Need Bottle Recommendations for My Breastfed Baby

I struggled with this myself! The clear NUK nipples that are sort of flat at top worked the best. Then we later moved to the Avent bottles too!

A.,

I breast fed both of my children, I used the clear "nuk" nipples with regular bottles. Both of my children adapted well. No problems with air/gas or consupmtion. Both children did great! The "nuk" nipples are based on age. (0-6mos) (6-12mos)etc this may not be the exact ages. With both children the transition from breast to bottle was a breeze. I was able to go from full-time breast to full-time bottle in about a week. (with both of my kids)

I know you have had a lot of recomendations from moms that have worked for them. As a lactation consultant I have tried to help many moms get thier babies adapted to bottles with the same sense of frustration that I know all of you are feeling when work is necessary and they say nope ain't doin it.
I have done a lot of research and finally found a bottle that every baby has taken. My toughest was an 8 month old that refused every bottle on the market and it took her 2 tries but on the 2nd attempt she took it and has changed between it and mom happily. We have also given it to premies without nipple confusion once moms understand how to use it.

The bottle is the new version of the Adiri Breastbottle. I have personally given many away to try them out on different ages and conditions and every one has taken it and come back to the breast. We have found that if a baby is not getting a good flow you have to treat it like the breast and pull the chin down and make the nose and chin touch just like at the breast because it is an indicator they are biting down. The beauty of it is that they have to suck just like on mom to get it to work, and just like mom if the bite down it will stop the flow. It is warm, soft and large enough to accomplish the goal you have in mind. You can find them online or at The Nestingplace.
I hope this helps,
K. @ The Nestingplace.biz/ ###-###-####

Good for you with the nursing! I used only a breastflow bottle. It mimics your natural let down. We started about 7 weeks and it was still a struggle at first. As my friend said, he was "outraged!" It only worked if I was nowhere around and my husband fed him. Once he realized the bottle was the only option on those certain occasions and the frequency of bottle feeding picked up, he adapted to it. We even got to the point where he'd take the bottle from me if necessary. He's still nursing at 13 months but we stopped the bottle a few months ago. If I am gone, he can eat other food or drink from a cup. If I'm gone at bedtime, Daddy puts him down without a bottle. He never would take a pacifier. Best wishes!

We HATE the avent they really cause tons of gas compared to the Dr. Browns we really love the dr. browns and they have the wide "natural" nipple/bottle and the thiner one as well. I would never use another bottle after useing the dr. browns and we have 3 boys ages 4.5 and under.

good luck, A. J

My son takes the Platex Nurser after nursing for 3 months because the nipple is alot like a breast !!! Good Luck!!!!

I used the Dr. Brown bottles on my now 17 month old until she weaned away at 12 months. I also breastfed her and the DR Brown's were the only one's she used and loved them. They have a more natural nipple on them and the barrel that are in them that prevent spitup and gas are absolutely wonderful!! You can get Dr. Brown's at Wal Mart but I don't like those bottles they have contoured bottles that are slightly indented on the sides fit your hands perfectly. The regular bottles at Wal Mart do not have this. They are same price but you can choice whichever one you like but I really like the ones that were contoured to your hands. You can find them at Babies R Us and you can get a starter pack for around $30.Since he is only 2 months I would start by getting the small 4 ounce bottles and if he likes them and as he gets older and is drinking more milk go up to the 6 ounce bottles. Good luck!!

We had a little luck with Gerber bottles with the orthodic nipple, but my daughter was a hard-core reverse cycler. She would take very little at daycare, and would catch up at home. If this is the case with your little one, don't worry. They will eat enough, just when you around.

My son was the same way, he did not like the Avent or Playtex bottles at all. We finally tried Dr. Brown's, and they worked great. They do not at all resemble breasts, but are very soft and flow easily. They were a lifesaver to me.

Hello A.,

It's so cool that you are breastfeeding. I'm originally from the east coast and I have a 9 month old son. I was shocked at how few women here in SA breastfeed. I was also shocked at how I was treated at work (by the women) when I pumped. I work for a law firm and had to pump in the bathroom - go figure. Anyway, I had sucess with Dr. Brown's bottles. They worked for me and I'm still using them. The nipple is made from silicone vs latex or rubber and feels more natural to them. Remeber when you are feeding the bottle, hold the nipple more toward the roof of the mouth vs holding it downward. See if that helps. It took my baby about 3 days to get the hang of it. I was able to breast feed him for 7 months. Good luck, and don't give up - patience.

Get the Adiri bottle, it is great. You can get one at the Nesting place in Grapevine. The web site is www.thenestingplace.biz

Hi A..

