I exclusively pumped for most of Charlie’s first 9 months, but formula was a necessity for us during his first few weeks because I had problems breastfeeding, and I wasn’t pumping as much milk as he needed.  Luckily I eventually increased my supply enough to give him exclusive breastmilk, but when I weaned him at 9 months he had no problem transitioning to exclusive formula!

This is our favorite gear for formula feeding:

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1) Bottles – Charlie wasn’t picky with bottles, and pretty much took any bottle we gave him. We started off with Playtex Drop-ins (which had a slower flow), and then switched to Born Free bottles when he was a little older. Some babies are lax, but some are very picky — there is no one “best” bottle since every baby is different. I would suggest buying one bottle from a couple of different brands, but not going overboard until you figure out which one works best for your baby.

2) Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher – This is not a necessity, but I hated the clumps that were left after mixing powdered formula and water together. This contraption removed all the clumps in the formula and allowed us to make 32 onces of formula at a time.

3) Earth’s Best Organic Infant Formula – Charlie drank this powdered formula (which is more economical than ready to feed formula) from 9 months – 1 year. There are many different varieties of formula for specific baby needs, from lactose intolerance to protein sensitivity. Luckily Charlie didn’t have any dietary restrictions and did fine with Earth’s Best, which we loved because it was organic.

4) Enfamil Nursettes – We supplemented with these super convenient 2 oz bottles of formula the first couple weeks of Charlie’s life. They’re great for newborns because you don’t have to worry about any sort of contamination from mixing bottles, since all you do is pop on a disposable nipple and you’re ready to go. Most hospitals provide bottles of these nursettes, and will send you home with a small box or two.

5) Enfamil Slow Flow Disposable Nipples – These disposable nipples are designed to be used with the 2 oz nursettes. They even fit on Medela bottles, so they’re convenient for feeding your baby expressed breastmilk as well!

6) Munchkin Powdered Formula Dispenser – This container holds three servings of powdered formula. When you’re on the go, just pour formula in a bottle, add water, and mix!

7) Kiinde Koze Bottle Warmer – I’ve been really happy with my Avent IQ bottle warmer (still going strong after 2+ years of daily use), but the Kiinde Koze is what I’d get if I were registering today. It warms breastmilk, formula, baby food…. it even allows you to defrost and warm breastmilk in their plastic storage bags! The best part is that once your bottle is warm, it removes the water so the bottle doesn’t overheat – a problem with pretty much all other warmers out there. If your baby doesn’t mind room temperature bottles then you don’t need a warmer. But we made pitchers of formula using Dr. Brown’s Formula Pitcher and refrigerated it, so we always used a bottle warmer.

8) Foogo thermos – Whenever we were out and about, I’d keep warm water in this thermos to mix with powdered formula. Again if your baby will take room temperature bottles, you may not need this. But my Foogo thermoses have been invaluable not only for toting water and milk, but also soups — Charlie’s favorite food! We’ve never had a problem with leaks, and this keeps your food or beverages nice and warm.

9) Baby Brezza Temp Control Water Kettle – This kettle keeps water at the perfect temperature for mixing bottles all day, so it’s ready anytime you need to make a bottle. This is an awesome alternative to a bottle warmer for exclusive formula feeders. But if you’re going to be warming breastmilk in addition to formula, then you’re probably better off going with a bottle warmer over this kettle so you don’t have too much baby gear.

What were your must have formula feeding products?