Baby Bottles and Accessories Safety Tips

Safety Tips Do:

• Wash your hands before preparing your baby's bottle.
  
• Have someone else introduce your baby to the bottle about four weeks into your nursing regimen if you're breast-feeding but want to begin using a bottle. Your baby may associate mom with breast-feeding and may resist if you try to give her the bottle yourself.
  
• Get tough with glass. Thoroughly clean glass bottles by washing them in the top rack of the dishwasher, or wash bottles in hot tap water with dish washing detergent and rinse them in hot tap water. You can also use a sterilizer or boil glass bottles in water for 5 to 10 minutes.
  
• Thoroughly clean plastic and polycarbonate bottles by hand with hot soapy water, not in the dishwasher. Bottles may be termed "dishwasher safe," but polycarbonate bottles can leach BPA after being exposed to high heat. Also avoid putting any plastic product into the dishwasher, a bottle sterilizer, or microwave.
  
• Wean your baby from a bottle by 12 months old, if possible. By that time, he will be ready to drink from a sippy cup-just make sure it's not made with polycarbonate. Prolonged bottle use (after 14 months) can cause your baby to consume too much milk and not enough food, and may delay the development of feeding skills.
  
• If you choose formula, protect your baby's teeth by wiping them off with a washcloth or gauze pad after every feeding so that a layer of dental plaque doesn't get the chance to form.

Safety Tips Don't:

• Heat formula or breast milk in the microwave.
  
• Give your baby a bottle of milk or formula to suck on during the night or at naptime. The habit can cause baby-bottle tooth decay, which is painful and difficult to treat and can cause problems for permanent teeth. Give your baby a bottle only at feeding times and don't allow baby to associate bottles with being in bed.
  
• Prop up your baby with a bottle. This feed-yourself practice can lead to choking, ear infections, and tooth decay (yes, again), as well as less cuddling and human contact, which all babies crave.
  
• Give your baby a bottle to carry around and "nurse," , especially a glass bottle, even with a silicone sleeve. Not only is it dangerous (babies have been known to throw their bottles), but this practice can lead to tooth decay, drinking too much, and sharing bottles with little friends, increasing the risk of colds and other infections. The contents of the bottle can spoil, which can cause food-borne illness such as bad stomach bugs, which are no fun for your baby or for you.