I keep hearing about paced bottle-feeding. What is it?
When introducing a bottle to a newborn baby, parents and caregivers will want to practice paced bottle feeding for best feeding practices. The goal is not to have the baby down their bottle in 5 minutes. Instead, using this method allows the baby to be more in control of the feeding pace. It slows down the flow of milk into the nipple and the mouth, allowing the baby to eat more slowly, and take breaks, which is what a baby will naturally do when feeding at the breast.
To pace a feed:
Hold the baby in an upright position, supporting the baby’s head and neck with your hand rather than with the crook of your arm.
Use a slow-flow nipple. Gently touch the wide part of the nipple to the baby’s chin. This will encourage the baby to open her mouth wide, allowing you to pop the entire nipple into her mouth. Her lips should touch the collar of the bottle. If her lips are tucked under, gently twist the bottle until her lips flange out.
Keep the bottle horizontal, only vertical enough for milk to be in the nipple.
Allow the baby frequent pauses to discourage guzzling the feed.
Watch for signs of stress, such as furrowing of the brow or widening of the eyes.
Try to pace the feeding so that it takes about 15-20 minutes to finish the bottle.
Allow the baby to decide when to finish the feed rather than encouraging the baby to finish the bottle. If lips are pursed, and they look sleepy and content, that’s a good sign that baby is satiated.
