Feeding your newborn: a time to bond
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e know as a fact that becoming a parent is a new adventure, filled with unforeseen events; from moments of happiness to sleepless nights, many surprises await you. So you can depend on our expertise and reap the benefits of innovative solutions designed to make your daily life easier! We have set ourselves an extremely important task, namely to understand what it means to be a parent, what the job involves and what your expectations are; and that includes fulfilling your baby’s needs. It’s by listening and exchanging ideas with you that we can develop clever new products enabling you to take full advantage of your new life with baby. So what does it matter if you are not the world’s best parents – we are going to put all our efforts into helping you be the happiest!
Contents How to choose: breast, bottle or both? / p4 Our breasfeeding advice / p5 Why breast pump is a precious help when breastfeeding? / p6 How to choose the right teat? / p8 How to prepare your feeding bottles properly? / p10 Our hygiene and sterilization advice / p12 Our advice to answer baby’s natural sucking need / p14
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Find all our advice on bebeconfort.com
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How to choose: breast, bottle or both?
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ll professional health workers agree that breastfeeding has unique benefits for your baby. By creating moments of real sharing and intimacy, it helps reassure you in your new role as a mother and therefore helps you gain in confidence! Of course, it’s not the only way to feed your baby: there are many factors which may lead you to choose mixed feeding with both breast and bottle or bottle-feeding only.
Breastfeeding
Health professionals stress that mother’s milk is the ideal food for newborns because it provides for all your baby’s needs. It develops according to his requirements and contains antibodies to protect him against common diseases, like diarrhea and pneumonia.
Bottle feeding
Feeding exclusively by bottle gives parents the freedom to choose who feeds baby. Selecting a teat that’s well-suited to your baby will ensure feeding time is comfortable and easy. You have 3 choices for bottle feeding: • Breast milk that’s been expressed ahead of time, for the nutritional qualities of mother’s milk with the bottle’s flexibility. • Powdered infant formula, for flexibility and ease for mum and dad. • A mix of breast milk and formula offers the benefits of breast milk, along with the convenience of formula when you need it.
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Mixed feeding
You may have reason to choose «mixed feeding». When you return to work, for example, or to allow the dad to give the bottle to your baby. There are 2 types of “mixed feeding“: • Breastfeeding + expressing milk in order to feed your baby from a bottle. • Breastfeeding + powdered infant formula given in a bottle. When the time comes to wean the baby completely, he will have become used to the bottle and so the transition will be easy.
Pilar (30), mother of Tom (4 months) 4
“We imagined I’d breastfeed exclusively, but reality was different, so we decided on breastfeeding combined with bottle feeding with my milk. My baby gets benefits from breast milk, and my partner loves that he can enjoy feeding time too.”
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THE ADVICE OF OUR MIDWIFE Sylvette Rambaud.
If you have chosen to breastfeed, you will find it a rewarding emotional experience and a source of great intimacy with your baby. The first time you put your baby to the breast is of particular importance for the success of your new venture, so make sure you have support right from the start. Don’t hesitate to approach your midwife or health visitor during the early days, and to ask for help after you have come out of hospital.“
Our breastfeeding advice
reastfeeding is a natural act, but it can sometimes have a few drawbacks… If you are breastfeeding, and things aren’t going as you would wish, please do not lose heart: three weeks on average are needed for the feeding process to become established, with a mature supply of breast milk.
Some common hassles
Here are a few tips
PAINFUL BREASTS Painful breasts are quite common at the start of feeding, when you are trying to get it going. They are often the result of poor positioning or latch – your midwife can help you find solutions.
• Use cold compresses to lessen the pain. • Silicone nipple shields may prevent irritation from rubbing and can be a short-term help. It will be then easier to return to direct feeding from the breast.
ENGORGEMENT Engorgement is an inflammation of the breasts that blocks your milk ducts and restricts the flow of milk. It most often occurs after a period without feeding. CRACKS Cracked nipples can be very painful. To help prevent them, be careful about baby’s position when you feed, ensure a correct latch and don’t let breasts stay damp between feedings.
