What kind of bottle is best for your baby? (2024)

Picking the right bottle for your baby

Do you want to know what the best bottles are for your breastfeeding baby? Are you having trouble finding the right bottle for your baby? Are feeds taking a long time or is your breastfed baby having trouble figuring out how effectively feed off a bottle? If your baby has a tongue tie or oral motor dysfunction bottle-feeding could be a challenge.

Some babies who have been exclusively breastfed have a hard time learning the mechanics of bottle-feeding. If you are going back to work, it’s important to introduce bottles ahead of time, to ease the transition. I usually recommend introducing a bottle around 3-6 weeks.

I know it can be confusing with all the different nipple flow rates, but you don’t actually have to speed up the flow for your baby. Speeding up the flow of a bottle can actually cause breastfeeding challenges. Your baby might start to form a preference to the bottle because they like the faster flow. I also recommend paced bottle feeding. This is responsive infant feeding! Your baby gets to control their intake just like when breastfeeding. You can paced feeds, upright, reclined, semi-reclined. Some babies due to torticollis or asymmetries have difficulty feeding in certain positions. I can help you identify positions that will work for your baby now, while we also work on correcting those postural imbalances.

In addition to different flow rates, there are also so many different nipple shapes too. There are orthodontic nipples, pyramidal shaped nipples, and longer column like nipples. They all have their place, depending on the baby, their oral motor skills, and their circumstances. The right nipple for one baby might not be the right one for another. Your baby might need a nipple that provides more sensory feedback to trigger sucking.

Here are some signs that your baby is having trouble with bottle feeds

• milk spillage

• choking

• gagging

• sputtering

• difficulty bottle feeding in different positions

• long feeds

• fussiness when feeding

• sounding congested after feeds

• bottle refusal

• signs of distress- crying, pushing the bottle away, getting red, their eyes get big, eyebrows furrow

If one or more of these are happening when you try to bottle feed, consider getting help. I offer individualized bottle recommendations and will trial them during the consult so we solve any difficulties right away. I offer virtual infant feeding visits that may be covered in full by your insurance. Use the link below to book!