Baby's First Bottles

VolGirl07 · August 2016

I'm a FTM and have heard so many different recommendations for selecting bottles that I feel totally overwhelmed! I plan to breastfeed mostly but also want to use bottles to allow dad to feed and for some free time for myself. I need to register for a few bottles but have no idea which to select in terms of brand and size. Please let me know bottles you loved and hated and why. Also, should I just register for multiple brands of single bottles or sets? Should I register for extra nipples also or wait and see what the baby likes?

MrsBigTime · August 2016

Find a bottle you like (price, style, glass/plastic, etc) and register for a 2 or 3 pack.

Most breastfed babies don't need more than a stage 1 nipple, because you don't need the bottle to be easier to get milk out of than the breast.

My pedi recommended we start offering a bottle between 4-6 weeks, and doing so very gently and non-stressfully. She also said to try a bottle and stick with it, but I've heard many moms struggle with finding a bottle that works for them, but I think if you introduce early enough, you should be ok,

Every baby is different though and some give their mamas harder times about switching between breast and bottle!

In our experience, we used Tommie Tippie and had my husband give her the first bottle at 5 weeks and she did totally great. We probably offered 2-3 bottles/week after that to get her ready for me to go back to work and we never had an issue.

I I bought Life Factory bottles this time, but only because I got them nearly new from another mom and I think they look cool. If they don't work, I'll use our Tommie Tippies because they were great for us. We always used stage 1 nipples with about 4-5 ounces of BM, even when our daughter was 1+ year.

MrsBigTime · August 2016

Also, kellymom.com is a fantastic resource for breastfeeding and covers nearly every topic I ever had a question about, including how to introduce a bottle to a breast fed baby. I highly recommend storing the link on your phone and utilizing it when you are sure to be up stressing about something - it's solid, encouraging, fact-based advice and always left me feeling like "I can totally do this!" when I was feeling overwhelmed or distressed before.

leighry · August 2016

We used Playtex bottles with our first after she graduated from the 4oz medelas that came with our pump. Our 2nd had reflux so we invested in Dr browns and used those with our 3rd as well.. never had an issue. We had the thrown out all our bottles before this little surprise made his appearance. So I think we will go with Medela for now since they will come with our pump and go from there.. but will likely go back to Dr browns since we know that brand well.

kvruns · August 2016

FTM here but I have Avent, Nuk and Munchkin from registry bags/ Motherhood Maternity freebies and then we registered for a set of Dr Browns bc everyone I know with kids recently has recommended them. I hope that between those 4 brands we find something that will work (plus my pump came with some I think, its Ameda brand or whatever that is - Medela wasn't an option)

SandNStarsNJ · August 2016

I'm seconding the reminder to look at the stage nipples you're registering for. Make sure you have stage 1 first and foremost as that is the let down you will need in the beginning. I also used the natural, nipple like ones the hospital gave us when the time came. As for bottles, we used the 5oz Medela (she was exclusive BF) the entire time with DD (she was done with bottles before the first year though). They were great and I'm hoping it works out for us again.

atcwag · August 2016

Keep in mind, most (older) breastfed babies max out at 4-5 oz. per feeding - depending on how far out they space their feedings, so there's no need for large bottles. In the beginning (recommended to not pump or introduce a bottle until 4-6 weeks when breastfeeding has been well established and milk supply has regulated), baby will only be taking 2 oz. or so.
DS never had any issues with bottles. We used a combination of Born Free, Tommee Tippee, Medela & Avent Natural with no issues. Always a preemie or stage 1 nipple.