• Feed your baby to release the flow of milk and get the system going again. • Heat encourages milk to flow, so use warm compresses or take a warm shower. • Remove the excess with a mini-breast pump. • Use nipple shields to protect your nipples during feeding. • Use breast shells between feedings to help healing by keeping your nipples exposed to the air. • Use breast pads to absorb milk leaks and keep breasts dry between feedings. • After each feed, massage a few drops of your milk into your nipples.
If these problems persist, don’t hesitate to ask for professional help. These are frequently experienced worries, but they should not be allowed to take hold.
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Why breast pump is a precious help when breastfeeding?
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Mel (28), mother of Nina (2 months) “I really wanted to express my milk to keep breastfeeding after I went back to work. So I was thrilled to find the Natural Comfort electric breast pump. I can express my milk without having to hold the bottle – since my hands are free, I can do other things at the same time. The shield slips comfortably right under my shirt without any undressing so it’s perfectly discreet.”
umping your milk has many advantages and flexibility is one of them. Breast pumps are a great support during breastfeeding but also a good way to extend this period: • If your breasts are congested. • To relieve sore nipples. • To feed your baby who can’t directly be breastfed (premature, etc.). • To empty your breast if baby isn’t hungry. • To create a milk storage along with breastfeeding. • To store milk in the freezer in case of an emergency. • To allow someone else to feed baby with your breast milk.
Natural Comfort electric breast pump The Natural Comfort electric breast pump makes expressing milk easy thanks to its innovative hands-free design. Now you can express milk your way, discreetly and in comfort. • HANDS FREE Instead of having to hold it like a traditional pump, enjoy doing other activities: hold your baby, use a computer or read for example!
How to go back to work while breastfeeding?
• DISCREET AND SILENT No need to remove any clothes – just slide the discreet breast shield under your clothes.
With a little organization and support from your close family, breastfeeding and going back to work can be compatible. Here is an efficient method: use a breast pump! • To make that transition even easier, start using the breast pump a few weeks before going back to work to start changing your habits. For example, during breastfeeding, pump the milk of the free breast: it will save you some time. You can also pump an hour after breastfeeding or when baby eats less often or even when you feel the need to. • Once you’re back to work, try to keep a regular schedule: pump your milk according to the feeding schedule your baby was on.
• COMFORTABLE POSITION Relax and even lie down while pumping. The milk naturally flows through the pipe. • STIMULATION FUNCTION The pump imitates your baby’s natural suction to activate milk expression; four different expression levels let you choose your most comfortable suction.
Watch the video
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THE ADVICE OF OUR MIDWIFE Sylvette Rambaud.
It’s very important to have a quiet place to express milk, where you’ll be comfortable and you won’t be interrupted. Speak with your employer before you go back to work, make sure they develop a plan for integrating time to pump your milk stress-free while at work..“
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How to choose the right teat?
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ucking from a teat can be very different from sucking the breast, so sometimes the baby refuses his bottle… The choice of teat is therefore important to ensure that everything goes as well as possible! Be careful to also choose the right flow rate so that baby can drink at his own pace. This reduces the risk of regurgitation and colics.
The Natural Comfort Teat The Natural Comfort teat has been designed in collaboration with experts on newborn babies. It has been tested by 167 babies and accepted without any problem by 95 %* of them, including breastfed babies. It works in harmony with your baby’s natural sucking action: the distinctive asymmetrical and physiological shape imitates the shape of the breast so as to resemble natural feeding as closely as possible. • The flat part enables the tongue to reproduce the natural movement it makes at the breast. • Two «Dual Air system» valves regulate the air flow and the outflow of milk to allow baby to drink at his own pace and therefore to reduce the risk of colics and regurgitation.
How to recognise colic? Is it colic or hunger that is making baby cry? It’s not always easy to distinguish them! To recognise colic, observe his behaviour: he will be agitated and bending his legs upwards against his stomach, seemingly inconsolable. Colics can appear a few days after birth and disappear around the 3rd month. They can affect breastfed babies as well as bottle-fed ones.
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THE ADVICE OF OUR PAEDIAT RICIAN Dr Corbineau
Colics are merely the sign of an immature digestive system. They may cause a little pain but don’t be too worried: they are benign and they will come to an end.»
Some advice on choosing the right degree of flow! Natural Comfort teat HOW TO CHOOSE THE TEAT?
