Bottles

If you breastfeeding and even if you don't Adiri are great bottles because they mimic the breast. It helps babies mouth to form correctly and doesn't create nipple confusion. And it's safe for baby!

With my daughter I used Avent. Then Dr. Brown's came along and I bought them to help cut down on gas. Then they came out with the story about the BPA and I decided to quit using the Dr. Brown's and buy the expensive Born Free bottles. I just think that spending the extra money on them is worth it in the long run if I can prevent a lifetime of health issues for my son. Born Free bottles also come with a venting system to help cut down inhaling air so my son won't have 'bubble's' in his tummy. Good luck!

The breast is best. If you notice all bottle companies say their nipple is "most like the breast" or "comfort fitted to be just like the breast". And all formula companies say their formula is "formulated" to be "most like breast milk", with things like comfort protiens... there is no such thing! Breast is best!

I agree with Nancy O.! Breast is best! I do pump when I am away from my son, and my son uses NUK bottles for the expressed breastmilk at daycare. They have a small hole so air can be released from the bottle that goes under the nose, and the bott;e's nipple is shaped like mama's nipple when he nurses. He has had very little problem with gas, and when he did, the gas drops usually worked.

I've used the Vent Aire bottles with all four of my kids and LOVED them!! The design really does prevent them from getting air in their tummy, and that's a really good thing! Good luck.

I don't think there are any right or wrong bottles. Just whatever works for your baby. If your baby doesn't like the bottle, he/she will let you know probably by not wanting to drink from it. I think the manufacturer's are just using different tactics to get your money.

I didn't read all of the advice so far, but I thought I would add something in case it wasn't already covered. When I had my son I had bought the Dr. Brown's bottles. I think I had bought about 20 of them. Then when it came time to use them he didn't like them at all. So I then tried every other kind there was out there until he found one he liked (he liked the playtex ones with the drop-ins). With my daughter, who is a year now, she doesn't care what kind of bottle it is. She has used several different kinds and likes them all. I just prefer the Dr. Brown's bottles because I don't like all the waste with the Playtex ones. So, my advice is buy a couple different kinds and a couple different nipples if possible and then try them out with your baby. They will let you know which one they like. Good luck!!!

Oh yes, I second Dr. Brown's. They are worth every little pretty penny. No gas in this house, that's for sure.

I love Dr. Brown bottles!! They slow down the milk so the babies aren't overloaded.

T.

Hi E.! Iknow what you mean about the bottles. When my son was born I had no idea where to start. I actually had the best luck with avent bottles and the playtex disposable nursers. My son was very picky and only wanted a certain kind. Sometimes you just have to play around and see what your baby will take too. Just because your friends used this kind doesn't mean that you baby will like them too. Hope this helps!!!

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but the best advice I can give you is if you are going to breastfeed you want to stay away from the "traditional" smaller nippled bottles. Look for wide mouthed bottes that are reccomended for breastmilk. It helps cut down on nipple confusion which can inhibit nursing. You may have to experiment with different types to find one. I never did really find one my son liked. He always fought the bottle. Good luck.

I put my daughter on Dr Brown's bottles at 2 months, and she has been on them ever since. They are the greatest! They cut down the air that your baby may intake with other bottles, and that helps with gas problems. I have also tried VentAire bottles, they do a good job, but not as effective as Dr. Brown's. Dr. Brown's are a little costly, but well worth it! Good Luck!

I agree Heather. I used Playtex for both my boys. U can easily squeeze the air out of the bags from the bottom before feeding so there should be less gas

I agree and remember being overwhelmed by the choices. We tried a few but went with Avent. they've got different nipples to use as they grow which worked quite well. As you'll continue to find, you've got to figure out what's best for you and your child and not necessarily go strictly on what the books say. Blessings!

