Baby Bottles

[E&E]

Can anyone tell me their experiences, good or bad, with baby bottles? Which are best, etc? I think I like Avents best, but I want to see what other parents think before buying.

Thanks!

[RAS]

We've used the Evenflo angled bottles for our son since day one (he is now 5 mos), and they've been great. Some of the things we'd heard and liked are that the "angle" helps prevent air from getting in baby's tummy, the rings are pretty standard so most nipples can be used/interchanged if you want, and baby can hold these bottles fairly easy when it comes that time. In contrast, the playtex bottles with liners sometimes leak. And both playtex and avent bottles tend to be larger around and therefore a little more difficult for baby to hold later on. Plus, I think Avent is quite expensive.

Just my 2 cents -

[sarsah]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-07-00 AT 09:10PM (Mountain)[p]I am using the Avent bottles. My son is both breast and bottle fed, so I chose the Avent bottles since they are supposed to be the best for doing this. He does well with both and I have had no problems switching back and forth.

There are some 'annoying' things about the Avent bottles that you should be aware of:
1) they are more expensive than the Playtex or Evenflow
2) the nipples for the dispoable & reusable bottles are different and can't be interchanged
3) it is hard to tell how many holes the nipples have, so if you are in the process of switching to a faster flow nipple, it can be difficult to sort them out
4) if you don't pull the disposable liners far enough over the edge of the bottle they leak
5) sometimes when you pull the top cover off, it also pulls the threaded nipple part off or causes it to leak
6) if you're going to use a bottle warmer, you'll have to make sure that the Avent bottles will fit -- the same holds true for bottle organizers

That being said....I like the Avent bottles very much and would highly recommend them. Here are some things I like:
1) they seem to be made of high quality plastic and will likely last for more than one child (although it is recommended that the nipples be replaced after 6 months of use)
2) the reusable bottles can grow with the child (Avent makes handles and spouts that turn the bottles into sippy cups)
3) the nipples really do look more 'natural' than some of the others I've seen
4) they have 'travel covers' that allow you to take along extra nipples without them getting dirty

www.drugstore.com has a good selection of Avent products and also the best prices overall that I've seen.

Sarah

[Tsevens]

My five-month-old has been using Avent bottles from the beginning. I chose to use this brand based on many recommendations from my friends. For the first two months, she breastfed and bottlefed and had no trouble switching back and forth. The bottles seem very well-made, though they are much more expensive than others. I happened to get lucky and found over a dozen at a garage sale. Now, I can stick them in the dishwasher and run the cycle with my other dishes. But, if you do need to handwash them, you'll appreciate the wide mouth openings they have. Makes it much easier. The bottle warmer I use is the microwave (gasp! - really, it is NOT a risk of burning a baby if you simply shake the bottle after it's been warmed), so I don't worry about the larger size of the bottles. I use only the reusable system, so the fact that the nipples are not interchangeable does not bother me (I heard that the disposable liners tend to leak). Sometimes, it is hard to tell how many holes are in the nipples, but the key is to look when the nipples are dry. And, I do like the travel covers -- makes going out easier and leak-free. I look forward to checking out the drugstore.com site you mentioned.

[joodyjr]

When I was pregnant, I wasn't sure whether or not I would breast or bottle feed, so to make sure all bases were covered, I marched into Target one day and bought just about every brand of bottle available. Avent, evenflo, Playtex, Johnsons healthflow, etc. Well, my breastfed son is now using bottles during the day as I'm going back to work next week.. so we tried them all and then some.. here's what we found.....
Avent: I too thought this would be the bottle from heaven because of the rave reviews.. it wasn't.. it's a good bottle, (I have the Avent Isis breast pump which is super, so the bottles go w/pump)but I found myself pouring the expressed milk out of Avent bottle to another. The supposedly "breast-like" nipple didn't appeal to my son. Didn't help in the bubbles/gas dept. either. However, it is my #3 choice.
Evenflo: I could take it or leave it, baby Nick didn't seem overly excited and he didn't spit them out.
Johnson Healthflow: Super!!! He seemed to do much better with the smaller nipple and didn't burp as much. My #2 choice.
Playtex: I couldn't get past the smell of the laytex nipples, so I bought silicone. The bottle that is supposed to not have any air in it (they have too many different versions), had air in it and didn't impress me. Ventair was the one I think.. nipple collapsed too.
So what was my #1 choice: DR. BROWN'S!!! This is the bottle from heaven. I found a starter set at babysupermall.com (similar to Avent Newborn starter) for $25.00... I would have paid $100(ok, not really) but this is a terrific bottle and it really lived up to it's claims. There were no, I mean NO bubbles whatsoever in the bottle. I bought the starter that had smaller nipple, they also offered wide mouth (like avent), but since Johnson Healthflow smaller nipple was so good, figured smaller was better. I definitely recommend these bottles!! I did not try any disposable since I didn't want to keep buying liners. Hope this helps someone!

[lwilliams]

I like what I've read abput Dr Brown's, and I hope Alan and Denise will review them in the next book. Joody, do you use Dr Brown bottles with either a bottle warmer or a breast pump, and if so which models? I've been trying to find out if they will fit my Day and Night Bottle Warmer and the Ameda Purely Yours pump.

[joodyjr]

Yes, the Dr. Brown will work with the Purely Yours (the narrow bottles, not wide mouth) and unfortunately, I returned my Day and Night Bottle warmer, so I don't know, but would guess that it would work as the Dr. Brown's narrow bottles are standard size (width).
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[LuvBeeNMom]

My dd was exclusively breastfed until 12 weeks old. I then had to get her used to a bottle because I was due back when she would turn 17 weeks. I tried every bottle possible and Avent was the last one I used to get her to feed from. It worked wonders and I don't care how expensive they are, I love'em! I buy them now for baby gifts...

[twinmom]

My recommendation would be to try a few brands first before you invest in a whole set. Our son loves Avent bottles and nipples, but his sister prefers Evenflo (the larger Avent nipples actually seemed to make her gag). You may like Avent best, but your baby may not. :)

I do highly recommend Avent's microwave steam sterilizer, regardless of the type of bottles you buy. It's so easy to fill with bottles and water and then pop in the microwave for 5 minutes!

Also, YMMV, but if you want to save money, don't buy any 4-ounce bottles. Buy the larger ones instead. We bought a whole bunch of Avent 4-ounce bottles and used them for only a couple of months before the twins needed bigger ones. Another $100 or so down the drain . . .

[Muffin28]

I am going to highly recommend the 'Parent's Choice' bottles from Wal-Mart. They are EXACTLY like the Avent bottles, but a lot cheaper. I received all Avent when I had my baby. One day, I was stuck without a bottle so I ran into Wal-Mart to pick up another. I bought the 'Parent's Choice' brand and when I got home I realized that the bottle was almost identical to the Avent bottle. Even the nipples from the PC work in the Avent bottles. Plus, PC has a lot more choices of styles and sizes over Avent. Give them a shot!