Bottles,bottles,bottles...How Do You Choose?

I love the Born Free bottles...BPA free and seem to really work great for my almost 12 week old! And, don't mind the unsolicited breastfeeding advice...i'm sure that we all agree that it is the best...but rather you are looking for bottles for expressed breast milk or are using formula for whatever reason, it is your choice! I'm sorry...that just frustrates me sometimes when some of us are not medically able to breastfed or chose not to for personal reasons. With that said, I was a member of the BPA free bandwagon and have been really happy with the born free bottles and pacis.

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K.,

I see that a lot of people are asking you why you are not breast feeding. I believe that this is a personal choice. I tried very hard with my son but it was just not going to happen i was very disappointed but i had no choice for medical reasons. But anyway. I REALLY liked the Drop ins that you used before i dont know if you didnt like them, but i tried several and i found these to be the BEST!!!! I will def use them with our next child if i am UNABLE to breast feed. Good luck to you :0)!

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I would buy a regular Gerber bottle w/the latex nipple, a Playtex bottle with the silicone nipple and a Soothie bottle with the soothie nipple (since most hospitals use the Soothie pacifier). My son was selective w/the nipples. I tried out tons of bottles and did not notice that one was better than the other one. Finally settled on the tilted Playtex bottles...

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K.,
I just had to say that I hope you can ignore the unsolicited commentary on breastfeeding that some will feel compelled to offer to you (not because they are wrong...of course we all know by now that "breast is best"...but they are NOT answering your question!) I understand that not everyone will breastfeed- for a whole variety of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with choice. I get very tired of the almost self-righteous speehces that are contstantly offered up by those who feel it is OK to make the rest of us feel badly about ourselves if, for whatever reason, we do not breastfeed. So, I applaud you for wanting to be prepared with the best choice of bottles for your baby.
I used Avent in the past- before the BPA scare. They now make a BPA free version, but I also agree that you can't go wrong with glass.
Best of luck to you!

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Hey K.,

I gotta agree it's the nipples. My daughter would use any bottle I put the formula in, but would only use the rubber nipples. She didn't like any other kind. Even as she got older if I used a different kind (if I had gotten new bottles) she take a sip, pull it out and just alternate staring at it while looking at me as if to say, "Are you serious? What is this?"

I think it's a good idea to go with the bottle of your choice and then get many different shapes of nipple made of the rubber and the laytex.

God bless you, and best of luck with your pregnancy.

L.

I can't tell you one that I love, but thought I would add my feedback. I used the playtex Wide ventaire because I was told that the nipple is most like mom's so no nipple confusion, and that the shape of the bottle helps with gas...and it definitely did. I also have the Avent bottles, which I like now because there is less to clean than with the ventaire, but the ventaire helped best when my baby was little with her gas. I get frustrated with Avent though because they leak...I can always count on a leak and if you want to throw the bottle in a cooler or diaper bag with liquid in it then you are in trouble. I am going to try something new with my next baby and I have heard great things about Dr. Browns.

My son is 9 months and my only child that wouldn't nurse. We love "Dr. Browns" bottles. They have a stem in the inside to prevent extra air for gas and fussiness. They are the most expensive but well worth it

Ah yes.....bottles. I am completely in love with the playtex drop ins. My kids both went to a babysitter, so it was nice. I would put the liner in, toss some powdered formula in, and throw the cap on. So for the sitter, just add water!

What a marvelous invention!

I appreciate the whole breast feeding opinion below, but the question is about bottles. LOL

Also, if you are worried about the differences in the nipples, I believe that the starter pack for the playtex bottles has a sampleing of nipples. My kids liked the silicone, and they seem to last longer.

Good luck and congratulations!

I use the Dr Browns bottles and love them. They reduce gas and every baby I know has taken them with ease. Good luck and congrats!!

Hi K.,

Congratulations on your pregancy! Are you going to find out what you are having, or let it be a surprise?

You've gotten a lot of great responses as far as which bottles are good... and I am sure you will probably get many more.

I personally have not tried Dr. Brown's, but it sounds like they must be pretty good. With my first I used the Playtex Vent-Aire bottles (they were ok, and my son did not seem to mind), with my second I used the Avent bottles, which I really like a lot. Like another lady said, they are the closest to the real thing, and they also keep the air out. Most likely, I will probably stick with Avent for my third child (due in February), or I might purchase a Dr. Brown's to see which one the baby prefers.

It is good to get opinions, but ultimately, no one knows better than you do which is best for you and your baby! Try one of each, and go with your God-given, motherly instinct. Between that and your baby letting you know, you'll be just fine!

Wishing you all the best!!!
I.

This may sound like a stupid question, but why in the world are you so worried about bottles when your body creates the most perfect, healthy, tummy-soothing, infection-fighting, IQ-raising milk in the world, and best of all...it comes ready to feed at the perfect temperature in a convenient, easy to carry location? I understand that you may want to choose a bottle to feed your baby expressed breast milk later, and when you do that look for glass bottles or plastic bottles with no BPA (a chemical that is known to be dangerous and is used in many plastics). Seriously, you're an at home mom (yeah for you!! yeah for YOUR FAMILY!!!) so please, please do some more research on the hundreds of benefits and advantages of nursing over cow's milk formula. Formula is for baby cows. You will have a human baby. Feed it human milk.

