Bottle Feeding With Breastfeeding Style

Although the benefits of breastfeeding are immense, you may find yourself in a position where it is just not an option. Most women who formula or bottle feed say they could not breastfeed but really they chose not to breastfeed. I encourage you to exhaust every avenue of support before formula feeding because the lifelong benefit to your baby is worth overcoming a lot, especially since the majority of breastfeeding challenges can be overcome. If you are among the very small minority of women who decide that breastfeeding is not possible for you or not in the best interest of your baby, you can capture some of the benefits of the breastfeeding relationship by tapping into some of the breastfeeding style and strategies.

One aspect of infant feeding that is common to the breastfeeding relationship is feeding on cue. Baby gives a cue that she would like to feed and mom puts Baby at the breast. When parents are bottle feeding they tend to fall into scheduling. There are many things that contribute to this tendency like the inconvenience of the supplies and preparation required for bottle feeding, the involvement of numerous feeders (other than mom), the disconnect that can manifest between a parent a baby who are not directly physically responding to each other, etc. Feeding on cue tunes parents into the cues of their baby and they then read and respond to those cues through feeding. This begins with when you feed Baby and extends to the length of each feeding. Most breastfeeding mothers offer milk when Baby displays a cue that they want to breastfeed and withdraw the breast as soon as Baby displays a cue that they are done. If you have just done all the work (and shouldered the financial expense) of preparing a bottle, you will tend not to want to stop before the bottle is emptied. If you can forget about the measurement lines on the bottle and ignore the clock, feeding your baby on cue, you can tap into one of the bond-strengthening benefits of breastfeeding while bottle feeding.

When a mother and baby breastfeed the baby’s face and mother’s face are roughly 6-12” apart- the exact distance to which a newborn can see. Nature designed Baby’s view at the breast to maximize bonding and learning. While a breastfed baby is breastfeeding, Mom’s face is on center stage and with those big innocent eyes gazing at her, mothers tend to be happy to take full advantage of the captive audience. As the two stare into each other’s eyes for hours upon hours throughout the day and night, magic things happen. For example, Mom employs all those tenants of Baby Talk, expressively speaking to Baby in a way that captures her attention and teaches her the foundation of language. This benefit to the breastfeeding relationship can be tapped into while bottle feeding if you simply lay the bottle right on your breast or hold it against your chest at a similar angle. Holding the bottle in the same position as the breast every time you feed your baby sets you and your baby up for all the same face-to-face interaction that takes place during breastfeeding. It also allows your baby to utilize one of their natural regulators of over-stimulation. Babies frequently breastfeed when in an over-stimulating situation because they are turned away from the world, focused right in on their emotional anchor- you.

One powerful source of bonding between a mother and baby is all of the skin-to-skin contact that is a part of breastfeeding. It is a common occurrence between a breastfeeding mom and baby to spend all day shirtless and connected. If you are bottle feeding, it may seem odd to spend time shirtless but skin-to-skin contact is so powerfully nurturing to your baby’s body. So as often as you can, be home, shirtless, and glued to each other in oxytocin bliss.

Proximity is a cornerstone of every breastfeeding relationship. In order to produce milk you have to sense to the demand and in order to respond to your baby’s cues of hunger, you have to be in close proximity to your baby at almost all times. Since bottle feeding moms have the “freedom” of not being physically tethered to their babies, they tend to allow more time and space between themselves and their babies. Your baby benefits greatly from your presence. It’s as simple as that. Realize that your physical presence is just as essential for your baby when bottle feeding as when breastfeeding and you give your baby another benefit commonly enjoyed by breastfeeding babies.

Bottle feeding can never provide your baby with all the benefits of breastfeeding but there are some steps you can take to give your baby some significant benefits that many bottle fed babies do not enjoy. Feed your baby on cue, position the bottle as a breast, partake in plenty of skin-to-skin contact and remain in close proximity and you and your baby can enjoy some intimate bonding time as a part of infant feeding.