Is your baby more interested in chewing on their bottle than actually drinking from it? Here are a few reasons this could be happening. Keep those lips sealed A good latch (grip) on the nipple is important for many reasons, from developing the right facial muscles to reduced leakage and more efficient feeding. A good seal also prevents your little one from swallowing too much air, which can help reduce spit up and painful wind. If your little one keeps disengaging, chomping on the bottle nipple, or a lot of milk is escaping out of the corner of their mouth, it could be due to an incorrect or weak latch. Explore the topic more by reading our article ‘Bottle latch. How do I check if my baby is feeding correctly’. Go with the flow Younger infants, or less experienced drinkers, could be chewing or chomping on the bottle to avoid being flooded with milk. If your little one is breathless, or taking long pauses between periods of active drinking, it’s quite possible that the flow rate on your bottle nipple is too high. By reducing the flow rate, you will allow them to better pace their feed, which will hopefully result in less chewing, more drinking! On the other hand, if your baby looks unimpressed or tired, and keeps disengaging from the nipple, your flow rate may be too low. If they have to work too hard to extract the milk they will lose interest – and play with the nipple instead of feeding from it. Increase the flow rate a little and you should whet their appetite again. Curious baby If you are transitioning to combination or bottle feeding, your breastfed babe might need some time to adjust. Remember, you’ve just introduced a curious and foreign object into your little one’s feeding routine, no matter how fancy the bottle technology is, a silicone/rubber nipple is not the same as a breast. It’s ok, chewing or chomping doesn’t necessarily mean long-term rejection. With a little perseverance most little ones will adapt quite quickly. But if your baby is consistently refusing the bottle, and as a result not drinking enough, you might want to talk to a lactation consultant or your doctor. Terrible teething If you have a unhappy baby on your hands, the smooth, firm texture of their bottle nipple may provide some temporary but much needed relief from teething. While cutting teeth can be a painful experience, it’s part of growing up. As long as your little one is drinking enough, you just have to ride it out. They should stop chewing on their bottle once that pearly white makes an appearance. None of the above? If you have ruled out all the above reasons, and you're still concerned your baby is doing more chomping than drinking, then to be on the safe side it might be worth consulting your pediatrician.