Allow bottle to cool down before removing from microwave. Recommended cooling time: 10 minutes at opened microwave door. Once they’re older and used to bottle-feeding, you could move to a medium flow. Just follow your baby’s lead to see what teat is right for them. Some babies prefer to stay on the slow flow teats for many months. You can also buy variflow teats where the flow rate can be varied by changing the angle of the teat (Which? 2019).

Powdered formula is not sterile, so you need to use water at approximately 70 degrees to kill any bacteria that might be present (NHS, 2019a). If the water is too hot it can reduce the nutritional benefit of the powder, but if it is too cold it may not kill the bacteria in the powder. ‘Ready-to-feed’ bottles contain ready-made milk that has already been sterilised (NHS, 2018; Unicef, 2019). Sterilising bottles is recommended for babies under a year because bacteria can easily grow in any milk remaining on the bottle or teats (Unicef, 2019). Babies are more vulnerable to these bacteria. Step 1: Assemble clean bottle parts as follows: base with silicone valve, teat with screw ring, bottle body and protective cap. If they can't control the rate of feeding, they are more likely to over-feed. Non-responsive feeding has been associated with discomfort and fussiness in the short term (NHS 2021) and linked to obesity in the longer term (Hurley, 2011; Watchmaker 2020). Our support line offers practical and emotional support in many areas of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood: 0300 330 0700.

Parents who bottle feed find that they may need to move onto using larger bottles as their baby grows and milk consumption increases. Every baby is different so there isn’t a set age for when this should happen (Unicef, 2019). It’s important to follow your baby’s feeding cues and signs that they need more milk, such as finishing each feed and seeming to want more (NHS, 2015; Unicef, 2016). What type of feeding bottle is best? European Commission (2011) Bisphenol A: EU ban on baby bottles to enter into force tomorrow. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_11_664 [Accessed 3 December 2021] NHS (2021) Bottle feeding Advice. Available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-feeding/bottle-feeding/advice/ [Accessed 6 December 2021] Made for Mums judge, Melanie said "Self-sterilisation is a good feature, and it's worth the money. Best-looking bottle on the market and great for sterilising on the go."

Ready-to-feed bottles can be a convenient short-term solution if parents have been advised to give their baby formula on medical advice. They’re more expensive and not great for the environment though (NHS, 2018; Unicef, 2019).If your maternity unit is not yet on this list, you can speak to their infant feeding lead or call the NCT infant feeding support line on 0300 330 0700. What size bottle will my baby need?