The Challenges of Bonding While Bottlefeeding
At one point or another, your baby will have to feed from a bottle. It is very rare that a baby goes straight from breastfeeding to a sippy cup, though it can happen. Most babies start bottlefeeding as a first step towards solid food and during the first weaning. Many women choose to wean their babies from breast to bottle, then later on from bottle to sippy cup.
Bottlefeeding changes the dynamics of feeding altogether. For your baby, it is very different from breastfeeding because during breastfeeding, they are completely attached to you. Their face is touching your breast, their stomach touches your stomach, they can hear your heartbeat, and their arms are likely to be holding you too. Often, this is how and when the strong bond between mother and child forms.
When bottlefeeding, all of this changes, and a baby can sense it. Their face is away from your breast, their tummy is no longer touching yours, they will no longer hear the reassuring sound of your heartbeat, and they may need their hands to steady the bottle. This change in contact may add to the weaning difficulties when weaning from breast to bottle.
However, the time to bottlefeed always comes because most modern women cannot breastfeed for very long periods. As a mother, you are now presented with the challenge of how to bond with your baby, make them feel that same closeness they felt when breastfeeding with you. Don't worry. Though challenging, your baby is very likely to respond when following these tips:
- Lots of Skin Contact and Eye Contact – Your baby will really miss feeling attached to you. One way you can remedy this is by giving your baby as much skin contact as possible. Keep them comfortable and feeding continuously, of course. You should also look your baby directly in the eye while they feed.
- Talking or Singing – While looking your baby in the eye, talk to them and sing to them. Tell them about your day, make jokes and smile a lot. Your baby will be able to feel your mood and your happiness about being with them and they will be happy too.
- Snuggling – While feeding, snuggle your baby every so often. This increases skin contact and they recognize it as a form of affection. You can touch your nose to their forehead, hold them a bit tighter for a few seconds, or kiss their feet. After feeding and burping, snuggle them a bit more and play with them a little. Just don't play too much that they throw up. Remember, they just ate!
The other bonding challenge faced during bottlefeeding is by the other family members. When your baby begins bottlefeeding, it's a great time for them to start getting to know other members of the family and be familiar with their scents, the sound of their voice, and what they look like. Family members are encouraged to pick a bottlefeeding spot that the baby is familiar with and to use a very gentle tone while talking to the baby. They too can sing to the baby. Remind them to try and keep a lot of skin contact and snuggle the baby every once in a while so that they continue to feel the affection and security they need.
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