You're mid feed, everything seems fine, and then you hear it. A soft clicking sound, a splutter, or your baby suddenly arches back and pushes the bottle away. It happens fast enough that you're left wondering what just went wrong, and whether you should be worried.
This is one of the most common things parents ask us about, usually somewhere between the second week and the second month, once the newness of feeding has worn off and these small sounds start to stand out. The good news is that most of them have a straightforward explanation, and very few point to anything serious.
Feeding noises and behaviours like these almost always come back to three things, how well your baby's mouth is sealing around the teat, how the teat is responding to their sucking, and how much air is getting swallowed along the way. Once you know what to listen and look for, a lot of the mystery disappears.
This article walks through what clicking, coughing, and pulling off the bottle usually mean, when they're simply part of normal feeding, and how bottle design, particularly the oral seal and flow, can genuinely reduce how often they happen.
The Three Feeding Behaviours Parents Ask About Most
Before troubleshooting, it helps to know what you're actually hearing or seeing. Each of these behaviours tends to point in a slightly different direction.
Clicking
A clicking or popping sound during a feed usually means your baby is briefly losing suction, the seal between their mouth and the teat is breaking and reforming as they suck. Occasional clicking, especially during a sleepy or rushed feed, is common and not something to worry about. Frequent clicking throughout a feed is more often a sign that the latch isn't quite settled.
Coughing or spluttering
This is almost always related to flow. If milk is arriving faster than your baby can comfortably swallow, they may cough, splutter, or gulp audibly. Raising Children Network notes that a bit of leakage at the corners of the mouth during a feed doesn't necessarily mean the flow is too fast, but ongoing coughing or spluttering is a different signal worth paying attention to, and trying a slower teat is a reasonable first step.[1]
Pulling off mid feed
A baby who repeatedly pulls away from the bottle might be taking a natural pause, showing early fullness cues, or responding to discomfort, whether that's a flow that's too fast, trapped wind, or a teat shape that isn't sitting comfortably in their mouth. Context matters here more than the behaviour on its own.
What's Actually Happening: Seal, Response, and Air Intake
Once you look past the noise or the behaviour itself, there are really only three mechanics at play during a bottle feed, and most feeding struggles trace back to one of them.
Oral seal
A good seal means your baby's lips are closed firmly around the base of the teat, with no gaps for air to sneak in or milk to leak out. A wide, breast shaped teat like the SofTouch teats is designed to encourage this kind of full lip contact, since it mimics the shape babies naturally latch onto during breastfeeding.
Teat response
This is about how the teat behaves under your baby's specific sucking strength. A teat that's too firm or too fast for a smaller, newer sucker forces them to work against a flow they can't quite manage, while a teat that's too slow for an older, stronger baby means they're working harder than they need to. Our Choosing the Right Teat Flow guide is worth a read if you suspect this is the issue.
Air intake
Every baby swallows some air during a feed, this is completely normal. The amount matters though, and it's influenced by both the seal and how the bottle itself manages air pressure as milk flows out. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby, part of Australia's Healthdirect network, notes that holding your baby on a slight incline so any air bubbles rise to the top, tightening the bottle's lid slightly to slow the flow, and giving more frequent pauses during a feed can all help reduce how much wind builds up.[2]
When It's Normal, and When to Get Support
Occasional clicking, the odd splutter, or a baby who takes a short break mid feed are all part of typical feeding, especially in the first few weeks while your baby is still building coordination between sucking, swallowing, and breathing.
It's worth paying closer attention if these behaviours are frequent, if your baby seems distressed rather than simply pausing, or if feeds are consistently taking much longer than they used to. Our Why Some Newborns Struggle With Bottles article goes through the more persistent version of these issues in detail.
If a poor seal seems to be the main pattern, particularly milk leaking heavily from the mouth, a very long feed time, or ongoing difficulty latching, it's worth mentioning to your child and family health nurse or GP. The Australian Breastfeeding Association points out that not every baby with a visible tongue tie has trouble feeding, and getting support to check positioning and latch is usually a sensible first step before assuming something more significant is going on.[3]
How Bottle Design Can Reduce These Behaviours
Bottle and teat design genuinely make a difference here, not by eliminating every click or cough, but by giving your baby's mouth and airway less to work against. A teat shaped to encourage a full lip seal reduces the gaps that cause clicking. A flow that matches your baby's sucking strength reduces the coughing and gulping that come from milk arriving too fast. And a system that manages air pressure inside the bottle reduces how much air gets pulled in alongside the milk.
