When feeding the baby
1. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before starting to prepare the milk formula.
2. Prepare enough formula for only one feeding at a time. Don't prepare too many milk bottles. Milk spoils easily.
3. Use sterile feeding bottles and rubber nipples. The bottles should have been boiled 15 minutes, and the rubber nipples for 5 minutes.
4. Use boiled water or mineral water for the formula mixture.
5. Never leave the rubber nipples exposed to flies. Cover them with a nipple cap.
6. Wash the feeding bottle and the rubber nipples immediately after use, so that they do not attract flies or put them in a feeding bottle container.

How will I know when my baby is ready to start solid foods?

Before you introduce solid foods, observe your baby's readiness for solid food. Here's a checklist:
- Has Baby doubled his birth weight?
- Does Baby consume 32 ounces or more of breast milk or formula milk each day?
- Can Baby sit up with little support and turn his head when he's full?
- Can Baby move a dab of thinned baby cereal to the back of his tongue and swallow it?
- Does Baby frequently put things in his mouth?
- Does Baby watch with interest as you eat, perhaps even opening his mouth and leaning forward as if to ask for a bite?

If your answers are "yes" to these questions, your baby is ready to start solid foods but if you want to make sure, check with your baby's doctor before introducing solid foods. Remember though that until your baby is about a year old, his main source of nutrition should be breast milk or commercial milk appropriate to his age.