OSF HealthCare Newsroom

Lesser known ways to feed your baby

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Xandra Anderson likens infant nutrition to learning baseball.

“You start as a kid. You throw a ball, and it hits the ground immediately. Or you swing the bat and the ball goes nowhere. Or you swing too far, and it hits the back of your leg,” says the international board-certified lactation consultant at OSF HealthCare. “It takes practice. It takes a lot of learning.”

In other words, babies have the reflexes to open their mouths wide and smell and feel for nourishment, but they might not be good at getting the end result. The child can latch to the breast one day and be too tired the next day. That can leave moms frustrated and even embarrassed. They might have waited their whole life to breastfeed, and now it’s not working. Why me?

Never fear, Anderson says. Whether you choose breastfeeding or formula feeding, experts have alternatives to get you through those first few days or weeks if “plan a” is a bumpy road.

Spoon feeding: We hear about toddlers in the high chair getting spoon fed solid food. Here comes the airplane! But can it work with infants? Sort of, Anderson says.

“We can express that milk for mom. A lot of times we use hand expression, which is a very gentle way to do that. We do it right into a little plastic spoon. You hold the spoon up to baby’s mouth. They will stick their tongue out and kind of lap it up like a little puppy,” Anderson explains. “We’re not dumping it in their mouth and expecting them to swallow it. They need it in very small amounts to learn how to breathe while eating.”
Cup feeding: It’s like spoon feeding but with a small medicine cup. Express the breastmilk into the cup, put the cup by the baby’s lower lip and let them lap up the nourishment.
Dropper feeding: Express some breastmilk into a medicine dropper. Gently place the dropper in the corner of the baby’s mouth pointed toward their cheek, and squeeze out a tiny amount.

“They’re getting breastmilk while not having to drink from a bottle. That can, in little bits, give baby the strength they need to latch onto mom’s breast [in the future],” Anderson says.
Supplemental nursing system (SNS): Anderson says there are many reasons to use an SNS. For one, babies who might latch well at the breast lack the energy to actually get milk out by suckling. Birth is tiring, and they are sleepy. With an SNS, the baby still latches onto the breast, but there is a very small tube taped to the breast, aligned with the nipple. This allows the parent to provide milk from a syringe connected to the other end of the tube.

“We can still have mom holding baby and baby latching at the breast. We push milk through the tube very slowly. Baby is still suckling at the breast but getting milk from the tube,” Anderson outlines. “We can supplement without needing a bottle if that’s the parents’ preference.”

Learn more

Anderson says these alternatives are typically seen in the first few days, and mom and baby get the hang of feeding after that. But if problems persist, you can always talk to a lactation consultant. The OSF HealthCare website also has information about having a healthy pregnancy and birth. OSF also offers virtual breastfeeding support.

Photos

Interview clips

New law should ease holiday travel for breastfeeding mothers

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 08:33:00 -0600

Traveling through an airport is stressful for many families, but for breastfeeding mothers, it can be especially overwhelming. A new law aims to change that by improving how the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) handles breast milk, pumping supplies and formula at security checkpoints.

The bipartisan-supported BABES (Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening) Enhancement Act recently signed into law was co-sponsored by Illinois U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.

Becky Miller, RN, CLC, lactation counselor for OSF HealthCare, says legislation has long been needed to help parents move through security more quickly while ensuring breast milk and related supplies are handled safely.

“We can make sure of the safe handling of breast milk and their pumping supplies are happening. We can make sure they can get through safely, quickly and parents don’t have to worry about the stress of traveling and can get to where they want to go to safely.”

Miller says legislative hearings on the legislation featured stories from breastfeeding moms.

“They’ve had to be pulled aside from other people. They put test strips down in their milk and wonder, ‘Has my milk just been contaminated?’ Is it still safe?’ Even formula-fed babies – they do that to the water to make sure there’s nothing in it.” She adds, “So, these things and getting better policies for safe handling is the best part of this legislation.”

