Unfortunately, the season is here. 🤧 One thing that is often troubling for parents is navigating feeding during respiratory illnesses. Your baby cannot feed well if they cannot breathe well. That’s just a fact. When we talk about drinking from a bottle or the breast, we often talk about the suck-swallow-breathe sequence. If/when a baby is sick and their breathing is impacted through congestion, that sequence is interrupted. But! There are things we can do to help your baby feed as well as they can while sick! ✨Prep for feeding: get your baby upright, suction their nose if needed, and maybe give some gentle pats on the back to help clear out any mucus build up. ✨Feed in Upright: the majority of the time, this is going to be the best position for breathing. ✨Slow the Flow: slowing down the flow gives your baby more time to sequence their breath while feeding. If bottle feeding, drop down a flow rate or pace feed. If breastfeeding, recline your body to help slow things down naturally. ✨Pace: watch your baby while feeding. If they pause, tip the bottle down to give them a break or unlatch them for a moment. ✨Lower Expectations: just like you or I when we’re sick, baby may not eat as much as usual. In fact, they may prefer smaller, but more frequent meals. ✨Follow your baby’s cues: If your baby is not interested in feeding, try not to push them to feed. This could over time create a negative association with feeding. I hope all your babies are staying well 🤍 #rsvawareness #respiratoryseason #sickbaby #babyfeeding #infantfeeding #newmom #breastfeeding #bottlefeeding #feedingdifficulties