Bottle Feeding
Regardless of whether you are putting human milk or formula in your baby’s bottle, the way you feed your baby can work with or against his instincts. There is more to bottle feeding a baby than one might think!
Bottle feeding a breastfed baby
There is a window of opportunity during which introducing a bottle to a breastfed baby is relatively easy. Too soon – bottles can interfere with latching. Too late – the baby is more likely to refuse to take the bottle.
We recommend introducing a bottle between 4 and 8 weeks. Here’s why:
Infants are born with an involuntary suck reflex, meaning they automatically suck on anything that goes in their mouth, whether it’s a finger, a human nipple, or an artificial nipple. If we give breastfed babies bottles and pacifiers within the first month, they are more likely to imprint on the artificial nipple, and it can interfere with them learning to latch well at the breast, which requires a very different suck-swallow-breathe strategy.
After about 2-3 months (usually), a baby’s suck reflex becomes voluntary, meaning they can choose whether or not to suck on something. If an exclusively breastfed baby is given a bottle for the first time after about 4-8 weeks of age, they may refuse to suck on it—even if they are hungry!
Some breastfed babies will refuse to take a bottle from a breastfeeding parent and may be more accepting if another family member or caregiver offers the bottle.
Once your baby is taking a bottle well, we recommend that you continue to offer the bottle occasionally in order to keep your baby in the habit of accepting the bottle.
Bottle feeding best practices for all babies
Whether you put human milk or formula in the bottle, best practices suggest bottle feeding so that the baby’s experience is as close to breastfeeding as possible:
-Tickle baby’s lips with the bottle nipple; wait for baby to root and open her mouth—then bring her onto the bottle (vs. putting the bottle into her mouth).
-Hold the bottle horizontally so the tip of the nipple, not the entire nipple, is filled with milk. This is called gravity neutral bottle feeding; it helps avoid overfeeding and allows babies to drive the feeding process. The milk is there and available, but your baby has to suck and to draw out the milk (like they do on the breast after the initial let down of milk).
-Pace the feed. Every baby is different, but a good rule of thumb is that a bottle feeding session usually takes about 10-20 minutes. You can remove the bottle from your baby’s mouth after several suck/swallows. Watch her cues, not the amount of milk in the bottle, to decide whether to continue the feed.
Watch this 3-minute video on paced bottle feeding to see a demonstration.
You can also print these Bottle Feeding Guidelines for your baby’s caregivers.
Please contact us if you have questions!
DISCLAIMER: We know when you surf the web for information, you can get conflicting results, and it’s not easy to know whether you are finding evidence-based, high quality recommendations. That’s part of our job here at Kodiak KINDNESS; we are here to support your informed decisions about infant feeding through your baby’s first year. We’ve done some background work, and to the best of our knowledge, this post reflects current best practices. However, the information contained in this post and any links contained herein is for your informational use only; it is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Furthermore, Kodiak KINDNESS is not responsible for the accuracy of any information contained in this post or links contained herein; it is for you to review at your own risk and discuss, as needed, with your health care professional in order to make a plan that suits your individual circumstances.