How many bottles/sizes do I need to buy?

AshleyBokony

I am a first time mommy, and I'm trying to figure out how many bottles and what sizes to get (5oz/9oz). We will be breastfeeding, but when I go back to work, I want to make sure we have enough bottles and the correct sizes. Plus, I don't know how much the baby will be eating in 3 months up until we finish breastfeeding at around age one? Does anyone have any advice about all this? Thanks!

Angela814

My older girls never took more than 6oz in a bottle. I'd buy 5oz bottles for now. If you need a bigger size, you can always buy more later.

ETA: I had 9 - 5oz bottles for DD2. They were these First Years bottles, and the 5oz bottle actually held 6oz of milk. Personally, I prefer the smaller bottles. I just think it's easier to feed with a smaller bottle, and they fit better in my cooler, fridge, daycare fridge, etc.

Since I couldn't find new nipples for those bottles, I bought the 5oz Tommee Tippee bottles. They are a bit smaller, so I don't think they could fit much over 5oz.

MBush4

I EP due to various reasons and looking back I bought too many bottles. If I were to do it all over again I would just get the larger sized bottles. Yes, they'll probably be larger than what you need at 3 months, but I hate clutter and wish I didn't have tons of smaller bottles to try and store. I'd buy about 7-8 (although in all honesty, you may want to start off with one or two to test him on when he's smaller than 3 months to figure out what he likes). I hope that helps!

kross605

I have tons of bottles because I like leaving a backup one at daycare, in the diaper bag,  at my parents house etc but you really only NEED maybe 6 or 8 so you have enough for a full day of bottles even if one day-worth is dirty and in the dishwasher. Thats assuming you will only use bottles when you are not with the baby which is likely 3-4 bottles a day.

Breastfed babies usually start out at 2oz and max out at 6oz (roughly). Its up to you whether you want to buy some smaller bottles (4-5oz) for the early months and some bigger bottles (8-9oz) for the later months or just start out with the larger bottles.  If youre looking to buy the least amount of bottles Id buy 6-8 larger bottles.

Melidee82

I bought 4 oz bottles and wish I hadn't.  If I had it to do over, I would just buy the larger bottles and use them from the beginning.  I have 6 in the current size we are using.  Three stay at daycare and three stay home.  It is more than enough since she rarely needs a bottle at home. 

We tried a few brands before settling on one so I wouldn't invest in a full supply of bottles until you have found one that works well for your LO.

 

blu-eyedwife

Melidee82:

We tried a few brands before settling on one so I wouldn't invest in a full supply of bottles until you have found one that works well for your LO.

This.

 Don't stock up now.  You will have time to swing by a store before your child starts daycare and you can stock up on his/her favorite then.  And you'll have a better idea of how much your child is eating then.