Key takeaways: Cup, spoon, syringe, finger feeding, and at-breast supplementers are all alternatives to bottles. Evidence that avoiding bottles improves breastfeeding is mixed, and the best method depends on your baby, the amount needed, and your comfort. Always keep your baby upright and let them set the pace.
Some families want to avoid bottles in the early weeks while breastfeeding is getting started. Here are the main alternatives.
Spoon Feeding
Best for: small amounts, like colostrum in the first days.
- Hand express colostrum into a clean spoon.
- Hold your baby upright.
- Touch the spoon to the lower lip and let your baby sip or lap.
Cup Feeding
Best for: small to moderate amounts.
- Use a small, clean medicine cup or special feeding cup.
- Hold your baby upright on your lap, supporting the head and neck.
- Rest the cup’s rim on the lower lip. Tip it so milk just reaches the lip.
- Let your baby lap or sip. Don’t pour milk into the mouth.
Syringe Feeding
Best for: small amounts.
- Place the syringe tip into the corner of the mouth, toward the cheek.
- Push a tiny amount at a time while your baby sucks and swallows.
From the author
From First Breath to First Birthday is my month-by-month guide to your baby’s first year, written as a NICU and postpartum nurse. My book walks you through feeding month by month, from the first days home to the first birthday, with the warning signs that mean it’s time to call the doctor.
Finger Feeding
Best for: encouraging sucking, sometimes used for latch practice.
- Wash your hands and trim nails.
- Let your baby suck on a clean finger, pad up.
- Slide a thin tube attached to a syringe along your finger.
- Give milk as your baby sucks.
At-Breast Supplementer
Delivers milk through a thin tube at the breast during feeds.
Paced Bottle Feeding
If you use a bottle, paced feeding (holding your baby upright and the bottle more horizontal, with pauses) lets your baby control the flow.
What Does Research Show?
Cochrane reviews of preterm babies have found that avoiding bottles (using cups or tubes instead) may improve breastfeeding rates at discharge, but results vary and studies have limits. For healthy full-term babies, there isn’t strong evidence that one method is clearly best. Choose what works for you, with guidance.
Safety Tips
- Keep your baby upright.
- Go slowly and watch for signs your baby needs a break.
- Never pour or squirt milk into your baby’s mouth.
- Clean all equipment after each use.
Stop and call for help if: your baby coughs a lot, chokes, turns blue, or seems to struggle to breathe during feeds.
The Bottom Line
Many methods can supplement a baby without a bottle. The best one is the one that works for you and your baby, with guidance from an IBCLC.
Want more support for your baby’s first year? My book, From First Breath to First Birthday, is available on Amazon.
Related Articles
- At-Breast Supplementers: Feeding Extra Milk at the Breast
- Bottle Refusal: Strategies That Work
- Spoon-Feeding Tips
- Paced Bottle Feeding: How to Bottle-Feed the Breastfed (or Any) Baby
- Breastfeeding a Baby With a Cleft Lip or Palate
Sources
- Kellams A, Harrel C, Omage S, et al. ABM Clinical Protocol #3: Supplementary feedings in the healthy term breastfed neonate, revised 2017. Breastfeed Med. 2017;12(4):188-198.
- Collins CT, Gillis J, McPhee AJ, Suganuma H, Makrides M. Avoidance of bottles during the establishment of breast feeds in preterm infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;10:CD005252.
- Penny F, Judge M, Brownell E, McGrath JM. Cup feeding as a supplemental, alternative feeding method for preterm breastfed infants: an integrative review. Matern Child Health J. 2018;22(11):1568-1579.
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Always talk with your baby’s health care provider or your own provider about your specific situation. If you think your baby or you may have a medical emergency, call 911.
