Thursday, March 18, 2010

Avent Bottles Versus Dr. Brown's Bottles

Bottles to Ease Your Baby from Colic Episodes
Nothing can be more stressful for a new mother than to have a baby that is constantly crying. Babies that suffer from colic can drive mothers to feel anxious, stressed, and angered. Many mothers attempt to relieve
their crying babies with all different remedies. Some mothers try to put their babies in the car in hopes that the car ride will soothe the baby. Others swaddle their babies tightly so that they will feel the coziness that they felt in the womb. Mothers even try putting weak amounts of chamomile tea into their babies' bottles, or try to put pressure on the babies' bellies, or change the formula time and time again. Curing a baby with colic may seem like an impossible task, but many mothers find solutions by changing their babies' bottle brand. The two most popular brands of baby bottles that help relieve babies from colic are Dr. Brown's bottles and Avent bottles.

The anti-colic brands of bottles, Dr. Brown's bottles and Avent bottles are designed very differently. Dr. Brown's bottles are known for their internal venting system. You will notice when you purchase a Dr. Brown's bottle that there are many parts that go inside of the bottle. The venting system consists of a reservoir tube that permits the air to get inside of the bottle, aiming the air to go above the formula so that it does not mix with the formula. The design of the Dr. Brown's bottle prevents the vacuum effect in the bottle which can create gas discomfort and spitting up which is associated with sucking in excess air. The Avent bottle is designed differently to reduce colic. The Avent bottles are created with a wide, sturdy silicone nipple that prevents the vacuum effect by allowing the valve to open and close with the baby's natural sucking. Some mothers prefer the Avent bottles over the Dr. Brown's bottles because the anti-colic effect is designed in the nipple rather than a reservoir tube which makes for easier cleaning.

If you are looking for accessories for your bottles, you will find that the Avent brand of bottles does have a wide variety. Not only do they have different nipples for the different stage of your baby's life, but they
do make pumps, bottles warmers, sterilizers, and bottle brushes to clean them out. Dr. Brown's bottles also make nipples for the various stages of your baby's life and breast pumps, but they do not make bottles warmers or sterilizers. The Avent bottles come in 4, 9, and 11 ounce sizes. The Dr. Brown's bottles come in 2, 4, and 8 ounce sizes.

Personally, I favor the Avent bottles. One of my twin daughters experienced extreme gassiness and after seeing the doctor several times within her first two months of birth, the pediatrician recommended both, the Avent and Dr. Brown's bottles. First I tried the Dr. Brown's bottles. They were time consuming to clean and put together, but we did find ways that made it easier. We bought dishwasher storage crates to place in all of the small insertion tube pieces, and washed and sanitized them that way. After cleaning in the dishwasher, we always had to re-rinse the insertion tube pieces in case any dishwashing machine liquid was stuck inside of the little crevasses. Then after premixing the formula in a separate container, we were then able to feed our baby. With this brand, we had to buy many bottles because of the cleaning process. My daughter did well with the Dr. Brown's bottles, but still didn't fall asleep easily after feedings. I did realize she still suffered from some discomfort. I decided to test out the Avent bottles and loved them. After realizing that my daughter did have a wide mouth, I recognized that these bottles with wide and sturdy nipples helped regulate the amount of air that was entering on the sides of her mouth as well. If you do have a baby with discomfort due to colic, try to use each of these bottles. Different babies have different likings to various products, but one of these bottle brands should do the trick for you. A happy baby definitely makes for a happy mommy.

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The First Years All Purpose Steam Baby Bottle Sterilizer

If you've been looking for a new and safe way to clean your baby bottles, nipples, collars, pacifiers, teething rings and even your breast pumps, you should think about getting "The First Years All Purpose Steam Baby Bottle Sterilizer". It's a great device that cleans away harmful bacteria on your items for babies and helps keep them sterile and safe to use using steam and hot water cleansing without the use of soaps and harmful chemicals that could possibly make your baby sick.

