Product Spotlight: Bottles

lyse01 · September 2018

Let’s kick things off with bottles!

What brands did you love? Did you hate? Did hand/dishwasher washing make a difference? How many did you need? What flow rate for nipples? Did the number of parts to assemble make a difference? If you pumped, was a particular brand easier than others? What size bottle? Did you receive advice from a reputable source about ergonomics or anything else specifically related to bottle drinking? Is there a question I’m forgetting that is relevant?

FTMs: when you look at bottles, what’s confusing or unpredictable? Ask away.

I recommend leaving products designed to wash, dry, or sanitize bottles for another week. Also, let’s avoid getting too sidetracked into breast vs bottle; most babies will drink from a bottle and most mothers will need this knowledge at some point even if primarily breastfed.

Want to discuss something else? Recommend it here, or second some recs by loving someone’s post (I’ll try to prioritize): https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12734953/product-spotlights-upcoming-or-requests

All product spotlights can be resurrected at any time for further discussion - type “Product Spotlight” into the search bar at the top of the page to find previous threads.

lyse01 · September 2018

We started in the NICU with hospital bottles: 60 ml canisters and a screw top rubber nipple - not so successful, difficult to wash without a bottle brush (but designed for single use), easy to assemble.

We then tried Dr Brown’s Natural Flow 4 oz bottles, designed to reduce colic. DD didn’t really care, I found it difficult to determine how much she had eaten (a major concern), DH never figured out how to assemble the six parts (including cap; parts were often lost), impossible to wash by hand without multiple sizes of bottle brush. The 8 oz version was even harder to clean. We liked that it had ultrapreemie and preemie flow rate nipples.

We sampled Tommee Tippee: DD was meh, the wide mouth made for easier hand washing, the molded plastic was a little odd.

We sampled Avent 4 oz but I don’t remember anything notable.

We settled on Comotomo 5oz , which DD and I LOVE. Flexible nipple and flexible cup made of silicone are supposed to mimic the breast, super simple for DH to assemble (3 pieces plus a cap that we never use). Wide mouth allows for easy hand washing. There’s also an 8 oz version that at 16 months we haven’t yet used. There are three nipple flow rates, but because we nurse, we’ve stuck to the low flow rate and been perfectly happy with it. Leakage basically only happens when the bottle is upside down and being sat on (position plus pressure). Expensive and difficult to find in stores, but since we don’t have a dishwasher, we just wash them immediately after use and only have three, and ordered off Amazon.

kitkat8387 · September 2018

With DS we used Avent bottles. They were easy to clean and sanitize. I usually just washed them in the dishwasher and then I had a little basket for the nipples that also went into the dishwasher. When I pumped, I usually just poured the milk from the medela bottles into either a milk storage bag to freeze or right into the avent bottles. I had the attachments that let you pump directly into the Avent bottles but for some reason I never used them - I am a SAHM so I didn't pump that often, just for occasional date nights and stuff like that. We switched to formula around 5 months for a variety of reasons and kept using the same bottles. Interestingly when we switched to formula DS was fine with room temp, even though he had been used to breastmilk either straight from the tap or warmed in a bottle warmer. I would store the formula powder pre-measured in the same medela bottles I used for pumping - so easy to pour into the Avent bottles because the mouth is smaller on the medela bottles. Once we were done with bottles, DS would not ever use a spouted sippy - we went straight to straw cups for both water and milk. He hated the Avent sippy cup spout. But the bottles were great.

KingElvis · September 2018

We tried a ton of different brands with DS and his favorite were NUK bottles. He had no problem switching between bottle and breastfeeding when we were home. I had 4 bottles - I would send all 4 to daycare, but often had 1 left to use for the next day. I hand-washed the each night (at the time we didn’t have a dishwasher - we have since remodeled our kitchen and I am thankful that we will have one with this baby!) and then sanitized in a small bottle sanitizer...I think the brand was Advent? It really wasn’t a big deal to clean them. I pumped into the bottles that came with my Medela PISA and stored in bags. I also washed the pump bottles and flanges each night. He never drank more then 5oz so we didn’t need bigger bottles. He also didn’t seem to have a preference as to the temperature of the milk so we didn’t have a warmer, but I think daycare did. He very rarely had bottles at home though (mostly just if I was out of the house).

