Bottles are not recommended before breastfeeding has been well established as this could lead to ‘nipple confusion’ and your baby may become accustomed to the ease of the bottle and then refuse to breastfeed. It is recommended that if you choose to use the bottle then start at around 8 weeks after birth.
It is important to bottle-feed the baby properly to ensure that your baby is not only well-fed but also ensure that breastfeeding is fully supported even when bottles are used.
Here are tips on how to bottle feed a breastfeeding baby correctly
- Firstly ensure that your feeding equipment is properly cleaned and sterilized for baby’s safety.
- Warm the expressed breast milk and put in the bottle.
- Sit comfortably and allow eye contact with the baby during the feed.
- Hold the baby a bit upright, supporting the head to allow comfortable swallowing.
- Feed when you see the hunger signal (on demand) rather than a schedule.
- Never put the bottle on the baby when lying down as this can lead to choking accidents and ear infections.
- Try and keep to the usual time period that the baby feeds to mimic the usual breastfeeding experience.
- Brush the teat against your baby’s lips and when your baby opens their mouth wide, allow them to draw in the teat. Avoid pushing the nipple into the baby’s mouth so that baby controls the feed.
- Encourage frequent pauses just like when a baby breastfeeds.
- Don’t force the baby to finish all the milk. This reduces the risk of overfeeding.
- If you are leaving your baby, let the caregiver keep a record of the amount of milk the baby has taken in order to keep track.
