'When Can My Baby Hold His Own Bottle'-- 5 Tips to Make it Happen!

''When can my baby learn to hold his own bottle?'' This may be a question that has crossed your mind already or is likely to cross now that you are reading this!

Your baby will be ready to hold a bottle as the little one's grip development gets stronger. As your baby completes 6 months, her motor skills start enhancing and your baby’s grip on holding things will become stronger day by day. Give your baby more and more things to hold on to so that she can develop the habit of holding things for long.

Your baby can now hold her bottle of milk easily but you need to give some support so that bottle can easily stay on the right level. Just let your baby touch and feel the bottle during feeding sessions.

Tips to help your baby hold his own bottle:

Everything happens taking its own sweet time when it comes to baby's milestones, including the little one's ability to hold his own bottle. However, these tips might come in handy to make that happen effectively:

1) Do not take it to the top

Do not fill the bottle to the top, first fill it till a quarter and then half so that your baby can easily hold the pressure put in by the filled bottle in her hands. Slowly move the bottle in her hands to the mouth and if the baby takes it in the mouth and holds it firmly, support it gently with your hands. You need to make her friendly towards the bottle.

2) Teach with patience

Never force your baby to hold the bottle as you have to make her friendly towards this activity. Let her recognize her bottle and the connection between feeding and hunger. Maintain silence and cuddle your baby close to you while feeding her. Do not expect your baby to finish off whole milk in one go and also make sure that temperature should be accurate, not too hot and not too cold.

3) Keep the baby in correct position

Hold the baby in comfortable position and make the surroundings peaceful. Make sure that the head of your baby is supported by your hand and the head is raised above the level of the feet. Make sure that milk should not trickle down from his mouth to ears. The nipple should be fully in his mouth and milk should go into his mouth.

4) Never leave your baby unattended

Even if you and your baby are confident of her holding the bottle on her own, never leave your baby unattended. She might swallow milk in a wrong way causing her to choke or cough. Do not distract the baby when feeding and keep a close eye on her.

5) Notice the bubbles while baby sucks milk

Notice the bubbles in the bottle as your baby feeds. If you can’t see any bubbles, then break the suction between her tongue and the teat from time to time by moving the teat slightly to the side of her mouth. Bubbles can again be seen rushing back up into the remaining milk.

These handy tips will help your baby in building a connection between bottle and hunger. Your baby will learn to hold the bottle comfortably and even if she leaves a certain amount of milk in the bottle, do not force her to drink it all in one go. For more such tips along with updates on your child’s development, check out the Parentlane App today!

Disclaimer : Content presented here is for information purposes only, please consult with your doctor for any health queries