Knottie1458416769 · August 2016

Check out the Kiinde twist breastfeeding set - this goes from pump to freezer directly, no transfers needed and less cleaning. I'm also getting some nuby bottles but I like the idea behind Kiinde

rspalding001 · August 2016

My only advice is that is you plan on breast feeding don't go overboard and buy a bunch of bottles now. Transitioning from breast to bottle can be a hard transition and a lot of breastfed babies refuse bottles for long periods of time. We tried 5 different bottles before finding one DD would accept and we wasted a lot of money buying multiples of brands she rejected. We ended up using Dr Browns because it was the one she finally accepted. Maybe buy 1 or two of the few brands you you want to try, then be consistent with one brand for a week or so before moving on to try another. Eventually he/she will take to something.

shevaCC · August 2016

Lots of good advice in here already. Always use stage 1 nipples for breastfed babies, you generally only need 4-5oz. bottles max if it's breastmilk, etc.

I'm of the opinion that when breastfed babies reject bottles, there's not a magic kind out there that they'll happily accept. Mine rejected the entire idea of bottles and I doubt me spending gobs of money buying lots of different options would've made any difference. Persistently offering and hunger made my kids eventually take bottles when I had to go back to work.

FWIW I like the simple evenflo glass bottles. I find glass ones easier in the dishwasher and easier to heat up evenly than plastic.

rencontrezmoi · August 2016

We tried Medela bottles and Evenflo glass bottles first, but she would swallow a lot of air with both of those. Eventually, we tried the Tommee Tippees and never looked back. I could still use the Medela and Evenflo bottles for pumping because they would attach directly to my pump, then just transfer the milk to the Tommee Tippees for feeding.

BmcD2016 · August 2016

shevaCC said:

Lots of good advice in here already. Always use stage 1 nipples for breastfed babies, you generally only need 4-5oz. bottles max if it's breastmilk, etc.

I'm of the opinion that when breastfed babies reject bottles, there's not a magic kind out there that they'll happily accept. Mine rejected the entire idea of bottles and I doubt me spending gobs of money buying lots of different options would've made any difference. Persistently offering and hunger made my kids eventually take bottles when I had to go back to work.

FWIW I like the simple evenflo glass bottles. I find glass ones easier in the dishwasher and easier to heat up evenly than plastic.

I've been considering glass bottles this time around. Do you find them too heavy or have a lot of trouble with breakage? And you can essentially use any brand nipple to put on them, right?

shevaCC · August 2016

@BmcD2016 they're my normal so I don't find them heavy, but I pump into plastic bottles since I have to carry them back and forth. I use Dr. Brown's, Even Flo, and Medela nipples. Any of the standard size (not wide) I imagine would work fine.

ETA - I've not broken any; DH and nanny have each broken one across 2 babies. My one issue is that I kept them in a drawer and DH always slams it. I just recently noticed the necks of a lot of the bottles (the circular part where you attach the nipple and ring) have small chips missing. I imagine we used them that way with my DS when he was almost one, but I'll probably get a bunch of new ones for this baby and find somewhere else to store them since DH is impossible to change.

fiscally3 · August 2016

We start with Playtex Ventaire (wide mouth) and evenflo glass bottles each time. I like that the bottom of the Ventaires unscrew, I think it makes cleaning easier. The Mixie bottles are great for anyone formula feeding, I love mine! We also near the start of weaning to use the really cheap gerber ones (They're like $4 for 3), and have had no issues. You're supposed to replace those every few months, so it helps me stop using bottles as a crutch for bedtimes and naps.

Another thing to keep in mind, if you are using glass bottles and daycare, check your daycare's policies. I know the place I work at prefers no glass containers (we had a jar of baby food shatter and glass went everywhere, which is terrifying in a room full of small kids who put things in their mouth without thinking, crawling, or walking around shoeless.)

lajoliedreamer · August 2016

When I was a nanny the baby had reflux and was very picky. We tried a number of bottles and the best was Dr Brown's so that's what I decided to register for. But, of course, every baby is different so we'll see how it goes.

Greencows4812 · August 2016

I suggest buying one bottle in a couple brands. Sometimes baby has a strong opinion on bottles. I EBF but had bottles for when I had me time and both my boys did well with any of the bottles. My husband really liked Tommee Tippee, he said it "felt good in his hands" and it had less pieces to clean than the Playtex I preferred.

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