This is time I’m excited about trying Comotomo bottles!

ashtuesday · September 2018

We use Avent Natural for my daughter and are happy with them - easy to clean (only consist of bottle + nipple + ring + cap) and sanitize. One tip on the nipples for these in particular: some of the faster ones sold in store (Buy Buy Baby) are textured while Amazon's are not. We thought my daughter wasn't ready for a faster nipple, but it turned out she just didn't like the textured kind.

Kateriee · September 2018

After trying and buying too many bottles to count my baby ended up liking the MAM bottles. They come in five pieces, but we hand wash, boil and put them through the dishwasher. It's not complicated.

We had about six on hand for a single day, washing them twice.

I'm going to wait for this little one before I buy a days supply of bottles and maybe breast feeding will go better this time.

blueberrymomma · September 2018

I had several different samples of bottles that we tried with DD and the only ones she’s would take were Tommee Tippee. Super easy to clean and I can put them in the top rack of the dishwasher to sanitize. We lucked out that DS liked them too so we only had to replace the nipples.
I do have the adaptor to pump straight into the bottles with my Medela pump. However I didn’t find it very convenient so I didn’t use the adaptor much.
Also I’m mainly a stay at home breastfeeding mom. I started introducing the bottle around 4 weeks and neither of my children had problems nipple confusion.

MRDCle · September 2018

We used Avent naturals. Easy to clean/sanitize and if I end up pumping again they fit on the Spectra parts to pump directly into them if need be.

kangstadt · September 2018

I believe what we ended up using the most for DS were Tommee Tippee bottles, and possibly some Dr. Brown's. We handwashed the bottles and never had a real issue with too many pieces.

My biggest advice for new moms when it comes to bottles though is to buy just one or two different styles and find out which your kiddo will take before committing to a brand! You don't want to end up with five bottles of one type that your baby refuses to take. Fyi, Amazon/Target registries both send sample bottles in their "welcome boxes," when you do a baby registry.

mamakat0105 · September 2018

We used Tommee Tippee. I loved this set. We started with the starter kit and went from there. I started formula feeding around three months and these bottles have specific formula containers that you put inside the bottles for travel. I loved it for the airport and travel or just your normal day on the go.

We originally started with Munchin Latch System. The blue vents under the bottle started leaking and I ended up having to throw out an entire starter kit.

mrstmoose · October 2018

We registered for a set of 3 Dr. Brown bottles and never looked back. The parts seem overwhelming but we got the hang of it pretty quick. We hand washed them for the first 6 months or so and then started putting them in the dishwasher. We won’t buy any new ones unless this LO doesn’t like the bottles. We might get new nipples, depending on the condition of the current ones. We may just sterilize everything and call it good.

If anyone decides to go with Dr. Brown, I highly recommend getting the Boone drying rack and an attachment that stands on it so you can hook various bottle parts on it. And really, that goes for anyone with a bottle!

lovemaddux · October 2018

We loved Dr Browns Original bottles for DS. We never had issues with parts and hand washed daily with a sanitize once a week. We moved up in nipples as recommended on packaging or when he seems to needing to go faster or slower. Parts were easy and I thought they made a difference.
We did combo breastfeeding/formula and DS didn’t have any issues with confusion or latching (even with a lip and tongue tie that was not diagnosed).
For the formula or supplementing moms I highly recommend a formula pitcher/mixer. It saved so much time and headaches when we found that. It could make a days worth of formula (24 hour in fridge max) and we wouldn’t have to think about it again. Pour and go! Even if I was tired I wouldn’t have to worry about measuring incorrectly.

blueberrymomma · October 2018

+1 for the Boone drying rack! It’s great for bottles and nipples

thatbaintforbetty · October 2018

DD was really easy and pretty much took any bottle. We had a couple classic Avent and bought a couple packs of the Avent naturals and had a couple other random sample bottles. She took them at any temperature and we ran them through the dishwasher after the first couple of months of being uber paranoid and hand washing/sanitizing. My milk never came in so she was strictly formula.

angelob88 · October 2018

We used tommee tippee and she never seemed to have any issues. We got lucky and she never really fought the transition from breast to bottle, granted if I was near her she never took a bottle so that could be why. I've read struggles with babies not wanting to take bottles when they are exclusively breastfed. When we did daycare I would bring over two of the bottles and bags of pumped milk and that's what we went with. I think we only had 6 or 7 total bottles and we didnt need more than that so cleaning wasnt too bad. We hand washed them.

kosmo86 · October 2018

We used the Avent bottles.

