Top 10 things you'll need when bottle-feeding
Want to keep bottle-feeding stress down, while keeping those feeds hygienic? Here are the top things that can help you bottle feed, whether using expressed milk, powdered or ready-made formula
1. Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Day & Night, £130
Award: Gold – Bottlefeeding Accessory, MadeForMums Awards 2021
Anything that saves time and stress when bottle feeding a baby is a major winner in our book and the Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Day & Night machine does both in spades.
It delivers the perfect bottle of formula, at the perfect temperature, in just 2 minutes flat – a godsend when you have a hungry baby on your hands.
The gentle nightlight and digital display mean you won’t wake the whole house when you use it – you can even turn down the volume of the beeps, which is a nifty feature.
Christy McGhee, MFM Reviews & Consumer Editor and mum of 2 says: “Anything that makes the feeding process quicker and easier for parents get a big thumbs up from me!”
Available from: Amazon and Argos
2. Babymoov Turbo Pure Steriliser & Dryer, £79.99
Getting your baby’s bottles cleaned, dried and ready to go again for the next feed seems like an endless cycle in the early days of your little one’s life.
The Babymoov Turbo Pure Sterilier & Dryer will help you in the process – it’s one of 3 sterilisers on our round-up and the only one that has a drying function, a handy extra when you need a bottle again in quick time.
It takes 8 minutes to sterilise a bottle, which is a smidge longer than the other 2 sterilisers on our list – MAM’s Electric Steriliser & Express Warmer takes 7 minutes, while the Philips Avent 3 in 1 Electric Steam Steriliser is a super speedy 6 minutes.
It’s slightly pricier than others in the market, including Philips’ at £60, but with a sleek, modern design and a decent capacity, we think it’s worth paying extra.
Available from: Amazon
3. Tommee Tippee Advanced Anti-Colic bottle, from £7.79 for one
When it comes to baby bottles that go the distance, Tommee Tippee are one of the best-known brands known by parents to really deliver.
Anyone who’s had a baby with colic knows there’s not much you won’t do to try and ease it and many mums swear by the power of Tommee Tippee’s bottles, which credit their unique valve system for reducing wind, reflux and fussing.
The price per bottle is mid-range compared to the other 2 options on our list – MAM Easy Start Anti Colic Bottle and Philips Avent Newborn Natural Starter Set – but the quality is clear and our testers loved the clever built-in heat sensing straw, a clever added bonus which adds to the bottle’s allure.
Available from: Amazon, Boots and Asda
4. MAM Easy Start Anti Colic Bottle 2pk, £13.99
Getting the right bottle for your baby is the first, and often most difficult, step in your bottle feeding journey, and MAM’s Easy Start Anti Colic Bottles, have a reported 94% acceptance success rate with babies, which is good odds if you’ve tried a few.
The best value bottle on our round-up, like the Philips and Tommee Tippee bottles, it also has a valve to reduce air bubbles in the milk, which helps to reduce colic.
The best-looking bottle in our list, there are many lovely designs to choose from, which is another welcome bonus.
But the real selling point is the self-sterilising function – simply heat the bottle in the microwave with 20ml of water inside and in 3 minutes it’s done, which is a real game changer if you’re on the move or enjoying a weekend away.
Available from: MAM, Amazon and Superdrug
5. Philips Avent Newborn Natural Starter Set, £32
The highly-prized Baby Bottle Award, the Philips Avent Newborn Natural Starter Set includes 4 bottles (2 4oz and 2 9oz), an orthodontic dummy and bottle brush – everything you need to get started with bottle feeding.
Like the MAM and Tommee Tippee bottles, which are sold on their colic-busting abilities, the Philip’s bottles also have vents to prevent air from reaching your baby’s tummy, and in addition, they feature wide breast-shaped teats designed to mimic the feel of the breast, making it easy to combine breast and bottle feeding.
Tester Deborah says: “My newborn, who is mostly breastfeeding, took to this bottle straight away, so I am impressed by this kit.”
Available from: Philips, Amazon and Boots
6. MAM Electric Steriliser & Express Warmer, £89.99
Any product that claims to do the job of 4 or five more is always worth investigating and the MAM Electric Steriliser & Express Warmer wears the hats of many other feeding essentials, and it does so with success.
It’s an electric and microwave steriliser, a bottle warmer that can heat breast milk or formula in 2 and a half minutes, plus it has a handy defrost function.
The most expensive steriliser on our list, with the smallest capacity, it’s not cheap, but it does come with 2 highly-rated MAM bottles and you’ll certainly save on kitchen space with this all-in-one product.
Available from: MAM, Amazon and Argos
7. Philips Avent 3 in 1 Electric Steam Steriliser, £60
While the Philips Avent 3 in 1 Electric Steam Steriliser has a small footprint, making it ideal for smaller worktops, it certainly doesn’t skimp on features.
Its modular design transforms into 3 different sizes, brilliant if you only want to disinfect one or 2 small items, but its biggest size has room for 6 bottles, which is bigger than the MAM Electric Steriliser & Express Warmer on our list.
It doesn’t have the bottle warming feature of the MAM, or the dryer of the Babymoov Turbo Pure Steriliser & Dryer, but it’s the cheapest by a long way and it’s the quickest of all 3 to sterilise, too – bottles are ready to go in just 6 minutes. We’re impressed with its super-efficient sterilising power and price.
Available from: Philips, Amazon and Boots
8. bbhugme Nursing Pillow, £65
The bbhugme Nursing Pillow has saved the day for many weary mums desperate for a supportive base for bottle feeding.
The innovative design is seriously smart – the pillow ties around the waist to support your neck and shoulders during feeding, then as your baby grows you can use it as a comfy hip carrier. It’s made from eco-friendly material that prevents overheating, it’s super portable and the glowing reviews for this product just keep stacking up.
Major research and development went into the making of the bbhugme Nursing Pillow, which is designed by chiropractors to help ease mums of the aches and pains that very often come with feeding a baby.
Available from: bbhugme, Amazon and JoJo Maman Bebe
9. Nuk 2-in-1 Bottle and Teat Brush, £4.19
It might not be the most glamorous thing on your bottle feeding must-have list, but that doesn’t make it any less important.
Milk and formula left in bottles can harbour bacteria that cause tummy upsets, so it’s crucial to ensure bottles and teats are thoroughly washed before sterilising – either in warm soapy water or the dishwasher, if suitable.
That’s where the Nuk 2-in-1 Bottle and Teat Brush comes in – with big bristles perfect for scrubbing and a separate small brush to clean teats, this product is guaranteed to get into every nook and cranny of your bottles. Use it with the Nuk Bottle Cleanser (a Silver award winner in the 2021 MadeForMums Awards) to make cleaning bottles a pinch. Move aside Mrs Hinch!
Available from: Nuk, Amazon and Ocado
10. Nuby Rapid Cool, £39.99
If you want to speed up the process of making a bottle the perfect temperature, but you don't have the budget for a product like the Perfect Prep, the Nuby Rapid Cool is an innovative product that will quickly cool a bottle of formula to the right temperature just by shaking: no electricity needed.
Simply measure your formula powder into the flask, add water hot from the kettle, then screw on the lid and shake it until the indicator on the lid tells you it's safe to serve. You get multiple flasks so you always have a clean and dry one at hand, making it really useful when you're out and about.
Home tester Kim, mum of 4, said it was, "Easy to use and doesn’t require a filter or any additional purchases. I love that it’s very small so great for when we are out for the day. The insulated flask keeps the milk at a perfect temperature until needed so no panic to use straight away too.”
Available from: Amazon, Boots and Sainsburys
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