the great bottle debate

I know I've written about our adventures in bottles before. But did I ever mention that when I was pregnant with Hadley how paralyzed I was about registering for a bottle? So much so that I didn't register for any and we dealt with it after she arrived.

We tried a total of two bottles - the Adiri and Born Free. We settled on the Born Free, not that they were used much until she was a year old and then we put sippy lids on them. WE STILL USE THEM! Two years later.

So when we were waiting for Hayden's arrival, I picked up a pack of Tommee Tippee bottles from Babies R Us to have on hand. The clerk informed me that they were good bottles, especially for breastfed babies. I figured they wouldn't be used much, they were affordable, so why not? I got two bottles for the price of one Born Free.

Little did we know when she arrived that we would have the feeding trouble that we did and would need to use bottles as frequently as we do. The Tommee Tippee's leaked. And leaked. And leaked. And were super annoying.

I asked for a recommendation from our lactation consultant and she recommended the Breastflow by First Years. Basically, the Breastflow has two nipple chambers that baby has to suck extra hard to get the milk through both into her mouth. Makes sense, simulates nursing. Hayden did well until we had to feed her formula (long story as to why, since I had oodles of pumped milk in the freezer) and a chunk that didn't get mixed got lodged in the nipple and she stopped sucking. And refused to suck after that.

So I found one of Hadley's Born Free nipples and fed her with that. SUCCESS! I picked up a few more to add to our collection. But of course, Hadley was not happy that her baby sister was drinking from her bottles. After all, she was "eating momma's boobs" too, which was what she used to do (and may I add, LOVED). I had to once again find another solution.

And Avent we went.  These worked well. Comparable in price, perhaps a little cheaper. But it curbed toddler tantrums and the baby was eating. We were set, even though I liked the Born Free's so much more.

Then one day a couple months a go I was in a pinch. Out with the baby without the bottle, and she was refusing to nurse. So I bought a NUK bottle, washed it in the bathroom and prepared a bottle with the formula I had in my purse. And she really took to it. Plus, the bottle cost around $4 (vs. $10). I grabbed several more!

So here's where we are now... I really like the NUK because Hayden will chew on it as we embark on teething adventures and can hold the small bottles. I'm about to send the Avents, as I did the Tommee Tippee's and Breastflows, to the recycle bins because they leak around the rim. And if I could convince myself it was OK to go spend $10 a bottle for Born Free's to replace all of our bottles, I would. But since we are getting close to sippy cup time, I will not be able to be comfortable with that.

But those original Born Free bottles keep on ticking!

What bottles do you like? Are you a bottle manufacturer and would like us to review your bottle? Comment below or send me an email at minimalmom@gmail.com
_______________________________________

Don't forget to enter the Sweet Olivia giveaway of $30 to use at SweetOlivia.com