Hit me with bottle feeding recs please!

[Piglet]

DD is 12 days old and I posted a few days ago that nursing was going rather poorly. I am pumping, taking Fenugreek and oatmeal and seeing an LC tomorrow, but DD just refuses to suck when I try to BF her (what's the idiom - you can lead a baby to the boob but you can't make her drink?). She is very happily taking a bottle (and sucks that thing like nobody's business, but that is not surprising). She is gaining weight and is very happy (I am sad, but on average we net out okay).

So all this to say, we are still working on nursing but supplementing bottles. I have a few bottles that I have tried - Avent is the current favourite, with Tommy Tippee in second place, and the Medela Calma a distant third (though if DD would take it I think it would help her work on her sucking). Are there any others I ought to try? It is possible the LC can get us set up with an SNS type set-up, but for now we are on bottles.

What about bottle feeding accessories? We need a dishwasher basket big enough to hold the fat nipples (Avent, TT, etc.) and possibly a drying rack for the stuff we end up washing by hand. Which ones do you like?

Any other nice to haves? In an ideal world, if the SNS or some other system isn't in the cards, I might try to go the EP route. For now, I am getting lousy output from the hospital grade pump and finding the time to pump between all the other things going on is proving challenging, but I am doing the best I can. Wish me luck :)

[gymnbomb]

We are mostly nursing, but doing 1 bottle most days (2 on days I go to yoga in the evenings during cluster feed time!). I find that I am hand washing more than I'd expected to because we don't run the dishwasher as often as I want things to be cleaned.

We have two of these: http://www.target.com/p/munchkin-deluxe-dishwasher-basket/-/A-13991502#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=munchkin%20dishwasher%20basket
And one of each of these: http://www.target.com/p/boon-grass-countertop-bottle-drying-rack/-/A-12190250#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=grass%20drying%20rack
http://www.target.com/p/boon-twig-countertop-drying-rack-accessory/-/A-14296752#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=boon%20twig

I laughed at the "lawn" drying rack when my husband picked it out, but it turns out that I really like it! Just got the twig this week, but thinking I may want one more of those too since it saves a lot of the flat space for bigger things. My dishwasher doesn't dry things well, so even the parts that go through it end up on the drying rack.

[TwoBees]

With DD2 we are using playtex drop ins because there is less to wash and we had a bunch of supplies from DD1. She seems to be doing fine with those and gets about 4 bottles a day (3 at daycare, 1 from DH in the morning).

With DD1, we tried the Playtex and also Born Free. I really, really liked the Born Free. Reduced air consumption with fewer parts to wash than Dr. Brown's.

I think TT bottles are cool because tehre is a place to store powdered formula. I have not tried them though.

To be honest, if you have something that is working (Avent), just stick with it.

We used the Munchkin diswasher baskets for nipples and accessories. They work fine, but can only fit 5 wide nipples per basket. Born Free has a new nipple holder that looks really cool.
http://www.buybuybaby.com/store/product/born-free-reg-tru-clean-2-pack-nipple-washing-rack/1041836453?Keyword=Born+Free


For drying, we just lay things on clean paper towels. Not great for the environment, but it works for us.

[Piglet]

Thanks - I picked up the Munchkin basket and also a pack of Born Free bottles. I hated the Dr. Brown's bottle that I bought for DS2 - it leaked constantly and had way too many finicky parts. The Born Free looks much simpler!

[Piglet]

Thanks - I ordered the grass and a twig, as well as a stem :) They are super cute!

[Giantbear]

we were a dr browns family, i found the secret was having 6 bottles and just washing them once a day. After use, i would place the parts in a bowl of soapy water to sit and fill the bottle with soapy water. Then at night, blow through the washing. We used a munchkin drying rack and found the first year double sponge brush to work the best. Almost never put them in the dishwasher. Would use the sink hot water to warm the bottle, when dd would wait than long, otherwise, she got it cold.

[Cam&Clay]

We, too, belonged to the cult of Dr. Brown's. Yes, there were little pieces but they were so worth the trouble!

[Piglet]

We, too, belonged to the cult of Dr. Brown's. Yes, there were little pieces but they were so worth the trouble!

What is the appeal? Just curious. I never quite got them, but maybe I'm missing something.

[Cam&Clay]

What is the appeal? Just curious. I never quite got them, but maybe I'm missing something.

Greatly reduced the amount of spit up produced by DS2. Made a huge difference in his happiness and the number of loads of laundry I did in a week!

[scrooks]

I'm late to this thread but we use MAM bottles

http://www.amazon.com/MAM-Anti-Colic-Bottle-Ounce-Colors/dp/B002UXQM16/ref=pd_cp_ba_2

We had major bottle issues with dd when I went back to work part time....these were the only BPA free bottles she would take (6.5 years ago BPA was still in lots of bottles) so we acquired a huge stash. We have added a few to our collection with each DC. Ds2 ironically takes the bottle the best of my dc but I have not yet returned to work. He does get 1 bottle daily and I run them through the dishwasher with no problem.