6 Tips for Bottle Feeding at Night

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Bottle-feeding at night can be a real mission, particularly when you have a newborn. Not only do you have to get up countless times a night to feed your baby, but you also have to prepare and possibly warm the bottle.

I remember I hated feeding my daughter at night. By the time I got up, turned the lights on, waited for the bottle to be ready and finally went back to bad, I was so awake it would take me forever to go back to sleep.

That said, after almost 2 years of bottle feeding her, I have come across quite a few different tips to make it a lot easier. Some of these are specific to formula feeding, while others apply to bottle feeding in general, no matter if you are feeding your baby expressed or formula milk.

1)     Get Your Partner to Help

This is the first and most important advice I can give you. The main advantage of bottle feeding your baby is that you are not the only source of food for your little one and, let me tell you: it’s a BIG advantage! So, use it in your favor!

When you are exhausted with a newborn waking up multiple times a night, being able to take a breath and stay in bed while your partner feeds your baby is worth gold. You could ask your partner to help only during the weekend if they work during the week, or pick up at least one feed every night. You can work out the best arrangement that works for both of you.

My partner and I used to alternate the feeds during the weekend for example, until my baby got a bit bigger and was only feeding once a night. When that happened, we started alternating nights.

2)     Prepare Your Bottles Before Going to Bed

Why waste time preparing the bottles in the middle of the night when you can already prepare them in the evening and store them in the fridge? Every minute counts when you have a hungry and crying baby.

Whether you are storing formula or breastmilk, pre-fill the bottles before going to bed and only worry about warming them up when baby wakes up.

3)     Keep Your Bottles in a Cooler

This is one of my best tips on how to store formula at night, but will work with breastmilk as well. In fact, they will both last in a cooler for a whole night without going off, the same as if they were in the fridge.

The main advantage of a cooler is that you can keep it by your bed, so you don’t have to walk all the way to the kitchen to get the bottle from the fridge. And if you need to warm the bottle, just keep a bottle warmer in the bedroom together with the cooler.

This tip works particularly well for moms that are co-sleeping, so you don’t even have to get out of bed.

4)     Try Give Your Baby Cold or Room-Temperature Milk

Did you know that babies don’t actually have to drink warm milk? According to the CDC (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention), babies are perfectly safe drinking either cold or room-temperature milk (breastmilk or formula).

While some babies do prefer to drink warm milk, particularly if breastfeeding, it’s worth letting them try some that hasn’t been warmed up and see if they are still happy with it. If they don’t complain, then you might be in luck: you will be able to save so much time by not having to warm the bottle at night!

5)     Keep Some Water in a Thermos

Boiling some water and storing it in a thermos before going to bed is a great tip if you are formula feeding and want to have the water at the perfect temperature for when baby wakes up. All you need to do is add the formula powder to the bottle and it’s done.

Again, perfect if you are co-sleeping and don’t want to get out of bed: just store the thermos on your bedside table, together with the formula in a formula dispenser.

6)     Use a Formula Dispenser Machine

Last but not least, a formula dispenser machine is the most amazing tip if you are formula feeding and can afford a gadget that will make your life so much easier.

This machine will deliver your formula in a bottle in a matter of seconds by simply pushing on a button. All you need to do is set the desired temperature of the milk and amount of formula before going to bed.