By Insider Envy Staff
3 Key Tips for Connecting with Your Baby During Feeding Time
SPONSORED BY BYHEART
The early days of raising a baby are a pivotal time for a new parent to embrace opportunities for connection and bonding.
Whether you’re solely breastfeeding, combo feeding or just exclusively using formula, feeding your newborn is a wonderful opportunity to nourish and connect. Keep reading for a few tips on ways to make this special time even more meaningful.
Tip 1: Skin-to-Skin Contact
Immediately after birth, skin-to-skin contact can be crucial in helping babies successfully breastfeed, according to the WHO. 90 minutes is the magic number here for helping a baby get acclimated (this can be especially helpful after a cesarean section, because your skin bacteria can help develop your baby’s microbiome after birth!).
Even beyond that first breastfeeding session, skin-to-skin contact, however you feed, is as simple as it is effective in helping you and your baby connect.
Tip 2: Responsive Feeding
Simply put, responsive feeding entails letting your baby take the lead when it comes to feeding! Though it may seem counterintuitive, responding to your baby’s hunger cues can have positive long-term effects in helping them develop their intuitive senses of hunger and satiation.
Signs of a hungry baby? Look for puckering, smacking or licking of their lips, putting their hands near their mouths, or clenching their hands. A full baby may close their mouth, unlatch or ignore the breast or bottle altogether, turn their head away or relax their hands.
Although it can be frustrating or anxiety-provoking when it feels like your baby isn’t feeding as much as you’d like, or on a set schedule, once you learn to recognize your baby’s hunger cues, you’ll feel comforted in knowing that you’re responding to their actual needs.
Tip 3: Create a Relaxing Environment
Though it may seem obvious, the importance of a calm, nurturing environment during feeding can’t be stressed enough. And sometimes, that means embracing formula when breastfeeding isn’t working out the way you might have hoped.
Whether combo feeding, or exclusively formula feeding, it’s important to pick the best formula for your baby’s needs. We love ByHeart because it’s made with organic, grass-fed whole milk, and has clinically-proven benefits when compared to a leading infant formula—like easier digestion, less spit-up, softer poops, more efficient weight gain, and enhanced nutrient absorption.
Plus, you can sign up for their subscription plan to get it shipped straight to your door as often as you need—which means less stress around feeding time.
Feeding time = time to connect
Ultimately, what all of these tips have in common is the importance of slowing down and embracing the moments of connection while feeding your baby.
Whether you’re breastfeeding, combo feeding, or formula feeding, trying out the tips above can take some of the headache out of figuring out the best way to feed your baby. And if you’re on the hunt to find a baby formula for an easier feeding time, try ByHeart for a clinically-proven formula you can feel confident in.
Ready to shop ByHeart’s clinically proven*, award winning formula?
Subscribe to a 4-pack of the all-in-one infant formula and receive two cans for free on your first order!
*Versus a leading infant formula
**Limited time only. New customers with first time subscription orders only. Limit one (1) per mailing address. See full terms at byheart.com/b2g2
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