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Archive for the ‘Baby Bottles’ Category

In a perfect world, I would not need to make a single baby bottle for Lil Z.  In a perfect world, I would have breastfed him until he was 2.  Yes, that’s right, 2 years, as in 24 months old.  That’s what I would have wanted to do.  But, alas, perfection is not always attainable.  So Lil Z has been drinking from a bottle, whether breast milk or formula, for quite some time now (whatever ‘quite some’ of 4 months is).  We’ve tried 3 different bottles for the Bear, and here’s my review of them.

Dr. Brown’s Standard Plastic 4 and 8 oz bottles : When doing my research on baby bottles, Dr. Browns kept coming up as a favorite amongst reviewers.  So I went out and bought a pack.  I like these bottles.  A lot.  And I use these bottles for Z-Bear. That being said, there are a few drawbacks, but even then, these bottles always come out a winner.  The look: I like the traditional look of these bottles with the cylindrical shape, the white cap, and the clear nipple.  Inside the bottle is a two-piece internal vent system that reduces air bubbles.  The result: Lil-Z seldom has problems with gas, burping, or excessive spit-up.  An added bonus is that they easily fit the Medela breast pump I use, so I can pump directly into the bottle if I want. The bottles are BPA free and we are happy with them.  They are a pain to clean though because of the extra parts inside.  And a little tricky to assemble when bleary-eyed at 3 in the morning.   But simply putting them in the dishwasher at the end of the each day and preparing the bottle before going to bed can easily solve these two problems.  They are durable, we have been using the same bottles for over 4 months now, and they are still in very good condition.  A more serious issue is that they tend to leak when not assembled just right.  I don’t have this problem anymore, but in the beginning when getting used to the bottle, it was rather frustrating.

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature 5 oz bottles:  I read some good reviews on these bottles; they were particularly recommended for breastfeeding moms because of the nipple shape.  They are cute to look at, but after trying them out, I would not recommend them at all.  They just aren’t very user friendly.  The bottle is awkward, the nipple is more awkward, and often during feeding the nipple would fold into the bottle and frustrate Lil Z.  He didn’t like the bottles, and neither did we, and we retired them after a few short weeks.

Medela 5 oz feeding and storing bottles:  I like using these bottles when I pump, and they are just as easy to use when feeding.  Simply put on the Medela nipple and you’re ready to go.  These are the bottles we use for on-the-go feeding.  We take the stored breast milk out of the fridge, throw it in the diaper bag along with a nipple and we are good to go.  I definitely recommend getting a few of these if you plan on pumping.

 Tips:  Get a dishwasher basket to wash the parts for the bottles.  I use Munchkin, and it works great.  Wash the nipples by hand with soap and hot water and then use a sterilizer in the microwave (we use the Dr. Brown’s one).  It will make the nipples last a lot longer and keep looking like new vs. putting them in the dishwasher every time.  I am amazed at how many people say that a bottle warmer is a waste of money; for us it has been a lifesaver.  We use the First Years babyPro SmartWarmer, and I like that it has so many settings to choose from.

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