The First Years All Purpose Steam Baby Bottle Sterilizer is an all purpose steam cleaner that comes with two trays of a baby bottle that can hold up to eight standard bottles or five wide neck bottles, and two trays to hold your breast pump, nipples, collars, teething rings, and pacifiers. You can even use The First Years All Purpose Steam Baby Bottle Sterilizer for small toys such as the baby rattles or you could use clean spoons to cook steamed baby your baby. rattles is great in the cleansing of any items that your baby will put in your mouth. rattles even comes with measuring cups, a system for automatic intervals to tell you when you make your baby items to be steam cleaned and sterilized. It also has a light on and off which turns red when the steam baby bottle sterilizer is on and hot when it is out.

The way to use The First Years All Purpose Steam Baby Bottle Sterilizer is very simple. Everything you need to do is rinse off your baby items such as bottles, pacifiers and teething rings and placed in a tray and push the trays move back in and turn the knob and let The First Year All Purpose Steam Baby Bottle Sterilizer run through its steam cleansing cycle to cleanse away all harmful bacteria and germs that could make your sick baby. Once the cycle is done in the steam baby bottle sterilizer all you need do is remove items and let them vent steam dried in a clean cloth for an hour or so. If you have any other questions about using the The First Year All Purpose Steam Baby Bottle Sterilizer just check out their websites.

Now if you want to clean The First Years All Purpose Steam Baby Bottle Sterilizer yourself all you do s gently take the steam cleaner apart by removing the trays and gently place it in the dishwasher on a gentle was cycle and and then its steam baby bottle sterilizer shall be clean. It is very easy to do! If you get stuck on how to separate the steamer comes with an easy to use guide to help you out.

You can buy The First Years All Purpose Steam Baby Bottle Sterilizer from a lot of Wal-Marts across the country, online at Amazon.com or at drugstore.com. The average price range that The First Years All Purpose Steam Sterilizer goes for is usually between forty and fifty dollars depending on where you go buy them! If you would like more information on The First Years All Purpose Steam Sterilizer to check out their website

Source : Baby Bottle Sterilizers. You can find more article in http://babybottlesterilizers.net

Saturday, February 27, 2010

How to Sterilize Baby Bottles and Pacifiers with Microwave

Most babies take a bottle at one time or another. For the first months of their lives, that's the only way some babies receive their food and nourishment. That's why it's so important to keep your baby's bottle nipples clean and sterilized. Thanks to new technology, you can how sterilize those bottles using your microwave.

#Step 1
Clean your microwave when you're using it to sterilize baby bottle nipples. Certain foods cooked in your microwave, like spicy food, can get on the bottle nipple and actually upset your baby's stomach.

#Step 2
Purchase a bottle sterilizer that's designed to work in your microwave. The price range on these models varies, depending on how many options you'd like to have. These sterilizers are available at all major stores that sell baby items.

#Step 3
Place the nipples and bottles in the microwave bottle sterilizer and follow package directions. These microwave bottle sterilizers use steam to sterilize the bottles in just a few minutes. Each model has a different requirement for how much water to add to the steamer and how much time the microwave needs to be set for.

#Step 4
Skip the steamer and microwave your bottles. This only works if your bottles and the nipples are microwavable. Each bottle should be in the microwave for 90 seconds to ensure it's sterile. Keep your bottles open while the microwave is running.

Tips and Warning
Baby bottle nipples are hot once the microwave timer beeps. Allow time for these to cool before you touch them, and especially before you feed your baby. Some sterilizers come with a drying rack. Using this rack could be a good way to cool the bottles and nipples.

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Source : http://babybottlesterilizers.net

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

How to Clean / Sterilize Baby Bottles by Boiling

Although there is much controversy on whether or not sterilizing baby bottles are necessary; it is your decision as a parent. As a parent we try hard to care for our children in a proper manner. There are several different ways to sterilize. If you decide that sterilizing your baby's bottles is something that you are going to do, you can easily follow the steps listed below.

#Step 1
Sterilization by Boiling:
It is important to boil your bottles and accessories for 10 minutes. Make sure that the pan you use for boiling is only for boiling of the bottles and accessories.

#Step 2
Gather a pan suiteable to hold your bottles and accessories.

#Step 3
Place the bottles and accessories in the pan.

