FTM-Clueless about Bottles

LuvShak · July 2015

Hi Everyone! I am a FTM and am completely clueless about what bottles/bottle accessories I should put on my baby registry/purchase. I plan to breastfeed and get a breast pump only for relief and back-up as I want to be as prepared as possible. Does anyone have any suggestions on what bottles are best to have in stock if you are breastfeeding but need them in a pinch? There are so many bottle and nipple options it is kind of overwhelming...

dramaphile · July 2015

I've heard you should register for a couple of different kinds in case your baby doesn't like one or the other. Dr Browns bottles are very popular for formula and good for gas, there are others that are more like the breast which are supposed to encourage a better latch (I think munchkin is one of those). I've already gotten a couple of free bottles in gift bags from babies r us registry and signing up at Motherhood Maternity. I registered for medela bottles because they go with my pump, and I'm also trying out the kiinde system (it attaches to your breast pump and pumps directly into pouches, which fit into special bottles with active latch nipples). I will be pumping a lot since I will be working, so that's my focus.

Don't get too many of the same kind (or at least don't open all the packages) since you might want to return them. I think for breastfed babies, slow nipples are recommended so the baby doesn't start to prefer the faster flow bottles.

JLW0504 · July 2015

We had Similac, Avent and Dr. Brown's. The Dr. Brown's were the most successful. The Similac worked really well too.

jessilee15 · July 2015

They recommend slow flow nipples for all newborns to start, but especially for primarily breastfed babies. A lot of people told me that baby may prefer different bottles. My sister had great luck going back and forth with Tommee tippee and so I got Only those; baby #1 did great with those, so hopefully those work again with #2. If not I'll get on Amazon and order something else asap with prime

MoRay05 · July 2015

I used Dr Brown bottles with my first and plan on reusing them (with new nipples) with this baby. The only down side is they have a lot of parts, but register for the dishwasher basket and you can throw all the small parts in there.

LuvShak · July 2015

Thanks everyone for your feedback!! Any advice is appreciated!

dmiller1213 · July 2015

When we registered we put a couple different kinds to test out and see what he takes better to

nmwheel1 · July 2015

We breastfed and pumped for relief also with our daughter. We ended up buying 5 different brands of bottles and nipples and she fully refused every single bottle. She'd only take breastmilk from the source.
When she started eating solids, if I mixed breastmilk in she wouldn't take a single bite (if I mixed in water she would eat it all).
I'd recommend if you get different brands to just get 1 of each until you learn what ones baby will take so you don't end up with a giant stash of bottles they won't use!

megandchase · July 2015

I used playtex ventaire with my son they were great. They have a lot of different nipples you can try without having to buy all new bottles.

LinMmmm · July 2015

megandchase said:
I used playtex ventaire with my son they were great. They have a lot of different nipples you can try without having to buy all new bottles.

I also used the playtex ventaire (w/ slow flow nipples) with great success. But like others said I did not register for a boat load just in case he didn't take it. Luckily he did, we breastfed from the source and bottle fed most of the time when I went back to work. He really had no issues going back and forth which could be due to me introducing the bottle fairly early once he was BFing like a champ.

dogsombrero · July 2015

I exclusively pumped for 11 months due to swallowing/latch issues my son only took MAM anti colic bottles. They self contain sterilize too which I loved. They are available at BRU but considerably cheaper at Walmart.

Cook3133 · July 2015

I tried a bunch of bottles with my first and ended up with playtext drop ins. All 3 of my kids have used them.

wedding crazed · July 2015

If you are going to mostly breastfeed pick something that works with your pump. Ditto everyone else about not registering for a ton of bottles. My first just used Medela as it went with my pump and he'd always eat or drink anything out of anything. My 2nd never took any bottle and we tried like 10 different kinds. My 3rd we started with a bottle supplementing with breast milk as she had weight issues. She had reflux as well and we had to out out and buy Dr. Brown's which work great for reflulx, but I hate them for the many parts and cleaning of those parts.

ash413 · July 2015

We are getting the tommy tipee, they also have am attachment that works with my pump

drowe214 · July 2015

I took a shot in the dark and only registered for Dr. Browns, and luckily my son liked them. They do have a lot of parts but since I primarily breastfed I didn't need that many bottles and it didn't seem too cumbersome. I did have the bottle/drying rack which helped.

cfletch88 · July 2015

We used Dr. Brown's will our first. They were what we registered for and our son took them fine. This time I wanted to avoid all of the multiple parts that go along with them so we're going with Tommee Tippee bottles. I also plan to breastfed and pump while at work. I've heard good things about Tommee Tippee nipples being good for breastfed babies.

Gapeach83 · July 2015

Dr browns work great but this time looking into other options. I just hate cleaning them. You need a special wire brush to clean tube and if you run out or loose you need to buy more but at 3am it makes you want to cry. Looking into Avent and Tommee Tippee.

turkeybabt · July 2015

Thanks @LuvShak for creating this thread!

I'm gonna jump onto her question-
What about glass bottles? I hate the idea of plastic bottles especially if they have to be warmed up- BPA and all that stuff?
I've seen some glass bottles with silicone sleeves, similar to those glass water bottles adults use.
Can they be effectively used for breast milk, will I be able to use it for anti colic if necessary? What are your strong discouragement on it or strong encouragement on it?
I'm also thinking of how it's easier to recycle glass bottles if it comes to that rather than plastic bottles?

TIA!