I went through the same thing you are going through. I second the Playtex drop in system with brown nipple. It was the only one my first son would take. Good luck!

M.

I have the same problem with my breastfed son but have had luck with the Evenflo Elan bottles. The nipples are not only breast shapped but very soft and squshy like a breast instead of harder like most bottle nipples. Good luck! :)

okay, sounds like my problem! I don't work, but can not get my son to take a bottle...this is stress for me and it really ties me down (not that i don't love him and being with him). My cousin is an OT and gave me this suggestion...it has been our "miracle fix". He DID take a Dr. Browns up until about 3 months, he is 5 months now and hasn't touched one since for me. My husband can get him to take one occasionally and so can my mom...rarely...it is always a battle. GO TO WALLMART. They have a brand called Nuby, it is theirs exclusively...I didn't see it online. We use their "toddler feeding kit" that comes with a 2oz bottle and a 4oz sippy cup. It has been great. My son can hold the sippy cup on his own and the nipple is a flat shape (similar to how he flattens mine)and very soft...not sure if that is why he takes it or not. It flows fast, but it also has a pressurized bottle so as he drinks, the plunger moves up and keeps air out: a huge plus!! Now, he does drink it and spit out the milk, so it isn't 100% BUT he is bound to be swallowing some and he does not scream while he is doing it. He has been doing that since he was about 3.5 months old. I have even put a tad bit of cereal in it to thicken it up a bit so it isn't so easily spit out. Good Luck, I know your stress!

have you seen the adiri breastbottle nurser? I haven't tried it, but looks pretty cool. i found it at www.mom4life.com

Neither of my kids did well with a bottle until they were atleast a few months old. They choked my daughter and my son just hated them. I did find some that worked well for him, though (I don't think they mnade them when my daughter was a baby). One is the Gerber Breastflow bottle. I had to take the blue insert out b/c for some reason my son hated that in there, but he loves that bottle without it. The nipple is big and the sides of it are soft, like a real breast. The other one is by Advent and is Natural Care, I believe. The nipple isn't soft like the other, but it has a ton of little holes, like a real nipple. I got both at Babies R Us, but I think they were also at WalMart or Target.
btw-- aside from the occassional bottle (mostly for juice), my babies were breastfed exclusively and my son didn't have "nipple confusion" with either of these bottles.
Good luck!! :D

My recommendation would be the Medela breastmilk storage/feeding kit. I breastfeed my son and he has the easiest time with these bottles. The nipples are soft and flexible to simulate breastfeeding. You can find the bottles at any Target store. Good luck!

We used Dr. Brown's bottles, and our baby did great switching from breast to bottle. She never had problems with gas and burped like a champ after a good feeding.

Playtex nursers worked great for both of mine. Neither would take the advent either but would the playtex nursers.

We had difficulty getting my son to take a bottle also, and I ended up going with the Breastflow, which he did pretty well with. I had tried Avent and the Playtex Ventaire, which both worked for my first, but my son (second) didn't like any of those. Good Luck!

You are going to get every answer in the book on this one! I'm sorry to tell you (and this is just my opinion) but I think each baby prefers different ones. You just have to try time and time again and be persistant until you find the right one for your baby. I've been there and I feel for you.
My daughter would NOT take a bottle! We tried everything from 6 weeks on and it was AWFUL. (she is now 2). We tried every conventional bottle and then more specialized ones for breasfeeding like the Adiri and others. Finally, after mos. of "fighting" her, she took to the Nubi soft spouted sippy cup around 6 mos. old and would some-what take the playtex nursers and Nubi bottles from then on out.
My son took to the playtex nursers from the get go, around 4 weeks old. He fought them at first too, but then took to them quite well by 6 weeks of age. We got the nipples that are bell shaped and clear, not the ones that are brown and/or kind-of concaved. Supposedly, the clear nipples taste better or are taste-less and the bell shaped nipples are more natural. Don't know, but it worked. Also, the bags are supposed to be more like milk ducts: they colapse as they empty like the ducts and prevent more air from getting swallowed. Makes sense to me, but don't know that the baby really cares all that much about it! He is now 6 mos. old and still uses the slow flow nipple mostly (the sucking must be more like the breast for him): the fast flow he kind-of chokes on, but he takes them easily and will even grab from them and take them from me (the last person a baby will usually take a bottle from is mom-they know mom has the breast and they usually prefer it to the bottle when mom holds them, so have someone else feed her a bottle while trying to "break" her!)

All I can say is be patient but persistant. Best of luck!

