Your baby's position when bottle feeding
This page belongs to collection of short articles and videos in plain language, called When baby cries a lot in the first few months of life. Together, these articles and videos will give you a brief and simple summary of the Possums 5-domain approach to the crying baby. For comprehensive information on this topic, please consider reading The discontented little baby book.
Ensure you are comfortable and supported by pillows if needed. Hold your baby in an upright position with neck and bottom well supported and baby leaning slightly back, with their head also tilted back. Try having your baby’s neck in the crook of your arm with baby’s bottom on your thigh (on the same side as the arm holding baby). Baby’s chin should not be tilted down towards their chest as it is hard to suck and swallow in this position.
Your baby needs to be well supported and their head and spine in a mostly straight line. We don’t want that little spine to be bending backwards in a banana shape (with the tummy pushed out at the front.) Babies need their spine supported against your body with the pelvis slightly tucked under, in a C-shape, for optimal motor development.
This position will allow your baby to relax into the feed and not need any extra effort to maintain their own position. We also want your baby to have plenty of close physical contact with you.
Remember to feed your baby on both sides of your body over time, so that he gets used to both.
Acknowledgements
These pages on bottle feeding in the Brief & simple summary of When baby cries a lot were co-written with Renee Keogh RN IBCLC, Founding NDC Educator.
I'm grateful to Professor Sophie Havighurst, Ros June, and Caroline Ma at Mindful, The University of Melbourne, for their feedback on the articles and videos in When baby cries a lot in the first few months of life. They helped me keep the language plain and the concepts as accessible as possible, for this brief and simple version of the Possums 5-domain approach to the crying baby.
Recommended resources
Following your baby's cues for bottle feeds
Building a positive relationship with food through paced bottle feeding
When does a baby have conditioned dialling up with the bottle and what to do about it?
