Breastfeeding certainly has many benefits, and everyone—from your trusted doctor to the World Health Organization to the neighbor who feels compelled to offer the much-feared unsolicited advice—emphasizes how important it is to breastfeed.

But breastfeeding is not the only option. And above all, it is not necessarily the right choice for every mother. Some mothers do not want to breastfeed for various reasons, while others, on the contrary, cannot or do not succeed. It can happen that a baby is unable to latch despite many attempts, that a mother has cracked nipples and pain prevents her from nursing, or that postpartum blues make breastfeeding especially difficult. And there are also mothers who simply do not feel the desire to breastfeed their baby.

There is no right choice or wrong choice. The truly important thing is to be prepared for the feeding journey, with the awareness that what matters most to your baby is being loved.

How to choose the right baby bottle?

First of all, doesn’t mean only formula milk. Many mothers use a breast pump to express their own milk, so they can also have someone else—whether it’s a partner or another caregiver—feed the baby, especially when the mother isn’t there.

Whatever type of milk you use, the important thing is choosing the right . How? In stores, you’ll find various models designed for different stages of a newborn’s growth: from 0+ bottles for newborns to 6+ for babies who are 6 months old and older. Bottles for the very first months also have a lower capacity , since babies eat relatively little, so there is rarely a need to have a large amount of milk available. Capacity naturally increases as your baby grows and gradually consumes more milk.

Another feature that varies depending on the type of bottle is the type of nipple , which will have a different shape depending on the child’s age. As the months go by, babies need a flow that is more or less strong. There are also special anti-colic teats on the market: a valve placed between the teat and the bottle opening allows the baby to suck continuously without swallowing too much air along with the milk, which could cause excessive stomach pain (leading to desperate crying and parents’ frustration when they don’t know how to calm their little screamer).

Finally: Plastic or glass bottle? Silicone, rubber, or latex nipple? Glass is more durable and could potentially last forever; on the other hand, it is heavy and, if knocked, could break. Plastic is lighter, but it deteriorates more quickly. As for teats, silicone withstands frequent washing and sterilization without deteriorating. However, it can also be quite fragile. Rubber is a more porous material and therefore more easily contaminated, but babies can bite it more comfortably when their first teeth come in.

Which one is best, then? It depends on the child’s age and the parents’ preferences, of course.

Schedules, quantities: how to manage when breastfeeding with a bottle?

In reality, a baby fed with a bottle will not notice a difference in the type of feeding, so they will behave much like a breastfed newborn. Forcing them to follow predetermined schedules with fixed amounts, therefore, could cause problems, such as disrupting their natural hunger-and-fullness mechanism. And if this mechanism—thanks to which the baby knows perfectly well whether they are full or not—is compromised, it may also happen that they are pushed to consume amounts of milk they would not normally need.

Better, then, to feed your baby only when they show they need it and, if you have any doubts, consult your pediatrician, who will be able to advise you based on your specific situation.

Bottle feeding: a special practice not only for the mother

The bottle has the great advantage of expanding the opportunity to create a special bond, not only with the mother but also with the partner. With breastfeeding, an unbreakable but exclusive bond is formed between mother and child. Thanks to the bottle, however, this bond can be, so to speak, extended to at least one other person. In the beginning , specialists explain that, precisely to encourage this kind of bond, it would be better if only the parents gave the baby the bottle. . In this regard, the goal will be easier to achieve if both the mother and the partner follow these precautions:

• Create a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere, and dedicate yourself exclusively to you and your baby.
  

• Keep the child in as upright a position as possible, supporting their head with your open hand at the base of the neck.
  

• Keep the bottle as horizontal as possible and make sure the milk just reaches the nipple, so the child can decide the desired flow.

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  If the child wants to take a break, let them.
  

• Look into their eyes: they will feel an even stronger sense of closeness.
  

By following these guidelines and lovingly dedicating yourselves to your little explorer, you can both enjoy the beauty of creating a truly special bond with your little one.

This is also a good practice to try with mixed feeding (breast and bottle), which shows that there is no single “right” choice when it comes to feeding—only the right choice for you.