E.,

I just wanted to put another vote in for the Born Free bottles. I did a lot of research on the issues with BPA in plastic bottles. And although there is still isn't agreement on whether it really is an issue, we decided it play it safe and go with Born Free. They are expensive compared to other bottles, but you don't ultimately need that many. We have ~ 10, which fits our lifestyle in terms of how frequently we need to wash bottles.. Before we read about BPA, we had all Dr Browns, which has a great venting system that keeps the bubbles down and is supposed to help with all kinds of things like ear infections. It turns out that the venting system for Dr Browns fit perfectly in the Born Free bottles. The venting system for Born Free isn't as good (the nipple occasionally collapses, and you have to remove the nipple to let the air back in -- which is very frustrating to do if you have a hungry baby who doesn't want to wait for the bottle to return!) So if you choose to go with born free and you get frustrated with the venting system. You can go to Baby's R Us and buy the Dr Browns venting system to replace it.
It's also hard to find the born frees. Whole foods has them sometimes. We actually ordered ours from their website (http://www.newbornfree.com/) their website also have a ton of info out there on BPA.

I also agree with other responses in that each baby is different. We were lucky that our daughter really likes the Born Free bottles. But I'm sure that there are babies that are out there who wouldn't. So, I agree that it's best to buy one or two and try them out before you commit to an entire inventory.

Hope that helps.

Yes, there are definitely a ton of choices out there! I am a mother of two children. With my son we used the Vent Aire bottles, however, with my daughter we tried the Dr. Brown's bottles. The Dr. Brown's bottles are a little more expensive and have a few more pieces to clean, however, we've found these to work great (no gassy baby)! Sometimes it takes a couple of times trying different bottles, but eventually you will find the one that works best for your baby. Hope this information helps!

My son chose for me. After trying Dr. Brown & Avent, the only one he would take was the platex brand w/the brown nipples. They are so easy to use and clean. Dr. Brown bottles have so many parts it takes forever to clean them!

I am a huge proponent of breastfeeding, so I encourage you to breastfeed. However, I worked outside the home and pumped so my babies took bottles of breastmilk when I was at work. Believe me, your baby will make this decision without any input from you!
With my daughter, we used Avent bottles because we got a set for our shower. They were fine, but my daughter decided at about 3 months that she didn't like them, so we tried the Gerber ones that are triangular in shape. Then she decided she didn't want those and it was back to Avent!
We started with Avent with my son, but because he had such severe reflux, we switched to Dr. Brown's. My husband claims the Dr. Brown's didn't make much difference, so he used both Avent and Dr. Brown's when I was at work.
I say get one of two or three different brands and see what your baby likes.

This is such a personal choice, I don't think you can say what the "Best" bottle is. I recommend borrowing various types of bottles from friends, or just buying one of a few types, to determine what your child likes. We spent too much money on bottles we don't use!
Dr. Brown's are always highly recommended and known for reducing gas and The First Years Breastflow are are touted as being similar to the breast to help with transition. We have friends that use and love both but my son didn't like either.
We like the Born Free bottles because they are BPA free (mixed opinions on whether this leaches into milk and gets to baby so might be overkill but I find it comforting). Also, after months of using complex bottles with multiple parts to be disassembled and sterilized each use, I came to LOVE Playtex Drop Ins (yes, the cheap basic ones with drop in liners). These are easy to use and great for minimizing the amount of dishes to be done; however, we find the caps don't stay on well so they are not the best for traveling with -- we usually carry the milk (which has to be refrigerated anyway) in a coolpack and make the bottles as needed rather than advance preparation when using these.

We were budget conscious so couldn't afford the Dr. Brown's when they first came out...but we went with the Playtex Ventair and loved them... If you do end up with a gassy baby, I would highly recommend keeping Little Tummy's Gas Drops on hand. Much cheaper than Mylacon and work just as well.

I personally love the Avent Naturally bottles. I hated the Elan bottles by Playtex I think.

Your baby will let you know! But it is hard to decide which ones to use. My son really liked the Avent bottles but in the beginning I used Playtex because the Avent bottles seemed to flow too quickly for him. Hope that helps!