Newborn size
SMALLER SIZE FOR 1ST MONTHS
• For 1st weeks or for breastfed babies
•After 1st weeks or for babies having sucking trouble
Baby size
WHEN BABY IS GROWING
•Usually from 4 months
• Ideal for weaning (cereals, soup, bits)
One size
SUITABLE FOR ALL AGES
• To adjust flow during a feed
How to relieve colic? • Rock your baby, walk him in the pram, sing to him softly. • Give him a bath to relax him. • Offer him a dummy if he has one, as sucking is soothing. • Massage his tummy.
* Harris Interactive Test – February 2012.
Watch the video for effective anti-colic massages!
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What is the situation regarding Bisphenol A? Bisphenol A (BPA) was frequently used in the manufacture of food containers like bottles or babies’ feeding bottles. It is released when containers are heated to a high temperature (in microwave ovens or dishwashers). Doubts persist about its dangers. This is why, as a precautionary measure, it is now forbidden in feeding bottles and other food containers.
Natural Comfort bottle The Natural Comfort bottle comes in several sizes to adapt to each stage of your child’s growth. • There is a choice of plastic (without bisphenol A) or glass. • With a wide neck making it easier to fill and clean. • It is also the first eco-designed bottle on the market! Made in France, it uses 20% less plastic and its environmental impact is reduced by 24%. For this new bottle, Bébé Confort received the Eco product award for sustainable development, thus proving a real commitment to the practice of eco-design. The Natural Comfort bottle is recommended by 93%* of parents who have tested it!
How to prepare your feeding bottles properly? Of course, your bottle should, above all, be perfectly clean and sterilized! After that it’s fairly simple: Fill your bottle with mineral water (or your breast milk), then heat it. Consider using the bottle warmer to reach the ideal uniform temperature of 37°C. Once your water is well heated, add the appropriate quantity of milk. Be careful – in order to have the correct quantity of water, it is essential to put the water in before the milk powder.
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Put the teat on last. Shake the bottle to ensure the powder is well dissolved. And there you go, it’s ready, have a nice meal, baby!
130ml ml 140 140ml ml 130
240 240ml ml 270 270ml ml
240ml ml 330 330ml ml 240
0 to 4 months
4 to 12 months
12 toFrom 24 months 12 to 24 months
From 0 toFrom 4 months
From From 4 to 12 months
From
Watch the video
Easy Clip bottle
HOW MANY BOTT LES SHOULD I GIVE PER DAY? Dr Corbineau, paediatrician
"There is no hard and fast answer because it depends on the needs of each child. However, you can follow this basic rule: during the early weeks, your baby will need 6 to 7 bottles per 24 hours (from 60 to 120 ml), which means a bottle every 3-4 hours. You can then increase the quantities of milk over the ensuing months, while reducing the number of daily bottles. Remember to prepare your bottle just before a feed so that you are feeding your baby under the best hygienic conditions."
The anti-leak innovation Have you heard of Easy Clip, the super-ingenious bottle which fastens in a single clip? It is guaranteed to be non-leak with its original and patented fastening system.
Céline (3 children), Easy Clip user «At last the feeding bottle I needed. Easy care, no leakage and no more teats that fold in or collapse! My baby is happy so I am too!»
Watch the video
* Harris Interactive Test – February 2012.
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Our hygiene and sterilization advice Clean your bottles thoroughly
We advise you to hand-wash your bottles, at least until your baby is three months old. After feeding, rinse the bottle with warm water so that the milk residue does not have time to dry. Using a small amount of soapy water, scrub it with a bottle brush. Take the time to rinse thoroughly.
Sterilizing your bottles
Sterilizing the dummy
A good clean can help protect your bottles from germs. However, experts still recommend sterilizing up to the age of three months. Choose the method which suits you best: • With steam: this is a quick and convenient method using an electric or microwave sterilizer. • With boiling water: several minutes will be required. • With cold water, using sterilization tablets: this method is not so quick but very convenient if you are travelling.
The most important thing is to sterilize your baby’s new dummy before giving it to him for the first time. Ideally, you should sterilize it regularly during your baby’s first two months, but it is not essential. However, be sure to wash it several times a day with soap and clear water. Rinse it regularly; including each time it falls on the ground. And since prevention is better than cure, how about keeping the dummy in a carrying box?
