Product Spotlight: Bottles

mrosek91 · December 2020

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

brynn_mamaof4 · December 2020

Como tomo bottles hands down!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 I discovered them with my third and they Are great, especially for a mom who mostly breastfeeds I believe. The bottles themselves are silicone and the tops are super wide so the whole bottle is boob like. I absolutely love them.

I tried Dr Browns with my first, I hated them. All the parts to clean and stuff.. just not for me. I used to LOVE the playtex with drop in liners but they changed them a bit and they just weren’t the same.

ill be using como tomo this time too... I recommend them to everyone!

mrosek91 · December 2020

We started with the Medela, because I liked that I could pump, store and feed all from the same bottle. However they have a very small lip, and once the boys were older they liked to push the nipple into the bottle, so we switched to the Avent and were very happy with them. The bottles last for a very long time (we still have some we bought for our first) but the nipples should be replaced every few months. My boys were all a mix of nursing and bottle feeding, and they stayed on the smallest nipple the whole time they were using bottles.
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.

ec1212 · December 2020

Are bottle sanitizers a must? I think it might be good is so we can wash bottles independently of when we’re running the dishwasher (when we need to), but now I wonder if we really need one at all (could just get more bottles). It was oddly the first thing someone bought off our registry but it’s big so I’m kind of regretting the counter space it might take up.

asf0613 · December 2020

to piggyback off of @ec1212 are the microwave sanitizers fine to use or should i register/invest in single bottle countertop sanitizer too? so many options!

gusgus14 · December 2020

@ec1212 @asf0613 we never used a separate bottle sanitizer so can't speak to whether they're worth it! We were offered a used one but didn't feel like it was necessary. We did use the Medela microwave sanitizing bags though and liked those!

yellingbanana · December 2020

@ec1212 and @asf0613 I have to say I think bottle sanitizers are far from a necessity. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t love it. The dishwasher does sanitize, mine even has a ‘sanitary rinse’ cycle that rocks. Or you can just put them in a pot of boiling water. Or a pie dish w/water in the microwave with a plastic microwave food cover. When I had my first dd 14 years ago, ‘bottle sanitizers’ didn’t even exist and all the instructions just said to sanitizer, boil in water for a few minutes.

One of the reasons I won’t be getting one is because they are an unnecessary item that takes up more space. While my house is not small, my kitchen is outdated and I’m lacking in storage. I really don’t want anything extra that isn’t 100% necessary, especially on my counters. You’ll notice how much more crowded your house gets with baby things!

Here is a list of ways to sterilize bottles:
https://momlovesbest.com/feeding/bottles/sterilize-baby-bottles

nsk489 · December 2020

Has anyone used the glass bottles?

ckmb_1250 · December 2020

Also RE sanitizing, you’ll probably be all about it the first few months and then after that start slacking. Eventually washing them in warm water and soap just like the rest of the dishes seemed sufficient, and then sanitized like once a week. Am I gross? 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

@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.

yellingbanana · December 2020

On to baby bottles!

My favorite all time bottles are the Playtex Drop ins. As a mom of 4, nanny, and daycare owner... I’ve used a lot of bottles. The Playtex Drop Ins are the only ones that I’ve never had rejected by an infant. They’re also super easy to heat and clean! But like @brynn_mamaof4 I have the older version of these bottles and feel that the newer ones aren’t quite as good.

I don’t like Dr Brown’s. They have way too many pieces to clean and the nipples are too small.

I like Avent ok. My biggest issue is that the air comes through the milk and babies that have used these bottles, in my experience, tend to spit up more and have more gas. Also, I’ve found that they randomly leak while baby is drinking. Not really enough to stop me from using them, but enough that I avoid using them. They’re relatively easy to heat and clean.

I don’t like Medela because the nipples collapse too easily and often.

I used Lifefactory glass baby bottles for a bit with one baby that I took care of. I found that the nipples would collapse while she was drinking. But they were fine other than that.

MAM bottles are my 3rd choice behind Avent. The air comes through from the bottom of the bottle while feeding, so it’s not going through the milk. Most babies have liked these bottles. However, they have a lot of pieces, 5 pieces per bottle. It’s annoying. Also, they take much longer to heat. But I usually heat the milk in the milk bag, then transfer to the bottle so that part isn’t a huge deal to me.

yellingbanana · December 2020

@ckmb_1250 exactly why I use the dishwasher to sterilize!

nsk489 · December 2020

@yellingbanana that was a great overview of so many different brands!

ec1212 · December 2020

Thanks all re: sanitizers! Our dishwasher has a sanitize setting too so I’d rather return the one we got and get more bottles to make it from load to load. I hate countertop appliances that do only one thing.