Law adds accountability

The legislation also requires TSA to regularly update its screening guidance for breast milk and infant nutrition items, develop that guidance in consultation with maternal health experts, and apply the rules to both TSA officers and private security contractors. It also calls for a federal audit to review compliance and report findings to Congress, creating oversight and accountability if procedures aren’t followed.

Miller points out the new law reflects how attitudes toward breastfeeding have changed in recent years, as it has become more widely accepted and supported in public spaces and with the growth of online communities to support breastfeeding moms. She observes the law helps ensure federal policy finally aligns with society’s values by protecting breastfeeding families in real-world situations such as airport travel.

Avoiding stressful travel is also so important, Miller shares, for postpartum moms who often have mental health struggles.

“They probably have a crying baby in their arm, a 2-year-old maybe next to them who’s not holding still – those are awful experiences for a mom who probably doesn’t ever want to travel again. So hopefully this new legislation will help parents and families be able to go make memories as a family and not have to worry about those stresses that they had before.”

The new law comes at a critical time, with packed terminals and heightened anxiety for new parents this holiday travel season. But Miller suggests that while the legislation is designed to protect and support breastfeeding mothers, there might still be some growing pains as it rolls out nationwide.

“With this being a new legislation, we do worry that not all airports have probably had all of their TSA members gone through education. There still may be some little difficulties or little hiccups here or there but I do hope every family that is traveling this holiday season is able to have a successful and happy trip.”

Here is more information about breastfeeding support available at OSF HealthCare.

Video with Becky Miller

B-roll-Breastfeeding moms at airports

Tongue-tied

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 08:00:00 -0500

New parents have a long list of things to watch to ensure their child is healthy and developing properly. More observations to add to the list: does the child’s tongue look different? Is breastfeeding difficult? If either answer is yes, the culprit may be ankyloglossia, commonly called tongue-tie.

Sarah Shoemaker, APRN, a certified nurse midwife at OSF HealthCare, says kids may not be affected by the condition depending on the severity, but parents should consult with their health care team on a plan sooner than later.

Shoemaker says tongue-tie occurs when the band of tissue between the bottom of the tongue and the bottom of the mouth (called the frenulum) is thicker, shorter, or covers a large portion of the tongue. This restricts the tongue’s movement. One study published by the National Institutes of Health found that tongue-tie impacts around 8% of newborns, and Shoemaker adds that it impacts boys more than girls. Experts, though, don’t know the exact cause. Shoemaker says it may be genetic (in other words, passed down from prior generations).

Signs of tongue-tie:

The child’s tongue doesn’t come out of the mouth like it normally would when they stick their tongue out.
Breastfeeding is painful or difficult. Shoemaker notes, though, that you should rule out other causes of painful breastfeeding, such as ineffective latching or the baby wanting to bite. A lactation consultant can help with this. A pediatric provider can also examine the child’s tongue.
When your baby cries and lifts their tongue, the tip of the tongue is pulled downward in the shape of a heart.

The procedure to fix tongue-tie is pretty simple, Shoemaker says. There’s little blood loss, and it can be done in the hospital, at a pediatrician’s office or at a pediatric dentist’s office.

“They just lift the baby’s tongue and, with sterile scissors, snip [the tissue]. Then, immediately breastfeed [or formula feed if that’s what mom has chosen] because the tongue is free at that point,” Shoemaker explains. “Some providers will teach exercises to do with the baby so [the tissue] doesn’t heal back and have to be snipped again later.” Those exercises involve a parent lifting the tongue.

Some cases of tongue-tie may be mild enough that parents opt to do nothing. In some cases, the frenulum will loosen over time. That approach is fine, Shoemaker says. But the decision should be made with the input of the child’s care team, and it should be made sooner than later. That’s because tongue-tie later in life can cause speech and eating issues, Shoemaker says, and she says the procedure to fix the problem can be more complex when the child is older.