At first we only hand washed but after 6 months or so we went to the dishwasher. The hooked up directly to the spectra for pumping so it was super easy.

DD was not fussy about bottles so we never had to switch. We did try dr brown bottles for a while bc she was such a spitty baby but I HATED them. They were a pain to clean! So I would only get something like that if you HAVE to.

sheslikeasunburn · October 2018

we loved good old dr brown bottles. the dishwasher baskets are a lifesaver. Didn't go beyond level 1 nipple because i was breastfeeding and didn't DD to reject me for the bottle! i pumped into medela bottles but never used them to feed her. I would transfer to storage bags or straight to a dr browns bottle. I will probably try feeding directly from medela pumping bottles where it makes sense with this baby.

mrstmoose · October 2018

Coming back to add. Regardless of whether you hand wash them or throw them in the dishwasher, you're going to need multiple, unless you want to clean a bottle directly after it gets used (FYI, you won't. You're going to be exhausted and not give a flying crap if there are 4 bottles that need to be washed. So once you find a bottle you/LO like, buy enough for a day, just in case).

Piccola1988 · October 2018

My son is really not picky about bottles, but we loved the MAMs for getting him used to something other than the breast. They are great because they assemble easily and are actually self-sterilizing (3 minutes in the microwave and done!), and they allow air-flow through the bottom so less gas/colic. For whatever reason the baby loved the flat nipple (we actually stumbled across their pacifiers first and then realized we had to try the bottles).

That being said, once the MAMs got him used to taking a bottle he would drink out of everything. Now more often than not I just put the Medela nipple on the storage bottles (by some miracle we're still breastfeeding at 9+ months so that's what I'm storing pumped milk in) - he takes that just fine.

I put everything in the dishwasher because it's just so much more manageable. I have a little bin that holds the parts and I just run it once every day or two.

I was always told not to buy or register for a ton of bottles ahead of time and I think this was good advice. One or two of a few different ones is plenty, because you never know what baby will prefer. Plus as you register and sign up for things you sometimes get samples.

gollygeeitsamy · October 2018

My daughter was picky about bottles because for the first 3 months she was exclusively breast feed and I think we tried the avent and tommee tippee bottles but she would swallow too much air and didn't like them. A friend recommended the Munchkin Latch bottles. Those worked great, not many parts to wash, and I had an adapter for my Medela so I could pump directly into the bottles. I had enough bottles to pump at work and for her to have at daycare. They have an anti-colic valve in the bottom so if you didn't have it sealed they would leak but I just made sure to push up on them before pumping. But the valve helped so much and made her a happier baby! We used these bottles at daycare with pumped breast milk from 3m-12m with no issues and it helped her tummy problems. She was colicky and had bad reflux/spit up and these worked the best for her.

+1 for getting a Boon drying rack
+1 for a dishwasher basket for parts/nipples
+1 for not buying too many at first till you figure out what baby likes

batmama31 · October 2018

so glad this thread was posted! I was researching bottles yesterday. we used medela bottles w/ my first, and while he didn't seem to mind, I found it annoying that the nipple would close in on itself, and we'd have to constantly pull the bottle out of his mouth to let it release.

I was eyeing the comotomo, so I'm glad to see a few positive reviews here for it!

midwestmommy90 · October 2018

With DD I used avent because I could pump into them with my Spectra. However, she would latch weird and leak a lot of milk. I had to buy the preemie nipples for them. I recommend if you’re planning to breast feed to always buy the preemie nipples. However, in the long run we LOVED como tomo bottles the best, because she would latch to them similar to me. I had a bottle warmer and barely used it, warm water was just as effective. Also, bought a sanitizer but got to lazy and just stuck them in the dishwasher!

kaitykins · October 2018

We have Phillips avent bottles. My daughter mostly breast fed, but took a bottle some... I’m going to try and get baby #2 to have a bottle every day so baby can bond better with dd and dh.

