#Paced Bottle Feeding - A guide to give your baby the best way of Feeding, especially when they are born prematurely
What’s the best WAY to give a bottle to a breastfeeding baby?
When most of us think of bottle feeding, we imagine holding the baby in a cradle position with a bottle angled upward in our hand. While this is the “norm” it is actually not the BEST way to bottle feed if you want to replicate the infant-guided feeding process that happens at the breast. Here is what I now recommend to ALL breastfeeding families wanting to incorporate bottle feeding into their feeding journey... because bottle feeding can still be breastfeeding if baby is receiving Breastmilk!
Begin by sitting baby upright in the caregiver’s lap rather than in a cradle hold. Take advantage of baby’s primitive reflexes by touching the top of their lips with the bottle nipple. They should open their mouth or begin rooting for the nipple. Then, when they open wide place the ENTIRE narrow neck nipple into their mouth! When the nipple touches the roof of their mouth, they should involuntarily begin sucking on it.
Initially hold the bottle DOWN so that there is no milk in the nipple. Let baby suck a few times without milk similar to how they do when sucking at the breast before a letdown.
Next, hold the bottle high enough up to partially fill the nipple so that the baby will need to use their own suction to pull milk from the nipple (instead of gravity doing all the work for them!) Every few minutes, remove the bottle from the baby’s mouth so that they have a break from feeding. This more closely mimics the intermittent let down’s of mama’s own milk.
Aim to use a nipple opening that results in the baby feeding for a similar time on the bottle that they do at the breast. If it only takes your baby 5 min to feed at the bottle but 20 minutes at the breast, the flow from the bottle is too fast (meaning the nipple size is too big).
This feeding style is called “paced bottle feeding.” When I was a pediatric resident, I saw this being used for premature infants in the NICU. Now, I recommend it for all ages of babies! Infants are much better able to regulate their bottle feeding with this style.
Have you ever tried it? Tag a pregnant or new mama so that they can learn more about this GREAT option!
What’s the best WAY to give a bottle to a breastfeeding baby?
When most of us think of bottle feeding, we imagine holding the baby in a cradle position with a bottle angled upward in our hand. While this is the “norm” it is actually not the BEST way to bottle feed if you want to replicate the infant-guided feeding process that happens at the breast. Here is what I now recommend to ALL breastfeeding families wanting to incorporate bottle feeding into their feeding journey... because bottle feeding can still be breastfeeding if baby is receiving Breastmilk!
Begin by sitting baby upright in the caregiver’s lap rather than in a cradle hold. Take advantage of baby’s primitive reflexes by touching the top of their lips with the bottle nipple. They should open their mouth or begin rooting for the nipple. Then, when they open wide place the ENTIRE narrow neck nipple into their mouth! When the nipple touches the roof of their mouth, they should involuntarily begin sucking on it.
Initially hold the bottle DOWN so that there is no milk in the nipple. Let baby suck a few times without milk similar to how they do when sucking at the breast before a letdown.
Next, hold the bottle high enough up to partially fill the nipple so that the baby will need to use their own suction to pull milk from the nipple (instead of gravity doing all the work for them!) Every few minutes, remove the bottle from the baby’s mouth so that they have a break from feeding. This more closely mimics the intermittent let down’s of mama’s own milk.
Aim to use a nipple opening that results in the baby feeding for a similar time on the bottle that they do at the breast. If it only takes your baby 5 min to feed at the bottle but 20 minutes at the breast, the flow from the bottle is too fast (meaning the nipple size is too big).
This feeding style is called “paced bottle feeding.” When I was a pediatric resident, I saw this being used for premature infants in the NICU. Now, I recommend it for all ages of babies! Infants are much better able to regulate their bottle feeding with this style.
Have you ever tried it? Tag a pregnant or new mama so that they can learn more about this GREAT option!
