Are Ounces Counted Before Or After Mixing Powdered Formula With Water?

 

The answer is yes; ounces are counted after mixing the water and powdered formula.  Let’s talk about why.

Calculating accurate total volume intake is important for all babies.

  • Parents need to know how much their baby consumes to be sure they are trending accurately on their growth charts.
  • If a parent is not calculating the formula mixture properly, they may unintentionally overfeed their baby, thinking they need more formula intake.
  • Babies requiring careful intake calculation, such as preemies or medically complex babies, must account for accurate caloric intake for optimal growth and development.

Regarding nutrition, infant formula and human milk have an 87 percent water content, a very important part of your baby’s diet. In a powdered formula recipe, both the water and the powdered formula contribute calories and fluids. 

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Gender Equity, Co-Parenting and Infant Feeding Choices

Jessica Pratezina, MA, is a Ph.D. student in Interdisciplinary Studies (Child and Youth Care; Sociology) at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her doctoral research studies gender equality, father involvement, and early family formation.

Research shows that a father’s positive involvement significantly impacts every domain of their child’s development. Less attention has been paid to how a father’s involvement can improve a mother’s health, well-being, and especially relationship satisfaction. Not every happy, healthy family wants or needs a dad (like lesbian couples or single mums). But when a father is an expected part of family life, they can make a world of difference not only to his children but to his partner. In particular, when couples share childcare and household responsibilities equitably, the benefits to a mum can be significant.

Yet, gender equality isn’t one of the topics parents are encouraged to discuss during their parenting transition. In between learning how to clip those impossibly tiny newborn fingernails and piecing together cribs that seem to require an engineering degree to assemble, talking about how to keep childcare and housework tasks fair and equal isn’t something most couples are supported to do.   

 Gender equality is also not usually discussed as a factor influencing parents’ feeding choices. When I worked as an infant development specialist, I was taught to ask all sorts of questions about a mother’s feeding plans. The intention was to guide (or possibly guilt) the mum into choosing exclusive breastfeeding. 

I was never taught to ask a mum how she wanted to involve the baby’s dad in feeding and how the different feeding options might support or hinder an equal sharing of the baby’s care.

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Do Parents Need To Boil Water For Powdered Infant Formula Preparation in the United States?

Written by Jody Segrave-Daly, MS, RN, IBCLC

Boiling water for powdered infant formula preparation is one of the most conflicting and confusing topics for parents. Our governing bodies such as the CDC, WHO, WIC, AAP, and FDA, all have varying recommendations for preparing formula. 

Seventy-five percent of infants in the US will receive some infant formula by 6 months of age. Safe infant formula preparation education is very important to ensure babies are fed safely for optimal growth and health outcomes.  Parents have shared some of the educational materials they received for formula preparation, and there were vast differences ranging from a one-page handout to a complete step-by-step instruction booklet. Most parents said they were not told to boil water.

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What Kind Of Water Is Safe For Mixing Formula Powder For My Baby?

Written By: Jody Segrave-Daly, MS, RN, IBCLC

Great question! Educational resources that parents have access to often give them mixed messages about safe formula preparation.  To answer the many questions we receive, we developed an up-to-date evidence-based resource guide for parents about safe formula feeding. We start with water sources available to parents in the United States, specifically. 

Public Water

The United States has one of the safest public drinking water facilities in the world, and it is strictly regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency known as the EPA. Your community’s public water system is routinely tested for safe consumption. The EPA sets legal limits on over 90 contaminants in drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline is  1-800-426-4791.

Private Well Water

It is estimated that more than 13 million households rely on private wells for drinking water in the United States. According to the EPA, private well owners are responsible for the safety of their water. This website educates well owners on wells, groundwater, and information on protecting their health.   Continue reading

The Letter Not Only Protected Me; It Protected The Nurses Too

The Letter was from my psychiatrist. It was our way of beating a system that neither of us agreed with, or believed was good for my mental health. It provided protection for me to make decisions that went against the Baby-Friendly Hospital mandates. 

The amount of stuff a pregnant woman brings to the hospital for delivery gets progressively smaller, the more children she has. With my first child, I brought three bags; I ended up ignoring 90% of the contents and gave my husband fits when he loaded the car for the ride home. By the time I packed the hospital bag for my third child, everything fit neatly into a small duffel. Even then, I felt like I was overpacking. As long as I had a phone charger, some lip balm, and the Letter, I knew I’d be fine. 

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