Cup feeding

Cup feeding surprises most parents. A newborn drinking from a cup sounds implausible — but babies lap milk readily, and they’re good at it.

It’s worth knowing about for two reasons:

• It encourages good extension of your baby’s tongue, which can help with breastfeeding.
• It’s a way to supplement with extra milk when you need to, without a bottle — useful if you’re deliberately holding off on bottles, or if your baby has started preferring a fast flow.

That first point is the one mothers don’t expect. Lapping asks your baby to reach forward with her tongue, which is the same motion a deep latch needs. A bottle doesn’t ask for that.

How to cup feed

1. Sit your baby up with her head cradled in your hand, tilted slightly back.
2. Use a small cup — a shot glass or a small measuring cup works well.
3. Fill it with milk at room temperature or a little warmer.
4. Rest the cup on her lower lip and tip it gently until the milk sits there like a tranquil pool. Then let her lap it up at her own pace.

The whole technique rests on that last step: you hold the cup steady and she sets the pace. You are never pouring. If milk is running into her mouth rather than being lapped up, tip the cup back down and wait.

Expect some dribbling the first few times, for both of you. A burp cloth under her chin and a little patience is all it takes — most babies get the hang of it within a feed or two.

Watch it done

Seeing the cup angle makes it click:

Watch: How to cup feed a baby