Rule #1: Feed the baby! Babies have got to eat. You get to choose how you do that, and informed decisions are always best. As with all things human, there really is no one right way that is going to work for everyone. Parents in Evansville are worried about environmental toxins in our water, and I’ve gotten a few very worried parents asking about the safety of preparing formula with our tap water. I know my answer surprised them, so maybe it will surprise you too.
You shouldn’t be making formula with water straight from your tap. Yes, I’m serious, and no I didn’t know that when I was making formula for my children many moons ago. It wasn’t until I read the WHO’s Safe Preparation, Storage, & Handling of Powdered Infant Formula, that I really understood how wrong I had been. Sometimes formula can get contaminated during the manufacturing process. We saw this happen in one large facility and shutting that down to clean it up is part of what caused the recent formula shortage here in the United States. You can still look up your formula to see if it has been recalled here. To control for water-born pathogens that could come through in your tap water, yes, even here in Evansville, it is best practice to make your infant formula with water that has been boiled and then cooled. If you are concerned about contaminants in the water, then you could consider purchasing water to make formula for your baby.
Feeding Babies
Babies have to eat & making sure they can do so safely is really important. As one of my favorite lactation scholars has said multiple places: informed is best! Formula feeding has risks, and knowing how to mitigate them can help you be more at ease with doing what is best for you and your family. Inform yourself so that you can feed your baby confidently whether that’s with your body or from a bottle!
If I could tell new parents one thing about feeding babies, it would be this: you have to figure out what works best for you, your baby, and your life as it is. I see sooo many parents get wrapped up in the idea that there is some ideal that they need to be trying to live up to whether that is finding the exact type of special formula imported from Switzerland or that they can ONLY nurse their babies from their breasts or whatever the idealized expectation that they have probably unconsciously placed on themselves is in that moment. The truth of the matter is that there is no one right way and there are multiple safe ways to feed your babies. Some babies cannot process dairy, so consuming human milk is not gonna work for them. Others have two dads who can’t lactate themselves or a mom with PCOS who is just going to struggle to produce all the milk that those babies need.
Bottom Line
Feeding babies is personal and an individual decision, which means its also your business only! You will get to make all kinds of choices about your babies, and this is one that also can change over the course of your baby’s entire first year of life and with each of your babies too. Even if breastfeeding your first baby was a breeze and you never had any latch issues, your second baby could throw all the challenges your way. Being flexible and remembering that there truly is no one right way to feed babies, that is going to truly help you in the long run when it comes to your parenting journey. Your babies are so lucky that you worry about what’s best for them, and honestly, the research shows that the simple fact that you DO worry makes you an excellent parent.
