Hi mommas!
My son is 3 months old and I exclusively breastfeed. Since he was a month old I have given him a bottle (of breast milk) every once in a while (mainly when hubby kept him when I needed some retail therapy haha). I also have a wonderful 10 year old daughter who loves to be involved, so once a week she'll feed him a bottle. All in all, he doesn't get a lot of bottle feedings, but when he does, it seems like there is just too much milk coming out for him. I use the Medela Harmony Breast Pump and use the bottles that came with it. I'm just not sure I love the nipples they come with. What brands have you had success with? Any recommendations? As a side note, I'm just now looking for alternatives because I've only fed him a bottle a few times and before that it was primarily my hubby who didn't think too much of it. Men! Gotta love 'em :) I await your wisdom ladies (& gents too!).
Edit: The nipples on the Medela are slow flow, but I think they are just not good for him (he can be an aggressive eater sometimes). So I guess a more edited question would be, have you found that certain nipples are "slower" than others? And if so, which ones? Thanks again!
Thanks moms for all your input! I tried a couple different bottles and he seems to do well with the BornFree ActiveFlow. Thanks again for your suggestions, I always love hearing the advice of different moms on this site!
About the same here as everyone else. Playtex w/ drop-ins. My son was having trouble breastfeeding so I hired a lactation consultant. She basically said the medela bottles/nipples sucked and they may be in some sort of trouble w/ their claims. She said Playtex were closest and best for b-fed babies. Good luck!
I always just used the cheap old-school bottles and nipples. My DD had no problem with them, and went back and forth between that and the breast just fine.
I BF and supplement with formulas and have used the Dr Brown bottles with both my kids. I agree with LuckyGirl's comment about the nipple flow. We use size 1 with new DS right now.
We used the Avent bottles for my son, and they worked really well. I pumped at work and my husband was at home with the baby, and he had no trouble with the Avent bottles. They have different nipples for different flow, depending on the age and what your baby needs.
My son did well with the Playtex nursers with the liners. Look for the slow flow nipples.
We found the "slow flow" nipples or "Level 1" (as Dr. Brown's are called) to work well with our boys. These ones have the smalles holes, so the milk doesn't come out too fast. If you point the nipple away from you, you can find the nipples size imprinted on the nipple. So the first thing I would do is check to see whether or not that's what you're currently using. Most brands should work with the bottles you have, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find more if that's not the size you've been using.
My DD did alright with the Medelas (I got her wide nipples later) but a lot of people like Avent or Tomee Tippee or however that's spelled. There's also one called Brestflow or something. Keep a breastfed baby on slow flow. It'll match better.
Doing home daycare almost 14 years, and experience with my own daughter who is now a teen, my "go to" bottle for the breastfed babies that come to me, especially the tough to feed ones who prefer the breast, or do some gagging...the Playtex Nursers, with the drop in bags. The "problem feeders" always seem to prefer the latex nipples (brown ones)...others the clear silicone are fine, but the latex are softer.
Good luck!
i found Dr. Brown's were very much like nursing - as in it was slower and harder to get out much like the breast.
We also used the Playtex Nursers (brown nipple) with both daughters (both breastfed) and they seem to work perfectly- they don't leak or pour when you hold the bottle upside down (as do the Medela nipples), the slow flow nipple was perfect, and the shape/texture of the nipple seemed to be just what both of my daughters liked. We tried the Tommee Tippee ones with our newest daughter and they leaked all over the place! Plus, they are a funny shape/size and didn't fit well in any cooler we owned.
I also love that the Playtex bottle opening was large because it was easier for me to pour milk in without spilling it. Silly, but definitely a plus for me. (Especially if you have to pour from the Medela bags!)
My breastfed son loved the Playtex nursers. The nipples were slow flow and other bottles seemed to almost choke him. He would tolerate the Advent bottles also but he really loved Playtex.
