Positions for Bottle Feeding

Did you know there were multiple positions for bottle feeding? Many people know that there are positions for breastfeeding, but you shouldn’t limit yourself bottle feeding your baby either!

The Classic Football Hold

This it the most traditional way to feed a baby. You can use a pillow, a poppy or a couch/chair arm to rest your arm on to make the feeding more comfortable. [Most feedings take 10-20 minutes!]

The On The Legs

Objectively, this is my favorite way to feed a baby. You have both hands free, you can look directly into their face, and your arm doesn’t get so fatigued! Also the baby has more freedom of movement.

This position IS recommended if the parent is breastfeeding as when “assuming the position” babies often get frustrated looking for a breast nipple and encountering a bottle nipple.

This position is NOT recommended if you are healing from a c section, as it lines up baby’s feed with your incision.

The Standing Feed

Let’s be real. Sometimes the doorbell is going to ring or the oven timer is going to go off in the middle of a feed. When you are holding and feeding your baby make sure that you are supporting their body. With a one armed hold we like to wrap around and hold their outer leg and use that to stabilize. Never hold your baby in a way that doesn’t feel natural/comfortable to you.

Positions for Bottle Feeding with Twins!

The tried and true way to feed two babies at once is using a feeding pillow. This twin feeding pillow is flat so both babies can rest comfortably. When feeding twins that don’t have neck support you need to utilize your outer fingers to tilt their heads towards you.

Bottle feeding tips:

In any position, we recommend spending a moment to get yourself ready!

• Go to the bathroom
• Have a burp cloth, pacifier and your phone nearby
• Bonus if you want to grab a water and a bar to hydrate yourself!

In almost all of these potions you can utilize paced feeding!

Itching to learn more? Our Feeding Your Baby mini-series shows live video of how to hold/feed your baby in different positions!