Position for bottle feeding

Hold your baby close to you on your lap in a semi-upright position where she can make eye contact with you. If necessary, put a pillow on your lap to raise her up. Your baby will enjoy feeding more if you smile and chat to her as she takes her bottle.

Place the teat carefully in her mouth and gently stroke your baby’s cheek to elicit the rooting reflex.

Always make sure you tilt the bottle so that the neck and teat are full of milk to avoid getting pockets of air, which could cause your baby to have wind.

If your baby seems unsettled during the feed, she may have wind and you could sit her up and try to get her to burp by rubbing her back.

It’s important to get the hole of the teat just the right size for your baby. You can choose slow, medium or fast flow teats. A newborn baby generally needs a slow-flow teat. If your baby seems to take ages to finish a bottle or gives up in the middle, the hole may be too small and you may want to change to a medium-flow teat. If your baby is spluttering and choking as she feeds, the hole in the teat may be too big. You may also like to try variable-flow teats that can give slow, medium or fast flow using just one teat.