#Step 4
Fill the pan with water.

#Step 5
Place the pan over medium heat until boiling.

#Step 6
Let boil ten minutes.

#Step 7
Remove from heat.

#Step 8
Remove bottles and accessories from the water using utensils. Never reach into a pan of boiling water!

#Step 9
Allow the bottles and accessories to sufficiently cool before handling.

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Source : http://babybottlesterilizers.net

Monday, February 15, 2010

Microwaving Baby Bottles is Not a Good Thing to Do

Even though we reap the rewards of the use of microwaves, microwaving baby bottles is not a good thing to do.

The cry of a baby when hungry, is demanding, and sometimes the use of a microwave can comfort the child in one half the time it takes to warm a bottle of milk, the old fashion way. However, microwaving is not
recommended when it comes to meal time for your baby.

Many parents don't use glass bottles anymore, and warming your baby's milk in a plastic bottle, by use of the microwave, can cause toxic chemicals to form in the milk.

Also, if breast milk is your choice of feedings, microwaving could possibly remove the antibodies from the breast milk. One of the reasons women prefer breastfeeding over formula, is to give their baby antibodies to protect them from colds and diseases. Using the microwave to heat breast milk defeats this purpose.

Another caution concerning the use of microwaves, is that they don't heat evenly. This can cause possible burning. If that's not bad enough, microwaving can cause the nipples on the bottles to become sticky, and this results in the nipple collapsing more easily. when the nipples start to collapse, air makes it's way into you're baby's stomach, causing them to possibly have a tummy ache.

Placing bottled milk in warm water, or running the bottle under hot water, would be the best approach to warming your baby's bottles.

When at all possible, stay away from the microwave when it comes to meal time for your baby. Your baby will be glad you did.

Read more article about Baby Bottle Sterilizer. You can find more article in http://babybottlesterilizers.net

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Dry Sterilization Process

The term dry sterilisation process, DSP, denotes a dry aseptic sterilisation process. It is used for instance in the beverage industry during cold aseptic filling of beverages (juices, waters, UHT-milk, etc) into plastic bottles made from PET or HDPE, and also for some applications in the pharmaceutical industry.
In cold aseptic filling the sterile or near-sterile product is filled into a bottle which has to be sterilised prior to bottling to avoid product contamination. Due to the heat-sensitive nature of the plastic material the sterilisation process must not heat the bottles. Therefore chemical sterilisation processes are used for this purpose. The Dry Sterilisation Process uses an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with a concentration of 30...35% to achieve the germ-killing effect.

Procedures
At first the bottles are placed into a sterilisation chamber. This chamber is designed to be a vacuum chamber and is evacuated by vacuum pumps down to the low vacuum range. A certain amount of aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide is now delivered to an evaporator and abruptly evaporated. Driven only by the pressure difference between the hydrogen peroxide vapor inside the evaporator and the evacuated sterilisation chamber, the vapor flows through an appropriate piping into the sterilisation chamber. The vapor is strongly expanding when it enters the chamber, undercooled thereby and instantaneously condensing. The forming condensate layer is covering all surfaces inside the sterilisation chamber, all inner and outer bottle surfaces and all surfaces of the chamber itself.
The heat of vaporization, released by the phase change from gaseous to liquid, heats the forming condensate layer in such a way, that most of the hydrogen peroxide molecules are thermally dissociated thereby. The resulting free radicals, particularly the oxygen atoms, are immediately killing all the germs adhered to the surfaces already during the condensation. In contrast to other sterilisation processes the killing of the germs occurs instantaneously without any need for residence time.
The condensate layer is removed from the sterilisation chamber and all bottle surfaces immediately after the condensation. This is performed only by means of appropriate vacuum pumps which reduce the pressure inside the sterilisation chamber below 1 Torr. The condensate is rapidly re-evaporating when the decreasing chamber pressure reaches the condensates vapor pressure and the forming vapor is removed from the chamber by the vacuum pumps. This re-evaporation effects a total drying of the bottles and the surfaces inside of the sterilisation chamber and completely removes all hydrogen peroxide.
Prior to deloading of the bottles from the sterilisation chamber, the chamber is vented to ambient pressure with sterile air to avoid recontamination of the sterile bottles.
The complete process time amounts to 6 seconds. Using the common reference germs for hydrogen peroxide sterilisation processes, endospores of different strains of bacillus subtilis and bacillus stearothermophilus, the Dry Sterilisation Process easily achieves a germ reduction of 106...108 (log6...log8) in count reduction tests and also in end point tests.
The sterilised items leave the sterilisation chamber in a completely dry state. Only the surface temperature of the items is slightly increased by a few degrees (10 °C (50 °F)–15 °C (59 °F)) during the sterilisation process. Therefore, the process is particularly useful for the sterilisation of heat sensitive items like plastic bottles. It is also useful for applications which require a high germ reduction and short process times.
[edit]Examples

