All about feeding bottles

You're probably thinking 'how difficult can it be to buy a baby's bottle?' Well, you'd be surprised at the amount of bottles- and the varying degrees of quality that are out there these days. If you are planning to mix breast and bottle feeding, or are unable to breastfeed, you could find that you need some help when it comes to choosing between all the different bottles and teats.

Choices, choices
When choosing a bottle, the first thing you have to decide is whether you want a standard bottle or a wide-necked one, shaped or disposable, plain or patterned, 125ml or 250ml... the list goes on. It'll help if you keep a few important points in mind. Most sterilisers and bottle warmers are shaped to accommodate wide-necked and standard bottles, although the bottle carriers supplied with changing bags are usually designed to hold the standard bottles only.

Teats are generally interchangeable between the different brands, so the only decisions you'll have to make will be between silicone and latex and the various flow rates.

Look for bottles that are easy to clean. Make sure your bottle-brush will reach into all the corners; if it won't then you will need to buy one that does. Finally, you'll find darker measurement scales much easier to see in the low light of a nursery.

Some other very worthwhile points to consider include:

• Storage (standard bottles take up less room in the fridge)
• The age of your baby (small bottles are good for very young babies)
• Whether you mix the feed in a jug or in the bottle itself
• Sealing discs come with most bottles, but are easy to lose and are not sold separately