Steps to bottle feeding your preterm baby

Bottle feeding a pre-term baby

Feeding can take time

• Babies born early need time to learn bottle feeding.
• They must learn how to suck, swallow, and breathe together.
• Some bottles flow too quickly or too slowly, so finding the right one may take time.
• Once you find a good bottle, bring it from home to the hospital to be re-sterilised. This means you can practice using the same flow rate at home and at the hospital.
• Your baby will depend on your technique, pace and position. The team will teach you how to help.

Be present and patient

• Spend time with your baby to learn their feeding cues [add link to cue leaflet].
• Try to practice with your baby often. This helps your baby's development and builds your feeding technique by learning together.
• Your baby may not want to bottle feed for every feed. Work with the nursing team to understand the best time to practice bottle feeds. At first, some babies prefer to feed more at night when it is quiet.
• Avoid using your phone or iPad during feeding, so you can stay focused on your baby’s cues.

Steps to bottle feeding

Follow these steps when you start to bottle feed

• Look at their body
  • Check if your baby’s arms, legs, and hands are aligned and relaxed.
• Hold them close
  • Keep your baby close and tucked in while feeding.
• Start slowly
  • Touch their bottom lip or cheek with the bottle teat.
  • Wait for your baby to open their mouth, asking for permission to feed.
  • Don’t rub the teat up and down too often, this will overstimulate them.
• Watch their cues
  • If your baby turns red, gulps, or dribbles, give them a break.
• Are their hands telling you to stop? 
  • If your baby’s hands spread open, it is time to stop.
  • Take the bottle out and pause to allow them to regulate their stress signals.
• Are their hands tired?
  • If their hands fall by their side, they are tired. Give them a break.
  • If their hands move to their chest or face, continue feeding. Otherwise stop.
• Burp breaks
  • Consider 1 or 2 burp breaks during the feed. This helps to slow down the feed and gives your baby's tummy more processing time.
• End on a good note
  • If your baby is drowsy, turns away, or sucks less, it means they are finished.
  • Gently stop the feed and let the nursing team know.