12/20/2022
I often get asked what bottles I recommend for breastfeeding babes. My favorite are Lansinoh mOmma, or evenflo balance wide neck! Why? Because I can get a latch like THIS with a tight & tied baby! Do you see the position that I’m feeding her in? This is how I generally teach my families to give their babies bottles. It’s called paced feeding and it is super important for ANY baby, but especially for a breastfed one. Having baby upright, bottle parallel to the floor, slowest flow ni**le (no matter their age), ideally one of the bottles mentioned, and only filling the ni**le half way. Taking a break every ounce (some babies need more frequent breaks) to burp and re latch, and generally only giving 1-1.5 ounces of breastmilk per hour. When I latch a baby on a bottle, and what I teach to my families, is very similar to how I have them latch on the breast. We point the bottle ni**le up towards the nose, have baby lean back a bit, GAPE and then get that nice deep latch. I do not just shove the ni**le in their mouthes, or have them slurp it in- I make them work for it, and have the majority of the bottle ni**le in their mouth, as they would to get that optimal breastfeeding latch. It’s super important, regardless of formula or breastmilk, to follow babes cues and feed the amount they want. “Clean plate club” mindset translates to care takers wanting to ensure that a baby finishes their bottle. This can lead to tummy upset and over feeding-Take it slow, follow their lead, and happy feeding! 💗
