Bottle Breakdown!

When I was pregnant, I remember going into Babies R Us and being incredibly overwhelmed with the bottle selection. Why can't there be ONE bottle and ONE nipples that babies drink from?? Why do moms have to go through nipple after nipple and bottle after bottle just to find the perfect little bottle for their baby?? Oh that's right- 'cause that would be too easy! As if motherhood isn't hard enough...

Once Gracelyn arrived I was advised not to put ANYTHING in her mouth except for my nipple for at least a month so she could get used to breastfeeding. I heard this from friends but also got it confirmed by my doctor, nurse and lactation consultant as this would be easiest for her to get settled with breastfeeding. At 4 weeks old I introduced the bottle for the first time to get her used to it for when I returned back to work. I expected her to not want the bottle at first since I knew she liked breast feeding best but I did not expect her to just completely refuse the bottle all together. That's when my bottle and nipple experiment started. I had to keep buying different bottles and basically do a trial and error with Gracelyn to see which one she would tolerate. I hated doing this because I wish she didn't need a bottle at all but in the long run a bottle is obviously necessary. We eventually found the one and now we swear by this bottle!

Below is a list of reviews for different bottles and then the "golden bottle" that worked for us ;)

In the end, it all depends on your unique baby. What works for me may or may not work for you so this is just my experience and I would still love to share it with you. (All the bottles below had slow flow nipples.) So here it is! Bottle Breakdown!

EVENFLO BEBEK

New York Family Magazine says, "Evenflo Bebek bottles reduces gas, colic, and fussiness with rapid venting to release air bubbles into the bottle instead of your baby’s tummy. The ergonomic shape also encourage an easier latch." 

 This bottle was the first bottle we tried. Since I would never be the one feeding her, (she only has a bottle when I'm not around) it was important to find the perfect one for David to use with her. Unless you put this nipple JUST right in her mouth, the milk would end up all over her face and leak out like crazy!  Gracelyn moves a lot while eating so the nipple would always move around and then the leaking, spilling and spitting up started. Even if I got a few ounces in, I'd go to burp her and she would spit up everything! I would have to feed her for a few minutes then stop to make sure she burped then start feeding again and stop again...basically our feedings took forever and were just inconvenient. I went through so many outfit changes for Gracelyn and I both before I decided this bottle just wasn't working for us.

MEDELA CALMA

New York Family Magazine says, "Medela’s Calma is a superb bottle for simulating the breastfeeding experience. With a nipple that allows milk to flow when (and only when) babies create a vacuum, they’ll be able to feed, pause, and breathe naturally, just as they intuitively do with breastfeeding." 

I'll admit, I had so much hope for this nipple. Since I already use the Medela Pump, I had these bottles on hand so I just had to buy the nipple. It was pretty pricey but I knew it would work since I had read great things about it from Baby Center...

LovingMyBabiiAlready says, "I use Calma. My lo looked at me like I was crazy at first, but she's getting used to it now with no nipple confusion. I introduced it last night."

TChelleD said, "We use the medela calma. Baby controls the flow. It's a bit pricey but it seems to work for our LO." 

camo_and_heels explains, "Yesterday my baby tried the calma as well. The reviews online go either way but he latched on w/o problem and had to work for it too. A couple hours later I bf him and had no problem."

There were many others who recommended the Calma so I figured this had to be the perfect bottle. Much to my dismay, this bottle didn't work like I'd hoped. It's true that the baby works to get the milk out and it's also true that there is no leaking unless the baby creates that "vacuum" but that was where the issue was. Gracelyn didn't like the long tough nipple and, thus, would not hold the proper suction. She would constantly move her mouth away from the nipple leaving baby hungry and frustrated. The long unique nipple is actually not very soft and when we try to hold the bottle in her mouth while she moves around, it ends up gagging her! 

 TOMMEE TIPPEE

New York Family Magazine says, "This durable bottle features a super-wide neck for simple, secure opening and closing. A patented air venting system prevents bubble formations in the milk." 

 This was another bottle and nipple that I really thought would work for us. Tons of women on Baby Center said this bottle was amazing and "the one" even my sister-in-law said this worked for my nephew who was also breastfed so I decided to go ahead and try it. The nipple was softer and shorter than the Calma and I liked how the base of the nipple was wide like a breast so when we tried it and it leaked a ton, we were a bit confused but more frustrated than anything. It just would not stop leaking and so much milk would come out with the slow flow! I didn't understand and became discouraged when my milk was being wasted. I didn't like seeing my baby upset and hungry. She didn't like being a guinea pig, she just wanted to be fed! After giving this bottle a fair try, we gave up on it and went on to the next...

PLAYTEX NURSER

"Playtex’s drop-in system mimics breastfeeding, increases milk consumption, and reduces colic (liners collapse as baby feeds so less air is taken in). Plus, the liners are pre-sterilized so you can say "bye-bye" to boiling." 

Now this bottle is actually a good bottle. I will recommend this bottle because this is the one we used for the longest time before finding our favorite. There is some leaking but it's pretty minimal and I think the amount of leakage depends on your baby and how strong their suction skills are. ;) Gracelyn is a messy eater except when she's on the breast. This bottle was OK and disposing the dirty liners and replacing them was the hardest part. Basically, I'm saying these bottles work and are easy but they do allow some air inside which means the baby does take in some of that. Gracelyn is always fussy after drinking from a bottle so it's very important she burps enough afterwards. There was a weekend that I was working so David had Gracelyn with him at his parent's house. She was cranky and hungry and would not take this bottle so she got restless and started screaming. Screaming always indicates that she's "had it" and needs nourishment immediately. Neither David or his mom could figure out what to do until David's mom had an idea...

DR. BROWN

Dr. Brown’s patented internal vent system reduces colic and preserves essential vitamins by keeping air from mixing with the milk. For transitioning babies, the breast-shaped and -sized wide neck is especially helpful. 

                                    David's mom had this bottle on hand and decided to give it a try as options were limited with mommy at work and a baby screaming. From what I was told, Gracelyn latched on to this bottle for her life and gobbled down a whole bottle in no time. From then on she has taken this bottle with absolutely ZERO problem. NO spitting up, NO fussiness afterwards, NO leaking! That little blue stick inside the bottle is magic! She doesn't even need to burp after this bottle since no air gets in her tummy. A few times she has burped a healthy burp of satisfaction but she's never fussy! We definitely love using this bottle and are so happy we finally found something Gracelyn likes too. Dr. Brown gets our stamp of approval :)

Again, this is just my personal experience and every little one is different but my biggest recommendation from now on is definitely Dr. B!  There are TONS more bottles out there so there is bound to be the perfect one for your sweetie, you just have to find it! At the end of the day "Breast is Best" for little Gracie and she eats longer with me than with a bottle but when I'm at work these bottles suffice making for a happy healthy baby!