Bottles, bottles, bottles… 🍼 🍼🍼
Whether you have started bottle feeding from day one or moved to bottles as a personal choice or due to health reasons… after a few months you will feel like it’s all about bottles! Washing them, sterilising them, making them, heating them or cooling them. Bottles everywhere.
Here are a few ideas to help make the bottle-feeding journey a bit easier. 
Your first step is choosing a bottle. If you are combine-feeding with breast as well, try and find a bottle that simulates a similar experience as feeding on the breast. 

The one I found that worked the best was the Closer to Nature selection.

 
Even if you are going to start directly on bottles this brand is still good because they don’t suction in like some brands do. With these you can just gently turn the bottle in baby’s mouth to keep the flow going perfectly.
Choosing a formula is a lot harder because there are so many out there that cater to different specific needs. Something important to consider is whether your extended family has a history of allergies. My children were allergic to cow’s milk protein, so when I had to put my daughter on formula due to my health problems, I chose a goat’s milk based formula. 

The most popular brands of formulas I have found to suit most babies are S26 and Karicare. 

If you have a history of allergies to the lactose in cow’s milk then it’s a good idea to us a Hyper-Allergenic(HA) formula, but I would recommend talking to your doctor or paediatrician for advice on which HA formula would be best for your baby.
Remember to always follow the instructions on the formula tin. It is vital for baby to have the exact amount of scoops to the amount of boiled, sterilised water that is stated on the tin. If the bottle is too watered-down then baby will not be receiving enough nutrients from the formula. If the bottle has too much formula to the ratio of water, then she is at risk of becoming constipated. Be sure to always check the temperature of the bottle by gently tipping a few small drops on the inside of your wrist. It is safest to hold your baby close to you to feed and never prop her up with a bottle and walk away while she is feeding as it is a serious choking hazard. 
A nice idea for night-feeds is to fill the bottle ¾ of the way up with the cooled sterilised water and have a flask of hot sterilised water next to your baby’s cot as well. Then you just need to add the water from the flask to the bottle when she wakes during the night, so that it’s at the perfect drinking temperature straight away. Add the formula to the bottle (which you could have pre-prepared in a formula dispenser with the exact amount you need) and it’s ready without the hassle of warming or cooling bottles in the kitchen when you’re half asleep! It will also be quicker so that you can feed baby straight back to sleep without her waking up properly. 
A close friend of mine who was breastfeeding her fourth baby, Poppy, had to stop and change to bottles when Poppy was six months old, due to personal health reasons. It was a difficult decision for her because she is passionate about attachment parenting. However, she discovered that you can make bottle-feeding a close bonding experience for mother and baby as well. She still fed Poppy on demand and she still hugged her in close to feed her, just as she did when she was breastfeeding. I had a few phone calls from her sounding like a zombie-mum after experiencing the night-waking and having to actually get up and out of bed to make the bottle and feed Poppy. 😁 All in all though she managed quite well and Poppy, who is now thirteen months, only just realised she can actually hold the bottle and feed herself! But she still likes to cuddle and feed which is such a precious bonding and relaxing moment. Even toddlers need a little TLC, and you most definitely are not spoiling them!