Common Bottle Feeding Mistake

  If you are bottle feeding regularly, it is really important to alternate sides!  Right-handed people tend to hold the baby with their left hand/arm and the bottle with their dominant hand.  (Vice versa for lefties.)  The problem is, over time, one side of the baby's body is getting stimulation (eye, face, neck, arm, leg) while the other side is being held against your body.  For exclusively bottle-fed babies, this can create issues. 

Stimulating one side of the body 8-12 times a day can wreak havoc on their rapidly developing nervous system and vision.  These complications can be especially problematic if your baby has torticollis, flat spots on the head, or facial asymmetry. 

The goal is to evenly stimulate both sides of the body.  Either switch your hold halfway through the feeding or alternate entire feeds.  (So that first feeding you hold bottle with your right hand and baby's right side is against your body.  Next feeding you hold bottle with your left hand and baby's left side is against your body.)  By alternating sides you give your baby optimal visual and nervous system stimulation to support their growth and development.