Fake nipple for feeding baby

Breastfeeding Dads Are Possible With This New Device

Even when partners want to divide parenting duties equally, breastfeeding can make it tricky. It’s simply not possible for fathers to take on nursing duty—but what if there was such a thing as breastfeeding dads?

At the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, Dentsu (a tech firm from Japan) showcased its new breastfeeding system known as the Father’s Nursing Assistant

The wearable device lets dads feed babies as mom would, and promotes skin-to-skin contact between fathers and infants. One of the fake “breasts” holds the milk or formula and the other contains the nipple system, so the baby can only nurse on one side. The device doesn’t just feed the baby, it also tracks data about the baby’s nursing sessions and transmits the info to the dad’s smartphone.

According to Dentsu, the device was created with “advice from pediatricians and babysitters, who say that babies tend to touch the breast with their hands when feeding and that the softness seems to soothe them, the product has been shaped to resemble a woman’s breasts. ”

It’s not for sale yet, but it will be interesting to see if the device’s appearance at SXSW prompts more innovation in skin-to-skin systems for dads, and breastfeeding dads.

Meanwhile, a design student in the UK, Marie-Claire Springham, has invented a “chestfeeding” kit that could help fathers induce lactation and nurse their babies. The invention won the Grand Trophy prize at the Meaning Centred Design Awards 2018, and Springham hopes to make it available to consumers within five years.

The kit contains a pump and a compression vest, and it also contains hormones. Fathers-to-be would start taking progestin as soon as they learned they’re going to be a dad, and six weeks before the due date they’d start taking domperidone, which would trigger hormones to start milk production.

When baby arrives, mom and dad could take turns nursing and pumping.

During a recent television appearance on Good Morning Britain Springham explained that she designed the kit as an empathy tool. “I was looking at post-natal depression and I learnt so much, particularly that it occurs in men and the main cause of that is the feeling of being left out,” she explained.

“I read a lot of heartfelt accounts, the dad comes home all ready to be Super Dad and the baby’s not interested because the baby’s attracted to the smell of breast milk and that’s what mum smells like,” she continued.

Springham has received plenty of backlash regarding her invention, with media personalities including Piers Morgan (who is also pretty famously against dads wearing Baby Bjorns) ridiculing it.

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But Julie Jenson Bennett, the CEO of Precipice Design and jury chair of the Meaning Centred Design Awards was impressed by Springham’s kit, and sees potential. “It challenges the fundamental meanings of male and female, father and mother, parent and child. At a time when we increasingly use hormones, medication and technology to change the life options available to us, Marie-Claire’s design concept goes right to heart of our taboos,” says Bennett.

The idea of fathers taking hormones to stimulate milk production may be new, but the benefits of breastfeeding dads feeding and connecting with their babies through skin-to-skin contact isn’t.

Dads have been hacking their own chestfeeding kits using bottles (so without the hormones) for a long time, and some dads have even been able to “nurse” their babies using supplemental feeding systems (basically a tube and suction cup attached to the nipple).

Springham estimates it will take about five years before her kit could be in the hands of consumers, but it could be a game-changer for families struggling with infant feeding.

It’s not going to appeal to all dads, but it would be cool for them to have the choice if they wanted to try it.

In the meantime, fathers can help out their breastfeeding partners by supporting them. Just sitting with them, getting them a glass of water, or doing the laundry that she can’t do because she’s nursing are all forms of support.

Researchers note that “paternal emotional, practical and physical supports [have been] identified as important factors to promote successful breastfeeding and to enrich the experience for the mother and subsequently the father.”

Registered Midwife CJ Blennerhassett previously told Motherly that while couples often imagine sharing the baby duties equally, in reality the nursing parent will be doing the majority of work involved in the feeding. “Partners and members can find other ways to support that workload,” Blennerhasset says. “That’s okay.”

[A version of this post was originally published February 27, 2019. It has been updated.]

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Bottles and nipples for artificial feeding: selection and care

If a breastfed baby does not need a lot of bottles and nipples, then for an artificial baby they become the first dishes from which the baby receives food. The health of the baby, the presence or absence of problems with the intake and digestion of food depends on their quality and safety.

First utensils - bottle

When the baby is mixed fed, two bottles will suffice. And for feeding a child who receives only a mixture, it is advisable to expand the arsenal of the first children's dishes to 4 horns with a volume of 125-250 ml. This will allow you not to sterilize the bottle after each feeding, use a separate container for water or tea.

It is desirable that the baby receives food from a product of the same manufacturer, with the same habitual nipples. It’s good to have at least one “duplicate” feeding bottle on hand.