And, my suggestion for future babies (if there are going to be any): start a bottle NO later than 4 weeks of age (many books say wait 'till about 6 weeks but both of my babies were too smart by then and didn't want to conform after 3-4 weeks). Then make sure from then on out he/she gets a bottle a minimum of 3 times a week. Once he/she hits 6-8 weeks, try to give him/her one a day from there on out! I know preparing a bottle is a pain when you are at home and can nurse with no prep and clean-up but it was the only thing that worked and also kept the baby happy (predictable schedule for the little one). Just my opinion, but it worked for me!

Once again, best of luck!
T.

A., I'm a breastfeeding consultant and get this question quite a bit. Actually two of my own kids refused to take bottles, the other one didn't care what was put in her mouth. Unfortunately, its a trial and error thing. It seems that a softer nipple is usually better. We (lactation consultants) recommend the Avent bottles so babies won't prefer them over the breast. But if the baby already prefers the breast, they won't like the Avent. With my first child, the only nipple she would take was a red preemie nipple from the hospital (since I worked in a hospital that was easy to get); they are really soft. My grandson would only take the Dr. Brown's ( and only as a last resort-his mom was the one I could not get to take a bottle ;)) Try letting someone else, other than yourself, give the bottle, and make sure the expressed breast milk is warm (but not hot). Remember he is used to getting it from you at about 98.6 degrees, so he will resist if its cold. Also, when I was babysitting my grandson, I had to put him in his carseat in front of a video and try to 'sneak' the bottle in on him. (this was when he was about 8 months old
Hopefully your future caregiver will be patient with him. S.

My son was breastfed exclusively until I went back to work at 6 months, and he was picky but he did eventually settle for the Playtex VentAire bottles, and they worked really well for us. HTH! - P.

Try the Playtex Nurser bottles. Both of mine latched on to those with no problems. You need to look for a nipple is like your own.

My babies didn't ever like the soothie paci at the hospital so I didn't try that bottle. I did, however, get the breastflow because I couldn't get my baby to even try the playtex nursers. She liked the Breastflow (but you have to get some milk into the nipple and into her mouth so she knows what it is.)

Another option are the breast shaped bottles online. Check ebay- it's a great way to try new bottles at a fraction of the cost of new ones.
Good luck!

our little guy, who is switching back and forth between booby and bottle, like the nuk bottles that are made to support breastfeeding. he gets made when we try to give him anything else and spits out the food. good luck

Try Playtex VentAire w/slow nipple. I had to bottle feed right after I gave birth because I had shingles, and the Avents were too fast - really screwed up the sucking strength for my baby. Playtex were better. I've also seen - would you believe it - Nipple Shaped Bottles! They were in a mommy store in California (I lived there till recently). Don't know how good they were, but hey, whatever works! Good luck!

My son gagged on the avent nipples. I tried several bottles and finally figured out that he likes latex nipples verses sillicone, I guess cause they are softer. He takes the playtex nurser very well.

I loved my Avent bottles and plan to use them again for my second baby :) Good luck!

We tried several different types of bottles/nipples including the Breastflow bottle. In the end, both of my breastfed babies preferred the plain old original playtex nurser with the original rubber nipples. Ended up making my life easier because they are easy to keep clean. You just have to inspect the nipples more often because the rubber can break down.

I didnt give my daughter a bottle until she was 3 months old just b/c i was so attached to nursing. then when i had to go back to work i had same issues. the nipples the hospital gave me did really work for her and i just went through trial an error on bottles. biggest thing i found was that she would NEVER take a bottle from me, only my husband or nanny. so i just left it at that and would nurse right before i left for work and then as soon as i picked her up and all night. she could smell me and it just didnt work w/ bottles, it was more of a comfort for her i guess. i finally found the Dr Brown bottles which are a pain but they worked as well as the walmart brand bottles that had the really big base and small nipple. i tried to find nipples that most resemebled mine and it seemed to help the transition. hope this helps - it did for me.

Breastflow bottles have worked great for us...but they are hard to find in stores...stick to the stage ones if you are nursing most of the time. good luck A.

Definitely the Adiri bottles!
http://www.adiri.com/

There is a special breast fed baby bottle that is exclusive to Babies R Us, can't for the life of me remember the name! Those are good. Also, my daughter liked the Playtex drop-in system. Basically what we did was buy ike one bottle of many different kinds until we found the one best for her. All babies are different!

I agree that it's a trial and error thing, but I wanted to say that the Breastflow bottles were the first ones my son would take. Now (at 11 months) he prefers the Madela ones that come with the pump. My husband who stays home with him says it's because he likes to help hold them.

