Bottle feeding preparation

For people with busy lives, it can seem like you spend all day, every day either feeding baby, or getting ready to feed baby. Additionally, if you are not breast feeding, you will need to purchase some special equipment for bottle-feeding, and allow yourself extra preparation time.

Equipment
From birth, you will need at least six bottles. Purchase bottles that go up to 250ml so you can still use them when your baby is older and taking larger volumes of milk. You will need 4-6 teats. Rubber teats do not withstand heating very well or last as long as other teats (e.g.-silicone teats). Flow rate is an important consideration when selecting teats. Holes too small can cause wind and tiredness as your baby tries to suck more milk. Holes too large can make your baby 'gag' as large volumes of milk squirt into their mouth. As a guide, choose a slow flow rate for 0-3 months, medium flow for 3-6 months and fast flow for six months and over. Alternatively, use a variable flow teat or special form dispenser.

Planning ahead
If you're going out for the day with a bottle-fed baby, fill sterilised bottle(s) with cooled, boiled water and measure the required number of scoops of formula powder into a separate container. Mix powder and water together when it is time to feed, and warm milk if possible. Remember to throw out any unfinished feeds.