What I did was buy one of every bottle they made and found the one my daughter liked best. It isn't very cost effective, but every baby is different. The pacifier my daughter like my son would have nothing to do with. So when all else fails, try them all! And who knows, your baby may not care which bottle you use as long as they get to eat!!

I do not think that any one can tell you which one is the best. It is going to vary according to each childs preference. i know a lot of people who swear by AVENT. Yet I used GERBER for my daughter. They are triangular in shape and very comfortable to hold. If you are unsure of which to use. Buy a few single bottles of diferent brands and see which your child prefers. Don't switch too much though, it can become frustrating for your baby. I have a boy in my daycare that has a different type of bottle everyday, now he all but refuses to drink unless he is extremely hungry.

We used the Dr. Brown bottles and they worked out really well (especially since we had a very gassy baby).
I think next time though, we'll be using BPA-free bottles by Nuby.

I have a daycare child that uses the Dr. Browns to be honest they are a pain the the butt, another child uses the platex, those are a little better but u have to make sure you have the drop ins. I used the platex with my children but it was easier for me and them because we used the formula already mixed and a bottle warmer is quicker to warm them up since it is just a thin layer of plastic not like a blastic bottle.

Hands down....Dr. Brown's bottles are the best. I used them with my first child b/c the bottles were given to me. I tried freebie bottles that I got in the mail with my 2nd child b/c I was tired of washing all the Dr. Brown bottle parts. However, I didn't like any of the other bottles and neither did my son. Dr Browns get no air bubbles in the bottle while baby is drinking, therefore making it easier to drink liquid. Good luck....go Brown's :)

I personally believe in BPA free bottles. See http://www.bisphenolafree.org/. I use glass bottles from Nurture Pure, but really just as long as you remember to stick with plastics 1,2,4 and 5 you should be fine. It doesn't matter it you microwave the plastics or not this chemical can leech into their food and since their only source of food is often times the bottle why risk it.

I know it sounds a little paranoid, but the government knew there were problems with DDT, Asbestos, Mercury, etc before anything was done about it. I just figure why take the chance when there are BPA free options.

Without a doubt platex is and was the best for my three boys! I never found anything more easy to use and so convienent!! Easy to clean and despose of drop-ins.

I liked advent. They have a kit that comes with a sippy lid too for later on. Its a really soft sippy cup spout which is good for the transition from bottle to sippy cup. My husband didn't like them though, too many parts to clean.

I tried alot of different bottles before I found one that my daughter liked, it happened to be the playtex bottle that has the drop in plastic liner. I don't think that the DR. Brown bottles work like they say they do. You just have to try and see which one you baby likes

I think everyone is different and every baby is different. I originally chose Avent bottles for my son because I read rave reviews on them and knew they were a very popular bottle. Well, my sweet baby did not like the nipples at all and I didn't like them because they had the tendency to leak. So I had to abandon the 15 bottles and different sized nipples to convert to a completely different bottle. Kind of an expensive mistake. We ended up using the Nuk bottles which he loves! I love them too. No leaking! We did try Playtex and Gerber bottles before converting to the Nuk bottles. What I say the best plan would be is to not get a bunch of one kind of bottle until you know what you baby will take to the best. Maybe get 1 or 2 bottles of a few different brands and try them all out before purchasing a whole set. Best of luck to you!

Hi E.,
I have 4 kids and I'm a home child care provider. I have used the Dr. Browns bottles they are wonderful. I have also used the Avent these are really nice. I used the playtex dropins with my 3rd child and I liked these and I have used the Playtex Ventair and they are nice also. The only problem I had with the Ventair ones were that the nipple flow was to fast but I discovered that the Dr. Browns nipples work with the Ventair bottles.
The only thinG I can say about bottles is you get what you pay for: so if they are cheap in price then you will deal with more gas and more spitup.