NB #1: Unfortunately it is common diction to say "the kill rate is log6" or "the germ reduction is log6", which strictly speaking is not only wrong but nonsensical. By saying this one means that the germ reduction is 6 orders of magnitude or the survival probability of each single germ is 10−6. (This wrong diction originates from a misunderstanding of the mathematical expression log 106 = 6)
NB #2: Strictly speaking it is also wrong to talk about single germs or the like. It's correct to use the item cfu or colony forming unit. The main problem is not inevitably the presence of germs (bacteria, spores, ...) but their ability of fast fissiparous, which gives an exponential increase of the number of the germs with time. If one tries to count "a number of germs" one has to, simply spoken, cultivate them on an agar plate, let them grow for a few days and count the macroscopic colonies which have formed. Each of these colonies is resulting from 1 cfu (= 1 "augmentable germ").
Example #1: One item which has to be sterilized carries a contamination of 107 germs prior to sterilisation. The germ reduction capability of the sterilisation process is 6 orders of magnitude (=106 or "log 6"), which means the survival probability of the germs is 10−6. If such items are sterilised the average number of "surviving germs" or, correctly spoken, cfu's which are found on the items after sterilisation is: 107 / 106 = 10 or 107 * 10−6 = 10.
Example #2 (statistically equivalent to #1): A lot of items which have to be sterilized are carrying a contamination of 10 germs each prior to sterilisation. The germ reduction capability of the sterilisation process is 6 orders of magnitude (=106 or "log 6"), which means the survival probability of the germs is 10−6. If one sterilises a statistically significant number of these items the average number of cfu's which is found on the items after sterilisation is: 10 / 106 = 10−5 or 10 * 10−6 = 10−5. This means that, in average 1 cfu is found per 105 = 100000 items.

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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Baby Bottle

A baby bottle is a bottle with a nipple to drink directly from. It is typically used when a mother does not breastfeed, or if someone can not (as conveniently) drink from a cup, for feeding oneself or being fed. In particular it is used to feed an infant with infant formula, expressed breast milk or pediatrix electrolyte solution.

Dimensions and design

A large-sized bottle typically holds 270 ml; the small size 150 ml. It is composed of a bottle itself, a teat, a ring to seal the teat to the bottle, a cap to cover the teat and optionally a disposable liner.

The height-to-width ratio of bottles is high (relative to adult cups) because it is needed to ensure the contents flood the teat when used at normal angles; otherwise the baby will drink air. However, if the bottle is too tall, it easily tips. There are asymmetric bottles that ensure the contents flood the teat if the bottle is held at a certain direction.

Teats (or nipples)

The teat itself is typically slimmer and more flexible than the mother's nipple. Contents of a bottle can flow more quickly than breastfeeding. Specialized teats that attempt to mimic the shape of the breast exist to help babies to switch back and forth between bottle feeding and breast feeding for cases where "teat confusion" occurs. Teats come in a selection of flow rates. Different flow rate teats either have more holes or larger holes. The correct flow rate needs to selected based on the age of the infant. Variable flow rate teats are available for older infants. The hole is asymmetric so that by turning the bottle/teat, different flows can occur. Specialized teats are available for infants with cleft palate (see also Haberman feed).