“When done in the newborn period, it’s a very simple procedure done while the baby is awake. If parents choose to wait and see how things go, it might have to be a procedure where the baby or child is put to sleep. So it’s a little bit more involved,” Shoemaker says.

Learn more

Read more about how to have a successful pregnancy, birth and first years of your child’s life on the OSF HealthCare website.

Interview clips

Peeling back the layers

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 08:00:00 -0600

Xandra Anderson, a certified lactation consultant at OSF HealthCare, hears the question from moms-to-be all the time: Is [insert food here] OK for me and my baby?

On today’s menu: Onions. Can they be a welcome addition to a baby’s diet? Yes, Anderson says, if you know how to introduce the food properly.

“Have you ever tasted baby food? It’s not great!” Anderson says with a chuckle, reiterating the importance of safely branching out with a child’s diet. “So, I encourage families to give their babies flavor. Watch levels of salt and sugar, but there’s nothing wrong with food that tastes good.”

For mom

Anderson says it’s no problem for pregnant women to have onions in their diet.

“They are very rich in antioxidants. That’s something we don’t get a lot of. They’re really high in vitamin C,” Anderson says. “They have fiber, magnesium and potassium. Fiber and magnesium help with digestion, and magnesium helps with cramps. Potassium is really good for blood circulation and blood pressure.”

But, there are the usual precautions. When adding raw onions to a meal (a salad, for example), wash them to remove any bacteria. And don’t overindulge. For example, don’t have a greasy, processed cheeseburger as an excuse to get your daily onion intake.

“Onions are a high FODMAP food, which means there are carbohydrates that are harder for some people to digest,” Anderson adds, noting that a woman’s digestive system changes a lot when carrying a baby. “So if you have a sensitive digestive system, onions could cause bloating. If you have irritable bowel syndrome, onions can make that flare up. Cooking onions helps break down some of those carbohydrates and aids digestion.”

For baby

Infants should consume breastmilk or formula exclusively for at least the first six months, Anderson reminds. But after that, introducing onions is like introducing any other food: Slow and steady wins the race.

One option: Sauté some onions to soften them, cut the food into small pieces to prevent choking then work the onions into the store-bought baby food.

“Make it easy for baby to chew. They’ve never had to do that before,” Anderson points out. “It’s good to let them learn how to chew, but we need to make sure the foods are easy to chew.

“Onions help develop a baby’s palette,” Anderson adds of the benefits of the vegetable. “Experts are finding that introducing strong flavors like that can prevent picky eating in the future.”

Precautions and warning signs to know: If the baby is extra fussy or gassy or has an allergic reaction like a rash or diarrhea, take the onions out of the diet and see if that improves things. See a health care provider if symptoms don’t improve.

Myth vs. fact

Do a web search for “babies and onions,” and you’ll find a lot of claims.

Can onions help with colic, a condition where a healthy baby cries for a long time? Not so fast, Anderson says. In fact, onion-induced gassiness could make the baby even more fussy.
Some say putting an onion in my baby’s crib or sock or giving them onion water can help with baby’s health.

“It’s supposed to draw out toxins,” Anderson says, repeating what she calls an “old wives’ tale.”

But, Anderson says science doesn’t back the claims up. In fact, onions can irritate a child’s skin and eyes.
Can eating onions help with teething, when the baby’s teeth emerge? There’s actually some truth to this one, Anderson says. To try it, skip other types and focus on green onions. Let the food cool in the refrigerator before giving it to the little one.

“It’s teaching them to bring things to their mouth and chew. It’s a food that’s cool and not super hard. As they chew, it will break down. But it’s not going to disintegrate in the mouth,” Anderson says.

All this can help with pain and inflammation, Anderson says. Just watch your youngster at all times while chewing.

Learn more

Read more about how to have a successful pregnancy and birth on the OSF HealthCare website. The health system or social service agency near you may also offer classes to master baby feeding.