Baby Bottles

If you have a baby on the way, you’ll need to purchase baby bottles. Even if you plan to breastfeed, you’ll need a few bottles on hand for feeding baby pumped breast milk.

However, if you’re bottle feeding baby, you’ll need lots of bottles, and you’ll have a few decisions to make. You see, there are nearly as many different types of baby bottles as there are babies! You can choose from glass bottles, plastic bottles, bottles with disposable liners and even disposable bottles.

Glass bottles are very sanitary, because it’s easy to get glass completely clean and sterile. However, they’re breakable, which can make them less safe than using plastic.

Plastic bottles are light and convenient, but there may be special restrictions regarding cleaning them, sterilizing them and warming them. In addition, glass bottles don’t come clean as easily as glass, so they’ll take a bit more elbow grease when cleaning.

You can also find bottles with disposable plastic liners. These are very convenient, because there’s very little bottle washing required. The milk goes into the disposable plastic liner placed in a shell of a bottle. When the baby’s finished, simply dispose of the liner. The only part that needs thorough cleaning is the nipple. In the long run, these bottles will cost more to use than traditional bottles, because you have the ongoing cost of buying plastic liners.

For travel, you’ll also find disposable bottles very convenient. Some even come pre-filled with formula, so you just open, feed and then throw the entire container away.

When your baby is very young, keeping excess air out of the bottle is very important. Air in the bottle gets into baby’s tummy causing upset stomach and gas. Baby bottles with disposable liners make eliminating air easy. Simply squeeze the liner so that air escapes from the nipple. When all the air is gone, the milk will start to leak from the nipple, and you’re ready to feed. In addition, there are a few glass bottles with vents that help direct the air to the bottom of the bottle, preventing it from going into baby’s mouth.

Choosing bottles is just one of the many decisions you’ll make about feeding baby. You’ll be using those bottles for quite a while, so it’s important to choose a bottle that’s convenient, easy to clean and one that works well with your lifestyle.