Overview
Feeding time with your baby should be a relaxed, comforting and enjoyable experience for both of you. Having the right baby bottle can guarantee this. There are many shapes, sizes and colors of baby bottles. Bottles aid in feeding your infant breast milk, formula or water.
What to Look for
What to Look For
Baby bottles come in four- and eight-ounce sizes. The four-ounce size is good for the first few months, but as your baby grows so will her appetite.
If you are nursing your infant, selecting the nipple size will be more important than if you are formula feeding. The right nipple and its flow is important when first starting to bottle feed. Silicone nipples are more durable than rubber ones. Look at the shape of the nipple and the hole size. It should be comparable to a mother's breast. Too large a hole will make liquid flow too quickly, which could potentially choke your baby. For a newborn, a small nipple with a slow flow is ideal. By the time your baby is two or three months he could be demanding a faster-flowing nipple with a larger hole. Check the label, since many manufacturers are producing bottles according to the criteria of slow flow, moderate flow or fast flow. However, flow criteria among different brands will vary.
Many bottles are now equipped with an anti-vacuum system. These bottles help eliminate the amount of air flowing into baby's tummy. Keeping air out of your baby's tummy will prevent gas bloating and crying after feedings.
Wide-mouthed bottles are a good idea for easier cleaning.
Disposable bottle liners are another option for bottle feeding. A plastic liner is dropped into a plastic cylinder and screwed on with a ring to secure the liner and the nipple.
Common Pitfalls
Common Pitfalls
Disposable bottles are convenient but require the continued purchase and throwing away of plastic liners and thus are not eco-friendly.
It may take experimenting with several nipple sizes before your little one finds just the right fit. So start out buying one or two of the same nipple until you find the right size.
Glass bottles are making a resurgence with continued reports of harmful chemicals in plastic. However, glass bottles can break, cutting baby or caretaker.
