Feeding bottles

I am planning to BF my boys right from the beginning, but I also want to have a few bottles ready with me, in case, they don't latch well.

What brand and type of bottles should I be buying? Also, how many? I am thinking 4-6 should do (as I am not planning to pump...unless necessary sometimes). But do I need more?

 

We just used Gerber bottles, nothing special. We had about 8 total. First we used the 4 oz. ones and then around 6 months we bought the 8 oz. bottles (although my two never took more than 6 oz ever at a feeding). We were able just to use the regular nipples as well, but my oldest DD only like the orthodontic nipples (gerber nuk). The twins weren't picky.

It is a good idea to have some just in case. I was planning to BF, but when they came early, I ended up having to pump for them.

 

We used Avent, but I wouldn't recommend them. The problem with the Avent bottles is they were always leaking around the plastic part that screws to the bottle. Have the same problem with the Avent sippies as well. It is very aggrevating. I have heard a lot of good things about Dr. Brown bottles. Anyway--how many?--I had to pump because I had problems with the girls latching so every morning we filled 8 with breastmilk. Then at night we'd wash and then fill them again for the next day.

 

We use Dr. Brown's bottles now and I wish I'd known about them from the start but in the beginning, we just used the Gerber ones and they worked fine. Also, since the girls were in the NICU for a couple weeks, they ended up sending us home with all the bottles they used while they were there.

 

Playtex drop ins - I never bf'ed/pumped but I loved the drop ins - less washing!

 

I use Dr. Brown's, and my girls love them. There are more parts to wash, but I don't find it to be a big deal. We tried Gerber with the girls too, but they didn't like them.

I would advise you to pump and introduce bottles at least a couple of times a week. Two of my older girls would never take bottles, and it made my life very difficult! You should introduce the bottle when they are a few weeks old and keep doing it. You never know when something will come up and you will need them to be able to take your milk from someone else. (For me it was a funeral, my other daughter's school concert, etc.)

 

I used both Avent and Dr. Brown's. We started with Avent and they leaked like no tomorrow. I wasn't overtightening them either like most people thought was the problem. So we purchased the Dr. Brown's bottles after pulling our hair out. The Dr. Brown's bottles do have more parts to wash, but it wasn't too much of an issue when it comes to washing bottles. They also helped with my son's reflux. I had at least 6 or 8 of each type.

 

We started with Avent--hated them!! Switched to Dr. Browns. They were great. However, we started reading about BPA and switched to Evenflo glass and stayed with them until they switched to sippies. I was planning to bf and pump. But, the babies were born at 33 weeks and spent 10 days in nicu. Pumped for about 8 weeks and switched exclusively to bottles. I started with a "new mom" kit of both...I think they have 3 each of each size.

 

With my daughter we used Playtex dropins. So much better than having to wash a bottle everytime! You just drop in the liner and when she was done you could rinse it out and throw it away! I found hers from when she was little and I have gotten several more. I don't know how many all together but I have quite a few!