K.,

What ever you decide, I would not buy too many of anything until you know what your baby will like! It would be a waste of money to buy a particular type and then find out that your baby does not like it. The choice will be made for you once your baby is born, so relax, get a couple of differen option that you like, and get the baby what they like once they tell you what it is! So I guess to answer your question, you don't have to choose, your baby will!

Good luck, and enjoy your baby!
M.

We use the Gerber bottles that are bpa-free and have the green, purple and blue rings. I can't remember the exact name - Gentle Flow, maybe? They sell them at Target and WalMart and they are $1 a bottle. That is awesome. They don't leak and we're really happy with them. I used to use Avent, but obviously don't anymore. We also tried the Evenflo glass and bpa-free plastic bottles but they leaked. I love that bpa-free doesn't have to cost a fortune. For $2.99, I say these are worth a try. If you're not happy, it's not a waste.

I've heard good things about Dr. Brown's and Born-Free but they are so expensive! These will do the trick. Our daughter was breastfed and she took to them very easily.

I used Dr. Brown's for my 2 little ones. They were both comfortable with them because they reduce the bubbles. Less gassy tummies are always good! It's been a while, but I believe you can buy different levels of nipples that control the flow. It is a tough choice because there are so many out there. If I have another baby, I will go straight to Dr. Brown's. Good luck to you and congratulations!

I use Dr.Browns bottles for my daughter and absolutely love them.

I just had a baby 3 weeks ago and I use Dr. Brown's. I used them 2 years ago with my other child and loved them. They keep babies from swallowing much air when they drink. This time I bought the BPA free bottles by Dr. Brown.

I love green to grow- they don't leak and are safe for baby, I am a mom of three and have tried them all!

I used the Playtex Drop Ins with the silicone nipple. I liked them cause I could squeeze out any of the extra air to help reduce gas. Also, if you go somewhere, you only need to take one bottle and the liners. I would just rinse the nipple after each use to keep it clean. You can buy the store brand liners which work just as well and are much less expensive. I don't have a dishwasher, so for me it was easier to only have four bottles and wash bottles once a day instead of three times a day. The liners are also BPA free. There are so many different choices out there. When I was pumping and nursing my dd really liked the Medela bottles with the flat nipples. We switched to the Playtex when she was about 6 months old.

HA Good luck I woudl wait if I were you... each one of my kids took a diferent bottle and different nipple. So I spent a lot of money trying to figure out which one they would use. and then to top it off one never used a bottle at all nursed only! UGHH

I dunno, personally when I was choosing I stayed away from the drop ins because it seemed like it would be more of a hassle and there is just more plastic going to the landfills. I use playtex airvent and like them alot. We have also used the Dr Browns bottles when we were having gas issues (they were a life saver at the time, but also kind of a hassle for assembley and cleaning).

Just my 2 cents, but I hope it helps a little. I'm not a tree hugger type, but do think we need to think about what we throw away and drop ins will add up for sure.

Also, check out Once Upon a Child. They always have a variety to choose from and they are usually only about $1.00. If you go with the drop-ins, I've even seen them there. Something to think about to help keep your costs down.

I used Avent, because I was told that they are closest to the real thing and I was nursing and working. If you follow the directions that come with the bottles and assemble the nipple and the ring while they are wet, they will not leak. I never had a leak problem because mine were still a bit wet when they came out of the dishwasher, so I would put them together then. I used the drop in liners with my first two and the regular reusable bottles with DD #3. I prefer the reusable bottles, much less hassle. Just put the milk in the bottle and go, there were no slippery liners to spill or run out of. Good luck with your new baby, whichever you choose.

Love the Playtex nursers with the drop ins. They were my mothers favorite and my favorite. Timeless. I nursed both my boys and they were the only bottle they accepted, the collapsible liner reduces air and lets the baby sit up and look around while eating. As my baby got older he could drink a bottle in the car on long trips without issue. They have always been BPA free. Target and Walmart sell generic liners to reduce that cost a bit. They are recyclable. That is one downside. But, they were so great totally worth it. My sister used the Born Free bottles, but when she saw how great the Nursers were she switched.

I like bottles called DR. BROWNS they are BPA free and come with an insert that allows baby to suck with out getting much air and they don't have to release the nipple because it colaspes my full time nursing baby will only use this bottle because of this feature. They are $4.99 an 8oz bottle at Meijer.

I used the plastic liners and they worked great, my issue was nipples. The liners were easiest, just drop one in, mix up the formula and go.

Good luck!

Hi K.
Not sure if you are planning on breastfeeding. But I breastfeed both of my children and they had the hardest time taking a bottle. The only one I could get either one to accept was the Dr. Brown bottles. Love them and wouldn't use any other brand. They are designed for as little air as possible to enter babies little bellies. Hope you find what you are looking for but this is what I recommend. Good luck!

Hi K.,

Although I haven't bought bottles for my son in over 3 years now, I recently purchased some for a baby shower and they were the "Born Free" bottles, they are supposse to be made from a non-toxic plastic (BPA). You may want to find out which bottle brands are BPA free and go from there.

Good luck.