Well Done Mum

Feeding your Baby

To feed your baby, cradle her in a semi-upright position and support her head. Don't feed her lying down. To prevent your baby from swallowing air as she sucks, tilt the bottle so that the formula fills the neck of the bottle and covers the nipple.

Make sure the baby's tongue is under the nipple and that the nipple is placed back in the mouth.

Burp your baby after a half to an once of formula. How often your baby needs to burp depends on how fast they drink and how much air is swallowed.

Your newborn will probably take between 2 and 4 ounces per feed during his first few weeks (during the first few days, he may take less than an ounce at feedings), and will probably be hungry every two to four hours. Use this time frame as a guide only. It's best to feed your baby on demand. Don't encourage your baby to finish the bottle if he's not interested. If he's still sucking enthusiastically when the bottle is empty, offer him more.

When buying bottles, there are different milk flows to choose from as some babies like milk that flows freely while others like to suck. Best advice is to start with a slow flow teat for newborns, progress to medium flow for babies with a faster sucking action and then fast flow for older babies. Remember, too slow a teat can frustrate a hungry baby,too fast can make them gulp encouraging more wind.