Glass Baby Bottles - Old Ways are Best

Are glass bottles best for babies?

Since the 1840s glass baby bottles have been used for feeding babies. They often came with the name of the company or distributor embossed on the side and in a variety of different sizes. A rubber teat fitted snugly onto the neck of the bottle and the whole system could be sterilised in boiling water on the gas cooker. Glass bottles have been making a big comeback recently with parental concerns over the man-made chemical Bisphenol A which is used in many polycarbonate baby bottles and food containers. It appears to transfer potentially harmful toxins to the content of the bottle or container.

Bisphenol A

Even a small amount of Bisphenol A can result in developmental problems, hyperactivity in children, a low sperm count and sometimes even cancer. After finding that children up to the age of eighteen months are the people most at risk from the chemical, Canada has made a move within their legislature to ban plastic baby bottles. Glass is the safest and most environmentally friendly alternative for feeding your baby.

Baby Bottle History

Before the advent of glass baby bottles ceramic bottles were used. These were impossible to clean as the remnants of the food could not be seen and consequently were extremely unhygienic. When clear glass bottles arrived, they took the guesswork out of cleaning, so feeding your baby became much safer. In the 1870s a glass feeding bottle that contained tubes to improve the flow of milk to the baby became very popular. However, it was impossible to clean these tubes effectively and many babies died as a result of infections from unsterilized bottles.

Allenbury glass bottle

In the early 1900s the ‘Allenbury’ bottle removed these problems by being open at both ends. They fed the baby effectively through a rubber teat on one end the bottle and a rubber valve on the other that controlled the flow of milk. They were very easy to clean as once the two ends were removed the water could run straight through them and remove all traces of old food.

Baby related containers

‘Breast is best’ as the saying goes, both for your baby’s health and his/her development, but if you are choosing to bottle feed then this is where you start. If you wish to use glass bottles, there are many sites on the internet that can offer you a choice of quality products.

Boiling glass bottles

All glass bottles are made of toughened glass and are heat resistant. They can be washed by hand with a bottle brush, put in the dishwasher at high temperatures, boiled in a pan to sterilize if necessary or used in conventional liquid sterilizers. Glass is so versatile and can withstand very high temperatures which assist in killing germs, thereby making the bottle or glass container sterile and perfect for food use.

Old glass baby bottles

Glass does not retain smells or flavours; it is hygienic and totally recyclable. As such it is possible to reuse old babies bottles to feed the new arrival because old glass bottles (from a previous sibling perhaps) can be thoroughly sterilized by boiling them. New parents might prefer only new goods for the infant and if that is the case then new glass baby bottles can be purchased. Some newer glass bottles come in a shrink wrap casing as a protective cover in case of accidental breakage.

To start you off you will need:

1. A minimum of six glass bottles

2. A minimum of six teats

3. Sterilising equipment

4. A bottle brush

A 4oz bottle is the most suitable one for a new born baby as they only take small amounts of milk at any one time. The larger 8oz bottle is more suited to the older baby who takes a greater amount of food.

Baby Milk Formula

You will also need milk formula or expressed breast milk for feeding your baby. Milk formula is made by many companies and the containers are labelled for you to select according to the needs of your baby. Some milk formula will be specifically for the new born baby and others for the older baby or a hungry baby.

Milk formula also comes in handy pre-mixed sachets and bottles for the times when you are unable to mix it yourself. It is advisable to ask your public health nurse or doctor before changing your baby’s food or moving on to solids.

Breast Feeding

If you are breast feeding your baby, it is perfectly possible to express breast milk using either an electric or hand breast pump. Because it is so fresh, breast milk remains usable for approximately ten hours at room temperature. It can be kept in the fridge for up to five days after expressing and for two weeks in the freezer section of your fridge.

Breast milk storage

Breast milk may be frozen after it is chilled in the fridge but make sure to freeze it no longer than six hours later, as bacteria can grow on the milk. Freezing halts the bacteria growth but does not kill the bacteria. Importantly, expressing your milk also gives your partner a chance to feed the baby so that she or he feels included in the process.

Use glass where possible

All liquid foodstuffs should be in glass containers to prevent contamination occurring. Always make sure that you use glass baby bottles to feed your baby because you can rest assured that you have done the very best for your baby’s early health and future development, as well as being a good friend to the environment.