Newborn Feeding Series: Bottles

jackie_dunny · June 2021

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

mayoduck · June 2021

I breastfed and then breastfed and pumped when I had to go back to work. I would say combo breastfeeding and using bottles does have differences from exclusively pumping or using formula because I had to make sure the bottle didn't become a more satisfying and appealing option to my baby than the bottle.

We started with Nuk Simply Natural but stopped using these once DS got to a stage of throwing when he was done with the bottle because these bottles BREAK easy when they hit a hard floor. Switched to Comotomo after that because they are made of silicone and therefore would not break if dropped on the floor. Comotomo does take like twice as long to warm up in a bottle warmer.

We used newborn flow nipples the whole time because upping the flow would make bottles more appealing to babies than breastfeeding. Also, if you will be doing both breastfeeding and bottle feeding, look up "paced bottle feeding". Unlike bottles, breasts don't provide a constant, even flow, so you need to provide breaks in bottle feeding similar to how they would naturally occur in breastfeeding.

Bottles come with their own cleaning instructions. I had a bottlebrush and a Boon Grass drying rack for handwashing in soap and warm water and would also regularly boil the parts. Some can go in the dishwasher as well (as I recall, Comotomo can)

I've heard of some babies refusing certain bottles (hence the recommendation to buy different brands), but DS wasn't that particular.

sliztee · June 2021

GERD babies: Dr. Brown’s bottles. They pace-feed and keep air from being sucked in. Coincidentally, my son preferred those nipples over other bottles we tried before Dr. Brown’s, so it was a win-win.

kim1228 · June 2021

None of my babies every took a bottle, and we tried so many 😭 hoping 4th might give mama a break! Lol! So don't sweat it if your baby is a diva...sippy cups aren't *that* far off!

MaximumEffort · June 2021

Comotomo bottles were the best for my last, I dont know if they were around for my first. I liked that we could go through the stages with nipples.

Starynightsky24 · June 2021

In my experience baby takes whatever you work on most. My last two babies refused bottles till I just picked one and offered it often (mostly only breastfed but mom needs a break sometimes lol).

I also found my breastfed babies needed a faster flow nipple because I have a very hard letdown. They’re used to most of the feeding in the first few minutes (when I pump I get about 3-4oz in just the first minute. I’d recommend FTMs not buy too much to start

mayoduck · June 2021

@Starynightsky24 So funny how unique it really is to each person! I had a hard/fast let-down too (to start, after the first few months it calmed down) and that was actually too much for my newborn (I had to let the initial flow of my letdown pass before actually starting the feeding or else he'd choke and gag on it) so we still went with the slowest flow nipple on the bottle.

Starynightsky24 · June 2021

@mayoduck I do the same! It takes a while for them to get used to it. But when my first was born I offered him a bottle and had the opposite issue… Since it was slower and he didn’t choke so much he preferred the bottle and I ended up having to pump for a long time before he would take the breast again. So with my last two I just skipped the slow flow nipples and it helped a lot. It’s nice when they’re older though because I can finish the feeding session in five minutes.

sliztee · June 2021

@mayoduck Same here; we never did get the hang of it, but I'm hoping breastfeeding works out for this one. I was so distraught as a new mom trying to feed my baby and told my husband more than once that I felt like I was waterboarding the poor thing!

marbellie · June 2021

I agree with many above: I went with comotomo since I heard their slow flow was better for BF babies. I was worried about him getting a preference too and so my husband would pace feed when giving the bottle too.

kim1228 · June 2021

@mayoduck def have a crazy fast let down too...totally felt like I was drowning the babe! Letting down on a burp cloth def helped...baby would be a little pissed but it helped them sooo much with gulping too much air and such!

sonoshark88 · June 2021

I exclusively pumped with my son, he had problems latching and BFing ended up being a miserable experience for both of us. So going back and forth between boob and bottle wasn’t an issue. That being said, we used Tommee Tippee bottles and had no issues! We started with slow flow nipples and then upgraded as he got older

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