CG Ways Your Baby’s Caregiver Can Help Support Breastfeeding -

Your baby’s caregiver has many options that can help support your ongoing breastfeeding success.

Use Feeding Positions that Help Baby Feel Secure

Support the baby securely while they are feeding.¹
Offer the baby a bottle in a comfortable, upright position. This allows the baby to control the flow of milk more easily and requires active suckling on their part.¹
- Switch sides part way through the feeding or from feeding to feeding to mimic a breastfeeding session. Switching sides may help improve brain development and eye-hand coordination.
- Generally babies do better breastfeeding when they are not swaddled. Feeding your baby unswaddled allows them to interact during the feeding and demonstrate cues for hunger and fullness.
For some babies, the cradle position reminds them too much of their mom. It can probably feel close to the hold mom uses to breastfeed. Also seeing a different (non-mom) face might be worrisome. Alternate feeding positions that “feel” different to the baby that can be successful are:
- While you are sitting, place the baby’s back against your front as they look out; secure the baby on your lap.
- A second variation of this is to do this while standing and swaying. Secure your baby by holding under their bottom with their back to your front. Consistent motion during the feeding can calm and settle your baby.

Hold a Bottle in a Neutral Position

Use a straight bottle (not angled or round) and hold it horizontally so the expressed breast milk is only in the tip of the nipple. The baby needs to suckle for food as they do when breastfeeding.^1,2

Let Baby Lead the Latch

With the bottle nipple held to their lips, the base resting on their chin, and the nipple pointing toward their nose, stroke the baby’s lips to elicit a wide open mouth and self latch.
Avoid forcing the nipple between closed lips. Let the baby mouth it.
Once latched, lift the bottom of the bottle. Hold it perpendicular to their upright body, and allow the bottle to lower every couple of minutes. Baby will search out the nipple if they are still hungry, and relatch. When they are finished, they will close their mouth and move their head away. Try not to keep offering the bottle after this.¹

Make Sure the Bottle Latch Mimics Breastfeeding

Allow the bottle nipple to reach deep into the baby’s mouth. During breastfeeding, the mother’s nipple reaches the point in the baby’s mouth where the hard palate meets the soft palate.¹
- Drag your own tongue against the roof of your mouth from the back of the front teeth to the back of the mouth to find this spot and feel how far back in the mouth it is.
Ideally, with a correct deep suck, the baby’s lips will look flanged out around the base of the nipple.¹

Try Burping and See How Baby Responds

Burp the baby often at first. A breastfed baby may not be used to burping, because there is very little air intake at the breast, and as a result, they may not need to burp much or at all. However, a baby learning to suck on a bottle nipple may swallow a lot of air at first and may need more frequent burping.³
After bottle feeding is established, the caregiver can cut back on burping and see if the baby is comfortable.³

Watch the Baby for Signs of Hunger, Not the Clock

Feed on demand. Look for hunger cues such as rooting, sucking on fists, smacking lips, and/or restlessness. Feed the baby when they are relatively content. Crying is a late sign of hunger, and can be difficult for baby to latch onto a nipple when crying.⁴
- A newborn typically feeds 8 to 12 times per day, although not in exact intervals.
- At 1 to 6 months, average milk consumption is between 25 to 35 ounces per day, typically 3 to 4 ounces per feeding.⁵
The duration of feeds should stay consistent regardless of baby’s age.⁶
- As a rough guide, bottle feeding should take about 20 minutes per session but a range of 15 minutes to 30 minutes is normal.
- If a baby finishes a full feeding in less than 10 minutes, it may mean the bottle is flowing too quickly.
- Feedings that regularly take 30 or more minutes may indicate the baby is not able to remove milk effectively from the nipple being used, possibly because of a problem with the nipple or possibly because the baby has a latching concern. The mother may already be aware since it might be something she is working on with breastfeeding as well.
- Change the nipples as necessary if the flow is too fast or slow.

Stay within the Guidelines Mom Provides for Amounts of Milk Baby Will Need

A breastfed baby needs between 20-25 ounces of milk per day depending on age and hunger.⁵
Babies need about 1 ounce per hour on average to thrive. If you will be gone for 9 hours including work hours and commute combined, leaving 9 ounces would be a good target.⁶
Often a baby will eat more during the day if they are more alert during the day.
A sleepy baby will often eat less and then wait for their mom to return and breastfeed a lot in the evening and nighttime hours. It is important for your caregiver to communicate with you what the baby has been eating in your absence, so the correct amount is given to your baby.

Don’t Overfeed the Baby

To avoid overeating, slip the bottle from their mouth every couple of minutes, and rest the nipple against their lips as you did at the start of the feeding. They may eagerly and immediately gape for it. As soon as they do, give it back. After another couple of minutes, repeat. This is your way of asking the baby, “would you like more?” Their answer will change throughout the feeding from “Yes” to “Perhaps” to “No”.⁶
An emergency stash of pumped breast milk should be left with the caregiver with instructions that this milk is for a true emergency. If the pumped milk left for the baby during the day is not satisfying the baby, communicate with the mom to troubleshoot how to manage the baby’s hunger.⁶
- Baby might need more closeness, not food. The caregiver could babywear or be asked to hold the baby more frequently.
- Baby might enjoy a walk outside or a trip to the park to distract from missing mom.
- Pacifier rules should be clearly agreed to as pacifiers can impede breastfeeding. Movement is often just as effective as soothing from a pacifier.

What to Do if Baby is Resistant to the Bottle

Try feeding baby before baby gets truly hungry.¹
Try feeding the baby when they are sleepy and less likely to have the energy to resist.
If mom is nearby to where the bottle feeding is taking place, she can go out of sight of the baby which sometimes makes it more likely baby will relax when bottle feeding.¹
Let mom know there is resistance so she can get help. She might have you work with a lactation consultant who can help get the baby to take the bottle. She might have you try different feeding techniques or supplies.¹

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References