Which bottle is most compatible with mother's breast?

M

mariac

Registered User
Hi Ladies,

I'm expecting a baby in a month and need to buy feeding bottles. I plan to breastfeed exclusively or as much as I can, but either way I will be using bottles even if they are just for my expressed milk. So far, I have read/seen that Tommy Tippee and Breastflow are the two brands that make bottles/teats that most closely resemble the mother's breast so that it is easy for baby to switch back and forth between breast and bottle. Has anyone had any experience with either of these brands? What advantages/disadvantages?

Also, if I am to get both types of bottles to try them out, I will probably need to get a sterilizer that is universal or works for many different bottles. Any recommendations for such an universal sterilizer?

Thanks a lot!
 
if you go to B2B they will have plenty of sterilizer - i use lindam which is universal- just make sure it is not the one that is for microwave use. no need to get the same brand as the bottle - actually the people are very helpful and you can ask them if lindam is out of stock. just make sure whatever one you get can fit 6 long bottles (8oz bottles) and NOT only the short ones (4oz bottles)

also, i used nuk (latex vented ones NOT the plastic) as it is soft and close to the breast - however, i wouldn't recommend it as this type is very hard to replace as stock is always very limited. lucky for me, my daughter changed to the nuk plastic one without any problems.
 
I've used the Tommee Tippee for both my kids. I introduced the bottle to my son when he was 3 mo, and it took it without any problem, going from the bottle to the breast till he was 8 months old. I waited a bit longer for my daugther, and I think that's where the problem is, as now she just doesn't want the bottle at all.
I bought the Terraillon steriliser, which goes in the microwave, it's really easy, and I could sterilise any other object I needed to.
 
I also use the Tommee Tippee ones and I successfully combined breast and bottle with my baby. I had an avent steriliser from my first pregnancy and I use that.

I agree with frenchy that timing is everything. I gave my little one a bottle of expressed milk after a few weeks after he was born. Establish breast feeding first and as soon as your baby gets the latch mastered, you can try the bottle.
 
For the sterilizer, I actually used a steamer you can also use for food, available at Fortress, etc. The time can be adjusted depending on what you are sterilizing, as breast pump parts should prob not be sterilized for as long as bottles, etc. I then also use for steaming food for baby before throwing it into blender to puree.

I used NUK teats on Playtex bottles.. Ventaire. Worked really well.
 
used Dr. Browns and Bfree in combination with breastfeeding and had no issues. used the avent sterilizer (have one for the microwave, which we prefer, but also the electric one you plug in) with the Dr. Browns and bfree bottles, no problem.
 
We used Breastflow for the first little while then they got a bit too slow so we went with the medela that came with the pump. Eventually we switched to the nuk teat and we stuck with those. I like the wider mouth bottles as they are easier to clean and put formula in when you decide to introduce that. It also depends on your baby...but give it a few tries before you switch. We introduced around 3-4 weeks with the "dreamfeed" so that our baby wouldn't have problems taking the bottle.
 
I didn't want to spend a lot on bottles because I wanted to mainly breastfeed. With my first, she was exclusively breastfed for at least the first 4-5 months and then I only tried with the cheapest BPA free bottles that I could find. I bought a Japanese brand, Pigeon, and my daughter accepted them fairly easily - although I know now that is the exception not the rule. I really don't think that it matters what nipple type as long as you MAINLY breastfeed (if they get the bottle more, they sometimes end up refusing the breast since the breast takes a lot more work for them). I also think that it's important to introduce earlier than I did - I was lucky that my daughter DID accept it but if you introduce after 6 weeks old, there's a higher chance of the baby rejecting the bottle.
 
I liked the Tommee Tippee closer to nature bottles and teats as they are rounded like a breast. I had no issue with breast/bottle confusion when combining breast feeding and bottle feeding.
 
I used the same as Elle - Dr. Brown's wide-neck bottles and Avent Steam Sterilizer. For my first son I used same sterilizer, but Born Free Bottles. We actuallly tried the Tommee Tippee bottes with my 2nd son, but found that he didn't like them and his suck was also quite strong that the teat often popped out. I think personally as well, we prefer the wide-neck ones. I did gave my son all expressed breast milk via the bottle. i directly nursed only 3 times a day.
 
This is all very helpful information. One question about wide-neck bottles. So I'm assuming wide-necks allow for a faster letdown of milk? If that's the case, is that a potential problem in switching between breast and bottles, given that mother's milk, in the beginning, will usually have a slower letdown?
 
the wide neck bottles are suppp to be better for transitioning from breast to bottle b/c of its unique nipple shape. it's supp to help prevent nipple confusion. whether this is really true or not, i am not sure, but both of my son's definitely prefered them - we used born free wide neck and now dr. brown's. i also prefer holding them vs. the standard ones.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top