Taking breaks while bottle feeding

chipmk228

So my LC and the web says that you should take frequent breaks while bottle feeding.  We would take breaks every oz or so and would burp halfway between feedings but now my LO refuses to take a bottle once I take a break.  So I've been trying to feed her the full 4-5 oz and let her take her little micro-breaks with the nipple still in her mouth.  How does everyone else bottle feed?  I believe the reason why they want the baby to take frequent breaks is to avoid over-feeding?  But now if I take a break at 1 oz, she will refuse the nipple and I have to wait FOREVER for her to want to eat again.  And this is after hours of not eating so she definitely needs to eat.  If I don't take any breaks, she will finish the entire 4 oz.  Its driving me crazy.

kby721

I burp DD after every ounce when bottle feeding to avoid major spit up. She gulps the bottle down so fast if we don't take breaks it ends up coming right back up. She gets fussy when I take it away from her but doesn't have a problem eating again after she burps and I put it back in her mouth. If you don't have a problem with reflux and 4 ounces is her usual I don't see why you couldn't feed her the entire bottle without a break or maybe a break at the halfway point if need be.

jame1380

My MIL likes to tell me to feed him half the bottle then burp him because he struggled with gas. It didn't make a difference for him. I feed him the entire bottle unless he just holds the nipple in his mouth or falls asleep. After the burp, he's awake and eats better. He does fine with gas and spit up when he eats the entire bottle at ounce. Part of me did it at first just because I didn't want to do what MIL told me.

All of this stuff that you "should" do is great but do what works for you and your baby. Feeding during the middle of the night, he is lucky to get burped at all with DH. He always falls asleep. I find bottle everywhere.

lscarborough

I let my LO dictate when she takes a break. It's usually around 2oz. She will act like she can't find the nipple and that's how I know it's time to burp. Once she's burped she's right back to eating.

If your LO isn't struggling with spit up or anything then I'd go longer between breaks as long as baby is ok.

alliebsmith

I used to burp after every ounce but my pediatrician said she's old enough now where that's not necessary and it causes her frustration when I did. Now I burp her halfway and then at the end. Also, if she's eating pretty slow and not chugging the bottle I sometimes let her go the whole 4oz before I burp her. She has never been a baby who spits up either so the pediatrician said its fine to space out burping. She sometimes gets upset when I burp her halfway but the way I see it: she isn't starving, she will survive a 30 second burp session.

Kye042

I let my LO call the shots. When he wants to take a break and stops sucking or pushes the nipple out, I will burp until he burps or until he throws himself back into my arms.