What bottle is best paired with breastfeeding

Adrienne - posted on 01/29/2013

I tried everything from Dr. Brown's to Breast Flow, and found that NUK was actually the best. Too bad cause we put Dr. Brown's on the baby registry, so people bought us a lot of those and we wound up not being able to use them. The lactation consultant I went to suggested NUK and Avent. The Dr. Brown's nipples are too narrow; the Breast Flow ones were too complicated plus they leaked, my son didn't take to the Avent bottles, and the medela nipples (at the time) were also too narrow (surprisingly). I understand now they have wider nipples which weren't available when I had my son 5 years ago. My suggestion would be to buy several different kinds of the smallest package and then find out which bottle works best. MAM and Tomme Tippee weren't around 5 years ago, so I'm probably going to try those with my girl who is due in May.

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 08/21/2011

Merry, I have that issue as well with the Avent bottles. You have to stick that circular piece just so or it won't work and everything goes everywhere. I've also found Nuk to work well, but you have to have the nipple in a certain direction.

Merry - posted on 08/21/2011

Born Free - LOVE!
Avent is similar, but I had a problem with them leaking.

AMY - posted on 08/16/2011

Well if you really want to alternate than try diffrent types of bottles I did, but not all babies will take to a bottle. My 2nd child refused it completly would not take bf from bottle for anything. In the end it totally up to you.

Jessica - posted on 08/14/2011

Try the playtex dispsable nurser. It has a round flat nipple that my lactation consultant swears by. Also, if you can freeze or donate extra milk and try to wait until baby is a little older to give bottles,hope this helps and good luck.

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 08/13/2011

I use both Avent and Born Free bottles and found they work the best. Nuk also has good nipples.

Tamara - posted on 05/31/2011

I used breastflow and drop in and breastflow was the winner for us, she had to work for the milk like at the breast.

Kathryn - posted on 05/31/2011

Breastflow! We've been using them with my soon since he was 6 weeks old. They work more like the boob since it has two parts to the nipple and will have to use the same mouth motion. He's 8 months now and does just find going from the breastflow bottle at the sitters to me nursing him when he's with me. I do not give him the bottle though. I only nurse him and let others give him the bottle when he's not with me, mainly to nurse as much as possible.

Julie - posted on 05/31/2011

I was separated from my son for 4 days when he was born because I had pneumonia and ARDS. I was very worried he would never breast feed because we missed out on those first very crucial days. The nurses at the women's hospital had my husband get the Breastflow by Early Years to put my pumped milk in. For the first 4 days my son had only the bottle, and for two weeks after that he had the breast only when he was able to be in the hospital room with me (not often). I am happy to say that he now is five months old and exclusively breastfeeding. We never had any trouble transitioning him to the breast. The Breastflow bottle is the best!

Monzelle - posted on 05/31/2011

I stuck to breast only for 6 weeks before I started bottle feeding (expressed milk) as I wanted to avoid nipple confusion and get my milk supply established properly. I did however, pump the excess after a feed (on the breast) and froze it for later use.

Alysha - posted on 05/31/2011

There is this bottle that literally looks like a nipple. It's called Breast flow by The First Years brand. , I used it for my daughter when I use to pump and breast feed. It has 2 parts to it. It has the nipple part than there is the part where the milk comes out from. And at the same time, the area around the nipple fills up with milk and they have to suck like they do on the breast to get the milk. It worked for me for a while. ( I wasn't making enough milk and ended up stop breast feeding after 3 months of trying.)
A few of my friends tried this with their kids and they said that it worked for them.
I wish you the best of luck and I hope that you find something that works for you.

Gretchen - posted on 05/31/2011

My lactation consultant had us use first years breastflow bottles w/ the slow flow nipples. It causes the baby to work a little harder as they have to both compress and suck, like they do when they breastfeed. We never had any trouble w/ nipple confusion and started trying the bottle around 4 weeks. Good luck!

