best bottle for breastfed babies

[ValH]

I know I'm thinking way ahead of time here, since I haven't given birth yet... 

But I do plan to breastfeed, and I already know I'll have to return to work at 6 weeks postpartum.  With that being the case, I was wondering what bottles are best for breastfed babies?  Ideally, I'd just like the baby to take the bottle during the day when I'm at work, and then breastfeed exclusively when I'm home... so what bottle will cause the least nipple confusion?

Thanks!

[tincia]

I have a nuk that is really good. Not sure of the exact model..it is a wide necked bottle with a big nipple. It is very slow flow and requires them to do a big wide latch.

[foreverinbluejeans]

There is no one best bottle for breastfeeding babies, several claim to be. Some babies like one kind and will refuse the rest. Some babies don't care about the nipple. Some babies won't take a bottle no matter what you do.

[savithny]

Its true that lots claim to be, but babies don't read advertising!

With my first, I got Avent because I had an Avent Isis hand pump, and he was fine with that.   He was just fine with whatever, as long as he got his milk.

With my second?   She hated them all.   We introduced the bottle a little later, and because I was busy with her older brother being a 3yo, I didn't do bottles often enough after the introduction, and when it was time to go back to work she refused  the bottles.

I wound up going to target and buying one of every single nipple, and we tried them all, and in the end, the old-fashioned rubber nipple (like, the kind in 1950s cartoons) was the only one she'd take.  Ever.  And only from the sitter, and only if I wasn't in the building. 

This brings up another point:    If you know 100% that you're going to have to have baby take a bottle, the recommendations are to start after 3 weeks and before 6 weeks, and to keep doing it regularly (not too often, because it will mess with your supply).    You want to wait until nursing is well established (after the 3 week growth spurt is good) so that you don't cause nipple confusion -- but if you wait too long, bottle rejection is also a possibility.       

[neonalee]

It's been awhile &I forget a lot these days, but I thought the suggestion was to start bottles a little later? I went back to work at. 8 weeks & started at 5. I would check Kelly mom site about that.

As for what bottles we got lucky. DS had no preference. We tried the kind with disposable liners, but don't like disposable products so tried Dr. Browns. Don't remember why we didn't stick with those, they are well loved around here (mothering). Then tried & stuck with breast flow until nearly 1 year mark. I liked that they were wide mouth & their whole theory that it was like BFing, supposedly. We switched this summer after the second set of inner blue nipples split. Now we are using um... Tommy tippee? I think. Again wide mouth, but a lot of parts to wash! Through it all we've stuck with the slowest flow nipple. Be aware you glass might have to try several types so don't buy your entire set until you know.

Hope some of that was helpful!

sent from my phone using tapatalk, please excuse typos.

[savithny]

Sears and Kellymom say 4 weeks, most other sources say after 3 and emphasize "Before 6."   Kellymom has become more anti-bottle in the time that I've known about it -- Their "pumping and bottle feeding" section is now primarily aimed at mothers who are not returning to work and  goes on at length about how unnecessary pumping and bottles are and how easy alternate non-bottle methods are.  It also focuses all its bottlefeeding tips at babies over 12 weeks old -- which is older than many babies are when their moms return to work, and is also too old for easy first introduction to the bottle.

Kellymom's links on working and pumping include a link to workandpump.com.   Their site says:

The common wisdom is that the best time to start a bottle is when your baby is between 3 and 6 weeks old. Younger than that can interfere with the establishment of breastfeeding, while older babies may be more likely to refuse a bottle.

THe sites that recommend the latest times also go on about avoiding bottles altogether through cup and spoon feeding.  While that's a fine plan for a breastfed baby who might need one feed while mom is away, you're going to get a lot of pushback from a daycare provider about cup or dropper feeding a small baby, since it is time consuming and they have other children to care for.   I would certainly never plan on cup or spoon feeding as the primary way I'd expect a daycare provider to feed my baby.   

[EchoSoul]

When we were getting our son off of those general hospital bottles that they fed him with in the NICU, we used Dr. Brown's glass bottles and fed him with the bottle parallel to the ground so he'd have to work harder to get the milk. I never invested in their slow-flow nipples, just used the standard nipples that came in the box. Using them seemed to ease the transition, though I still had to use suck training for a couple weeks because he spent his first 2 days of life having a bottle shoved in his face.