Anyway, I am really interested in the glass nuk bottles. And think I want to get a few of those for in the house. And maybe a plastic one for on the road.

+1 for the boon rack, love the tree and flower parts.
+1 for the dishwasher rack thingy. We washed pacifiers and teething toys with it too.

batmama31 · October 2018

lots of great advice!

i used the medela advanced w/ a hands-free pumping bra. it worked fine, i just absolutely hated pumping. i had the largest shields and while it made it slightly less uncomfortable, every pumping session was dreadful. b/c i was a SAHM for the first year, i didn’t have to maintain a terribly large freezer stash, so i basically quit pumping altogether after about 6mo.

but i’m working now, and will need a good system. i’m kinda stressing over the logistics of it all. has anyone given any thought to the willow pump? since there isn’t much i have to buy for this baby, i am resolved on investing in it. it looks promising!

ETA: SHIT! sorry, guys, wrong thread 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

sheepshepherdess · October 2018

@lyse01 Did you ever sanitize your Comotomo bottles? I've heard they don't fit in a standard sanitizer machine and I was thinking I would just boil them. I don't like the dishwasher to sanitize things, so I usually do dishwasher and boiling.

lyse01 · October 2018

@sheepshepherdess yeah, though I don’t have the space in my kitchen for a dedicated sanitizer nor do I believe it’s necessary on a regular basis. I sanitize maybe once a month, usually when I find a bottle that hasn’t gotten washed soon enough, and disassembled them into a couple inches of boiling water in a stock pot.

Eta: do we need to sanitize? One source: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/ask-well-how-to-clean-baby-bottles/

sheepshepherdess · October 2018

Great article! I've been thinking about the sanitization issue a lot. I may do the same as you and boil maybe once a month, just clean immediately and well at other times.

kaitykins · October 2018

We just sanitized the first time and then if it was found in the bottom of the car or a bag or back of the fridge situation. Also mostly bf and pumped for special occasions.

blueberrymomma · October 2018

When DS was six months we had DHs cousin and his wife live with us for 2 months while they renovated their new house. They also had a 6 month old at the time. Anyways, they would sanitize their bottles and pump parts EVERY night. I thought it was ridiculous. We did once a week with DD and once a month with DS

lyse01 · October 2018

@blueberrymomma I always figured if the NICU thought soap and hot water was good enough for pump parts, I could think that too. I mean, props to them for being that dedicated for 8+ months. I happen to think the time is better spent elsewhere.

avidlyuks36 · January 2019

Thanks for all of the great info!

Hiw is many bottles do you need if you are breast feeding vs. formula? I’m going to go for the como tomo bottles but was wondering how many I need and what size.

thanks!

MRDCle · January 2019

@avidlyuks36 it depends on how often your baby will need a bottle. If you're working and sending bottles to DC, probably more than if you're a SAHM. I think we had maybe 6 bottles that he drank from and I would send pumped milk in Medela bottles to my MIL and she would dump into the Avent bottles. Some daycares may ask that you have each feed in a different bottle throughout the day.

I would also if you are buying the ComoTomo bottles, don't open and clean them all until you know baby will drink from that type of bottle. Some babies are super picky and you may have to experiment until you find what works. We were lucky that DS would take basically whatever, but my niece for example would only take one specific type.

lyse01 · January 2019

@avidlyuks36
SAHM, mostly breastfed but we had to supplement with formula because DD had rickets (third tri placenta passes a lot of calcium to baby, and we missed third tri entirely) so also used expressed BM/formula in comotomo bottles.

We had three bottles for 2-3 bottle feeds/day, and washed them promptly afterwards, so probably only 1 or 2 were used on a daily basis. It’s important that we had the extras when we were out for a while, if someone was babysitting, or if one got yuck (thrown on the ground/lost in the car).

in other words, you don’t need many if EBF, but you should have some - I’d say minimum 3.

MRDCle · January 2019

@lyse01 yes to some backups in case one go under the couch or a car seat. FFThC - I tossed more than one bottle that had gotten lost - the smell of a bottle gone bad is haunting.

Product Spotlight: Bottles

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