A glass bottle should be chosen if the baby has been bottle-fed since birth and the use of heat treatment of dishes is expected, which glass withstands much better than plastic. This is a more resistant material that will not absorb the smell of food and scratch during washing.

If the baby is already big, it is better to opt for plastic bottles - they are lighter, do not break and can be used by the baby on their own. But you will also have to change such bottles more often - once every 3-4 months. The bottle is also changed if there is an unpleasant odor, severe scratches, cracks, chips, or if the color changes.

For a child older than 6 months, it is advisable to choose at least one plastic bottle with handles. The child will be able to drink tea, water and mixture from it, of course, strictly under the supervision of the parents.

Don't choose complex shaped containers for feeding. It is original, but it will be much more difficult to wash and sterilize such a bottle. For the mixture, it is advisable to use products with a wide neck - it is easier to place the powder in them, and the bottle is easier to handle. If you can't resist buying a "special" bottle, use it for water or tea.

How to choose a feeding nipple

The shape of the bottle nipple can be different. Sometimes you need to try several types to find the one that best suits your baby. According to the shape of the nipples for bottles can be:

ordinary;
teardrop;
orthodontic.

The teardrop shaped nipple is usually the easiest for your baby to use. It occupies a comfortable position in the mouth and avoids bite deformation no worse than orthodontic.

Teats made of silicone rather than latex will be more resistant to frequent handling. The first ones need to be changed every 3 months, if no damage is noticed before, the second ones - once a month.

Pay attention to the age indicated on the teat packaging. This will allow not only to correctly determine the size of the product, but also the size of the hole so that the baby does not choke while eating.

Babies up to six months are suitable for nipples that are fixed on the bottle without the help of a ring with 1 or 3 non-adjustable holes. For babies older than 6 months, it is better to choose a nipple that allows you to regulate the amount of incoming food. It is suitable for liquids, mixtures and cereals.

It is worth noting that if the child is completely artificially fed, it is permissible to choose a product with a wider opening. For example, start using a pacifier designed for 6 months at 5 if you see that the hole is small and the baby is having difficulty getting food. With mixed feeding, this should not be done in order to avoid breast rejection.

For water or tea, it is advisable to use a teat with a lower flow volume than for a mixture. For example, a baby under six months old needs to pick up a nipple with a slow flow (1) for food, and with a minimum flow (0) for additional liquid. After six months, a nipple with an average liquid flow (2) is used for the mixture, and a slow one for water (1), and so on.

Mothers often ask themselves the question: “does my child need an anti-colic teat?”. To answer this question, it is worth understanding the structure of such nipples. They are equipped with a valve through which air enters the bottle. This prevents the nipple from "flattening" during feeding, facilitates the sucking process and does not force the baby to stop eating when the mixture stops flowing due to the vacuum.

Thus, the "anti-colic" will prevent the baby from swallowing air frequently when the formula stops flowing, as it ensures constant pressure in the bottle. Yes, this is convenient, but if for some reason you have purchased a bottle with a regular nipple, it will not be much worse than a model equipped with a special valve - just loosen the ring a little during feeding so that air can enter.

Care of the first baby utensils

Teats and bottles must be thoroughly rinsed after each use. The nipples and bottles from which the baby receives the mixture require especially careful processing - it leaves a thin greasy film on the dishes, which can become a breeding ground for bacteria. To remove grease, use a safe detergent:

baking soda or salt;
special detergent for children's dishes;
laundry soap.

If the baby is older than 4 months, additional processing of dishes is not necessary. It is enough to sterilize or boil the bottles once a week, along with children's plates and spoons. For greater safety, after washing, they can be rinsed with boiled water.

Bottles and nipples for babies under 4 months of age must be sterilized after each feeding, because the baby's body is still too weak to fight infections.

Sterilization is also necessary regardless of the age of the child:

during the illness of the child or family members;
before using any baby utensils for the first time.

Teats and Bottles Sterilization

One of two methods of sterilization, thermal or chemical, can be used to kill bacteria in baby utensils. This can be done both with the use of a special device, and in "field" conditions.

A sterilizer for baby dishes is advisable to purchase if daily cleaning of bottles and nipples is required. It can be one of two types:

Cold sterilization device that uses the chemical principle of treating children's dishes. Such sterilizers are more compact than electric ones, dishes and toys do not deform in it, moreover, even dishes can be processed after the patient. For work, special tablets are used. The disadvantage of such a sterilizer is the duration of the process - about 30 minutes and often the presence of a specific smell.
Electrical device for hot sterilization. It is massive, designed for a large number of bottles, and processing in it is carried out by steam.