As far as switching back and forth, I've read good things about MAMs; my friend uses Nuk, but she lost the battle with breast-feeding her daughter after she battled with sore/ cracked nipples, but her daughter wasn't willing to try the breast again after she healed up.  There's also Adiri bottles, and their new breastfed bottle which seems to require a learning curve to seal it properly before feeding, and some patience to learn how to hold it best. I chose Dr. Brown's based on its good reviews for breast-feeders and because it was available at Babies R Us when we were in a hurry. So Adiri and MAMs and Dr. Brown's I've read the best about.

[LaughingHyena]

I read (can't remember where as it was a while ago) that you should look at your nipples just after baby lets go and try to find a bottle nipple the closest shape. Cue a pretty hilarious half hour with DH in the bottle isle while we chose one. There may be something in it because on the odd occasions DS had a bottle he did fine with our carefully chosen ones but seemed to choke with the Avent ones that came with the bottles.

[ValH]

Thanks for all of the responses, and the tips on when to introduce the bottle for returning to work!  I did some shopping this weekend and bought four different bottles, just one of each.  I figure we'll give it a try around three or four weeks, and see which one seems to work best.  

[Mattee Petersen]

I have used breastflow by the first years & my LOs did fine with them. We only used it a couple times.

[~Adorkable~]

i adore these Amazon.com: Comotomo Natural Feel Baby Bottle Double Pack, Green/Pink, 150ml: Baby

 reallllly love them

[kylaskye]

Originally Posted by Mattee Petersen 

I have used breastflow by the first years & my LOs did fine with them. We only used it a couple times.

http://thefirstyears.com/wps/portal/breastflow

I used them with my DS when he was too tired to nurse from the jaundice. (Started with syringe feeding and switched to the bottles before going back to the breast.) (This was at less than a week old.)

I loved that his latch was the same on the bottle as on my breast, and he had no trouble switching back and forth. 

He hasn't had a bottle since then, so I don't know how well they work with an older babe, but when I go back to school I plan on using these still. 

[CheriK]

I noticed that there's been no mention of flow rates.  Nipple confusion is more likely to be nipple preference.  Babies are smart; if a bottle is easier than the breast, they may begin to prefer the bottle and refuse the breast.  Breastfeeding is active.  Baby must suckle to trigger a letdown and must use mouth/tongue movements to promote milk flow.  Bottle feeding, no matter what shape or material nipple, is passive.  The milk flows no matter what and baby has to learn a new way of swallowing/breathing to avoid choking on the milk.  It's a good idea to use "newborn" or "slow flow" or "stage 1" nipples, and there's no need to change the nipple type as baby gets older (after all, your breast doesn't change the way it lets milk down just because your baby is older).  But every individual nipple is different, so it's a good idea to check each nipple.  If you fill the bottle, just with water is fine, and hold it upside down, the milk should drip. . . drip. . . drip. . . relatively slowly.  If it's drip.drip.drip or a stream, throw that nipple out.  And you actually need to check each nipple, not just assume that since one from a particular brand was fine, others will be as well.

All the "when to start a bottle" recommendations are based on observations and preference of the suggesterthere's no science involved, and every baby will be different.  If your baby is breastfeeding well, then it's probably not critical when to introduce the bottle (3 week, 4 weeks, whatever makes you feel comfortable).  In general, breastfeeding is considered established at 6 weeks; at least, that's when your milk supply is typically established assuming no complications to beginning breastfeeding.  It's often recommended to avoid introducing artificial nipples before that point because of the potential to impact the establishment of a good supply. 

You don't have time to struggle with breastfeeding challenges, so really focus on getting breastfeeding off to a good start.  If you're having ANY concerns or challenges, get help right away.  Getting breastfeeding started right is more important than when to introduce a bottle or which bottle to use, IMO.  It's a lot easier to "fix" bottle feeding after you return to work than to resolve any breastfeeding challenges when you've got to pump, bottle feed, and be separated from your baby for 1/3 of the time.

[~Adorkable~]

one of the big reasons i love the ComoTomo bottles is about how truly slow the flow rate is, almost too slow! but the fact that the bottle is squeezy also lets me speed it up when i want to, like to wake up a sleepy newborn. i timed it many times and they can drink significantly faster from my boob then the bottle, so i felt good about the rate.