This is the thinking behind Pigeon's SofTouch wide neck bottles and Flexible slim neck bottles. Both ranges are built around the same research into natural sucking mechanics, just in different bottle shapes to suit different preferences and hand sizes. Our How Air-Vented Bottles Can Help a Fussy Feeder guide explains the mechanics of air venting in more depth if you'd like to understand exactly how it works.
How SofTouch™ and Flexible™ Bottles Support Seal and Flow
The SofTouch™ BPP Bottle uses a wide, textured teat shaped to encourage a full, secure latch, paired with an Air Ventilation System that regulates air pressure inside the bottle as your baby feeds. Rather than air being pulled in through the teat alongside the milk, the system lets it enter through a separate valve, which helps keep the flow steady and reduces the amount of air your baby ends up swallowing.
If a slimmer bottle suits your baby better, the Flexible™ Newborn Bottle uses the same principle in a traditional slim neck shape, with a double thickness silicone teat designed for a comfortable, elastic latch and its own built in venting system. Both ranges come in a full spread of flow sizes, so as your baby's sucking strength develops, you can move up gradually rather than guessing.
What Parents Are Saying
Fantastic product
"After testing several different bottle brands, the Pigeon SofTouch BPP bottles have been a standout. They’ve made feeding so much easier for our daughter, with a teat that seems to support a more natural latch and flow. We’ve noticed less fussing and a more relaxed feeding experience overall. Great quality, easy to use, and now our go-to choice, we wouldn’t switch to anything else."
- Mick89, Pigeon SofTouch BPP Bottle PP 240ml Twin Colour Cap
Most of what you're hearing and seeing during a feed is your baby learning a genuinely complicated skill in real time, coordinating sucking, swallowing, and breathing all at once. A click here, a splutter there, a pause mid feed, these are usually signs of a baby figuring things out, not signs that something is wrong.
If you're ever unsure whether what you're noticing is typical, trust that instinct to check in with a health professional rather than sitting with the worry. In the meantime, paying attention to seal, flow, and air intake gives you a genuinely useful place to start if feeds feel harder than they should.
Related Reading
- How Air-Vented Bottles Can Help a Fussy Feeder
- Anti-Colic vs Regular Bottles: What's the Difference?
- Why Some Newborns Struggle With Bottles (Even the "Good" Ones)
- Paced Bottle Feeding: What It Is and Why It Matters
- Practical Strategies for Soothing a Colicky Baby
FAQs About Clicking, Coughing, and Pulling Off the Bottle
Why does my baby make a clicking sound while bottle feeding?
Clicking usually means your baby is briefly losing suction around the teat, which breaks and reforms the seal as they feed. Occasional clicking is normal, especially during sleepy feeds, while frequent clicking throughout a feed can point to a latch that isn't fully settled. A wide, breast shaped teat like the SofTouch teats is designed to support a fuller seal.
Is it normal for my baby to cough or splutter during a feed?
Occasional coughing can happen, but frequent spluttering usually means the flow is faster than your baby can comfortably manage. Trying a slower flow teat is a reasonable first step. Our Choosing the Right Teat Flow guide can help you work out the right size for your baby's current stage.
Why does my baby keep pulling off the bottle?
This can mean a few things, a natural pause, an early fullness cue, or discomfort from flow, trapped wind, or teat shape. Watching for patterns, does it happen early or late in the feed, alongside fussing or after certain foods, can help you narrow down the cause.
Can bottle design actually reduce colic and gas?
Yes, to an extent. Bottles with an air venting system, like the SofTouch™ BPP Bottle, are designed to manage air pressure inside the bottle so less air gets pulled in alongside the milk. This won't eliminate wind altogether, since babies swallow some air no matter what, but it can genuinely reduce how much builds up.
What's the difference between SofTouch and Flexible bottles for reducing these behaviours?
Both ranges are built on the same research into natural sucking motion and include their own air venting systems, just in different bottle shapes. The SofTouch wide neck collection suits babies who respond well to a breast shaped teat, while the Flexible™ Newborn Bottle offers a slimmer, traditional shape that some families and babies find easier to manage.
When should I get feeding difficulties checked by a professional?
If clicking, coughing, or pulling off the bottle is frequent, your baby seems distressed rather than simply pausing, or feeds are taking much longer than they used to, it's worth mentioning to your child and family health nurse or GP. Our Why Some Newborns Struggle With Bottles article covers the more persistent versions of these issues in more depth.
