Choosing the Best Bottle for Your Baby

Making Sense of All the Choices

These bottles have a 45-degree bend at the top that makes it easier and more comfortable to hold a baby in the upright feeding position (baby's head above her stomach). The upright position prevents liquid from washing back into baby's middle ear – a known cause of ear infections. They are moderately priced, so they fit most budgets.

This system requires two pieces: A hard plastic holder (nurser), and a disposable, soft plastic liner that slips into the holder. These bottles minimize the intake of air into baby's stomach (and thus prevent gassiness) because the liner can be squeezed before feeding to eliminate air; they also collapse as baby feeds, which prevents additional air from entering the bottle. Disposables typically have wide openings and use wide, breast-like nipples. These bottles also come in a "twist" version – once the liner and liquid are inserted, the top of the nurser can be twisted into a 45-degree angle to help prevent ear infections (see angled). The biggest drawbacks of disposable bottles are that they can be hard to measure the liquid in the bottle accurately, and you must always keep liners in the house.

Mom-to-be Billie Jo Bruha of Valrico, Fla. chose the disposable bottle for its simplicity. "There were a lot of bottles to choose from. I'm planning to breastfeed and I have tendonitis so I wanted something simple," says Bruha. "The disposable nurser is most like the breast and you can squeeze the air out of it. It's also more sanitary, because you can throw it (liner) away."

These reusable bottles are ideal for gas-prone or colicky babies who don't like disposables. The bottle has a screw-on plastic bottom, which you snap a washable rubber disk into. This unique rubber bottom allows air to enter through the bottom of the bottle, rather than through the nipple, which is the case in most other feeding systems. Indeed, some air is essential for proper bottle feeding – without it, a vacuum is created and the nipple collapses. However, the problem with air coming in through the nipple is that it mixes with the formula or breastmilk allowing bubbles to be swallowed, which can cause an upset stomach. When the air enters through the bottom, it cannot mix with the liquid, so there are no bubbles for baby to swallow.