How to Bottle-Feed Your Baby
Feeding times provide a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the special bond you share with your baby. The more relaxed and confident you feel, the more enjoyable feeding becomes for both of you. Below are simple, practical tips to help make bottle-feeding a calm, comfortable and satisfying experience.
- 1. Check the milk temperature
- 2. Position your baby comfortably
- 3. Encourage your baby to open their mouth
- 4. Let your baby take in as much of the nipple as they want
- 5. Hold the bottle at the right angle
- 6. Ensure air can flow into the bottle
- 7. Pause for burping when needed
- 8. Let your baby decide when they’re finished
- Safety
Steps to bottle-feed your baby
Many bottle-feeding problems are directly related to how a baby is fed. What can appear to be unimportant minor details can actually have a major impact on your baby's comfort and enjoyment during feeding.
1. Check the milk temperature
Before you start, always test the temperature of the milk (bottled breast milk or formula) before giving it to your baby. You can do this by shaking a little of the milk on to the inner side of your wrist to make sure it's just warm and not hot.
2. Position your baby comfortably
Sit in a comfortable position with your baby held close to your body.
- Support your baby in a semi-reclined position (not flat).
- Ensure their head and neck are aligned, not tilted too far forward or back.
Imagine drinking from a bottle in the same position; if it feels awkward for you, it will feel awkward for your baby.
Good positioning is about comfort, not perfection. If your baby’s chest and head are facing you, their chin is free (not tucked into their chest), and their body looks relaxed rather than stiff, you’re likely holding them in a comfortable feeding position.
3. Encourage your baby to open their mouth
To encourage your baby to open his mouth, touch his lips with the nipple. Make sure the nipple is placed over his tongue and not under. Young babies have a tendency to lift their tongues when they cry. If the nipple is accidentally placed under his tongue, he may experience difficulty swallowing and milk can leak out of his mouth.
4. Let your baby take in as much of the nipple as they want
Allow him to take in as much of the nipple into his mouth as he feels comfortable with. Don't hold the bottle back, as it will be difficult for him to feed if only the tip is in his mouth.
5. Hold the bottle at the right angle
Keep the nipple and the neck of the bottle filled with milk. Hold the bottle:
- At a right angle to your baby’s face
- With the nipple pointing toward the back of the mouth
Holding the bottle too high causes the nipple to press down on the tongue.
Holding the bottle too low makes the nipple push on the roof of the mouth.
Both can make suction difficult.
The ideal angle keeps the nipple in a neutral mid-tongue position. If the bottle is held too high, the nipple presses down on the tongue and feeding becomes harder work. If it is held too low, the nipple pushes against the roof of the mouth, which can cause suction breaks, noisy feeding or milk leakage.
6. Ensure air can flow into the bottle
Make sure that air bubbles are flowing into the bottle while he's feeding, to replace the milk he drinks.
If you can't see any air bubbles:
- Slightly loosen the nipple ring until bubbles appear.
- Take care not to loosen it so much that milk leaks out.
(See common bottle-feeding problems for more about this).
7. Pause for burping when needed
Allow time, once or twice during the feed, for your baby to stop and bring up a “burp”. But don't keep trying to burp him if he becomes upset; some babies like to drink the whole bottle at once.
8. Let your baby decide when they’re finished
The amount he drinks may vary from feed to feed. The feed should not be too fast or too slow. (See How long should feeding last)
SAFETY!
Never prop-feed your baby.
A bottle supported by pillows or blankets (instead of a person) poses a choking risk.
Once a child is old enough to insist on self-feeding, they are generally old enough to use a feeding cup safely.
If feeding has become stressful or your baby is struggling to take the bottle comfortably, you don’t have to figure it out on your own. A personalised assessment can help identify all the factors affecting feeding and guide you step by step. More information about our consultations.
Written by Rowena Bennett
About Rowena
Rowena Bennett (RN, RM, CHN, MHN, IBCLC) is a leading infant-feeding and sleep specialist and author of several books on infant feeding and behaviour, including the widely acclaimed “Your Baby’s Bottle-Feeding Aversion: Reasons & Solutions”. With over three decades of clinical experience across child health, midwifery, mental health and lactation, she has helped thousands of families worldwide understand and resolve complex feeding challenges through her evidence-based, baby-led approaches.
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