Expert Q&A: Common bottle feeding problems

My baby has a cold and is fussing at feedtime
Sick babies go off their feeds so if he genuinely doesn’t seem interested, leave him be and try again after looking after his cold symptoms. You’ll know he’s recovering when he downs his next bottle in two minutes flat.

Paracetamol or ibuprofen drops will help to relieve his sore throat and let him swallow more easily. Normal saline drops (available from pharmacies) in each nostril before a feed might help clear his nose a little. A vaporiser in his room when he’s sleeping can also help (just make sure you keep it out of reach of children as the hot water and steam can burn).

My baby gets really windy on his bottle. Should we change formula?
Bottlefed babies do tend to swallow more air than breastfed babies and lots of parents report that their babies seem windy on the bottle. To reduce the amount of wind baby swallows, prop him up while feeding instead of lying him flat. Also, tilt the bottle more as your baby sucks so the teat is full of milk rather than air.

Be sure to burp your baby frequently. It is true that studies of burping have found little benefit, but most mums and grandmas put their head on a block and swear it works!

If baby has ‘colic’ symptoms, keep in mind that changing formula rarely helps with such digestive problems unless it’s true lactose intolerance.

Every feed is different!
Many mums get confused by their baby wanting a different amount at every feed and don’t know how much formula to make up for each bottle.

All newborn babies’ appetites vary from day to day, hour to hour. Just because he polished off 80ml yesterday at 11.30am, he won’t necessarily do the same today. It is unrealistic to put a newborn baby on any sort of regular feeding and sleeping schedule, so just relax and go with the flow. If he doesn’t seem to want to finish the bottle, don’t force the issue. Babies are generally very good at directing their own traffic and sorting out how much they need. He’ll be sure to let you know if he’s not getting enough, when he’ll be unsettled and be looking to suck more as the feed finishes.

Help! I’m bamboozled by choice! Which formula do I choose?

Start with a simple cows’ milk formula as cows’ milk is closest to human milk. I wouldn’t recommend another formula unless you really run into problems.

As for soy formula, true cows’ milk allergy is rare and a good percentage of babies with this allergy are allergic to soy too. Goats’ milk formula isn’t as nutritionally adequate as cows’ milk.
Added nutrients in ‘gold’ formulas may play a role in development, but the evidence is still patchy. They’re more expensive, too. Follow-on formulas have no data to back them up, either.

I spend half my life sterilising baby bottles!
Bottle sterilising is time consuming, expensive and, thankfully, utterly unnecessary. Sterilise new teats and bottles in boiling water for five minutes before their first use. But from then on, just wash them thoroughly with hot soapy water or in the top rack of a dishwasher. It is important to get all milk residues out of the bottle, so use a bottle and teat brush to get to the very ends, nooks and crannies of the bottle.


The National Health and Medical Research Council recommends babies are exclusively breastfed until around 6 months of age, with breastfeeding to continue alongside appropriate first foods until at least 12 months of age. While breastfeeding is the ideal way to nourish your baby, we recognise that not all mums are able to do so. If you have any concerns about your breastfed or bottlefed baby, see your child health nurse or GP.

Related Article
* Common breastfeeding problems
* Is formula OK?