Most bottles will hold 250ml (9fl oz) of milk, although you can get smaller bottles for new babies that are 150ml (5fl oz). Hurley, K. M., Cross, M. B., & Hughes, S. O. (2011). A systematic review of responsive feeding and child obesity in high-income countries. The Journal of nutrition, 141(3), 495–501. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.110.130047 [Accessed 6 December 2021] Ensure your little one is happy and comfortable during mealtimes by choosing one of our best high chairs for babies and toddlers .

Most traditional bottle warmers will heat up one bottle of milk (or jar of food). You place the bottle in the central vessel of the warmer, fill around it with water from a jug and switch it on. An element heats the water, which in turn heats the bottle. This will depend on how frequently you’re planning to use bottles to feed your baby. Newborn babies generally feed between 10 and 14 times in 24 hours, with feeds becoming a little less frequent as they grow. If you are exclusively bottle feeding your baby, whether formula or expressed breastmilk, you might want around four to six bottles and teats to get you started. This allows for sterilising them between feeds. The lids to these are often screw-on, so are easy to remove, but don’t come off when the cup is thrown on the floor. These bottles, made by baby feeding brand MAM , don't require any additional equipment for sterilising provided that you have a microwave. You pour water into a chamber in the base of the bottle, arrange the bottle components on top and microwave for three minutes.

These are shorter and fatter than standard bottles, but take the same amount of milk. They usually take silicone rather than latex teats and will normally have a self-sealing lid. Slow flow is generally preferable for newborns, while you’re both learning how to feed. If the flow rate is too fast it makes paced feeding more difficult. In which case babies would have very little control over how they feed: milk would flow into their mouth faster than they can swallow it. This might make your baby cough or splutter, or struggle to keep up with the flow of milk so it dribbles to the side of their mouth. This could also mean they feel upset, get indigestion and bring up lots of milk.

However, this sort of cup may not be completely leak-proof if it gets jiggled around a lot in your bag or in the car. Flask' type baby bottle warmers These are made up of two sections: an inner flask, and a lid deep enough to hold a bottle. Before you go out, fill the flask with boiling water and attach the lid. When you need to heat up the bottle of milk, remove the lid, put the bottle in it, then fill around it with the hot water from the flask. Baby bowl Plastic bowls with high sides and a ‘lip’ or gripper on the edge for you to hold are convenient for when you're feeding your baby. Once they are trying to self-feed, bowls with lower, gently curving sides and a textured easy-to-grip rim can help them stay in control. Cons: Pricier than other types of steriliser, the inside of the unit can get hot enough to burn your hands. Microwave steam sterilisersIf you plan to use bottles occasionally, or once a day, then it might make sense to buy just one bottle and teat.