Avent, Dr. Brown, Playtex, J&J Healthflow?

Im a first time mom and like many other first timers that post a message here Im in desparate need of help. I have been bottle searching for quite sometime now and still have not gotten anywhere. My baby is due in a couple of weeks and although I am planning to breastfeed my husband would like to participate in the feeding process to helo with those 3am feedings(hes an angel). Ofcourse this really just makes it a weee bit hard on the bottle search itself. Ive heard so many good things about all the bottles(avent, Dr Brown, Playtex, J&J healthflow)but the question on my mind is still which one is the best. Like many of you out there i am interested in getting those pesky air bubbles out of the way(ive had experience with gassy babys its horrible), I heard Dr Brown bottles were the best but i was in the store today and i saw all the gadgets and gizmos i would have to clean and let me tell you it looked complicated,not having a dishwasher doesnt help much either. If any of you have ahd experience trying out these bottles please help me decide....:'(

There is no one "best" bottle. What works well for some babies doesn't work well for others. I'd recommend getting one of each or 2-3 DIFFERENT bottles to start rather than several of just one brand. Get either the cheapest brand or the bottles you're most interested in trying. If you're uncertain about whether you want to handwash a lot of parts, try out brands other than Dr. Brown's FIRST. You'll end up investing the the kind of bottle your babe prefers. For Lola that was Advent, the first bottle we tried. Because she was primarily breastfed, we got by with four bottles total, two 4 oz and two 9 oz.

HTH,

Now that were on the subject of breastfeeding is the does the Isis system from avent work well.There have been a few well heated debates about the subject of manual pumps or electric pumps. Some moms say that the electric pump hurts them sometimes. Ive read tons of reviews on the Isis pump and well they state that it works just as well as the electric ones..but is that really true? If youve tried the system id appreciate the feedback..:)

The best bottle is the bottle that your baby will take - which is why it is hard to figure out which is truly the best!

As for pumps, how often do you plan to use it? The Isis is supposed to be great for occasional use, but if you are going back to work and plan to pump, then you are better off investing in the Medela Pump in Style or the Ameda Purely Yours.

Lori
mommy to Colin Daniel 9/28/02

Unfortunately I can't be much help here. I used an Ameda Purely Yours breast pump until a month or so ago and LOVED it. In terms of the Isis, I have one friend who found it uncomfortable. Other than that, I've heard only good things about it. If you think you'll be pumping only very occassionally, try out the Isis. If you don't like it you can resell it on ebay or at a consignment store. If you think you'll be pumping on a more regular basis then I'd tell you to look into an electric pump. It will take less time and make the job of expressing milk MUCH easier.

I used a hospital pump for the first week because Ainsleigh had latch trouble and slept a lot. But I had purchased the Isis for the occasional need to pump. There is a HUGE difference between the hospital-grade pump and the manual. That said, the Isis has actually been great for us. But I'm a SAHM, so I don't pump that often. If you're going back to work even part-time, I'd recommend getting an electric pump. I've heard of some people who can do it with the Isis, but I think those women are lactating goddesses. But for the occasional need releive engorgement or pump a bottle here and there, the Isis is wonderful. Very small, and most parts can go right into the dishwasher. Plus, I loved the Avent bottles, so I thought that would work well.

On the subject of bottles... we didn't introduce a bottle early and often enough (they scare you at the hospital saying if you introduce the bottle, the baby won't want YOU) and because of that, DD refuses a bottle, even now at 8 months. So my Avent bottles look pretty in the cupboard. Of course, Avent also makes sippy-cup spouts that work for their bottles, so we've actually begun using the bottles, just not the way I had originally intended. We've also tried the playtex nurser and a couple other disposables, all to no avail. Yesterday at BRU I bought two more bottles -- more generic looking since my fancy bottles don't impress her. I just got done sterlizing them, so we'll see how that goes. HTH-

After a lot of searching and trying different bottles, we now use the wide neck Dr. Brown's bottles. DD would take the Avent but over time she has started to reject them as well. Also, we are still suffering tummy problems (gas, bowel spasms etc.)The Dr. Brown's have been the most effective for us at least cutting down on the problems. There are really only two more parts to wash and they come with a little brush to wash out the pump, so it doesn't add very much to the wash. We do all of DD's dishes by hand because our dishwasher isn't very good. We have enough bottles for two days so we don't have to wash every day. Also, we had to go with the wide neck, becaue DD wouldn't take the regular ones. I mainly breastfed for the first two months, and we introduced this bottle at 3 weeks, and she went between the two for awhile, but over time decided she preferred the bottle to the breast, so I just pumped for awhile.
I only used the PIS so I don't have any experience with a manual pump.
Good luck and I hope your delivery goes well.
HTH-

There's another current thread [link:www.windsorpeak.com/dcforum/DCForumID5/455.html|here] in the "around the house" board.

We've had great success with the Dr. Brown's bottles; I use the wide version. Yes, they are a bit more "complicated" than other bottles, but not by a lot. A "normal" bottle will have a nipple, a screw-on collar, and the bottle itself. The Dr. Brown's bottle adds a "vent system". That't it. The vent system just drops into the bottle as a single piece before screwing on the nipple; for cleaning, you separate the vent system into two pieces (a clear plastic reservoir tube, and a green rubber insert). Once you take a look at the bottle and see how it works, it's not as intimidating as you may think. You can go to Dr. Brown's website by clicking [link:www.handi-craft.com|here].

-dan