Baby Bottle Types: Anti-Colic, Wide-Neck and Materials Compared

Glass does not stain or hold smells, cleans easily and lasts. It is heavier and it breaks. Modern food-grade plastic is light and practical but scratches over time, and scratched bottles are harder to clean properly.

Whatever you buy, look for BPA-free labelling and replace bottles that are cloudy, cracked or scratched.

Wide-neck bottles are much easier to clean and to fill with powder without spilling. Narrow bottles are slimmer to pack and often cheaper.

If you are combining breast and bottle feeding, a wider, more gently sloped teat is often accepted more readily — though babies have firm opinions and do not always agree with the marketing.

Anti-colic bottles use a vent or valve so milk flows without your baby having to draw in air. Some parents find they make a real difference; others notice nothing.

The cost is extra parts to wash and sterilise every single time. If the design has a fiddly internal straw, be realistic about whether you will keep cleaning it properly at 2 a.m.

Flow rate is usually the thing to change when feeds go badly. Choking, spluttering and milk running from the mouth suggest the flow is too fast. Long exhausting feeds, collapsing teats and a frustrated baby suggest too slow.

Move up a stage when your baby seems to be working hard, not simply because they have reached a certain age.

Four to six bottles covers most bottle-feeding routines with a normal washing rhythm. Buy one or two of a type first and see whether your baby accepts it before committing to a full set — an unaccepted six-pack is a common and avoidable waste.