Born Free is the brand that I use. It is Bysephenol-A free. Go to their website and learn more about Bysephenol-A. It's in most plastic bottles. The chemical mimics a hormone and can cause all kinds of problems. They also make nipples with different kinds of flow for different ages. I guess google Born Free or "chemical free bottles."
I hope this helped!
M.
p.s. I breastfeed, but my son takes to these nipples when I need to be away. The nipples that came with the Medela bottles didn't work so well.

I used the Vent Aire ones, I tried a few other kinds and they just didn't work out for my son.

Really it just depends on your baby and it may take a few brands to figure out what is best.

That being said I wouldn't stock up on one kind of bottle, maybe get just get a few to get by and see how it goes.

I tried several different brands, even the ones that are for colic or gas. I think every mom and baby are different but for me, having to wash bottles and lots of parts to some bottles all the time became very frusterating so I decided to make it easy on myself and go with the playtex nurser bottles that are for nursing also. The nipples are clear, not brown...can't remember what the name is right now, soemthing about easy or natural latch. Anyway I bought disposable inserts (two different kinds, the "old" kind that you have to actually open and the ones already open that just slip into the nurser-since I'm lazy guess which one I bought haha) and then just got 5-6 of the small nipples for young babies and same for when she could use a bigger hole. And same for the nursers themselves. That way all I had to do was put nipples and rings and caps in the basket I had for small things in dishwasher and wasn't constantly washing bottles. Lazy I know, but it helped me be less stressed. I didn't get quite as many 4 oz bottles because I knew she'd soon out grow those so I had a few more small nipples than nursers but I bought probably 3-4 of the small nursers and maybe 5-6 of the bigger ones. I don't think you'd need that many really if cost is an issue, since they are so easy to use, but I just liked having extra bottles stashed in different areas or bags for emergencies.

I got 2 reusuable sports bottles (32oz I think) for water for formula and a couple cheap formula dispensers and kept in my two diaper bags. Also one more trick that I learned, I had a pitcher (2 qt) from pampered chef that has a handle on top of lid that if you pump it up and down it mixes and I used that to make a lot of formula at one time while we were at home or in the middle of the night so all you have to do is mix a little before pouring and then warm and you're all set instead of trying to mix in bottle while you're half asleep. Hope this helps.

Although I've heard Dr. Browns are wonderful, I just couldn't afford them, so I've used Playtex Drop-ins and have had wonderful luck. My son doesn't spit up, unless he plays to hard after eating, and has very few problems being gassy.

Dr. Brown's bottles are the absolute best. They keep air out of their tummy and help prevent spit up. I have used them on both of my children. Have a great day!

We used the Dr. Browns wide neck bottles for my son who was very gassy, and they were great, the only problem we had was they only to to 8 oz. When my son got older, he wanted more than 8 oz. so we tried the Avent and they were fine also. When my daughter arrived in July 2007 she didn't really care for either one! She loves the Playtex Drop Ins. I must admit I really like them better because there is less pieces to wash. I also buy the Target/Schnucks/Walmart liners which are much cheaper than the Playtex Brand and they work just the same. Good luck.

I used Avent bottles with both my children and never had any problems. Both my children were breastfeed and never had any issues with going back and forth between breast and bottle.

We used Dr. Brown's for a while, then we started hearing about the BPA in plastic bottles, so we switched to Born Free bottles. We love them! http://www.newbornfree.com/

That being said... you'll get a lot of opinions, but you have to decide what works for your baby. Your baby may not like certain nipples, you may have to try a few different ones before you find one that your baby will like. I think that's the main difference. Just try to find a bottle that reduces the amount of air your baby ingests to prevent gas.

When my 30 year old was a baby I used the regular straight bottles, when my 17 year old was a baby I used the platex with the insert. My 30 year old has three children now the first one that is 10 used the regular straight bottles, the 3 year old used the bent neck bottle and Dr. Martins. And the 1 year old used the bent neck bottles. Both my kids had to drink soy milk and the youngerst had colic for 3 monthes. The 3 year old grandchild had acid refluxs. I am trying to say is it depends on what you think will be the best. I could not really see a diffrents in the bottles myself.