Are you searching for the best bottles for your babies? Well, it’s a complicated task as tons of options are available.
If you’re feeding your baby formula, you need bottles. Are you deciding to work within the first year of age of your baby? You need bottles to enable the guardian to feed your baby.
Moreover, breastfeeding is painful and tiring. So, you can let other family members spend some time and feed your baby through a baby bottle, and you can relax.
But you don’t know what size, texture, and shape you should use because different babies have different choices. You can consult with experienced parents but can’t say which is the best for you until you use them.
At this stage, the endless questions related to baby bottles are in your mind, and we have their answers. So, continue reading to learn them:
Table of Contents
How to choose the right bottle for my baby?
The parents waste a lot of time on how to choose the right bottle for the baby. There are a lot of options available. In this section, you will get to know the characteristics of different baby bottles. You can compare them and choose the best for your baby.
As depicted from the name of Angle-neck bottles, they have narrow necks making them easier to feed. The angled neck prevents the air from filling in the nipples and is best for the gassy baby. On the other hand, this feature makes these bottles hard to clean.
Wide-neck bottles
Wide-neck bottles have a wide opening making them easy to clean. These are short and squat and perfect for babies who often shift from breast to bottle.
Vented bottles
A built-in tube is present in the vented bottles and prevents air trapping in the nipple or the bottle. It is meant to reduce gas but is hard to clean because of the extra parts.
Disposable liner bottles
The disposable liner bottles are plastic and have a hard shell. When the baby sucks the bottle, it collapses, leading to reduce gassiness. These are easy to clean but not eco-friendly.
Are glass bottles better for the baby?
Baby bottles are available in different materials (glass, plastic). But are glass bottles better for the baby? I am going to mentions the pros and cons of both types of bottles. Read and decide which is better on your own:
Glass baby bottles
Pros:
- These are chemical-free. So you don’t have to worry about the leaching of harmful chemicals into your babies’ milk.
- Easier to clean without developing scratches.
- You can thoroughly sanitize the glass baby bottles at high temperatures with no fear of melting.
- Glass bottles don’t add any flavor and maintain the purity of milk.
Cons:
- More expensive than plastic bottles
- Glass bottles are heavier, making them difficult for babies to hold.
Plastic Baby bottles
Pros:
- Plastic baby bottles are readily available at your local store
- Cheaper material
- Light-weight and holding them is easy for your baby
- Easy to measure the amount of milk your baby is drinking because of transparent material
Cons:
- The cheapest ones are made of unsafe chemicals.
- Can develop scratches in which bacteria flourish
- Can’t be perfectly sanitized as the heat may melt it, leading to leaching.
Which bottle brand is best for the baby?
You must be wondering which bottle brand is best for the baby, here are few which you can consider:
Dr, Brown’s Natural Flow Bottles
Dr, Brown’s Natural Flow Bottles have patent vented systems that avoid air bubbles and reduce gas. These are available in plastic (2 oz, 4 oz, 8oz) and glass (5oz, 9 oz) materials but are challenging to clean because of extra parts to wash.
Comotomo Baby Bottle
The wide neck of the Comotomo Baby Bottle makes it easy to wash. It is a squeezable bottle designed to reduce breastfeeding. These are soft and flexible bottles, but the measurements are hard to read. These are available in 5 oz and 8 oz sizes.
Avent Natural Baby Bottle
The flexible design of the Avent Natural Baby Bottle makes it easy for your baby to switch from breast to bottle. It has an anti-colic system, a wide neck, and few parts to wash. It is available in plastic with 2 oz, 4 oz, 9 oz, and 11 oz sizes.
Medela Breast Milk Storage Bottles
If you want to store your breast milk, then Medela Breast Milk Storage Bottles are a perfect choice. You can directly pump your milk into them and feed your baby by screwing the nipple. No vented system is present, so easy to clean and best for babies with no gas issues. These plastic bottles are available in 5 oz and 8 oz sizes.
Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature bottles
If you are looking for slow-flow bottles for your newborn, then Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature bottles are best. These plastic bottles (5 oz, 9 oz) have a curvy shape making them easy to grip.
Munchkin Latch baby bottles
Munchkin Latch baby bottles (4 oz, 8 oz) are made of BPA-free plastic. Just like breastfeeding, your baby can control the liquid flow. The nipples of these plastic bottles are designed to promote strong latch and reduce gas.
How many bottles does a newborn need?
You can start feeding your baby with a bottle from the beginning. But you must be thinking about how many bottles your newborn need.
The answer is 6-12 bottles should be ready if your baby is solely on bottle feeding. This is a pro tip for you if your baby is impatient and doesn’t like to wait. And in this way, you won’t have to clean the bottle every time before giving it to the baby.
But you are breastfeeding and occasionally use baby bottles; 3-4 bottles are enough to have prepared.
What size baby bottle do I need?
In the early days, you may think of what size baby bottle do I need, the smaller size of the bottle is better. The newborns can drink 2-4 ounces at a time in a single feeding. So smaller bottles with the controlled flow (slow-flow nipples for stage 1) are the best choice.
But as the babies grow, they qualify to 8 ounces or even larger bottles with faster-flow nipples for stage 2. For six months’ babies, stage 2 nipples are fine.
Take into consideration, if the baby is facing difficulty to pull, they need stage 3 nipples with bigger bottles.
Conclusion
Choosing the best bottles for babies is a challenging task. The babies are very demanding, I recommend you to buy just 1-2 bottles, and the baby will pick the right. You can look into the pros and cons of baby bottles and decide what’s the best option.