Dr. Browns Vs. Platex Drop Ins -- Bottle Advice?

My good friend used Dr.Brown's as a last resort to help her daughter's gas. They worked, but she hated cleaning them and would put it off until she only had one clean bottle left and it was a neccessity to do the despised task!
I have had babies in my care that were pretty gassy on regular bottles and when I switched them to drop ins it helped tremendously! If I were you I would start with drop ins, and if you are still having problems, then switch to Dr.Browns.

I used the drop ins too. Loved them! Didn't start out w them, however, my 1st child had lots of spit-up issues. When I switched to the drop ins that went away. Used them for all three of my kids.

What happens if the baby doesn't like it? That is what it boils down to...what baby prefers. Tell her to start with only one and see how it goes...Good luck. I tried both, son only like MAM.

Perfect question for me. With my first I used Dr. Browns and had no problems with them. The thing that drove me nuts was the cleaning! There were so many pieces to them. I loved them but the cleaning (up to 8 a day at the beginning) was ALOT!

3 1/2 years later we had another baby and I wanted to try something easier to clean. so we got the playtex dropins. We get the target brand liners which are the same for 1/2 the price and they are fabulous! No problems...so much easier to clean!

If I were you I would get the dropins and if later on you are dealing with some tummy issues ( more than the normal newborn issues) then you can always switch.

Good luck and congrats on your pregnancy!

I think I tried every bottle out there known to man. Know what worked best for us? Gerber baby bottles. No bells r whistles but nice and simple. :)

it really depends on the baby so don't stock up on any one type of bottle just yet. we started with dr. browns for the whole colic reason but it is a PAIN to clean. my hubby hated dr. brown. HATED. so we tried to switch our son to other bottles and none of them ever took. the closest contender was the playtex drop ins. who cares if you have to buy liners?? so easy to clean! but the nipple was too hard for my son. he would suck and suck and only get a little milk whereas with dr. browns he looked so comfortable. lol. so it was dr. browns until we tranisitioned him to sippy cups. anyway, just get one of each and see what your baby likes and works best with. you'll get all sorts of different responses b/c it really does depend on your baby's preferences

I used the Dr. Browns from day one...a friend of mine suggested them! I loved them!! I can't compare them to anything, because I never used anything else. They do have a lot of parts, but if the result is a happy baby...I will take the many parts! I definitely recommend them! You can always get the dishwasher baskets and wash them that way!

We used the Playtex Drop-Ins and LOVED them. I will be using them again with this baby... For us, my son had absolutely NO problem going from breast to bottle with the Drop-Ins... there is supposedly something about the way the suction causes the milk to flow, coupled with the wide nipples that is very similar to breastfeeding. So that worked for us once, and we will try it again!

I've always thought Dr. Brown's bottles were a complete PITA! My cousin used them with her babies, and I hated even watching her use them! LOL

I used the dropins because when I looked at the dr browns they don't stop flowing. The idea is that the baby doesn't get any air, but the baby also can't stop and take a break either because the milk is continuous. The liners are not that expensive, and you dont' have to change them each time, you just wash them like you would a regular bottle with hot water. You are actually not supposed to boil the nipples anymore, they changed the direction on the package. Neither one of my kids liked the small regular nipples, they like the bigger ones that the dropins use, but they HATE the silicone ones, so I buy the naturalatch which are latex and so they are much softer and feel more like mom. These are the best for colic because you can push all the air out of the bottle, so the only air they get is from the mouth if they don't have a good latch. I personally don't like the walmart liners because they smell like plastic really badly and it doesn't go away, but the target ones seem to be ok. I just bought them for the first time and we haven't had any problems with them. I hope this helps. Good luck being a first time mom!!

My kids didn't have colic but I used the drop ins. you still have to buy the liners and boil the nipple but it was very clean and I am planning on using them for my third one as well. You can also get them in a walmart & target brand liners. They are a bit cheaper & work just as well.

Dr Browns are great. My cousin uses them with her colicky baby & loves them. There are a lot more pieces to clean but she figures she is boiling water anyways, what the difference.

I have used lots of bottles in feeding the daycare babies and I hate, hate, hate the Dr. Brown ones. They do NOT stop gas, they cause it. They are really hard to clean and they just are terrible. NEVER had a baby be less colicky cause of them.

I don't like the new kinds of drop ins, the old ones you could squeeze out all the air, but the new ones really do not allow you to do that so honestly don't see any advantage.

I like Advent and just the plain ole' cheap ones by Gerber I think - the cheapest are usually honestly fine.

i suggest the soothie bootles. they help with colic and are easy to clean

The Dr. Browns are great, fixed my son's feeding difficulties instantly, and just get a good brush, clean them right after you are done with the bottles. Too easy. I wish we had started using them earlier.

Take care.

I started with the drop-ins with my daughter and they were ok, but she was a projectile spit-up baby. So we tried the Dr. Borwns and loved them. I think they did help with some of the spit up issues. We bought a few dishwasher baskets and after rinsing the peices from the Dr Brown's bottles, we figured out a system to load the pieces into the dishwasher baskets. Easy cleaning! Now that I have my son, we are still using Dr Browns and the same dishwasher baskets. I do think Dr Browns are worth the effort. They helped both of my babies.

I would gag when washing the Dr Browns bottles. Those straws just do not get clean. Once they are washed you can pick them up and you can smell the old formula in them. It would gross me out. I liked using platex drop ins, goodness the nipples just wash up easily and the rest throws away.

I tried Dr. Browns once and once only. I LOVE Playtex drop-ins!! Both of my kids used them and I got my sister to as well and she loves Playtex now, too!

Yes, you have to buy liners and yes, the new Playtex liners are harder to get the air out of...BUT, the Target-brand generic liners are WAAAAY cheaper and are exactly like the old Playtex ones that are easier to squeeze air out! I'm thinking that once Playtex switched over to their new design, they sold their patent or machinery or something to whomever makes the Target Up & Up ones.

Good luck to you!

I'm a Dr. Brown's fan. I tried using the Playtex drop-ins, as that's what my younger sisters used so many years ago, but my kids never took to the nipple. The Dr. Brown's nipple is a little deeper so, as a Mom who was exclusively nursing when I wasn't at work, it came recommended to me by my lactation consultant. And the digestive benefits are wonderful! The bottles were pretty easy to clean, though they definitely aren't as convenient as the Playtex Drop-ins :) Anyway, see what works best for your baby! You really can't go wrong!

My 2nd son wasn't colicky, but he did spit up. I never considered Dr. Browns because of all the pieces and the difficulty in cleaning that straw. I ended up with the Playtex Ventaire bottles for him and am reusing them now with my baby girl. I didn't want to have to buy the drop-ins because of the cost (6 bottles/day when he was swtiched over to formula) and I don't think they're recyclable. Aside from the 3 pieces for the nipple (cap, nipple and bottle top), there is a cap on the base with a valve that fits in the cap to help prevent a lot of air in the bottle. They're very easy to clean and put together.

Sorry to respond late!

I used Dr. Browns with my daughter. Great bottles though a super pain to clean. If choosing between the two you suggested, I'd go with the drop ins. That being said, I'd probably go with Tommy Tippee. I've been hearing good things about them.

We used Born Free but only my son rejected three other brands first. My SIL's baby would only drink from MAM ones.

I would get one bottle each in two or three brands and see what works before you buy a set. Babies are picky like that!

Hi,
I started with the playtex drop ins, and they were super easy. Loved it. However my son ended up with gas and reflux issues and we had to switch to Dr. Browns. It helped tremendously. There are a lot more pieces and takes a bit longer to clean. We got a couple dishwasher baskets for bottles and started using that instead of hand washing. It made it easier.
so I wish I would have just started with dr. browns. You can't predict if your baby will have issues, but I would have saved the money not buying the playtex.
-T.

For us it came down to preference by baby. :)

Our son loved the Dr. Browns-the slim ones, not the wide mouth. So when my daughter was born I had plenty of bottles to go around-but she wanted nothing to do with those darn Dr. Brown's! She liked the playtex.

Personally I like the Dr. Browns-but didn't seem to have much say in the matter!

I loved the drop ins! You don't have to wait for them to dry to use them again. I always pre made the bottles. I would make enough bottles with the formula and then add water when needed. It worked out great!