The advantage of most sterilizers is that the bottles do not have to be removed from the device at the end of the treatment process, and, therefore, there will be no additional contamination.

If you do not need to clean baby dishes daily, or buying a sterilizer does not seem worthwhile, other methods can be used.

The chemical sterilization process can be carried out in any container using special tablets. This method is good if someone in the family is sick or you need to process children's dishes during a trip. Such sterilization is not inferior to processing in a special device, but it also has the same drawback: a rather unpleasant odor after processing.

The steam sterilizer can be replaced at home with any of the sterilization methods listed below.

On the stove.

By boiling or steaming.

The method used by our grandmothers. Children's dishes should be placed in boiling water and boiled for 15-20 minutes. This method has the most disadvantages:

if the water is “hard” on the bottles, plaque appears;
plastic products do not tolerate frequent boiling water - bottles will have to be changed often;
latex nipples can quickly crack, and silicone ones can lose their shape, so if boiling is used to treat baby dishes, the nipples are kept in water for about 5 minutes, while prolonged boiling is used periodically.

Steaming is a gentler way to sterilize baby dishes. You can place a sieve on a pot of water and place bottles and nipples upside down on it. In such a steam bath, the dishes should be kept for 20-30 minutes.

Microwaveable.

In this case, you can use a special container with a lid or sterilization bags. If there is no special container, you can use a regular microwave oven container.

It is enough to place the bottles and teats in a container or bag, pour a small amount of water, close and put in the microwave for 5-7 minutes at maximum power.

In the steamer and multicooker.

The steamer can process bottles and other baby utensils in the "boil" mode with the addition of water for 10-15 minutes.

The slow cooker in this regard may turn out to be worse for plastic dishes, but in a delicate mode it does not even require adding water. The bottles in it are processed within 10-12 minutes.

Children's dishes are not wiped after sterilization. It should be allowed to dry naturally. If for some reason it is necessary to remove excess moisture, you can use disposable napkins or towels.

Author: Ekaterina Efremova

Mother's milk is the best source of nutrition for the baby. But some factors force the baby to be transferred to mixed or artificial feeding. A special baby bottle helps in this.

It allows you to feed your baby formula or expressed milk when the mother is sick or absent. It is important for parents to know what to look for when buying goods for children.

What are the types of baby feeding bottles?

The first baby bottles were leather, porcelain and wood. They were in the shape of a small teapot. The usual variant for us appeared in 1841 in the USA, it was made of glass.

Nowadays, the market for baby products is oversaturated, manufacturers offer a huge range of bottles. The task of parents is to choose the highest quality product. What bottles are there?

Depending on the material the bottles are made of:

glass, for example, Pigeon, Avent Natural - environmentally friendly, withstand high temperatures, easy to clean. Rinse with warm water to remove food and liquid residues. The downside is that they are heavy and can break if dropped;
plastic, e.g. Snub, Mammelan, Small Small Less. They are light, withstand temperature and do not deform. With prolonged use, cracks may appear, and the color of the container changes due to the use of colored drinks;
silicone - very light, most often used for filling mashed foods. The only drawback is that the walls are painted from products.

The shape of the baby bottles also varies. The most comfortable option is a wide, straight model that fits ergonomically in mom's hand, such as Mal Mala Less, Kurnosiki, Avent. The curly type is comfortable to hold, but harder to rinse.

The size of the container should be selected taking into account the weight, age of the baby and the amount of food he eats at a time. For newborns, small ones are ideal - up to 125 ml, older children should choose a capacity of 200 ml or more.

Bottles with narrow or wide neck. In the first case, the nipple is easier to pick up. But a container with a wide neck is much more convenient for filling the mixture and washing.

Bottle feeding may be needed from birth. To do this, manufacturers produce special bottles with an anatomically shaped nipple, reminiscent of mother's breasts. This increases the chances that over time the baby will not give up the breast.

Many manufacturers equip containers with accessories that make it easier to use. One example is the handles located on the side, like the Kurnosiki, Mal Mala Less. With their help, the baby can independently hold the bottle.

In addition, there are anti-colic bottles, such as Avent, Mammelan, designed to prevent swallowing air when feeding a baby. A special valve located on the nipple allows you to equalize the pressure and eliminate the creation of a vacuum.

Criteria for choosing a baby bottle

Among all the variety, it is sometimes difficult to make the right choice. The main guidelines are quality, price and safety. Key purchase criteria include: