Ultimately your baby will decide which bottle you lot utilize. The first test is to see which nipple he'll take near easily. One time you determine that, you lot can select the bottles and bottle accessories you lot need.

While shopping, go along in heed that you don't need to spend a fortune to safely bottle-feed  your infant. The cost of these supplies adds up quickly, so keep information technology simple and buy just a few basic items at outset. Carefully cleaning bottles and nipples and using formula safely are the all-time things you can do to ensure hygienic formula feeding.

Choosing the right nipples

Cloth: You lot can choose silicone or latex nipples. Silicone nipples are firmer and hold their shape longer. Latex nipples are softer and more than flexible merely don't terminal as long. In extremely rare cases, babies can exist allergic to latex.

Shape: Yous have a choice in nipple shape – traditional, orthodontic, flat-topped, or ones with grooves and a shape that mimics a natural nipple. Orthodontic nipples are designed to accommodate your child's palate and gums, and this type has a flat bulb on the side that touches your child's tongue. Flat-topped nipples have a more realistic shape.

Historic period range, size, and flow: Nipples are available in a range of sizes and flow speeds for babies at all stages of infancy.

cartoon image of baby bottle and question marks

If you're bottle-feeding a newborn, buy the smallest size in a variety of types, and let your baby make up one's mind which nipple he prefers.

Special nipples are available for premature infants or babies with oral or facial problems that affect their power to suck. These specialty nipples can help control or measure the rate of flow.

Sentinel to brand sure your baby isn't having a difficult time getting milk or isn't getting so much that he's choking or spitting upwardly. Don't alter a small nipple to increment its flow and, of course, talk over any feeding concerns with your baby'southward doctor.

If y'all're weaning and switching to bottles, exist certain to buy the right nipple for your child's age.

When to replace nipples: Formula or breast milk should drip steadily out of the nipple. If it pours out in a stream, the pigsty is too big and the nipple should exist replaced. Quickly check nipples before each utilize for signs of habiliment, such as discoloration or thinning, and replace worn ones, which could break and become a choking hazard.

Bottom line: It may be a meliorate value to purchase nipples forth with bottles in starter sets, simply buy a variety of nipples at first because y'all can't know beforehand which type or size your child will prefer. Once you know your kid's favorite, you lot can buy more to keep on paw for replacing every bit needed. Nipples toll about $2 to $4 each, though specialty nipples can run closer to $20.

Choosing the right bottles

Twenty years ago, there was only one blazon of bottle. Now there are right-angled bottles that let less air into the nipple, streamlined bottles your baby can agree, and a diverseness of disposable bottles.

Material: You lot can choose between plastic, glass, stainless steel, or a hybrid style that features a glass bottle within a plastic or silicone sleeve.

Plastic bottles are unbreakable merely do deteriorate, and then you demand to replace them regularly. Glass bottles never need to be replaced as long as they don't break, fleck, or cleft. Merely they're heavier and may be harder for your baby to agree (once she's ready to agree her own canteen). Also, glass bottles could be dangerous if dropped or cleaved.

The outer plastic or silicone sleeve of hybrid glass bottles may offering some protection against broken glass, but they price more. Stainless steel bottles don't contain whatever plastic and are lighter than drinking glass bottles.

Age range and size: For newborns, buy five or half dozen 4-ounce bottles to start. Switch to 8- or ix-ounce bottles at almost 4 months (merely salvage the smaller ones to take on hand as backups).

The concern with plastic baby bottles: For decades, baby bottles were fabricated from polycarbonate plastic, and tests indicated that a harmful chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) leaches from this blazon of plastic into baby formula. Bear witness that BPA may be harmful if consumed led consumer and environmental groups to pressure manufacturers and the U.Southward. government to take steps to protect consumers.

Today, American manufacturers of baby bottles no longer employ BPA in their products. States take passed laws against the employ of BPA in plastic bottles and sippy cups, and in 2012 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the chemical in the production of baby bottles and sippy cups. Notwithstanding, consumer and environmental advocates warn that plastic bottles are made with dozens of other potentially harmful chemical compounds and recommend that parents take certain preventive measures to protect their baby.

Consider these precautions:

  • Employ glass, hybrid glass, or stainless steel bottles.
  • The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that parents avoid using plastics with recycling codes 3 (phthalates), 6 (styrene), and 7 (bisphenols) unless they are labeled as "biobased" or "greenware."
  • Do not put plastic bottles of any type in boiling water, the dishwasher, microwave, or any device that uses heat because high temperatures can release chemicals from the plastic. For safe cleaning, utilize a bottle brush or nonabrasive sponge, scrub with warm, soapy h2o, and rinse well. Or use bottles made of glass or stainless steel, which are safe to put in the dishwasher.
  • Don't store formula in plastic bottles. Pour formula into the bottle but before your kid drinks it, and discard any left over.
  • Don't overheat plastic bottles with formula in them. To warm formula, put the bottle in a bowl of warm h2o, or run information technology nether warm water.
  • Discard scratched or worn plastic bottles, which may release small amounts of chemicals.

Bottom line: Bottles range from about $one to $20 each, with stainless steel and hybrid versions at the college end. More expensive bottles may exist angled or include special vacuum valves so your infant swallows less air. Bottle systems that use disposable liners typically cost between $x and $20, with replacement liners costing between $7 to $10 for a pack of 100.

Choosing canteen accessories

Modern accessories brand information technology easier to accept care of your baby'due south bottle-feeding supplies. At a minimum, you'll probably want a bottle drying rack and a couple of good brushes for cleaning bottles and nipples.

Although the AAP is no longer as concerned about sterilizing bottles as in the past, it really depends on your situation. Your child's doctor may recommend sterilization, for instance, because of an unsafe h2o supply. Enquire her if she suggests boiling bottles and nipples or using a sterilization organization.

Insulated conveying numberless keep bottles at the right temperature whether you lot're on the road or merely heading to the park. You lot can even go all out and detect appliances that will mix and estrus the formula and pour information technology neatly into a bottle with the impact of a button (though they're pricey).

Bottom line: Nigh accessories cost less than $20 (though some of the fancier canteen warmers or sterilizers can toll up to three times that) and tin arrive more convenient to store, warm, sterilize, and tote bottles.

Learn more than:

  • Guide to firsts: Giving your infant a bottle
  • Canteen-feeding nuts
  • How to buy bottles and nipples