Sterilizing accessories THE MICROWAVE EXPRESS STERILIZER This is a 3-in-1 product offering both hot and cold sterilization. The basket can also be used as a bottle-drainer. It is super-quick: in less than 3 minutes, your bottles, even the largest of them, will be sterilized and ready for use!
Franck (32), father of Lucas (6 months) “Preparing a bottle in the middle of the night is not so simple… especially if you are a deep sleeper! The first time I got up to prepare Lucas’ bottle, it took me a few minutes to get together all the things I needed: a clean bottle, the teat, his bib… and even then I managed to make two mistakes counting out the proportions of milk! Now I think ahead and prepare all the equipment beforehand.“
THE ELECTRIC STERILIZER With its large capacity (5 wide-necked bottles), it offers an efficient sterilization in six minutes. Autonomous and ingenious, it stops automatically when the sterilization cycle has finished!
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And to warm the bottle thoroughly?
THE ADVICE OF OUR EXPERT
Janine Le Guinio, Quality Expert Bébé Confort
Sterilization is a very good way to protect your baby from germs. It is advisable to use it for the first three months, particularly on items in contact with milk. Of course, sterilizing does not absolve you from careful washing!“
Why is the bottle-warmer more recommended than the microwave? Unlike the microwave, the bottle-warmer allows bottles to be warmed uniformly. It is also specially designed to heat the bottle for just the amount of time needed to obtain the ideal temperature, so preventing any risk of burning. In addition, modern bottle-warmers are almost as fast as microwaves. So they are full of advantages, especially at night!
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Our advice to answer baby’s natural sucking need
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abies have a natural need to suck. If they do not have a dummy, babies often put a finger, a thumb or their mother’s breast in their mouths. Sucking is calming and soothing for little ones.
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Dummy or thumb?
ental Safe fulfils your baby’s natural need to suck while at the same time promoting good development of the mouth and teeth. It was developed in coordination with highly reputed dentists.
Of course babies use an inborn technique to soothe themselves, and that is thumb-sucking (some babies were already doing it in their mothers’ tummies!). However, as Doctor Fernandez testifies: «Choosing a dummy is a better option: they are more adapted to your baby’s physiology. A dummy reduces the risk of dental malformation». As the child grows, it will also be easier for him to decide to abandon his dummy than to stop sucking his thumb!
Dental safe’s unique advantages
What type of dummy to choose?
Rubber or silicone?
It’s not always easy to choose a dummy among the large quantity of products found in the shops… so how do you choose the dummy which encourages optimum development of the mouth and teeth? • The teat (the part which is in baby’s mouth) should be as thin as possible. • The material should be soft, to reduce pressure on the gums. • The shape should be «physiological», which is to say it should conform to the shape of the palate.
Your baby will make his preference known all by himself! You can choose from two types of dummies in Bébé Confort’s expert range: • Rubber (or latex) is the natural and traditional material: it is ultra-supple but its taste and smell are stronger than silicone and the material has a tendency to deteriorate more quickly. • Silicone, on the other hand, is a more recent material: neutral and supple, it is easier to clean and more resistant over time.
Dental Safe is the outcome of years of development with two top European dentists, Dr Rolph Brockhaus and Professor Rolf Hinz. It was then tested over three years in Germany. The result provided scientific proof that the Dental Safe dummy reduces pressure on babies’ jaws by 90%.
• An exclusive ultra-thin teat and a curve which is perfectly adapted to the shape of your baby’s palate. • A Size 0 (in latex) suitable for premature babies. • A little flange with specially designed air holes to limit mouth irritation in very small babies.
Unrivalled thinness: 3 mm.
Discreet shield with air holes to prevent soreness. Unique shape.
Marc (30), father of Lisa (18 months) “We used Christmas as a way of helping our 2 year old daughter to stop using her dummy, by suggesting she gave it to Father Christmas! It worked very well!“
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Clinical test
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OUR ADVICE FOR GOOD CARE Laure Laboubée, Bébé Confort product manager
As a hygiene measure, remember to replace your child’s dummy fairly often! As soon as you spot any sign of deterioration, on average every three months, change it. To support your child as he grows, encourage him to gradually give up his dummy (around two years of age).“
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