New Parent to Be - Bottle ?

[KenReeves]

My wife is planning on breast feeding initially then go to formula after about 6 weeks - how many bottles should we buy? Glass or plastic? I read that Avent and Born Free are good as well --- any help/advice here would be greatly appreciated.

[larig]

we like born free plastic. they've really kept the gas to a minimum and don't leak at all. we bought about 13 bottles, most of them were the 9 ounce size. we bought 2 of the little ones, for being out and about when he was little. We have to do dishes about once a day (but we run the dishwasher that often anyway. When we go to visit family we take 5 bottles and it's more frequent hand washing, but it works out fine. I know we could get by on less, but some days it already feels like all I"m doing is cleaning out bottles. They are expensive, so try to find them on sale some where. If you live in an area with Pharmaca stores, I've seen them 25% off there from time to time.

And get these formula dispensers (http://www.amazon.com/Powdered-Formula-Dispenser-Combo-Pack/dp/B000RFCXIK/ref=pd_sim_ba_1)...I HATE the SASSY one (there is a lip that prevents you from getting all the powdered formula out of the container and they're enormous), and the advent one is a fortune. This pack has a single (I love this little one) for short trips and then a 3-bottle one for longer trips.

[KenReeves]

Thanks for the advice!

[arivecchi]

I have a 3 month old. We use 6 5 ounze Born Free bottels and that has been enough.

[JBaxter]

I would only buy a few bottles to start. DS4 HATED the born free bottles made a huge mess when he used them. He did MUCH better with the DrBrown and ventair nipples. We also tried the evenflo glass ( venting problems sucked the nipples flat) and Playtex drop ins ... again the wide nipple he made a drippy mess with.

After 4 boys ( all taking different bottles btw) I always advise to get a starter set to try them first that way you arent stuck with a bunch of expensive bottles you baby doesnt like. Amazon has a 3 pack of drbrowns for 10 something.

[smiles33]

I agree with not investing in a full system until you see what your DC is willing to take. Another issue to think about is what rules your daycare may have if you plan to send your DC to daycare. My DH gave DD 1 bottle of EBM a night for the first 3 months and then we found out our daycare wouldn't allow glass bottles, so we had to change from Evenflo to something else just a couple weeks before she started daycare! We started with Playtex Drop-ins (convenient, less washing) but daycare said she wasn't accepting it so we switched to Avent.

[SpaceGal]

I also agree with PPs about not getting to invested in a bottle.

With DS #1 I wanted all Avents due to easy of use and I just liked them...but DS did not. We tried Dr. Browns...they worked okay but I hated cleaning them, Ventaires he hated, and he still wouldn't take Avents I just kept trying though. Finally, he actually took to the only one bottle I got as a free sample from Sassy/MAM. What sucked is at the time those bottles weren't easy to find. I did manage to get another sample with the help of my mom's address.

With DS #2, at that point I had so many choices that I saved from DS #1...he also took to the Sassy/MAM bottles. At that time, the BPA thing wasn't so big but I heard about it, so I just continued to use the Sassy/MAM ones since they were BPA free and I was able to find more at Target online.

Currently, with DD I just stayed with Sassy/MAM again she likes them so we are sticking with those. I have 8 - 5oz bottles and 6 - 9oz bottles. I had started out with just 4 - 5oz bottles but realized that with three kids I just didn't have enough time to keep up with the bottle cleaning so I got more.

Sassy/MAMs are a pain to clean but I prefer cleaning them over the Dr. Browns and ventaires parts.

[kijip]

We do 1 or so bottle a day. There is exactly 1 type he will take. The others are a no go. I can not stress to you enough how this is not a decision you get to make alone, wait and meet the baby. Get ONE bottle of maybe 2-4 kinds and try them out and see what works best. We had Avent, Dr. Browns, Medela on hand. He took none of them, so I went to the drug store and got a Playtex and a Nuk (not very common kind, only found it so far in 1 store) and the only one he will take is the Nuk. We have 3 now and that is enough for the 1 bottle he gets a day. Every so often, I try one of the rejected ones and he just looks at me, like what in the heck do you think you are doing???!! Give me my Nuk.

[tesslouise]

We do 1 or so bottle a day. There is exactly 1 type he will take. The others are a no go. I can not stress to you enough how this is not a decision you get to make alone, wait and meet the baby. Get ONE bottle of maybe 2-4 kinds and try them out and see what works best. We had Avent, Dr. Browns, Medela on hand. He took none of them, so I went to the drug store and got a Playtex and a Nuk (not very common kind, only found it so far in 1 store) and the only one he will take is the Nuk. We have 3 now and that is enough for the 1 bottle he gets a day. Every so often, I try one of the rejected ones and he just looks at me, like what in the heck do you think you are doing???!! Give me my Nuk.

:yeahthat:

[DrSally]

We used playtex drop-ins on the advice of my LC. The nipple has a wider base, good for supplementing when you BF and the liners are BPA free and reduce washing b/c you just replace the liner.

[DrSally]

I know you didn't ask, but if you're planning on stopping bfing after 6 weeks, is it b/c she's going back to work? She can still nurse in the morning and evenings. The only reason I mention this is b/c the hardest part of nursing are the first several weeks. Then, it's usually much easier/convenient from there. Just thought I'd mention that, take it or leave it...

[Tondi G]

we used the playtex nurser with drop ins and were quite happy with them! We had a few different brands and this is the one that DS liked best. My older DS was breastfed but given an occasional bottle... he would take anything as long as milk came out of it! Ya never know what they will like!