jet.

Other tips to keep in mind:

Sterilization is a fundamental action, but it must not be reduced to a mere moment of health. Sterilizing is right, but the baby is at home and some bacterial loads also strengthen his immune defenses and are not harmful to him. The most commonly used sterilization methods are those of do-it-yourself boiling: after having thoroughly washed the bottle, let it boil in water for about ten minutes. There are also various types of sterilizers on the market such as steam sterilizers (container in which to put baby bottles and water, so that this evaporating, it can disinfect the bottle and pacifier), or those for sterilization in the microwave (equipped with a box, suitable for the temperatures of this type of oven, in which to store the bottle)

Some precautions:

Do not leave hot milk in the bottle for a long time: this could be the ideal condition for the proliferation of germs; furthermore, rinsing it thoroughly, eliminating milk residues from the walls, is the best method to eradicate the environment suitable for the storage of bacteria.

Dear mothers, after reading our article we advise you to take a look at our LUXURYKIDS site where you will find many items for your child.