Good luck!

I have had great success with Playtex nursers -using the drop-in liners. I did not start him on the bottle until the week before I went back to work. He is now 4 months old. I have also had success with the Playtex Ventaire bottle - I switched to this bottle after I discovered the babysitter was not pushing the air out of the liner on the other bottle. Both of these have nipples that are designed for breastfed babies. Good luck!

Good luck with this!! Both my children used the dr. Browns bottles. I breastfed my son for the first 4 months and when we decided to bottle feed he didnt want it. My milk was drying up and he didnt have a choice. He will eat if he gets hungry enough. It was rough for the first week but once he got the hang of it everything went smooth. He was on the bottle until he was 13 months, he didnt want to give it up!! My daughter was never breastfed and i started her with the dr. Browns. I took it away from her when she 9 months and started the sippy cup. I think when a baby is walking, and my daughter was, that it is time to make changes and challenge them alittle more. Neither of my children used a pacifier so i didnt have to worry about "nipple confusion". I wish you luck and hope you find something that works for you guys!!

The Playtex Drop-in bottles are highly recommended. My son has been breastfed and bottlefed since he was 3 months old (he is 7 mos old now).

We used the Breastflow bottles and they worked like a champ! They seemed to simulate the action of breastfeeding better than other bottles we'd tried.

Playtex nurser/ ventaire has a very soft nipple.

We use breastflow and they work pretty well. The only problem I have with them is that my milk comes out very quickly and my daughter has to work harder with the bottle than with the breast. However, I think this is an unusual problem for us (lol). She only gets one once a week with my mother-in-law and she doesn't seem to have any trouble. Also, she will not take a bottle from me or with me anywhere near her. I'm not sure how you're doing it but maybe that advice will help.

Good luck!

Hi A., I am a sahm of 3 also breastfed and I found that playtex was the best choice for me w/all three of them . They sell them at walmart its called the playtex nureser and they sell nipples that are closest to natural that I have found and they are great because since they use liners you can take the air out so less air gets in babies tummy. If you cant find them go to playtex website . Hope this helps

I saw one on OneStepAhead.com that has a very similar shape to a breast. I do not know what it is called right off-hand, but you can look at what they have to offer. It is a good catalog with a lot of helpful items.

A.,

I would go with the Playtex bottles. The brown nipples are very soft and feel much more like the real thing then anyother bottle. I have to girls and both of them tried all sorts of bottles and that was the only one they like! Good luck.

C. Perla

Hi A. - First off, know that it does get easier. My DD didn't really like taking a bottle at first. One thing that helped was to have someone else (DH or my mom) give the bottle.

We used the playtex nursers with the drop in liners. More so that preference, I think it's just them getting us to feeding in a different way - bottles are much different than the breast.

Not sure what your care arrangements are for when you return to work, but thought I'd pass this along....There are a couple of things that seems care providers don't realize:
1. Warn BM in a cup of warm water (not a crock pot used to heat water). Often the crock pot will get hot enough to boil the water and boiling water is bad for BM
2. If BM has separated, it mix it, swirl it do not shake it. Since most people formula feed, I think they assume they have to shake the heck out of BM and the do NOT
3. BM can be reheated at least 1 - so if a bottle is not used/finished, it should go into the fridge and reheated for the next feeding. After that 2nd attempt, if it's not used, it should be dumped. BM is precious and again, I think the standard handling for formula is applied, but they are very different.

I BF my DD till she was 15 months and I had returned to work full time when she was 9 weeks - so it can be done. Just know you are giving a wonderful gift to your son.

We used the Avent bottles and nursed as well. The Avent nipple was too big for our baby's mouth, she gagged because of it. We have the Evenflo Elan now. The nipple is much smaller and it even has tiny bumps around the nipple to make it more breast-like. I hope this helps!

We used the evenflo elan. My husband actually picked it out because he felt like the nipple looked a lot like a human breast. Our son has never has an issue with them and took it right away.

Hi A.,

I had trouble with my son too--Here's what happened with me: (I wrote about it in a magazine(

http://divinecaroline.com/article/34/28052

L. (& Ames)

My son was very pickey. He did not like any of the clear plastic nipples. We ended up using the playtex drop ins with the brown latex nipple. He had no problem with those, probably because the nipples are bigger and feel more like a real one.

Good luck on getting him onto a bottle!! Hope this helps!

I used Playtex Ventaire bottles. I had intended to use a different one, but a week before my son was starting daycare, he suddently didn't take it. I got him to take Ventaire the weekend before.