FTM bottle questions!

Regne

I am sorry if the following questions are dumb or obvious, but I am a clueless FTM!!! I am 25 weeks. Have not yet started a registry or purchased a single baby item so I am trying to get started and I've been doing my best to keep up with the posts on this board to keep an eye on favorite items/brands. I have some questions about bottles: (FYI I plan on BF'ing...I know anything can happen, but that's what I plan).

1. How many bottles did you purchase/are you planning on purchasing? 2? 10? I am so clueless, I know. What is a good average number to have on hand to prepare?

 2. What brand(s) do you recommend?

3. Do I need a bottle sterlizer? I didn't even know they existed until I went to BRU yesterday and saw them on the shelves.

4. Do I need bottle drying rack things?

5. Do you recommend a bottle warmer? Which brand? Is there a brand of bottle warmer that fits most brands of bottles?

ETA: I also plan on pumping....was looking at the Medela Pump in Style Advanced. Does that mean I have to get Medela bottles to match?? Or can you pump with one brand and use another brand's bottles?

As you can see, I need help, so any assistance you ladies have to offer is so much appreciated. TIA.

 

juliane2004

1. How many bottles did you purchase/are you planning on purchasing? 2? 10? I am so clueless, I know. What is a good average number to have on hand to prepare?

After having three kids, I think I've figured it out. I have 16 bottles and 22 nipples on hand. I make 2 days worth of bottles (since formula is good for 48 hours in the fridge), so I make about 12-16 bottles every other day (depending on how much she drinks).

If you only have two bottles, holy moly you'd be cleaning bottles a LOT. Even 6-8 bottles (one day) would mean cleaning bottles every 20 hours or so.

 2. What brand(s) do you recommend?

I like the Playtex Drop in bottles, since they are easy to clean (rinse and dry, nothing to sanitize because the drop in liners are what have the formula touch them). I specifically like the standard/original drop in liners like this: https://trus.imageg.net/graphics/media/trus/Aplusplus/2011/4048158/playtex_drop-ins_liners_4048158_01.jpg

I do NOT like these: https://pics2.ds-static.com/prodimg/40561/300.jpg

3. Do I need a bottle sterlizer? I didn't even know they existed until I went to BRU yesterday and saw them on the shelves.

Nope. With the drop in bottles, just rinse them. The nipples should be washed and we boil them for 5 minutes when we clean them every 2 days (one use per nipple between washing). But anyway, the nipples are sterilized via bowling in a pot on the stove.

4. Do I need bottle drying rack things?

I have one, not for drying bottles but they are good for holding the nipples that we have in excess.

5. Do you recommend a bottle warmer? Which brand? Is there a brand of bottle warmer that fits most brands of bottles?

Nope, we have a tea kettle that we use to boil water (takes like 2 minutes). Then we put the water in a container bigger than the bottle, the put the bottle in the container and warm for 30 seconds to 2 minutes (depending on how much formula is there).

ETA: I also plan on pumping....was looking at the Medela Pump in Style Advanced. Does that mean I have to get Medela bottles to match?? Or can you pump with one brand and use another brand's bottles?

Sorry, can't help with this! I EFF.

aboynamedbarry

Regne:

I am sorry if the following questions are dumb or obvious, but I am a clueless FTM!!! I am 25 weeks. Have not yet started a registry or purchased a single baby item so I am trying to get started and I've been doing my best to keep up with the posts on this board to keep an eye on favorite items/brands. I have some questions about bottles: (FYI I plan on BF'ing...I know anything can happen, but that's what I plan).

I ebf and did from the beginning, with the exception of days 3-5 when she refused to latch on. I pumped and bottle fed then and then she started nursing fine and has been since.

1. How many bottles did you purchase/are you planning on purchasing? 2? 10? I am so clueless, I know. What is a good average number to have on hand to prepare?

 I had 2 bottles to begin with and then switched brands and have 1 of that new brand. she doesn't use the first 2 i mentioned. It was plenty for us, even in the 2 days we were having to use a bottle all the time. If I had had to pump and do that exclusively i would have certainly needed more, but you can always go buy more later.

