Bottom's up: how to choose the perfect baby bottle

With so many options out there, it can be difficult to choose the perfect baby bottle. Just take a walk down the baby aisle at your favourite department store. Whether your baby drinks breast milk or formula, there are lots of different brands, materials and shapes to consider.

Disposable baby bottles

During the course of the day, your baby will go through plenty of bottles. Sometimes the thought of cleaning up after every single bottle can seem like a daunting task. For convenience, many parents opt to use disposable bottles because they require no clean up. These are plastic bottles with plastic inserts that can be either reusable or one-time use. Just fill with milk or formula and once your baby is done, remove the insert and replace with a new one. Disposable baby bottles are also an excellent option for parents who are travelling with their baby and won’t have access to a dishwasher or sink. While convenience is the main benefit of this type of bottle, disposable inserts are not environmentally friendly and buying replacement inserts can add up.

Try not to get overwhelmed by your options. As long as your baby happily feeds from the bottle, you’ve made the right choice.

The plastic baby bottle is the most common baby bottle you'll find. These are affordable and readily found at most stores. Plastic bottles are a durable option because they're light enough for baby’s hands to hold, will not break when dropped, are dishwasher safe and free of bisphenol A (BPA).

To be safe, make sure the plastic bottle you purchase for your baby clearly states that it is free of BPA. The one thing to note about plastic baby bottles is that they are not long-lasting. Avoid using hand-me-down bottles or buying pre-owned bottles. Since plastic bottles may not last as long as other types of bottles, you may have to buy more bottles to replace the worn-out plastic bottles.

When baby bottles were first used, they were made of glass, but once plastic bottles became available, glass bottles fell out of fashion. Glass bottles are a great alternative for parents who are concerned about chemicals in plastic bottles like bisphenol A (BPA). This may be the main reason why there has been a renewed interest in glass bottles.

Glass bottles are dishwasher safe and last longer than plastic bottles. If you choose glass bottles, remember that they can be a little heavier than the plastic variety and can shatter, chip, or crack if dropped. Glass bottles are not fragile. They are made to be durable, but not indestructible. If you are worried your baby will drop the bottle, many brands that make glass bottles also manufacture protective sleeves.

During the course of the day, your baby will go through plenty of bottles. Sometimes the thought of cleaning up after every single bottle can seem like a daunting task. For convenience, many parents opt to use disposable bottles because they require no clean up. These are plastic bottles with plastic inserts that can be either reusable or one-time use. Just fill with milk or formula and once your baby is done, remove the insert and replace with a new one.

Disposable baby bottles are also an excellent option for parents who are travelling with their baby and won’t have access to a dishwasher or sink. While convenience is the main benefit of this type of bottle, disposable inserts are not environmentally friendly and buying replacement inserts can add up.

Try not to get overwhelmed by your options. As long as your baby happily feeds from the bottle, you’ve made the right choice.