gusgus14 · December 2020

We used Dr Brown bottles last time and will try them first this time as well. They were the only ones where we could get a slow enough flow to where DD wasn’t sucking them down in 2 seconds. We had started with Medela bottles but they weren’t right for us and we ended up just using those for pumping after switching to Dr Brown’s.

mkc3888 · December 2020

@yellingbanana my sister used playtex drop ins for her oldest, 19 years ago. I didn’t even know they still made them. They look quite a bit different now. I might consider them for the new baby. I kind of like the idea of pumping into the pods and freezing/thawing/feeding all in the same container. Less chance to spill the liquid gold.

mrosek91 · December 2020

@ckmb_1250 I'm with you, I never sanitize bottles.

yellingbanana · December 2020

@mkc3888 lol, yah my sisters used them with their now 22 and 21 year old niece and nephew! My dd is 14, but I got a second round when 9yr old dd was born. They’re just so easy!

spartan4life · December 2020

We used the avent anti-colic bottles and loved them.

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.

mimser · December 2020

@spartan4life Those are the bottles I am considering, but I hesitate with going with their glass bottles.... I don't like plastic so much, especially if I have to heat it

Now I also wonder how much I will actually use bottles so it might not be that big of an issue

queen_frostine · December 2020

We actually never liked the Comotomo! I was going to use the kiinde system but I never liked using it to feed. What I ended up doing was: pumping with Medela into those tiny little tubes since I never made more than 2 oz. per breast per session, pouring it into a glass bottle. I'd bring the glass bottles home and leave them in the fridge. My mom would pour the amount of milk needed from the glass bottle to a plastic Avent bottle for my daughter. I wanted simplicity of cleaning and my daughter never spit up or burped much ever (probably more her than the bottle). On Friday I'd put whatever was left in the fridge into kiinde screw-top storage bags and freeze it. She got the oldest milk from the freezer on Monday, Monday's pump on Tuesday, Tuesday's pump on Wednesday, etc.

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.

asf0613 · December 2020

how many bottles do i REALLY need to have on hand? a friend generously gave me a TON of playtex ones and Avent ones (im leaning towards using Avent) but trying to determine if i need to buy more?

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

mkc3888 · December 2020

@asf0613 I think it depends on how you plan to use them. I think we had about 12 or so, so we could wash once a day when I was exclusively pumping. I also had a ton of medela bottles that I only used for storage of BM. Once I was able to actually nurse at the breast I needed less bottles, 6 would have been plenty. That was enough for 2 days of daycare. I didn't use any bottles on weekends.

mimser · December 2020

@asf0613 FTM here too as you know but the info I've gathered looked like you need 10-16 🤷‍♀️

mrosek91 · December 2020

@asf0613 it really depends on whether or not you plan on storing any frozen BM in them, and/or how often you want to wash them. With DS#1 I had a really great supply, and I like pumping, storing, feeding all in the same bottle. So I think I have 2-3 dozen. But I will say that Amazon Prime is great. I definitely did not start with that many, but as I saw I needed I would order more with next day delivery.

spartan4life · December 2020

@asf0613 I would say 10-15 should be enough. I tended to wash bottles mid-day so I liked having enough to get me through the night and morning. Baby eats about every 2-3 hours depending on the baby so maybe that will help too!

brynn_mamaof4 · December 2020

@asf0613 totally depends on you and how much you plan to bottle feed, if you plan to most nurse, etc. I primarily nurse and baby may get a couple bottles a week if my fiancé wants to feed her, it’s just easier *for me*. I have about 5-6 bottles and I’ve made sure to get slow, medium and fast flow nipples to be ready when she’s ready to move on from the last. If I was planning on half and half feeding, I’d probably feel comfortable with around 10 bottles. If I was exclusively bottle feeding I’d think I’d want around 10-15? Of course depends on how often you want to wash them too!

littlelibelula · December 2020

Like @brynn_mamaof4 said, it depends if you're exclusively breastfeeding, mixed or bottle only. I think we have 6-8 and only really used three the days I was working. So I still have some we never used. Including a dr. Browns I got in my babysrus bonus bag. We were gifted avent and they worked well for us. My DS only used the avent soothers he wouldn't take any others.

ckmb_1250 · December 2020

@asf0613 I definitely bought too many bottles before my daughter was born. I ended up pumping straight into bags and then thawing and pouring into bottles. We generally used and washed the same 5 ish bottles every day from while I was at work. I also bought both 5oz and 9oz bottles and never even opened the 9oz, they are just taking up space in my pantry. If you are feeding breast milk the oz per feeding generally always stays the same, between 2-5 oz because breast milk changes with the needs of your baby as they get older.

littlelibelula · December 2020

Exactly, I found the 5 oz the most useful. I was going to use the 9 oz for water when he was older, but then I learned that they can start open faced cups at 6 months or earlier, so I don't use the 9 oz at all. Plus at about 9 months my DS started rejecting the bottles and soothers, so we just stick with cups.

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