Vented bottles

"Vented" bottles allow air to enter the bottle while the baby is drinking without the need to break the baby's suction during feeding. Alternatively a bottle liner can be used to enclose the formula instead of directly in the bottle. The liner collapses as the formula is drained.

Vented bottles work by allowing air to enter while preventing the liquid inside from escaping. Avent is the most popular brand in this category. It works by an "anti-vacuum skirt" in the base of the teat, where it forms a seal with the bottle. The skirt acts as a one way valve, allowing air to enter the bottle but not liquids to leave. If the sealing ring is tightened too much, the skirt is compressed too tightly to allow it to open and the bottle will not vent. If the sealing ring is too loose, liquid leaks from the bottle.

There are multiple patents for technologies in this area. Initial designs called for a complex spring and valve system that was impossible to clean and sterilize. Current research is in specialized materials with microscopic pores that allow the entry of air without the escape of liquids. This avoids the caregiver having to get the sealing ring tension just right. It remains to be seen whether these materials can withstand the rigours of daily cleaning and sterilization. Another competitor, Dr. Brown's, offers a system whereby the vented air is conducted through a tube to the bottom of the bottle where the airspace is when the bottle is in use. This avoids the vented air from bubbling through the liquid and unnecessarily aerating the liquid.

Variations and accessories

Bottles may be designed to attach directly to a breast pump for a complete "feeding system" that maximizes the reuse of the components. Such systems include a variety of drinking spouts for when the child is older. This converts the bottle into a sippy cup, a cup with lid and spout for toddlers, which is intermediate between a baby bottle and an open top cup. Bottles that are part of a feeding system may include handles that can be attached. The ring and teat may be replaced by a storage lid.

Accessories for bottles include cleaning brushes and drying racks. Brushes may be specially designed for a specific manufacturer's bottles and teats. Bottle warmers warm previously made and refrigerated formula. Coolers designed to fit a specific manufacturer's bottles are available to keep refrigerated formula cold. Special formula powder containers are available to store pre-measured amounts of formula so that caregivers can pre-fill bottles with sterile water and mix in the powder easily. The containers are typically designed to stack together so that multiple pre-measured amounts of formula powder may be transported as a unit.

Specialty, "designer" bottles are now quite common as novelty gifts for parents or just something interesting for the child. They either have special logos or are of special shapes (e.g., animals). Some even have a hole in the middle. Depending on the shape, these bottles can be quite difficult to clean. Another specialty bottle is made from heat sensitive materials that act as a built-in thermometer. If the contents are too hot, the bottle changes color.

Institutions can purchase ready-to-feed formula in containers that can be used as baby bottles. The lid screws off and is replaced by a disposable teat when the formula is ready to be used. This avoids storing the formula with the teat and possibly clogging the teat holes when formula is splashed within the bottle and dries.

Sterilization

If necessary, bottles can be sterilized by boiling in hot water, in a specialized bottle sterilization appliance (which typically uses steam) or in a specialized sterilization container that is microwaved. Modern bottles are difficult to sterilize in boiling water because they tend to float. Bottles were originally composed of glass which was dangerous when babies learned to feed themselves and held the bottle. Mainly for cost reasons, modern bottles are unbreakable plastic. Since bottles have to be made to withstand the heat of sterilization, the bottle can also withstand the heat of dishwashers and are dishwasher-safe.

There is some concern about BPA leakage on polycarbonate bottles due to extended dishwasher or boiling. While bottles were traditionally sterilized in the past, unless there are infant health concerns, or concerns about water contamination, the current recommendation is that baby bottle sterilization can be replaced by cleaning with hot soapy water.

Regulation
While infant formula is highly regulated, baby bottles are not. Only the materials of the teat and bottle itself are specifically regulated in some countries (e.g. British Standards BS 7368:1990 "Specification for babies' elastomeric feeding bottle teats"). In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also regulates teats and the bottle materials. In 1985 it tightened allowable levels of nitrosamines released from bottle teats. A 1999 Consumer Reports study suggesting that plastic bottles release unsafe amounts of bisphenol A was denounced as sensationalism because of the unreasonable conditions the bottles were subject to. Findings since, however, have renewed the initial concerns.

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