Bottle Feeding Accessories

Let's face it: Half of the bottle feeding accessories that others recommend is hardly ever used by a formula feeding mother. You don't need to throw your money on stuff you are never going to use no matter how cool they look in some catalogue. We have cut it short and have come up with the stuff you will really need to purchase for formula feeding your baby.

Bottle Feeding Accessories

1. Feeding bottles: A minimum of 4. The feeding bottles will need to have teats along with caps, sealing discs, and bottle collars. Some parents prefer going with glass bottles while others are pretty satisfied with the plastic ones. The choice is yours.

Here are some great feeding bottles for your baby:

1. Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Newborn Baby Bottle Feeding Starter Set
2. Philips Avent Natural Baby Bottles, Clear, 9oz
3. Philips Avent Natural Infant Starter Set with Clear Bottles
4. Tommee Tippee Multi-colored Feeding Bottles, Anti-Colic Valve, 9 Oz
5. Comotomo Baby Bottle, Green, 5 Oz

2. Bottle-cleaning brushes: You require a relatively larger cleaning brush to clean the sides of the baby bottle and a soft smaller one for the teats.

Here are our most recommended bottle cleaning brushes:

1. Boon Cacti Bottle Cleaning Brush Set
2. Nuby 2 in 1 Bottle and Nipple Brush with Stand

3. Sterilizer: This may be in the form of liquid, tablets or a machine. You may also want a clean kitchen tong (you may probably have it in your kitchen) for handling the clean bottles. For help and details, refer to our article on How to Clean Feeding Bottles.

4. Infant Formula Milk: Make sure it is right for your baby, and you keep on upgrading it according to your baby's age. A newborn requires different types of nutrition in his/ her early days, as when s/he grows, the body requirements also grow. If you have a premature baby, there are special formula milk for preemies. Also, please don’t forget to go through our Premature baby section.

Talk to your doctor about the right infant formula for your baby. The brand may vary depending upon the country you live in, however, here are our top recommended newborn formula milk:

Some parents also find it easier to get a Bottle Drying Rack but if you have a clean container or a rack to dry the bottles after sterilization, that should work. If you want to get one, we recommend this high capacity drying rack:

Also, if you travel a lot, you may want to get a bottle warmer. You don't like drinking cold tea/coffee, then why should your baby have to drink cold milk? Some studies also suggest that drinking cold formula milk may cause constipation in your baby. Here are some of our recommended bottle warmers that don't cost you a lot and get the work done pretty nicely!

Do not try to feed your baby anything before s/he turns 4-6 months old, not even water. Many parents try to introduce honey, egg whites, juice, water, etc. (some parents could be quite creative when it comes to feeding newborn babies!). Before four to six months, doctors strictly discourage any kind of food intake (that includes liquids as well).

Your newborn will soon turn into a toddler, and before you know it, you have a preschooler in your home asking you to color a picture with them. So do not jump into haste. Let your baby eat and drink according to the age. At the moment, the tiny stomach is not developed enough to digest any kind of solids or liquids, other than breast or formula milk. As time passes and he grows, the tiny tummy also develops. Till then, one word: Patience!

Newborn feeding does not require you to a prepare lavish buffet; it's just a tiny belly that you need to feed after every few hours. If you are planning to use formula milk for your newborn, don't forget to add the above mentioned items in your baby checklist.