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 05/31/2011

I use the NUK bottles when my daughter is either at the baby sitter or when someone else needs to feed her or wants to feed her. She likes them better than the Even flo ones. They're also a bit more economical than the Tommee Tippie IMO

Becky - posted on 05/31/2011

i used tommee tippie bottles with the flex teats and my 2 girls took to both bottle and breast with no problems at all i think they are amazing and deffinatly worth buying

Kelly - posted on 05/30/2011

I had to start supplementing my son at 2 weeks old and we used the Breastflow bottles. I've continued nursing him and he's never had any confusion. He's now almost 9 months and still both nursing and bottle feeding. They now have the Breastflow bottles with drop in liners as well! I highly recommend them.

Jade - posted on 05/30/2011

My daughter had to be hospitalized until she was one month old, because she was premature. I began pumping as soon as she was born so that she could receive my milk through her feeding tube. Once she was able to, I began breastfeeding her every chance I could...although I obviously couldn't be at the hospital 24/7, so she was also bottle fed at around 2 weeks old. We used 'Soothie' bottles & nipples, because that was also the brand of pacifier given to my daughter in the hospital. She is now 9 months old and I am still nursing, but when I do need to leave her with her dad, she loves those bottles! Definitely recommended.

Samantha - posted on 05/30/2011

i use tommee tippee 'closer to nature'. they're specially designed to be shaped more like the breast, and reduce gas and colic. i'm not sure if they are available everywhere, i'm in australia

Jackie - posted on 05/30/2011

Tommee tippee back to nature are the best and the nipple is shaped like a human nipple, so it helps with the confusion!

Candace - posted on 05/30/2011

I went back to work after 8 weeks of my son being born so we switched between bottle and breast daily. We used the Playtex ventaire wide nipples and never had a problem with nipple confusion.

Falyn - posted on 05/29/2011

Breast Flow

Kimberly - posted on 05/29/2011

Breastflow. My daughter had issues latching from the moment she was born. I always offered her the breast but she usually wouldn't latch so I would pump and give her a bottle. When she was 3 months old, she finally learned to latch on. The way the breastflow bottles are designed to mimic breastfeeding, I am certain that if we had used other bottles she would have never figured out the latching. I have suggested this bottle to other breastfeeding moms that absolutely love it!

Kendra - posted on 05/29/2011

Playtex Ventaire with wide nipple!

Brooke - posted on 05/29/2011

Tommy tippy or
Adiri.

Andrea - posted on 05/29/2011

I would freeze your extra milk now and wait till 4-6 weeks to give the occasional bottle. Another vote for the Playtex nursers, my Mom used them with me, I used them with both my boys. Get the natural latch nipples, and the latex instead of sillicone. Latex stretches and is soft more like a mother's breast and the nipples are nice and wide and shaped more like a breast.

Natalie - posted on 05/29/2011

We like the First Years Breastflow bottles. They have a two-part nipple and baby has to work harder to get the milk.

That being said, I would suggest that you back off on the bottle for a bit if you can, to get baby's latch more established. Keep pumping if you want to... you can freeze the extra. But with her being so young she might be experiencing nipple confusion or she might be getting lazy because the milk from the bottle flows faster then from your breast.

Lorena - posted on 05/29/2011

I also used Tommy Tippy and had great success and never a problem with nipple confusion or week latch.

Cara - posted on 05/29/2011

I used nuk and platex drop ins for both of my girls. Neither of them had any problem switching back and forth from breast to bottle and both had been introduced within the first week. The LC said it would probably confuse them or that they might refuse to go back to breast but I never had any problems either time. I ended up sticking with the drop ins bottles because 1) they had a slower flow than the Nuk. 2) they clean SO easily. 3) walmart makes their own version of it now and its just as great and only 1/2 the cost! Good luck to you hun. Oh, and I also have heard great things about the breastflow bottles

Mel - posted on 05/29/2011

I use tomme tippe when I used bottles not sure if they are only Australian bottles or not, I found the others didnt work

Ana - posted on 05/29/2011

I agree. I only nursed both my kids for a month and then introduced a bottle for when I went back to work. Both my kids liked the Dr. brown stage 1. A pain to clean but the nipple doesn't automatically drip when you turn it over. Milk only comes out when the baby sucks. I would exclusively nurse until your baby is solid with her nursing skills and then reintroduce the bottle.

