The Great Bottle Decision of 2014

chapel2012

DD is not the most reliable burper in the world. Sometimes she burps right away and sometimes we could try burping her all day and she will just have none of it. If she burps, she is a pretty happy baby, if she doesn't she get a bit fussy. The real issue, if she doesn't burp, we can expect farts that would make a lumberjack blush. She also ugly cry's until she does fart, which of course makes everyone miserable.

We decided to switch the bottles she uses. We were using Avent Classic's and they just seemed to allow so much air to be swallowed. We have settled on either Dr. Brown's and Tommee Tippee, and both seemed to have better results, albeit one was clearly better than the other.

Here is the dilema:

Dr. Brown's

Pros: Dr. Brown's did great with the air issue. When we were trying out that bottle, while she still didn't really burp that well, she had very tiny farts and there was no ugly crying and frantic leg kicking. 

Cons: The nipple. She really did not like the smaller nipple. She took it, but drooled lots of formula. It was a struggle to get her to keep drinking as she would stop mid meal. This thing is also a pain in the ass to clean. We don't run the dishwasher every day, so we hand wash bottles.

Thoughts: My guess is that she would eventually get used to the nipple, but she might not.

Tommee Tippee

Pros: She loved this nipple a whole lot more than the Dr. Brown's. She also seemed to burp easier, but not entirely sure if that is a fluke since I don't see how a bottle can make burping easier. Much easier to clean as well. Much less drooling of the formula too. No ugly crying and less frantic leg kicking.

Cons: The nipple kept collapsing, which caused her to let off the suction and let in air, but to be fair that could be because she had graduated to a faster flow nipple with the Avent's. I was not ready to invest in nipples yet since we hadn't decided on bottles. A bit more farting than the Dr. Brown's, even though it was clearly not as painful for her.

Thoughts: With the faster flow nipple, this might take care of the collapsing and she might continue to suck instead of breaking the seal. 

What are your thoughts? Buy the faster flow nipple for Tommee and see how it goes? Hope she gets used to the nipple size on the Dr. Brown's and spend hours washing bottles (just exaggerating... maybe)? Has anyone tried both and clearly prefer one over the other?

matitice

We had bottle issues too. We started with Avent then switched to Playtex colic bottles but LO hated that one. We tried Tommee Tippee last Monday & he has LOVED it! He only gets one bottle a day since I'm just trying to get him ready for daycare feeds & that will be 3 bottles a day at most. He was gassy as well & we no longer have an issue with gas or burping with the Tommee Tippee. He also doesn't thrash about or fuss at all when we feed him with a bottle now. I knew I should have started with that one from the get-go. I say invest in the faster flowing nipples & a few more bottles & keep her happy.

boymom312

We use the tommee tippee for colic. They have an insert for colic similar to the dr. Browns but the wide nipple is the favorite around here. If the nipple collapses on these, I check the air valve on the bottom of the colic apparatus (not sure what to call it). If the valve is somehow stuck closed the nipple will collapse. If not, it never does. When it's stuck closed, I just pinch it to get it to release, close up the bottle, and continue feeding without incident.

HobokensFury

AJ loves his TT bottles. The nipple occasionally collapses because the valve is stuck but we haven't had any other problems.

pepperedmoth

I can't compare because we only have the Dr. Brown's and we used them for the very first time just last night..... but, uh, I liked them fine? I have nothing to compare so I wasn't bothered by the washing! We also handwash.

He's usually quite the spitter after nursing but nothing after his first bottle so that was great.

ETA: he didn't like the firm nipple at first either, but he got used to it over the course of the feeding, so by the time he was at the end of his 3.5 ounces he was sucking quietly and contentedly. It DEFINITELY took some work and screaming though! But we are super cheap and these were hand-me-downs so we were DETERMINED to make them work.

So I guess I do have input, and that's that your LO will probably get used to the nipples.

chapel2012

Hmmm, didn't even think about the air valve. I am going to check that the very next feeding. I think if that fixes the collapsing, the TT is going to maybe win out. 

rockopera

We use the Dr Brown's bottles. We have both the standard and wide neck (wider nipple).

Disliked the Tommee Tippee ones. Collapsing nipple and all. Too much work for him, and too much work for me to keep checking the valve.

chapel2012

So even after checking the valve, the TT still collapsed and we noticed she still was sucking in more air.

So I think Dr. Brown's it is with that wide neck nipple.

BabyVDM

We started with Tommy Tippee and they are not half as good as Dr Brown.  If you want to use Tommy Tippee send me your address and I'll mail you the at least dozen bottles we started with.

We started with the regualr Tommy Tippee and Patricia just screamed and screamed and screamed with the gas pains.  So we moved on to Tommy Tippee or sensitive tummy's which has a vent system similar to Dr Brown's in appearance but not in any way as good.  It is also a pain in the butt to clean with this weird saucer shape rubber thingy at the bottom.  Just not worth the effort especially since they didn't work.

We are now using Dr Brown's and they are fantastic.  Seriously, I didn't think it would be much of a difference but they are. 

Babies are so much happier without the tummy pains. 

No bottle will completely eliminate the problem so we also will give them Ovol in the event it's a particularly bad day.

Dr Brown's have wide nipple bottles as well.  Give them a try. 

Also, Calma nipples from Medela fit on the Brown bottles.

amdecker1016

I liked dr. Browns but hated cleaning all the parts.

Tommee tippee worked well but they leaked all over the place for us.

I finally tried the MAM bottles and love them! She doesn't spit up as much and burps well with them!

erind0213

We love the Dr. Brown's.

We have a similar issue, with burps and farts... but it seems to be getting better!

wearebirds

We've tried both and prefer dr browns. We use the wide ones since she's BF and does better with that.

Babykawash

We use the tommee tippee regular bottles with no issues. Sometimes the nipple collapses but that's only when she's sucking like a crazy lady lol
So I just pull it out and put it back in her mouth and it doesn't happen again Have you considered it could be the formula? I'm Breastfeeding but I've heard some formulas don't settle well with their LOs.

Mskris66

chapel2012 said:

So even after checking the valve, the TT still collapsed and we noticed she still was sucking in more air.

So I think Dr. Brown's it is with that wide neck nipple.

Used these since day 1 and LO does so well on them, no colic or gas... When he starts to dribble a little formula out the side, I just wipe of the top of the nipple with his bib so it's dry and he gets a tight seal around it with his mouth, and that usually solves it!