Give your baby only breast milk or infant formula in a bottle. Hold your baby close when you feed him or her a bottle. Do not prop or leave the bottle in your baby’s mouth. This can increase your baby’s risk of choking, ear infections, and tooth decay. Your baby may also eat more than he or she needs. Do not put your baby to bed with a bottle.

As a general rule of thumb, by the end of their first week of life they’ll need approximately 150 - 200 ml of infant formula per kilogram of their body weight per day, until they reach six months old 2. Anywhere between two weeks and six months old, you can expect your baby’s bottle feeding routine to consist of around five or six feeds a day.

If you use formula milk, it is important that you follow all usage instructions very carefully. Failure to choose an appropriate feed or to use it incorrectly can be harmful to your baby’s health. Follow on milk should only be used as part of a mixed diet from 6 months. Talk to a healthcare professional. How to make up a bottle feed

Rub the bottle teat against your baby’s upper lip gently to encourage them to open their mouth and draw the teat in, rather than forcing it into the mouth. Tip the bottle horizontal with only a slight tilt just enough to ensure there is milk in the teat. This also prevents milk from flowing too fast.