Our Real-Life Bottle-Feeding Breastmilk Routine for a Newborn
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The Backstory
We never expected to need an exclusive pumping feeding schedule. We really wanted breastfeeding to work. Life had other plans.
I’ll go into full detail in a future post, but here’s the short version. We thought we were doing everything right, but our baby wasn’t actually getting the nutrition we assumed he was at the breast. At just six days old, he ended up severely dehydrated.
What started as a trip to the ER turned into two nights in the PICU, followed by twelve more nights in the hospital.
IVs. NG Tubes. It’s true what they say. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
Now that we’re home and he’s doing better, we’ve settled into a routine of pumping and bottle-feeding breastmilk. This post shares exactly how we feed our newborn every day, including gear recommendations, time-saving tips, and how we split the routine between both parents.
Our Newborn Feeding Schedule (1, 4, 7, and 10)
Our baby eats at 1, 4, 7, and 10, both AM and PM. This gives us eight feeds every 24 hours. The spacing works well for our current season and (mostly) gives us enough time to prep, clean, and (almost) recover between sessions.
If we are out during one of these time slots, we bring refrigerated bottles and just use warm tap water to heat the bottle as needed. We tried a portable warmer, but it just kind of sucked. But when we’re home, this newborn feeding schedule is what keeps us steady.
Step-by-Step Bottle Prep Routine
About 10 minutes before each feeding, I pull a bottle from the fridge. We keep bottles arranged in first-in, first-out order so we always use the oldest breastmilk first.
I place the bottle in our bottle warmer. While it warms, I check our freezer stash. If we need to thaw more frozen breastmilk, I move a bag to the fridge. I also make additional bottles using thawed milk if we have enough for a full 115 mL.
Once the bottle is warm, I dry it, remove the storage lid, and add the anti-colic insert and nipple. We use Dr. Brown’s 120 mL glass bottles with Preemie Flow nipples. We tried the next flow up, but our little one is not quite ready.
During our hospital stay, the speech-language pathologist tested several bottle and nipple combinations. Dr. Brown’s Preemie Flow was the one that worked best for our baby’s suck-swallow coordination.
We opted to invest in the glass bottles because we are heating the bottles themselves, and we feel better about glass than plastic for direct heating.
I test the milk temperature on my wrist. If it feels right, I set the bottle and a burp cloth next to the recliner where I’ll feed him.
Getting Baby Ready to Bottle Feed
Before each feed, and after the bottle is ready, I grab our baby from wherever he is resting and take him to the nursery for a fresh diaper. Even if he’s clean and dry, I strip him down to just a diaper. Clothes make him too cozy, and he tends to fall asleep mid-feed.
Once a day, usually either at the 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. feeding, we also offer him 30 minutes at the breast. Right now, it is more for comfort and skin-to-skin bonding than actual milk intake. We call it “practice.” At this stage, the boobs are pillows, not food sources.
We used to weigh him before and after using our Ellie Baby Scale to check milk transfer, but the lack of change became too discouraging. Now, we simply follow up each session with a full bottle and trust that he is getting what he needs. We do weigh him once daily just to verify that he is gaining weight.
How We Bottle Feed a Newborn
He typically takes 25 minutes to finish his bottle. That includes three or four burp breaks.
We use the side-lying, paced bottle feeding method, which was taught to us by the speech-language pathologist at the hospital. In this position, our baby lies on his side in my lap, his legs at my stomach and head near my knees. We hold the bottle horizontally (parallel to the floor) so that milk flows slowly. This technique mimics the rhythm of breastfeeding and gives him more control over the pace of the feed. It helps prevent gulping, reduces the risk of overfeeding or choking, and supports better coordination of sucking, swallowing, and breathing.
We’ve learned he prefers to be burped sitting upright on my lap. I cradle his jaw with one hand and pat his back with the other. Every 30 seconds or so, I switch from patting to gentle massage. That usually gets a good burp.
After the bottle, I hold him upright against my chest to help his stomach settle. He usually drifts off there. Once I’m confident he is finished refilling his diaper, I take him back to the nursery, clean him up, and get him clothed and swaddled.
Our Breastmilk Pumping Setup
While I handle the bottle, Mommy is pumping.
She uses the Spectra S1 pump with a Momcozy hands-free pumping bra. She rotates between standard Spectra flanges and Pumpin Pal silicone flanges. Standard flanges are for regular pumping. The Pumpin Pals are what she uses for power pumping sessions.
Each session takes about 20 minutes. Once she is done, she handles milk storage. If we already have eight bottles thawed in the fridge (enough for one full day), she freezes any new milk in our Lansinoh breastmilk storage tower. If not, the milk bag goes into the back of our fridge milk drawer to be used within 24–48 hours.
Why We Use Graduated Cylinders to Measure Breastmilk
One of the best newborn feeding hacks we discovered is this: the lines on milk bags and bottles are rarely accurate.
So we bought a set of graduated cylinders. They help us:
- Accurately measure each pumping session
- Combine milk bags with confidence
- Ensure bottles are filled to exactly 115 mL
We bought the five-pack. And yes, I already broke one during a late-night wash session. Worth every penny.
Cleaning and Sterilizing Breastmilk Gear
After each feeding, we rinse pump parts and store them in a sealed fridge bag (like a Ziploc freezer bag). This saves time by avoiding full washing after every use.
Once per day, I do a full cleaning. That includes bottles, nipples, pacifiers, pump parts; anything that touches breastmilk or baby’s mouth. I wash everything thoroughly and run a full cycle in our Dr. Brown’s sterilizer.
This is a key part of our newborn routine, especially when using reusable bottles and pump components.
How Long Our Exclusive Pumping Feeding Schedule Routine Takes
The full feeding cycle takes 40 to 50 minutes, even when everything goes smoothly. Since it repeats every three hours, that means we are getting at most two hours of sleep at a time.
It is relentless, but it is necessary.
What We’ve Learned About Feeding a Newborn
Feeding a baby with pumped breastmilk is a full system.
There is prep, warming, measuring, diapering, feeding, burping, cleaning, tracking, storing, sterilizing, and more. It is easy to underestimate how much time and effort this takes until you are in it.
We have learned that working together is essential. Some days it feels like everything is under control. Other days we are just trying to make it to the next feeding window. But either way, we are doing it.
This is a season, and like all seasons, it will pass. Right now, we are doing the best we can. And our baby is growing and thriving.
That is enough.
If you are a new parent trying to figure out bottle-feeding, or if you are a mom looking for something real and practical to share with your partner, I hope this gave you a clear picture of how one family is making it work.
Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase something through one, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Every product mentioned is something we genuinely use.