Phelicia - posted on 05/28/2011

My tip isn't really what you want to hear, but it will improve her latch. Don't use a bottle...period. All bottles weaken the latch and cause babies not to want to work for the milk because the milk just comes right out of bottles. Get a nice nursing cover, and run errands between feedings when possible. A good ring sling can be great too because you can nurse while walking or doing other things hands free when you practice. I did that a lot, and they are very discrete when used properly. (people always thought my daughter was sleeping!) I was able to nurse until my little one was just over 2. The only time I used a bottle was when I had to undergo oral surgery and could not nurse for 24 hours until the meds wore off.

Kimberly - posted on 05/28/2011

I used the Evenflow Breastflow bottles and they worked like a charm! I went to work when Karsen was 4 weeks old. I pumped at work and he took both breastmilk and formula (when I couldn't produce enough) while I was at work. No nipple confusion!

Amy - posted on 05/28/2011

I used the playtex ventaire wide nipple bottles for both of my babies and never had nipple confusion. Although if possible I would recommend limiting the number of bottles for the first few weeks (altough I know that's tough) because your little one will find that the bottle isn't as much work as actually breastfeeding. As your little one gets older I second that you should just stick with the slow flowing nipples, my daughter is 14 months old and she still takes one bottle a day and it's still the slow flow.

Christine - posted on 05/28/2011

We use the Platex drop ins for my son. who is EB. those are the only ones that he will take, he is almost 11 months now...

Karisa - posted on 05/28/2011

I also was told by the Lactation consultant to wait until 4-6 weeks to minimize confusion. She gave us a Breast Flow by First Years bottle, which we LOVED. The LO took to it very easily and didn't have any problems with confusion. I first tried another kind and was having some troubles with confusion. I quickly switched to this until she was 6 weeks and we didn't have any more problems. It's a very unique design - like none I've seen on any other bottles. It's designed so that the babe has to suck more like he/she's breastfeeding. I'd suggest giving it a try!

Lise - posted on 05/28/2011

Heard good things about the Breast Flow bottles.

Melissa - posted on 05/28/2011

i was told the playtex ones with the drop in liners as well my daughter did well with that as well too, and to use the beige nipples with it not the clear color nipples, however they come with the clear color nipples so that would mean purchasing them seperatly and they are becoming harder to find. Some people are now saying to use the gerber ones that have the wider nipples too, and i did purchase those too but the openings are in a different spots and my daughter didn't eat out of them, so i used them for storing my milk in the fridge because the set that was bought for me came with the lids too!

Stephanie - posted on 05/28/2011

Hi, with both my babies i was told to only do one kind of feeding for at least a month, ie soley breast feed if thats what u mainly intend to do. Its so as they can get well established with latching on & feeding efficiently. it stops confusion also. its easy for a little 1 to get confused with the latch. After about 1 month-6 weeks time you can introduce a bottle/dummy. I know sometimes this cant be the case, like you say u have 2 other little ones to run around after. I developed a breast abcess with my 2nd baby & had to bottlefeed as well as breast in the beginning. i found the tommee tippee bottles were good my baby didnt have an issue with using them, or latching on. (although she had problems with latching onto my 1 boob & thats how i developed mastitis which turned into an abcess! :( ). newa i hope you get on ok!

Holly Janelle - posted on 05/27/2011

Platex drop-ins are what I use. They reduce gas and colic better than any bottle and with the drop-ins you squeeze all the air out and leave just the milk for them to drink. My daughter does really well and has never seemed to be confused between the breast and the bottle and I have been doing this since she was 3 wks she is 9 wks now. They are well known to mimic the breast and Breastfeeding. It's also nice that you don't have to clean the bottles constantly just the nipples you just throw out the drop-in when your done put a new drop-in and nipple on and your good to go. I have also heard as long as your Breastfeeding use slow flow nipples only!! Hope this helps!

Michelle - posted on 05/25/2011

When my son was that age I was both breastfeeding and bottle feeding too. he was confused as to which was which for a while. He would take the bottle like a breast and take the breast like a bottle. as they get older they get the hang of it. She will learn how to drink both as she gets older. she is still very young. give it two weeks and you probably wont even have this problem :)