Question about bottles....

[Luchia]

Help I'm going to be a new mom and it's so confusing... there are so many bottles on the market today.

I do plan to breast-feed if I can but I also would like to pump so that dear hubby can have a chance to feed our little June Bug.

What brand/type of bottles do you prefer and why?

I like the idea of in inserts because it keeps the air out and also they seem much more steril. What are your thoughts on this?

~Lisa

[EYCI]

Hi -

I use the Avent bottles and really like them. I've never had a problem with them leaking unless I screw the cap on crooked (happens infrequently, usually at 3am when I can't see straight!)

They have wide necks so they are very easy to clean out with either a bottle brush or putting them in the dishwasher. The wide neck also makes it easier for pouring in breast milk. I never liked the kind with the inserts, at least for use with formula. It is almost impossible to get the formula mixed up in those bags. I'd have to mix it in a separate container and then pour it in. If you are pumping and using breast milk, this wouldn't be an issue.

Why did I chose Avent? Well, as a new mom I asked a million people, and this one was most recommended to me (from girlfriends, sisters, etc.) I have no complaints.

--Julie

[carbev]

Hi there,

I use Avent now as well, and really like them for the same reasons mentioned in the post above. My little boy had bad colic for the first 4 months, so I used Dr. Brown Be Free bottles, which are supposed to be good for minimizing colic. They're expensive though and to be honest I'm not sure if they really worked.

If you have a microwave I'd recommend getting a microwave sterilizer - quicker than fluid and cheaper than an electric sterilizer.

Oh - and I didn't give Will a bottle until he was 5 weeks old so as not to get 'nipple confusion' where babies prefer the bottle to breast. A friend of mine left it so late (5 months) that her boy won't take a bottle though. Hey-ho!

All the best.

Caroline

[DeniseM]

Honestly, my girls were so little when they came home that we used the ones they gave us in the hospital for the first little while. I breastfed, and supplemented with formula for probably the first month of their lives, then switched to almost exclusive b/f, with an occassional bottle. I don't mind the Avent bottles, but I also use whatever bottles people gave us, lots of different kinds. I don't really go for the liners either though, as formula won't mix well in them either.