 2. What brand(s) do you recommend?

i started with 2 4oz dr browns because i figured early bottle feeding would possibly cause gas and bubbles as that is common... and dr browns are supposedly best for that, however, we did not find that to be true. we ended up getting the playtex drop ins, she had significantly less gas with those.

3. Do I need a bottle sterlizer? I didn't even know they existed until I went to BRU yesterday and saw them on the shelves.

 I would say yes. I got the medela microwave bags for sterilizing. They are cheaper and EASY!  Definitely go with these to avoid just another bulky baby item lying around your kitchen.

4. Do I need bottle drying rack things?

i never had one, i just used my regular dish drainer, but I know people who have had them and like them. I suppose if you did a LOT of bottles it would be nice to have...

5. Do you recommend a bottle warmer? Which brand? Is there a brand of bottle warmer that fits most brands of bottles?

they are nice but not necessary, again, esp if you aren't doing a lot of bottles. We do approx 5 bottles a week and have been fine using hot water in a glass and dropping the bottle in it.

ETA: I also plan on pumping....was looking at the Medela Pump in Style Advanced. Does that mean I have to get Medela bottles to match?? Or can you pump with one brand and use another brand's bottles?

you do not need to get the medela bottles. You can get the uber cheap gerber essentials bottles that are like $3 for a 3 pack at target. They fit and work great! I pumped a lot to store a stash in the beginning and had 6 of the bottles for pumping into. 3 was not enough, 6 was perfect

As you can see, I need help, so any assistance you ladies have to offer is so much appreciated. TIA.

 

TreblEM

Just wanted to chime in and say that while I EBF for 5 months, we did switch to both BF and FF when I went back to work. What I learned was to not buy too many bottles at first--I had a couple of 2 brands (Tommee TIppee and Avent). We also had a Born Free but I didn't like it. As he took more and more bottles during the day, we added more bottles so that we had two days worth (ended up being 10 total at our height). It helped us figure out how many we needed to just buy when we realized we were washing to feed.

 

I also ADORE my boon grass/lawn drying rack---now it works great for sippy stuff and little silverware (especially if we're in between dishwashing loads etc).

frasey

Regne:

I am sorry if the following questions are dumb or obvious, but I am a clueless FTM!!! I am 25 weeks. Have not yet started a registry or purchased a single baby item so I am trying to get started and I've been doing my best to keep up with the posts on this board to keep an eye on favorite items/brands. I have some questions about bottles: (FYI I plan on BF'ing...I know anything can happen, but that's what I plan).

1. How many bottles did you purchase/are you planning on purchasing? 2? 10? I am so clueless, I know. What is a good average number to have on hand to prepare? We have 3 bottles. I know some people have a zillion, but honestly Ive never needed more than 3! We just make the bottles and wash them as we go - takes like 30 seconds.

 2. What brand(s) do you recommend? We use the Avent ones. They seem good to me! I like that there are other attachments like sippys and handles and stuff for when they're older that you can mix and match. I did NOT like the Nuk ones - you have to hold them at a specific place or else they're crooked in the baby's mouth. not cool when its dark! These are the only 2 we've tried, so....

3. Do I need a bottle sterlizer? I didn't even know they existed until I went to BRU yesterday and saw them on the shelves. No. Just boil a big pot of water and put the stuff in there. 

4. Do I need bottle drying rack things? No. Yeah there are some cute ones, but seems needless to me.

5. Do you recommend a bottle warmer? Which brand? Is there a brand of bottle warmer that fits most brands of bottles? Also no. At first, we boiled water and let it cool. And then turned the kettle back on for like 30 seconds to warm the water up, and then made that to make the formula. Then we just used room temp water. Now DD prefers it from the fridge!

ETA: I also plan on pumping....was looking at the Medela Pump in Style Advanced. Does that mean I have to get Medela bottles to match?? Or can you pump with one brand and use another brand's bottles? Dunno.... sorry. I know the Avent has attachments that you can pump directly into bottles, but I don't think you HAVE to do it that way. I never pumped so Im not much of a help here. 

