Bottles for Breastfeeding Baby

S., I used Breastflow with my daughter and she did great with it. This was a very important subject for me because my son used the playtex VentAire and over time he preferred the bottle over the breast, so I had to pump and give him the bottle til he was 1. So after all my research I chose the Breastflow bottle with my daughter and it worked out great. I do encourage you to research but my vote is the Breastflow. Here's a tip that no one told me with my son, make sure someone else gives your baby the bottle, regardless of which type you choose. When the baby sees you s/he knows that you have the breast so don't confuse the baby by offering the bottle to them when you have a fresh supply on you at all times! I was so worried that he wouldn't take the bottle at daycare so I kept giving him a bottle and that's when he wanted it instead of me and I didn't realize that I should have had someone else offer it, so with my daughter, I had my husband giver her the first bottle and I made sure that she didn't see me. It took her a bit but she did end up taking it from him, once I knew that she'd take it, she didn't get the bottle again until she had to go to daycare. She just turned a year old and still nurses when we are home but takes a cup at daycare now but the Breastflow worked great for us.

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I know how you feel. There are way too many choices and opinions on the "best" baby products out there. Personally, I don't think there's any way you can figure out what will work in advance. I'm using Born Free glass bottles. They're pricey but work well with my twins who are bottle and breastfed. My girls were preemies and were first introduced to the bottle (in the hospital) until they were strong enough for the breast. The hospital used plain nipples; nothing fancy. Just pick one you like and go from there. Good luck!

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Just look for the nipple that is closest to yours. There are so many different kids of bottles and each has a different nipple. It is crazy to think of, but there are short, long, fat, skinny, smooth, textured, ect. And almost every bottle boasts some burb/air or design advantage. Also which ever brand you get, go for the slowest flow or youngest age until you are sure your child can handle a bottle because bottles have a constant flow of milk where breasts don't always so sometimes this will choke the baby the first couple of times until they are use to it. But you should test them out at home first before sending these to the daycare.

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I like Born Free bottles. Those and Avent have good nipples for breastfeeding because they are more similar to an actual breast. I did bottle and breast from week 1 and my son never had "nipple confusion" or a preference or anything so don't worry about that. :) Oh, and definitely go straight for the 9 oz. size even if your baby is still eating only 4 oz. You'll need them soon enough.

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The "MAM" brand. It is BPA free and very good bottle and natural nipple. My breastfeeding son LOVED this bottle, and so did I.

They have it on Amazon... and is reasonable and comes in singles or 3 packs.
It is not commonly found in stores... and is widely used in Europe.

I LOVE the MAM bottles.

good luck,
Susan

***** 5 stars for the Born Free bottles. LOVED them! Passed them on to my SIL (still in great condition, purchased all new nipples) and she too loves them. Best wishes on your upcoming bundle of joy ;) savour every moment, they grow up way too fast!
on another note....what's the status on names?

I don't use any special bottles... just the old school ones. lol. I breastfeed and bottle feed her expressed milk... never had any problem with nipple confusion.

We used Dr. Browns bottles and loved them. They make both standard and wide. The wide is supposed to act more like a breast, but we gave my daughter the standards ones (they are slightly easier to find). She never had nipple confusion either and she both nursed well and drank breast milk from a bottle until she was 14.5 months. Good luck!!

My boys took both the breast and the bottle from birth, with no issues switching back and forth (I even used formula when using a bottle). Just start early and there should be no issue. I used advent myself, but I do not think brand really matters.

This is a tricky answer and only your baby can really answer it. I remember with my first baby, who I breastfed but also needed bottles because I worked, that I bought $100.00 dollars worth of special bottles. My lactation consultant recommended them so of course, in my new mother's mind, thought they would work flawlessly. My son would not take them and the daycare lady was very upset. So upset that she went out and purchase a different bottle (Avent). Well, Avent turned out to be the brand that worked for him.

Ten years later, my sister had a baby. She asked me what my opinion was on bottles. I told her Avent. She went out and bought just a few. (thank goodness) Her baby did not like them and she tried Dr. Brown's and had great success.

So, buy just one or two, of whatever you go with and try them out. Your baby will let you know what works.

Good luck!

For my son, also breastfed, we used MAM bottles. But ultimately, your baby is going to decide what he/she will or won't accept. I recommend buying one of each of a couple of different bottles to see what works, then stock up on your kiddos favorite.

Neither of my kids ever took to the Born Free for some reason. They both did ok with the Playtex drop ins with the sillicone nipples though!