Bootsie81 · July 2015

We used Tommee Tippee with my son and liked them. Went cheaper and got Avent for my daughter and she did fine with them too. The only ones I haven't been real crazy about were the Playtex drop ins because we had a few leaking problems.

MargaretC5 · July 2015

As PP mentioned I would try which every bottles fit with your pump first, the fewer things to wash the better. We used the standard Medela bottles and they worked great for us.

loverofnaps · July 2015

Playtex nurser with drop in liners worked best for our gassy baby.

MoRay05 · July 2015

turkeybabt said:
Thanks @LuvShak for creating this thread!

I'm gonna jump onto her question-
What about glass bottles? I hate the idea of plastic bottles especially if they have to be warmed up- BPA and all that stuff?
I've seen some glass bottles with silicone sleeves, similar to those glass water bottles adults use.
Can they be effectively used for breast milk, will I be able to use it for anti colic if necessary? What are your strong discouragement on it or strong encouragement on it?
I'm also thinking of how it's easier to recycle glass bottles if it comes to that rather than plastic bottles?

TIA!

Dr Brown makes glass bottles with the sleeves. The dr brown plastic bottles are all BPA free. I never had any problems with my plastic ones but my friend switched to the glass bc she said the plastic started to break down. She also had twins so was getting a lot of use out of them. The only negative about the glass is they are pretty heavy compared to the plastic. When having to hold the bottle while baby is feeding for 15-20 mins, it can be tiring.

rox7777 · July 2015

@turkeybabt Many of the major brands now are marketed as BPA free and you will rarely have to heat up the bottle long enough to worry about it, especially if you're breastfeeding. I actually always warmed DS1's milk under the faucet in the milk storage bag because it was faster. And when he switched to formula, I just used warm water from the faucet because we had a filter.

dramaphile · July 2015

turkeybabt said:

Thanks @LuvShak for creating this thread! I'm gonna jump onto her question- What about glass bottles? I hate the idea of plastic bottles especially if they have to be warmed up- BPA and all that stuff? I've seen some glass bottles with silicone sleeves, similar to those glass water bottles adults use. Can they be effectively used for breast milk, will I be able to use it for anti colic if necessary? What are your strong discouragement on it or strong encouragement on it? I'm also thinking of how it's easier to recycle glass bottles if it comes to that rather than plastic bottles? TIA!

Bornfree and Medela make glass bottles, not sure on sleeves. The Bornfree bottles are vented for colic. As an FYI, some daycares will not take glass bottles, something to consider. Pretty much all bottles are BPA-free at this point, so heating is not an issue (plus, you shouldn't heat breast milk too hot anyways, it can denature the proteins. Just sitting it in a bowl of warm water or under a faucet should do the trick.)

violetigerlily · July 2015

I am also concerned about using plastic. BPA-free plastic bottles still leak estrogen-like chemicals into the milk which cause similar problems as BPA (peer reviewed scientific sources about BPA free bottles for anyone who is interested : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222987/ and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25477047).

While I'm not a die-hard alarmist and don't criticize anyone using plastic bottles, I would like to try to see if I can stay away from them as much as possible. I'm a little worried about glass bottles weight though too. Plus there don't seem to be many types available if my baby hates the few brands I've found. I've seen some metal stainless steel bottles in a store and was also wondering if anyone has tried that. They are similar to the Klean Kanteen brand metal water bottles for adults and seem a lot lighter than glass bottles. I'm hoping to breast feed and then pump when I go back to work about 4 months after the baby is born. Any advice would be great! Thanks!

dramaphile · July 2015

violetigerlily said:

I am also concerned about using plastic. BPA-free plastic bottles still leak estrogen-like chemicals into the milk which cause similar problems as BPA (peer reviewed scientific sources about BPA free bottles for anyone who is interested : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222987/ and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25477047).

While I'm not a die-hard alarmist and don't criticize anyone using plastic bottles, I would like to try to see if I can stay away from them as much as possible. I'm a little worried about glass bottles weight though too. Plus there don't seem to be many types available if my baby hates the few brands I've found. I've seen some metal stainless steel bottles in a store and was also wondering if anyone has tried that. They are similar to the Klean Kanteen brand metal water bottles for adults and seem a lot lighter than glass bottles. I'm hoping to breast feed and then pump when I go back to work about 4 months after the baby is born. Any advice would be great! Thanks!

My concern with metal bottles would be that you can't see how much the baby has had to drink because they are not clear. they'd probably be good for older babies that you know are good eaters, but i wouldn't do it with a newborn whose feeding i'm tracking more closely. Honest co makes clear silicone bottles so the milk never touches plastic. Comotomo makes silicone as well.

https://www.honest.com/feeding/natural-feeding-5oz-bottle

violetigerlily · July 2015

Thanks @dramaphile . I didn't know fully silicone bottles existed so it's nice to have another option!

Also, as a clueless FTM, how much are you checking mid-feeding to see exactly how much the baby drank? Don't get me wrong, I'm guessing I'll be incredibly OCD about it myself if given the option, but in a non-bottle breast feeding, don't you really have even less of an idea about how much the baby is eating? So how do you figure it out when breast feeding if it's so important in bottle feeding?

dramaphile · July 2015

It might just be a personal preference thing. I'm going to be pumping a lot since I'll be going back to work, and I plan on having also DH feed bottles to get baby used to it. If the baby doesn't drink the whole thing, I would want to measure it to know how much wasn't drunk. Plus, if you have a colicky/gassy baby, you want to stop and burp every ounce or so. With an opaque bottle that would be hard to tell.

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