Help! There's too many type of bottle to choose from!

[MonkeyTastic]

Hi,

The baby is due soon (first child) and while I've just about got my head around everything baby related (what to buy, what type, what design etc...) I really don't know anything about bottles. There's too many different types, sizes, teat shapes arrrgghh!!! I don't know where to begin.

Are the special air flow ones a con? What size bottle do I need? How do I know what teat shape is the best? I haven't got £££ to spend either.

Where should I start? The bottles are for expressed milk, day or night.

Main question: Can I just by ANY bottles?

Sorry if this topic has already been covered but I'm new at this and the bottle thing is really getting on my teats (he he he he

I have used all sorts while nannying

I am planning on getting the closer to nature ones, but AVENT are my second choice and i have used them too.

Personally i wont be buying the colic bottles as they are a huge faff to assemble (Unless of course my baby seems to need them)
Im really really hoping to breast feed, and express so OH can do the dream feed, just once a day.
I will probably only buy 1 or 2 8oz size bottles and my freind has given me a free sample of a 4oz AVENT bottle.
I have a single bottle steriliser and im hoping to get away with just that... so long as breast feeding goes to plan!

No idea what teets ill get... possibly the vary flow as wont need to keep buying more of them, but obviosly it needs to suit baby, so i'll see how he / she manages. My AVENT bottle has a stage 0 teat, cause thats what it came with

My DS1 used a Tommee Tippee closer to nature bottle with a slow flow teat for the occasional bottle feeds of EBM he had (and also once an AVENT bottle a friend had given me - he preferred the TT one which was a bit annoying as my breast pump is an AVENT one!).

My DS2 then also used one (not the same one as I couldn't find it, although probably for the best as it probably wasn't BPA free) for a few bottle feeds of EBM between 1-3 months, then we forgot to give him a bottle feed for a month and he decided he hates bottles!

A friend of mine used the TT closer to nature for her DD but then found her DS wouldn't take any bottles except NUK ones (they have different shaped teats to others with the hole on one side of the teat, supoosedly more like breastfeeding... ).

It probably doesn't matter too much which you pick so long as you don't wait too long too introduce it (tricky to time this as there is the worry that it can interfere with establishing breastfeeding!) I'd recommend that you chose a bottle that you like the look of (don't bother with anti-colic)with a slow flow teat and only get the one to start with - if you need more you can get them once you know your baby will take it.

Hope that all goes well!

I'd say buy one or two of a common type of bottle, eg avent or tommee tippee, not something so specialised it is hard to find. And then once you know baby is happy with it, you can get more.

I found the closer to nature ones didn't last very long! They started leaking after a few weeks and I replaced them twice before moving onto avent ones. Don't bother buying the small ones as the babies appetite gets bigger very quickly, go for the 9oz ones.

Also if you're on a budget we used really cheap ones from tesco for a while and found them great!

I have used Tommee Tippee bottles with a variflow teat this time and have really liked them, but once the baby is a bit older, I switch to Tesco or Boots own wide neck bottles and teats.

Thanks everyone, your replies have been really helpful! Now I have a good idea of what to buy, onwards and upwards! :)

If this is for expressed milk (to be given alongside breastfeeding), I'd suggest holding off until you've had the baby.

It's best to wait till the baby is 6 weeks old before starting expressing and bottle feeding anyway. And I know a few people who decided they couldn't be bothered with the faff and didn't use the bottles they'd bought. Could save you a few bob and you've got 6 weeks to get hold of them - or longer if you don't feel like starting then.

As long as you're breastfeeding it's best to stick with the slowest flow possible. This will be closer to the flow from the best and will be less likely to lead to a preference for bottles due to them being easier and faster.

There are some really good topics on expressing here on this wonderful breastfeeding resource: www.kellymom.com

I personally used the medela bottles and teats as they came with my pump!