Drop-in Bottles - Pros and Cons

hokiebride05

I am trying to decide between drop-ins bottles or regular bottles.  What are you registering and what are some reasons you wanted or did not want a drop-in system. It seems easier to me, but also seems like it might be harder to tell how much the baby has eaten (since the bag shrinks up).  Please let me know you thoughts

ladymgray

what you said: the bag shrinkage.  that's the main problem i forsee with them.

AMYfromKY

My mom is a huge advocate of the drop-ins.  She said it makes things easier.  I am going to try to bf, but DH wants me to pump as well so he can feed the baby.  I will try the drop-ins first and if those don't work switch later.  I think it would only matter about how much the baby is eating if he is not eating everything in the bottle.  My mom said my brother and I always finished so she knew what we were getting.

AMYfromKY

You may also want to ask this on the 0-6 and 6-12 board.  They will have first hand experience I'm sure.

cindy453

It's really not hard to tell how much the baby has eaten. Unscrew the lid a little bit to let some air in, and voila! Back to normal. It takes maybe a second. It's not like you need to know down to 1/10 of an oz, just a general idea is good.

MissRedEorNot

One con I see is that you have to have the drop-in refills.  It's like the Diaper Genie...you have to have their product to refill it with!  I have the free drop-in bottle from Motherhood so I will try that out in addition to the other bottles I am registering for. 

Also, since you don't know if your baby will like the playtex bottle/drop-ins I wouldn't stock up on them! 

junebug05

After I had DS I tried Dr Browns and hated them...too many parts to clean!  Then we tried the VentAire ones and I wasn't a fans of the nippes or the shape of the bottle.  The nipples seemed too small and flowed too fast and the bottles didn't fit right in my cooler bag thing I used for daycare.  So alas, I tried drop ins and loved them!  The nipples worked great for us and they are so convenient!  We will be using them for DD as well.  I like that you can squeeze all the air out of the bag before feedings which helps reduce gas, etc.  And as far as the bag shrinkage thing goes, we used the liners that literally just dropped in, they kinda look like condoms for a lack of better comparison...we didn't use the bag type.  With the drop in kind if you undo the lid to the bottle and let air in the milk will settle at the bottom and you can see how much they have drank.  Hope this helps!  GL!

Evelynsmom

I'm planning on using the drop ins when I need to go back to work.  I used them with our first and liked them.

nuttybunch

I will be using drop ins for easy clean-up. Since you have to mix the formula and then put it in the bottle, you can always measure the amount before he/she starts eating. Then you'd know how much the baby is getting.

The only problem I see is that you have to mix the formula first. You can't put a little powder in the bag and just add warm water when you go out somewhere. It won't mix properly. So I have a few regular bottles for when I go out with the baby.

Mommy2Gav

I could never get all the air out and it made my ds's reflux worse. And being a preemie, I had to monitor exactly how much he was eating and the bag made it very difficult- even after unscrewing the lid. I switched to Dr. Browns.

kiki4

My SIL used the drop ins for my nephew and they worked great.  The only con was that we had a really hard time getting him to take a sippy cup.  He figured out he could hold the nipple in his teeth and continue to play while he drank.  He was always on the go, and didn't want to stop what he was doing to pick up the sippy cup for a drink.  I'm still debating which bottles to get...

DERN05

We used the drop-ins with our DS (now 20 months) and loved them! We tried Avent bottles at first, but they ALL leaked (and were a huge pain to clean). After we were having issues with his tummy (gas), we switched to drop-ins and never turned back. Using the drop-ins, you can get all of the air of the bottle before the baby eats, which really helped reduce the gas discomfort. After making the bottle, just push up on the liner (gently) and the air will escape through the nipple.

We never had another leaking bottle, and cleaning the bottles was much easier. Target sells drop-in liners about 1/2 the price as playtex.

2goodtobtrue

I used them with my daughter and plan to use them with this one. Someone mentioned not knowning if the baby likes the nipple, well there are multiple nipples for these bottles and you can even buy a starter set that has all different nipples in it. Also someone said you have to buy their liners, which isn't true. Wal-Mart sells the parents choice brand of liners and they work just as well and cost less.

 You can easily tell what the baby has ate by letting a little air in the bottle. Hope this helps?