Starter bottle kit for breast feeding, work-at-home mother

[ErinW]

I'm a bit confused by all the choices of bottles and bottle kits. I work at home and plan to breast feed, but want to have the option of giving the baby a bottle from time to time if I have an afternoon meeting or my husband and I want to go out to dinner. I've heard good things about the Avent bottles and have registered for the Avent all-in-one starter set, but recently heard about an Avent newborn starter set. I'm not sure of the difference, or what will work best for my needs. I'm considering purchasing the Avent Isis pump or renting one or splurging for the Purely Yours. And how does this work with storing milk? If anyone can clear up the confusion for me, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

Also, which bottle warmer would be my best bet - I understand that a number of them don't work with Avent bottles.

[Geebee]

This is LONG, so I'll try to organize.

BOTTLES: It looks like the All-in-1 includes 2 9 ounce reusable bottles and 2 9 ounce disposable. The Newborn Starter includes 2 9 ounce and 2 4 ounce reusable bottles. I'd go with the Newborn Starter. You don't "need" the smaller bottles, but it is nice (partially because it looks really funny to feed a newborn with a huge 9 ounce bottle). And for the little bottle feeding that you plan, 2 4 ounce bottles should be fine (and you have 2 9 ounce just in case).

I breastfed with the occasional bottle and started with the Newborn Starter. I eventually bought 3 more 4 ounce bottles, but it was a waste of money since I didn't bottle feed that often (2 or 3 times per week). If you feel like you need more bottles, buy more of the 9 ounce bottles. They have a longer life of usefulness (if that makes sense).

As far as reusable bottles go, I didn't see the point at first. You have to wash the nipples, rings, and caps anyway, and that's the part that is a pain. Reusable bottles for breast milk doesn't make sense to me (maybe someone feels differently). However, as a friend with a newborn recently pointed out, for formula feeding and traveling, reusable bottles can be a huge help. Since the bottles are the bulky part, you just need one bottle, some nipples/rings/caps and the disposable bottle bags for travel. I thought that was a great idea.

PUMPS: As for pumps, if you want to build up a small supply of breast milk, I'd go with an electric pump and skip the manual pumps (ugh). I used a Medela Mini-Electric and it was perfect for my needs (building up a small supply for an occasional bottle). It is a lot less expensive than those big electric pumps, but it is slower since it is a single pump (one breast at a time). So, if you will have time constraints, the double pumps might be a better fit for you.

STORING MILK: And for milk storage, milk can be stored in many containers, as long as the container is sterilized. Some small storage bottles came with the pump (Medela), and some freebie storage bottles (from formula companies, go figure) came from the hospital. And a friend lent me some, so I had plenty. I used Avent bottles, but after some research, I found that storing milk in Avent bottles is an expensive way to go. There are cheaper alternatives. Maybe someone has some experience with using plastic bags that can help?

BOTTLE WARMER: I never used a bottle warmer, so I can't help you there. I just set the milk storage bottle in hot water to thaw. This is a slow method, so you have to plan. (You don't want to use this method when the baby is screaming!) It works well and is very convenient in restaurants (just ask for hot water in a mug).

Whew! I hope that helps!

[Geebee]

MORE THOUGHTS ON STORING MILK IN AVENT BOTTLES: Storing milk in Avent bottles would make sense economically if you had high milk turnover. For example, if you pumped and bottle fed the same milk in a 24 hour period, your expensive Avent bottles wouldn't be sitting in the fridge/freezer for very long.

Also, if you do decide to store milk in Avent bottles, using the 4 ounce bottles makes more sense than using the 9 ounce. In general, for long term freezer storage, you don't want to store more than about 4 ounces at a time. In this case, you would want more than just 2 4 ounce bottles that come with the Newborn Starter set.

For pumping with other branded pumps and storing in Avent bottles, Avent makes a "pump adapter" that allows you to connect the smaller pump opening to the larger Avent bottle opening. I've seen it at Babies R Us.

Wow, is that too much info?

[soaplady]

I go to school fulltime and since my son is allergic to soy we can't use fornula, so I do have to pump. I use the Medela Pump In Style Double pump Breastpump. I have found it wonderful. I can get about 4 to 6 ounces pumped from each breast in about 10 to 15 minutes. The breastmilk storage bags Medela sells I have found to be useless. and they are hard to use. I found the Gerber storage bags to be wonderful.(you can find these at Target, babies r us, and I think Miejers) They are a heavy duty plastic with a ziploc style seal. They can also be used with the disposible bottles. they fit nicely into both the 4oz and 8 oz Playtex Bottles. They even work with the builtin burper.
DO watch with whatever bottle system you use to get a nipple with a large enough hole in it. My son got really frustrated at 3 months until we got the 6 month or older nipple (the milk wasn't flowing fast enough for him with the newborn nipples)

good luck!

[elaine]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-27-01 AT 04:38PM (Mountain)[p]Of the two, I'd go with the Avent Newborn kit. I never need the 9oz for feeding, but it is nice for pumping & storing. I actually got one of each as gifts, and the combination has been all I needed.

I use the liners for freezing milk, and the regular bottles for milk that will be refrigerated. I tend to pump into the regular bottles, because I've had problems keeping the liners sealed.

The Avent pump has been enough for me, but I tend to have copious production. One nice thing is that since it doesn't need power, I can pump in the car if I'm a passenger. (On the other hand, I think you can buy those power adapters to use in the car.) I also pump a lot while reading at work. They go on sale at Target every few months - sadly, I didn't know I wanted/needed one until the sale was over, and then I needed it immediately.