Everything about Baby Bottle Feeding

The baby food range is extensive. Finding the best food for a certain age is not easy, so here is a small guide to help you choose.



The pre-diet


The pre-diet is also known as infant formula and is very similar to breast milk. You should know that cow’s milk used in the pre-diet has higher protein contents than the mother’s milk. The structure of the protein is altered. Pre-milk contains just as much protein as whey and fewer caseins.

Milk protein (lactose) is the only carbohydrate. Therefore, pre-food is very fluid. The pre-diet can be added as supplementary feed throughout the first year of life because of the low carbohydrate content and the low threat of overfeeding.

Formulas are now offered in addition to LCP. These are special long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that a newborn child needs for brain maturation and vision and cannot form themselves.

You can give the child pre-food until the energy content provided is no longer enough.



Formula 1 (continuous milk) means more carbohydrates

Formula 1 milk is similar to breast milk only in part. It contains carbohydrates and sometimes sugar. Therefore, the food is thicker, it remains in the stomach longer and it is saturating. This food cannot be fed without restrictions using baby feeding bottles given the increased content of carbohydrates. Make sure you avoid overfeeding. This formula should not contain more carbohydrates such as maltodextrins or sugar in addition to the milk sugar (lactose) and starch.

This diet is not recommended for babies younger than four months because the child’s digestive system is still too immature before that age.



Follow-on milk (type 2)

Follow-on milk is usually thicker and richer in protein than the first type of milk. It is tailored to the needs of the older child. This milk represents a greater burden on the child’s kidneys due to the higher protein and mineral content. Therefore, it should be fed only after the 5th month of life. 


HA - Special baby milk

The child also presents a high risk of developing allergies if you and/or your partner suffer from one. In this case, the child should be breastfed for six full months. Breast milk contains only human protein, so the contact with allergenic foreign protein during breastfeeding is avoided for the time being. Their metabolism and internal organs become more mature in time and the supply of foreign protein is not as problematic.

If you cannot or do not want to breastfeed for some reason, then it is advisable that you offer your child a hypoallergenic infant formula (HA) to reduce the risk of allergies. This special food is normally commercially available.

HA milk is not suitable for children with a metabolic disease. These children need special food tailored to their treatment. You should ask the pediatrician or midwife for advice if you notice something unusual regarding your child’s nutrition.


Vitamin D

Vitamin D is usually not contained in sufficient quantities in infant formulas. Vitamin D Deficiency may lead to the development of rickets. The consequences of rickets may be a curvature of the spine, chicken breast or bow legs. Give your child preventive vitamin D tablets from the second week until the end of the first year.


Recommended alternatives


Cow's milk

Cow's milk is not recommended as an alternative to industrial food until the first birthday. The high content of protein and minerals leads to increased stress on the kidneys. The administration of cow's milk increases the risk of developing iron deficiency. Pasteurized or UHT, cow's milk should only be fed toward the end of the first year. Skimmed milk low in fat is ideal for the infant’s diet. Raw milk (farm-gate milk, certified milk) must not be used because of the hygienic risks.


Soy milk

Soy foods are rarely used for the prevention and treatment of cow's milk protein allergy because one third of patients develop a combination of cow's milk and soy protein allergy. It is important that your child only eats soy-finished products for infants. Home-made foods made from soy milk can lead to poor growth and sometimes irreparable deficiencies (iron deficiency anemia, rickets, B12 deficiency neurological symptoms) due to the low biological value of plant proteins and the lack of nutrients such as calcium, iodine, iron and vitamins (e.g. B12, D, B2).


Other alternatives


Nutritionists recommend purely herbal mixtures as milk substitutes for babies, for example almond milk, rice milk or other cereal milk. Untreated cow, goat and horse milk and condensed milk are totally unsuitable.