Need advice about baby bottles, bottle sterilizer, as far as brands recommended, etc

[cpnsgirl03]

Hi all,

This will be my first baby so I'm completely clueless...:) I know you all wonderful ladies can help me with this :)
I have to go back to work after the baby born so I'll do half breastfeeding and half bottle feeding with formula.

Is there any certain brand of baby bottle that you recommend? Am I have to be brand loyal or I can use mix and match bottles?

As for the nipples type, which one you recommend the best, the standart ones (like Playtex have) or the wide ones (the ones that they said closed to mommy's)? Do I have to be brand loyal for this too or can I use mix and match?

And is there any brand of bottle sterilizer that you like? Should I get the microveable one or the electric one?

At first, I'm going to use all Playtex bottles since they tend to be cheaper than the Avent ones, but I cannot find sterilizer made by Playtex, will the other brand sterilizer (like Avent, First years, etc) works for Playtex bottles?

Sorry for the long questions, but I'm totally clueless...:)
Thank you for any help !!

[judymd]

cpnsgirl,
sorry, but the bottle will be determined by your baby. We went thru about 5-6 different types of bottles before we found the one DD liked. Really, its not what you want, its what baby wants. Just know this and see if you can get some bottles from Craigslist and Freecycle and buy new nipples.

If you can get a breast pump, that will be great way to cut the formula cost.
Formula is outrageously expensive.

I liked the Medela Microwave Steam Bags. We did a big batch of baby bottles and nipples on the stove top every couple days and the Medela ones were great for a few pieces and sterilizing the breast pump parts.

[loladooder99]

Well I had my first baby 11 months ago. I tried every bottle under the sun. Avents,dr browns wide mouth and standard, playtex drop ins, Playtex venti-airs.I have to say that i personally loved the Playtex drops ins that you put the pre-sterilized liners in. My son also loved the laytex nipples better and the fact that when they start holding their bottle themselves you can squeeze the bag and the air comes out. Most babies can't figure out how to tip the bottle to get the milk they just hold it sucking in a bunch of air. So its nice having the option of squeezing the air out. You can use silicone nipples with the playtex drop ins so that you can use them in the dishwasher. But you don't have to sterilize things after the first boiling on the stove just wash in hot soapy water unless you have a preemie and even then you only have to do it up to 3 months in age. But as far as the type of nipple my son when he was born couldn't get a latch on the wide ones and drooled out most of his milk. Later on he would drink out of any kind.

[TheWoman]

Hi all,

This will be my first baby so I'm completely clueless...:) I know you all wonderful ladies can help me with this :)
I have to go back to work after the baby born so I'll do half breastfeeding and half bottle feeding with formula.

Is there any certain brand of baby bottle that you recommend? Am I have to be brand loyal or I can use mix and match bottles?

As for the nipples type, which one you recommend the best, the standart ones (like Playtex have) or the wide ones (the ones that they said closed to mommy's)? Do I have to be brand loyal for this too or can I use mix and match?

It is probably much easier to stick to one brand so they will all be the same. Most babies prefer that. Since you are planning to breastfeed get the nipples that are closer to Mommy. When I had my first the lactation consultant suggested Avent. Sure, they may cost more--but you will be using these bottles every day for a year. Over the life of the bottle that really isn't expensive. If using the cheap bottles makes it harder to breastfeed so you have to buy more formula you will end up spending more in the long run.

And is there any brand of bottle sterilizer that you like? Should I get the microveable one or the electric one?

You don't need a sterilizer. Boil new bottles before the first use and then wash them as you would all the dishes. The only babies who need sterile bottles are those with medical conditions.


I would suggest that you don't buy a ton of bottles before the baby is born (unless, of course, you find a screaming deal on them .) You won't need a lot until you go back to work and by then you will know what does and does not work for you. Then buy a bunch--all the same kind so they are interchangable and you won't have to play match the nipple to the correct bottle.

[CoffeeMom]

It is probably much easier to stick to one brand so they will all be the same. Most babies prefer that. Since you are planning to breastfeed get the nipples that are closer to Mommy. When I had my first the lactation consultant suggested Avent. Sure, they may cost more--but you will be using these bottles every day for a year. Over the life of the bottle that really isn't expensive. If using the cheap bottles makes it harder to breastfeed so you have to buy more formula you will end up spending more in the long run.

You don't need a sterilizer. Boil new bottles before the first use and then wash them as you would all the dishes. The only babies who need sterile bottles are those with medical conditions.


I would suggest that you don't buy a ton of bottles before the baby is born (unless, of course, you find a screaming deal on them .) You won't need a lot until you go back to work and by then you will know what does and does not work for you. Then buy a bunch--all the same kind so they are interchangable and you won't have to play match the nipple to the correct bottle.

I agree. We had a sterilizer and never used it. DS is fine!

[kingjames08]

I have a 9 month old son, and we never used the sterilizer either! Definitely a waste of money. I liked the Playtex drop ins and also the avent born free bottles. Hope this helps! :-)

[mrsjschultz]

Agreed. A sterilizer is not needed, especially if you have a dishwasher.

We tried D. Browns but they were simply to leaky for us. We then tried the Playtex Drop-ins...I got one free in the mail from the freebie forum here =D

DS liked it and we were hooked.

[tmsmalley]

This is actually a lot more about the nipples than the bottle. Babies are very finicky about the nipples. Once you find one they like, you'll have to stick to it, so you'll then get a bottle that fits that nipple by default. If you go with a brand like Playtex or Advent, you'll have a lot of choice of interchangable nipples and bottles. I'd just get one or two to try out however. You may have to go through a few before you find the right match. Same with actually getting any formula ahead of time. Don't do it. You may have to try several brands and styles to find a fit. And Pacis are the same deal too.

A sterilizer is totally unnecessary. You can just wash bottles in your dishwasher, use the drop ins (we liked those) or wash by hand in hot water. Read the directions on "first use", then after that, just wash, you don't need anything super special.

Tess

[amjurey]

we used avent with DD. i'm hoping this little guy won't be too particular. i really liked that you could buy toddler sippy inserts for them (AMAZON LINK). so we didn't actually have to buy that many sippy cups...

but i wouldn't buy a ton. i was very lucky with DD and she wasn't particular at all. my SIL went through about 10 different brands/types before she found one my nephew would even take.

good luck!

[herent]

We liked Dr. Browns. We didn't have problems with leaking only if he dropped the bottle or would shake it, but I think that happened with our other bottles too. My son had bad reflux was very colicy, Dr. Browns cut his spitting up by half. The flow was just perfect for him to, we tried avent, and playtex drop in but he sucked really hard and honestly could empty an avent bottle in just a couple minutes, which made him spit up. I agree you will probably need to try different ones and find the one that suits baby best. As for the sterilizer, I used mine alot because dr browns has a lot of parts to clean so I rinsed mine and then sterilized. My sterilizer was a avent microwave one.