Paced Bottle Feeding: What is it, and Why it Matters?
By: Kids Land
Tags: Baby, Feeding, Paced Bottle Feeding, Baby Feeding, Paced Bottles

What is Paced Bottle feeding?

Feeding babies is often known to be a big problem for new moms. It doesn’t matter if you are breastfeeding or bottle-feeding your baby, every mother finds herself in trouble when it comes to how to feed her baby. The question you ask yourself is whether you are doing well, can you make a problem for your child if you do not do it properly, will my child progress less if I do something wrong, and so on. Breastfeeding is always a better option for you and your baby, and we will write about it. It often happens that a woman does not have enough milk or simply that lactation is not established. In that case, we have to use formulas and bottles for babies, it is very important to choose a good bottle for babies . But let’s explain what it really is Paced Bottle Feeding and why it matters.

Paced Bottle Feeding is a bottle-feeding baby technique that allows your baby to swallow much more slowly and with breaks to prevent choking and overeating. The essence is that the feeding process is as similar as possible to breastfeeding, since the baby when sucking goes the principle of suck suck suck swallowing and then pause. Babies tend to consume more milk in a shorter period of time when they’re fed with a bottle, especially if they’re given a fast-flow nipple. This often results in the baby feeding until the milk is gone rather than feeding until their stomach is full. By paying more attention to the pace of the feeding session, caregivers can deliver the experience of breastfeeding while using a bottle.

What is the Difference Between Normal Bottle Feeding and Paced Bottle Feeding?

With normal bottle feeding, the child is placed mostly horizontally in the lap or on the feeding pillow, the angle of the bottle is almost vertical, the nipple is filled with milk. With this type of feeding, the baby has no control over the feeding, the milk does not flow continuously through the nipple, the baby does not have the ability to take as much milk as he needs, often with this type of feeding the baby overeats.

Signs of stress when feeding babies:

The baby may cough, gargle, choke — these are signs that the milk is going where it shouldn’t — in the airways.

Frowning eyebrows, wide open eyes, watery eyes and redness around the eyes;

Firmly outstretched legs, like board, with hands next to the face and clenched fist;

Pursed lips, tense muscles around lips;

Feeding is over too quickly.

Paced Bottle Feeding is best to use technique to prevent feeding disorders. The difference is that this technique prevents the rapid flow of milk and mimics breastfeeding. The baby takes as much milk as he needs, and controls the breastfeeding.

Paced Bottle Feeding technique is ideal for all infants, including those who are breastfed, who occasionally have to drink from a bottle.

How to pace feed a baby?

1.Keep the child as upright as possible;

2.Tickle baby on the lips with the bottle teat and allow them to open their mouth first;

3. Once your baby latches, hold the bottle horizontal to your baby rather than tipping it up high;

4. Wait for baby to start sucking and then tilt the bottle so the teat is half-filled with milk;

5. Observe the child, whether sucking if not, take a break. Each child takes a break when sucking. When you notice a pause, gently tilt the bottle down like a straightener;

6.Once baby begins to suck again, tilt the bottle once again to half fill the teat;

Why it is Important to use Paced Bottle Feeding?

The following complications are possible if you don’t use Paced bottle Feeding:

Overeating — if the milk leaks too quickly, the baby will not recognize that it is a sieve in time and will continue to swallow. Like us adults. When we stuff food, we don’t notice that we are full and overeat. Overeating in children has major health consequences that may not be visible immediately after years. One of the consequences that can be seen early is an overload of the stomach with a large volume of milk and vomiting. I don’t mean ordinary vomiting but throwing out food in jets.

. returning gastric contents from the stomach to the esophagus. This is also one of the consequences of a full stomach. Reflux is uncomfortable for the child, after a while it becomes painful and can worsen food refusal and failure to progress. Due to the pain, the child may bend back into the bow when feeding or unrelated to feeding. This can be misinterpreted as a convulsion, ie. epi attack.

Non-progression — this has already been mentioned, the child refuses to be fed due to stress or vomits large amounts of milk intake.