Feeding Your Baby Formula

If you’re feeding your baby formula, make mealtime a time to be fully present with your baby, just as if you were breastfeeding:

• Hold your baby close and return her gaze as she feeds.
   
• Babies adore skin-to-skin contact, especially while feeding, so you might pull down your shirt a bit let her cheek rest against your chest.
   
• Let the feeding occur at the baby’s pace, and allow him time for smiles and playing with your fingers as you hold the bottle.
   
• Babies usually know how much they need to eat. If they're breastfeeding, they have total control. They feed until they are done. Take a similar approach with bottle feeding.
  
  Encouraging your baby to finish the bottle is not healthy and can contribute to obesity later in childhood. Your pediatrician can give you a general amount that babies take in at various ages, but that will just be an average.

Mealtime isn’t the only time for quiet closeness with your baby. Reading, massage, rocking and singing will provide frequent snuggling so important to him.

See also ...

•  Differences between breastfed and formula fed babies

•  The basics of infant formula feeding

This message is not intended to provide individual medical advice. Always seek the advice of a physician or qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have about your health or medical condition, your breastfeeding issues and your infant's health. Never disregard, avoid or delay contacting a doctor or other qualified professional because of something you have read in our emails, webpages or other electronic communications.