Preparing Milk Right!

Having experienced it with 4 kiddos now, I have to say that the eating habit of each of them is rather different. My first born started on solids rather early and weaned off milk when she was just about a year old. My second boy drank milk all the way and at the age of 8, would still have a serving every morning before going to school. My third would still ask for her milk whenever she needed to fill her tummy between proper meals while my youngest would have his scheduled milk feeds on top of his 3 standard meals.

All the kiddos were on Friso since babies and we will stock up whenever a good deal comes along.

Being the hands-on dad, I had the pleasure of preparing bottled milk for the kids, especially before our helper came along following the birth of our 4th child. I would usually mix the hot water from the hot flask with cool boiled water to get the correct amount of lukewarm water before mixing in the milk powder and moving the bottle in a circular motion to create the swirl to get it to mix properly. Why? This is because from my own (bad) experiences, I knew that pouring water directly over the milk powder in the bottle will leave a sticky glop of mess at the bottom. That usually required me to give the bottle hard shakes up and down which in turn causes lots of bubbles to be formed, and may lead to possible stomach bloat of the baby after ingestion. Not something you want to happen, because a bloated baby in discomfort is going to give you HELL!

When my helper first started assisting us with the bottle feeding preparation, I got the complaints from the kiddos that the mixtures were unusually hot. I then realized that in the belief that hot water makes it easier for the milk powder to dissolve fully, my helper was actually pouring the milk powder into boiling hot water before topping up with cooled water. Thus at times when she overused boiling water, the mixture was way too hot to be consumed. That by itself was no problem, but I knew that the nutrients within would be compromised by the extreme heat. It took me some explanation before she grasped the importance and everything was ok after that. It is really okay to have milk at room temperature or even cold milk as desired by the child, as long as the child finishes it.

The “Perfect” Father Milk Preparation Steps –

• Prepare the right amount of water as indicated on the instructions on the tin. Temperature should ideally be lukewarm but NEVER hot!
• Scoop the required number of levelled scoops indicated, and always resists the urge to heap on more.
• Swirl or place the bottle between both palms, turning the bottle clockwise/anti-clockwise by moving your palms in and out. NEVER shake it up and down, which will cause bubble formation.
• Milk should be consumed with the hour, or be discarded. (I used to finish the leftover milk myself or pass it to the next sibling in line, but NEVER refrigerate it for the next feed.)

You may have heard of children who are lactose-intolerance or of parents needing to cycle through a myriad of brands before finding one that is suitable for their children. I am lucky that my kiddos took to their milk powders readily and never had any major intestinal discomfort from what I can recall. There may be the occasional common diarrhea or constipation but from my own observations, I noticed that my oldest who weaned off milk formula at a very young age, had more instances of constipation as compared to the rest who are still drinking milk. Could it be due to the imbalance of good and bad bacterial in her?

While one can control how one prepares the milk formula so that the nutrients stays intact and gets easily absorbed by the little ones, one cannot be sure how milk powder companies process their milk powder from the source. Hence it is heartening to know that Friso utilizes Locknutri Process Technology which only uses mild heat treatment during milk processing, thus preserving the milk protein as well as prebiotics and probiotics! At least with Friso, I can be rest assured that my kiddos get the nutrients they rightfully deserved.

Note: This blog post is in collaboration with Friso. Kids learn from experiences whether big or small, good or bad. That’s why Friso provides the right nutrition for your child to be strong inside to take on challenges. For more information on Friso, follow them on their Website, Facebook or Instagram.