Best Bottle for Breastfeeding Baby?

Updated on March 13, 2013
H.M. asks from Muskegon, MI
10 answers

I am currently pregnant (due in just 8 weeks). I am planning on breastfeeding and pumping. I have been researching bottles for breastfeeding babies and am overwhelmed with everything that is out there. I have heard awful stories from friends about their breastfed babies not taking any bottle. I really hope to find a bottle that will be a easy and not confusing for baby to go back and forth from breast to bottle. If anyone has any advice on bottles...not breastfeeding ;)...please let me know. Thanks!

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T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

As a breastfeeding mom of three, my best advice is to give the baby 2 or 3 (or 4) weeks to catch on to breastfeeding (ie, your nipple) and THEN start introducing the bottle, preferably when you are not around. Let dad or grandma or someone else do it.
Every baby is different, so you may need to try several different ones...or not. S/he may love whatever bottle you give him/her. Only one of my babies was picky that way :-) You just never know.
Try to relax and enjoy. Congrats!!!

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K.V.

answers from Springfield on

Buy a couple of different brands (or even 3!) and wait to invest in a lot of any one kind until baby arrives. S/he will likely have an opinion about it! I know a couple of babies who had bottle-style preferences, at least one who would take any bottle offered, and at least one who would have nothing to do with any kind of bottle - ever. It is a bit of trial-and-error for everyone. I also know moms who swear by waiting a few weeks to start with bottles, and moms who had no trouble going back and forth right away. It really is different for every mom and child, from what I can tell...

Most importantly, congratulations on your new little one on the way!

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A.C.

answers from Atlanta on

I love the Avent bottles, because they are big, easy to use and clean, and worked just fine for my breast-fed babies. However, I agree with Mamazita - don't introduce the bottle right away. We did with my son, and he became a very fussy nurser, always frustrated that the milk wasn't coming out of the breast as fast as it comes out of the bottle. It is better to wait a couple of weeks and make sure your baby has the hang of nursing first.

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

It depends on the baby. My first granddaughter had difficulty accepting any nipple while she was breast fed. We looked for nipples recommended for br babies. We tried the one that is flattened somewhat and the one with a large round base used in drop in style bottles and she refused at first. eventually she would accept any nipple but fussed alot.

We discovered the traditional style when we had to take her to the ER, had forgotten to bring a bottle and they fed her. She seemed to have a more comfortable time nursing from then on.

So......mom started the next two babies out with the traditional style nipple and the babies accepted them without any difficulty. She used the Avent system.

The nipple Enfamil low flow nipple that A.P. listed looks like the one that my granddaughter took to. They used it several times.

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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

Whatever baby likes.

My DD did not like Avent. She used Medela. Friend's DD used Tomee Tippee. Buy one of several brands, use a slow flow nipple, and see what baby likes. But don't rush into it. Get nursing down first.

RE pumping, get an electric double pump like the Medela Pump in Style Advanced or Ameda Purely Yours. Your ins. may even help cover it.

kellymom.com is a good resource, too.

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L.M.

answers from Norfolk on

I have breastfed three children and only one of them didn't like a bottle. We used the Doc Browns bottles and it truly seemed to cut down on the amount of air in their tummy (though all the pieces parts are a pain to wash!) We used our last bottle two years ago, so there may be better on the market now.

Also, we had a Medela Pump In Style which worked great and was wonderfully portable, mostly because of the fancy bag it came in. We also had a Lansinoh that provided the same power at half the price. No fancy portable bag, but the parts were easier to keep clean. Both pumps come with battery-power alternatives, but that never supplied anywhere near an adequate suck. Better to get an inverter for your car lighter.

Congratulations and good luck!

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A.P.

answers from Janesville-Beloit on

Both of my girls have been great nursers (one is five months so still nursing), and not so good with the bottle. We have tried a ton of the recommended bottles-Avent, Tommy Tippee Closer to Nature, Dr. Browns, Nuk, etc. After much drama, the bottle that both of them have ended up taking is a Nuk bottle with the orthodontic nipple. However, neither of them have ever really gone back and forth easily. They both strongly preferred to nurse, and would basically just take enough to get by until I returned. I stay at home, though, so if you are going back to work and they consistently have to take a bottle, maybe it will be better.
I did childcare for a baby a couple years ago who also had this issue. The nipple that ended up working for her to get used to a bottle was a cheapy disposable, the kind they hand out at hospitals.
http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=355177&amp...
I think for her it helped that it was small and didn't gag her.
Every baby is different, so you'll have to try out some different bottles to see what works.
Good luck and best wishes!

ETA: oops, I don't know if the link I put in worked. Anyway, the nipple is the disposable enfamil slow flow soft nipple.

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L.F.

answers from San Francisco on

Adiri bottles are shaped like the breast and the Moma bottles are also great. Congrats on your upcoming birth!

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D.C.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I used Evenflo mostly, and sometimes Avent. My kids would take anything really as long as I used a slow-flow nipple. I introduced both my kids to it early (one of them starting the 1st day home, and the other at about a week or two old) even though I was exclusively breastfeeding. I think often when babies reject bottles it's because the mom waited a long time before introducing them. So start bottle feeding just once per day and pump during that time while someone else feeds to keep your supply up.

ADDED: I see that someone below gave the opposite advice (wait to introduce a bottle, whereas for me it worked better to introduce it early). Just goes to show that every baby really is different! We can each tell you what worked for us, but unfortunately it's no guarantee of what will work for your little one :)

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N.S.

answers from Detroit on

The Tippy Tommy, or something like that.

My kids were horrible at taking a bottle, but Tippy Tommy made things easier. It was also nice that the bottle was a little bit flexible, so I could squeeze it a little to get some milk in their belly. Sometimes doing that was enough to get them sucking. ...and when they didn't, at least something was still getting in their belly. It was usually my husband that fed our babies the bottle, and he really liked this bottle compared to the rest.
I also waited 5-6weeks before introducing a bottle. I often thought maybe this was part of the problem, but I heard it was best to wait to encourage good breastfeeding habits. So I suppose, decide what's most important to you and go from there? There will be some nipple confusion, but as long as you don't give up, you can work through it. Just make up your mind to not give up now. :)

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