ByDueDate

Bottle calculator

How many baby bottles do you need?

If every feed is a bottle and you wash them twice a day, about 5 bottles. If you mostly breastfeed, 2 may be plenty. It depends on your feeding plan and how often you wash, so pick yours below.

Bottles for

Formula, pumped milk, or both, for every feed.

Bottle feeds a day

8 is the minimum the AAP says is generally recommended for formula-fed newborns.

You wash bottles

5bottles to have

Smallsize to start with

4used between washes

8 bottle feeds a day, washed twice a day: 4 bottles between washes, plus 1 spare.

If you plan to bottle-feed from day one, buy these before birth in the small size. Try one brand before buying a full set of it.

To keep them clean

  • A bottle brush 1

    The CDC advises a brush used only for feeding items.

  • A wash basin 1

    Used only for feeding items. The CDC advises not washing them straight in the sink.

  • A drying rack or clean towel 1

    Let everything air-dry. The CDC says not to rub items dry with a dish towel.

Counts only. How much and how often your baby feeds is for you and your pediatrician to decide.

The short answer

Bottles to have, by feeding plan and washing routine
Bottles forAfter every feedTwice a dayOnce a day
Every feed359
Some feeds334
Now and then222

"Every feed" assumes 8 bottle feeds a day; "Some feeds" assumes 3. Each count is the bottles used between washes plus one spare.

When to buy them

  • Bottle-feeding from day one: buy the full count before birth, in one brand, so it's ready for the first night home.
  • Mixing breast and bottle: buy 2 to start. Once your baby takes to one kind, buy the rest of the same.
  • The occasional bottle: no need before birth. Get 2 when you're ready to start.

Babies can be picky about nipples, which is why we suggest trying one kind before buying a full set. The registry checklist and the Due-Date Plan both say "2 to 4 to start" for that reason.

Small or large bottles?

Most brands sell bottles in a small and a large size, and nipples in different flow speeds. Start with the small size. As your baby grows and takes more at each feed, move to the large size. Your pediatrician will tell you how much your baby should be drinking; follow the maker's guide on the package for nipple flow.

Keeping bottles clean

The CDC's advice, in short:

  • Clean bottles after every feeding, in a basin and with a brush used only for feeding items.
  • Let everything air-dry on a clean towel or rack. Don't rub items dry with a dish towel.
  • Sanitize daily if your baby is under 2 months old, was born early, or has a weakened immune system. A dishwasher with hot water and a heated drying cycle (or a sanitize setting) does this for you.
  • If your baby doesn't finish a bottle of formula within 2 hours, throw the rest away.

Source: CDC on cleaning infant feeding items.

How we calculate

  1. Bottle feeds a day. For bottles at every feed we start at 8. The AAP says most formula-fed newborns eat every 2 to 3 hours, and 8 times a day is generally recommended as the minimum. Feeds space out as babies grow. Source: AAP on how often babies eat.
  2. Between washes. Feeds a day divided by washes a day, rounded up.
  3. Plus one spare, for the bottle that gets dropped, refused or left in the car.
  4. Washing after every feed still needs 3: one in use, one drying, one ready.

About feeding. This calculator counts bottles. It doesn't tell you how much or how often to feed your baby: the AAP generally recommends feeding on demand, following your baby's hunger cues. For questions about feeding, amounts or weight gain, ask your pediatrician.

Next on your list

See where bottles fit in your weeks in the Due-Date Plan, or what else to buy now and what can wait in what to buy before baby arrives. Planning to pump? Most US health plans must cover a breast pump: here's how to get yours.