Happy Monday! Today we are concluding our 3-week Baby Feeding Products sequence. We started off with breast pumps and accessories
, then discussed formula, and today's topic will apply to both pumping and formula-feeding mamas: bottles.
For something so basic, there are a million types out there! Please help with any guidance you can!
Suggestions for particular brands? Particular shape or set-ups like inserts or nipple attachment thingies? Advice on nipple flow? Do you use different types as our babies grow older? Is there a difference in bottles for formula vs. bottles for breastmilk? Are different kinds of bottle recommended to manage any conditions in our babies like reflux or nipple confusion? And what kind of accessories do we need for cleaning and/or sanitizing and/or storing bottles? Any tips on cleaning?
A common piece of advice is to stock up on just a couple of bottles from various brands in case your babies strongly prefer one over another (rather than spending a fortune on a full cupboard of one particular brand), but what should those brands be and what to look for? What's an appropriate starting-point for FTM to prepare while pregnant? Is this something you can normally find used or second-hand? Please share!
Prior and upcoming product spotlights
Re: Product Spotlight: Bottles
ill be using como tomo this time too... I recommend them to everyone!
With DS#3 when I switched to the Spectra pump I bought a convertor ring so that I could pump right into the Medela bottles since we had so many, and it worked well. The spectra came with 2 bottles, and I wasn't really a fan. DS#3 used them when they came up in rotation without complaint, but they seemed low quality to me.
We bought a standard bottle brush from the supermarket, and used that and regular dish soap for cleaning.
Bottle adjacent - I hate the bags for pumping. I never felt that they were super secure, and I always felt like there was milk in the bag that just wouldn't come out when I transferred to the bottle. I know other moms who love the bags, so I'm just saying don't stock up. Buy one box to try before you commit.
https://momlovesbest.com/feeding/bottles/sterilize-baby-bottles
@nsk489 I got glass bottles because I don’t like the idea of reheating plastic over and over. However my daughter would never hold the glass bottles herself, I assume because they were heavy. We had the Dr Browns 5oz wide mouth bottles but maybe the slimmer ones would be lighter.
BFP #1 January 28, 2016
Felicity Joy, born September 2, 2016
My Chart
BFP #2 September 11, 2020
EDD May 23, 2021
For those of you asking about a sanitizer, we ended up getting one a few weeks in with DS and loved it. We have the avent countertop one. I thought we could use the microwave one or boil them on the stove in water but both of those were time consuming and it was so much easier to just put them in the sanitizer and turn it on. I used the sanitizer for a while until he wasn't eating quite as often and I had enough time to put bottles in the dishwasher.
I think one reason for my method was that I got so little pumping; I pumped like four times a day to get enough for her to drink during the workday, so I had my mother put smaller amounts in a bottle at once so she could give her more if she wanted more but never had wasted milk left over.
also, anyone have any good ideas on storage/organization for the supply of bottles? i know some will be in flux being washed and dried, but for backups im hoping to find something that makes sense to keep everything together
BFP #1 January 28, 2016
Felicity Joy, born September 2, 2016
My Chart
BFP #2 September 11, 2020
EDD May 23, 2021