As you can see, I need help, so any assistance you ladies have to offer is so much appreciated. TIA.

hth! 

 

MrsJetSet

If you plan on daycare or being home there are two different answers. I'm answering from the perspective of using daycare.

We started with a 6 pack of bottles. I found a starter set on super clearance otherwise I would have bought less the first go around. You never know if dc will take what you buy.

We use playtex dropins and love them! I figured it is better to start with the simple bottle and switch to something more complicated like Dr Browns if we had to later. We have 8, 8 oz bottles and that is plenty for us.

No need for a bottle sterilizer. We use the sterilize function on the dishwasher or you can use the microwave bags easily. The Oxo basket is better than munchkin because it is bigger.

We started by warming bottles in a large cup of hot tap water. I then switched to a hand me down bottle warmer that died. Then I switched to the kinde kozi which is suppose to be safer for breast milk heating.

MrsJetSet

Oh and we really like our boon lawn but mostly for letting pump parts dry.

jasminelorraine20

1. I breastfeed and I put 2 sets of Dr. Brown's glass bottles on my registry. There are two in a pack and DS does fine with them. I ended up buying another pack because LO drinks up to 16 oz. at the babysitter's, so I send him with 4-4oz. bottles

3. I wouldn't waste money on a bottle sterilizer. You can wash them with hot water and soap or run them through the dishwasher on sani rinse

4. We use our bottle rack all the time. So, it wasn't a waste of money for us. It's actually pretty convenient

5. We recieved a bottle warmer as a gift and use it when we need it, which is rarely. It's the munchkin brand

The Medela PISA comes with a set of 4 medela bottles, so you shouldn't have to buy any. I also pump with my Dr.Brown's bottles sometimes

gfam23

1. How many bottles did you purchase/are you planning on purchasing? 2? 10? I am so clueless, I know. What is a good average number to have on hand to prepare?

A lot, haha. I used (and will use again) Playtex Drop-Ins so I had more nipples than bottles/holders, in 4 oz. and then 8-10 oz. when baby is older.  I have no idea how many of each I had, but plenty.  You want to have enough for 6 or more a day, and it is a PITA to have to keep washing throughout the day or for the next morning's bottle.  Plus it is always good to have extra on hand in the diaper bag going somewhere, etc. 

2. What brand(s) do you recommend?

Playtex Drop-Ins.  Every bottle is sterile, they are easy to use and clean, and babies seem to like them.  The latex (brown-orangey colored), slow-flow nipples are the way to go.  The bottles/drop-in holders can go in the dishwasher, the nipples are hand-wash.

3. Do I need a bottle sterlizer? I didn't even know they existed until I went to BRU yesterday and saw them on the shelves.

Nope. 

4. Do I need bottle drying rack things?

I find it helpful for the items that need to be hand-washed, like nipples.  Since it is a daily (or more) process, and there are so many of them, it is helpful to have a drying rack for them.

5. Do you recommend a bottle warmer? Which brand? Is there a brand of bottle warmer that fits most brands of bottles?

I never used one or saw anyone else use one so I don't know.  You don't want to be using the microwave though; use hot water to warm bottles.  I normally just added warm water to formula in the bottles.

ETA: I also plan on pumping....was looking at the by I Want This" href="https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/68914960.aspx#" in_rurl="https://i.trkjmp.com/click?v=VVM6MjMzODk6MTE6bWVkZWxhIHB1bXAgaW4gc3R5bGU6ZDVlYjA4YTk3MWJhNzdiNTRlZjA3ODNmZTcwMzc2NGY6ei0xMTE3LTMwMzU0OmNvbW11bml0eS50aGVidW1wLmNvbTowOg">Medela Pump in Style Advanced. Does that mean I have to get Medela bottles to match?? Or can you pump with one brand and use another brand's bottles?

You can pump with one brand and use another brand's bottles. 

Regne

Oh my goodness, thank you SO much for all your helpful replies. I am going to print out all your answers and go through them carefully as I continue to research what I should be getting. You are all the best, thank you thank you thank you.