Breast Flow makes bottles that are supposed to be very similar to the actual breast and reduce nipple confusion with babies. The nipple is two different parts, the outer part is soft and shaped like a breast/nipple and inner part is a hard tube. Some how it is supposed to be the closest thing to the actual breast. I never had any problems with those or Dr. Brown bottles. Dr. Brown bottles have a straw in them that help reduce air in the tummy and they also make them in glass.

Dr. Brown bottles worked the best for me when I was pumping and going back to work. I have never heard of "Born Free". You might have to go through a couple of different types, so buy just one to see if it works. Good luck!

I've had several clients use the Avent brand. They seem to offer a lot of helpful products for the storage of the breast milk and the babies took the nipple fine. I did have one little guy that was refusing the bottle and I had to try every bottle I have, we ended up using the Playtex Nursers with the silicone nipple.

Playtex nursers! You can get a much softer nipple because the bag collapses so easily. The softness of the nipple was KEY for my nursing babies - it was a much more natural motion for them to be able to collapse the nipple with each suck.

A second vote for Playtex. They have been around forever...my Mom fed ME with them. The nipple is shaped most like an actual nipple. You can still get the rubber nipples for Playtex, which stretches more like a mother's breast, unlike all the bottles made from silicon nowadays that are soooo hard. You can squeeze the air out of the drop in so they have less gas, and it is easier to warm up the milk using warm water in a cup...plus, you don't have to wash out the inside of the bottle, you just throw the liner away....one less thing to wash when you are pumping is a HUGE blessing. Playtex also makes an adapter set that you can use to attach to most breastpumps so you can pump directly into the drop in liners.
http://www.amazon.com/Playtex-One-Step-Breast-Milk-Storag...

Also make sure you only use slow flow nipples....breast fed babies only get one level of flow from the breast, no need to change flow for an older baby if they are nursing when you are with them...faster flow will only get them more used to getting milk out of the bottle faster and MAY make them prefer the bottle.

I LOVE my playtex avent kind. It's simple, not to expensive, bpa free, there are two different type of nipples. The standard and wide. We use the wide and love it! My son has a huge mouth like me and so using the other ones were just to small for him, the wide were perfect. I also like these because you don't have to fuss with bags.

i personally think the best is the platex drop ins. they drain most similar to a breast and the nipples are the most similar to an actual nipple. i also personally feel like they give a baby the least amount of gas and they are so easy to warm up. i always just used the storage milk bags and then they poured easily into the drop in and the extra air was easily pushed out.

Breast Flow bottle was the only one my youngest would take

I liked second nature best, baby seemed to use the same muscles as when nursing.

I'd put my vote for Playtex drop-ins. They are great for pumping (especially if you get the Playtex pump, which I liked and saved me over $100) because they attach right to the pump and the pump liners freeze easily and thaw MUCH faster than the hard plastic storage bottles. Then they drop right into the bottle shell and you can squeeze the extra air out, plus the liners are type 2 plastic and you can recycle them and with less clean up and no BPA. You can buy the liners online or at some Burlington--Baby Depots a bit less than retail. Slow flow nipples are a must as they don't choke a baby who is used to working for breastmilk.

Good luck! It's not a bad idea to only buy a few at first, as some have suggested, to see how baby likes them. :)

Just some food for thought so you don't stress this decision too much. Both my girls took regular palin ordinary cheap bottles. Before buying any "breast friendly' ones, I suggest you go simple and see if they work. I know so many women who go through a million bottles thinking it is a nipple issue or a flow issue or that they need something fancy. I know for some kids it probably is complicated, However, i think the key is timing and perseverence.

There is a golden window to introduce a bottle. I always did it pretty early like 4-5 weeks, but I don't know what the official guidance is I think upt 10 weeks and then they start to resist. Check out the what to expect book.

Also, you may need help to give bottles. I didn;t ever give one, b/c I was nursing. But I know lot of moms who try to give one or sit with dad and baby just wants the breast.

I ued Playtex (the titlted kind) with my first, but wanted glass for my second during the start of all the BPA fuss, so I bought Evenflow. I think it is like 3 bottles for a few dollars. Worked great. I nursed for 12 and 18 months and did daycare and babysiters too. Good luck.

Born Free worked for us! I will also give them rave reviews, 5 stars, tell you they are the greatest, etc. but your little one may not think so. :)

Whatever you do, even if you go cheap bottles like some suggest (I am all about saving money!), PLEASE be sure they are BPA-FREE!!

Once going to a sippy cup, we got the soft and hard sippy 'nipples' for the Born Free bottle to adjust to a sippy. Then we also got the Take 'n Toss because they are inexpensive and BPA-Free. You can get them at Target. Take 'N Toss also makes utensils, bowls, etc.