VIDEO: We Love This Crazy Cute Method to Feed Your Newborn

There’s a new contender in the breastfeeding/bottle feeding debate. And mums are lapping it up!

Welcome to cup feeding, an alternative feeding method where bub literally laps milk up from a cup.

Kind of like a cat. But even cuter.

We’ve always been told ‘breast is best’ but we also know this isn’t always possible. Cup feeding offers a safe alternative which allows baby to benefit from the goodness of breast milk even if not attached to the breast.

Check out the video below:

Mums lapping up the cup feed cuteness

Posted by Facebook page Motherly, the method is making serious waves across social media. In a few short days, the video has been seen over 1 million times and many parents are sharing their thoughts on the interesting feeding option.

According to the NHS, cup feeding is usually used as a step before breastfeeding, in babies who suffer from jaundice or if bub simply goes on a breastfeeding strike.

New mums should consider a feeding cup “when your baby needs to have feeds greater than three to five millilitres. Cup feeding encourages your baby to use their tongue and lower jaw in a similar way as they would when breastfeeding. They are also able to smell and enjoy the milk when using a cup.”

Tips on how to cup feed

The Australian Breastfeeding Association offers these handy tips for mums who want to try cup feeding their babies.

Basic cup-feeding procedure:

1. Start by setting up the following
   • a small soft-spouted cup or medicine glass
     
   • a bib, to catch any dribbles of milk
     
   • a well-supported chair
     
   • a table.
     
2. Half-fill the cup and place the cup and any extra milk (with which to top up the cup) on the table.
   
3. Place the chair beside the table.
   
4. Make sure your baby is fully awake, calm and alert.
   
5. Put the bib on your baby and sit on the chair, with your baby on your lap.
   
6. Hold your baby in an upright position, with one of your hands supporting her/his shoulders and neck, or support your baby in the crook of your arm.
   
7. Gently wrap your arm around your baby’s middle, to keep her/his hands down and away from the cup.
   
8. Hold the cup so that it just touches your baby’s mouth. It should reach the corners of her/his mouth and rest lightly on her/his bottom lip.
   
9. Start by allowing her/him just a tiny sip, to encourage drinking.
   
10. DO NOT pour the milk into her/his mouth; tip the cup just enough so that she/he can lap up the milk herself/himself, bringing her/his tongue forward to do it.
    
11. Keep the cup in this tilted position.
    
12. DO NOT take the cup away when your baby pauses, unless she/he pulls away.
    
13. Allow her/him to start again when she/he is ready.

Breast. Bottle. Cup. As long as bub is fed, we’re all for it!