Avent bottles leak! Any suggestions/recommendations?

[Saskia909]

Having breastfed DS2 for the last 4.5 months we are now moving inexorably towards bottles & I have 4 Avent bottles - 2 large & 2 small. I use the teats size 2 and 3. DS enjoys his bottles tremendously (although spews it all over the place but I presume this is normal!). My problem is everytime I have gone out taking a bottle with me it has leaked everywhere. I am closing them very tightly, making sure the teat is properly in and putting the cover on so that it seals(?) the hole at the top of the teat. Where is the leakage coming from? It is happening with all the bottles. Has anyone else had this problem or could anyone recommend another bottle? I am also now going to have to get sterilisers etc. I never really bottlefed DS1 so am pretty new to all this. Be really grateful for any advice, mumsnetters!

Hi Saskia, I used Avent bottles for about 14 months with ds1 and can't remember any of them leaking. Are the bottles hot when you take them out with you? I found that when I first made them up, if it was with boiling water,it would force some milk out because of the heat.

Just a thought, if you bought the Avent breast pump expresser, mine came with two Avent bottles that had caps to put in the lids, you could also use these. I don't know where you get them from on their own though, not seen them in Mothercare.

I used to have this problem, I think it's something to do with the bottles being sealed when the contents are boiling hot. (I'm no scientist but soething to do with hot things expanding and cool things contracting) When the bottles have cooled, try opening and closing them again.
Also have you got one of those 3 section containers for the powder, so you only need to add the formulea just before the feed. Thesn atleast if the bottles leaked it would only be water!

We used to keep the teat separate from the bottle when travelling. You used to be able to buy a set of cap, ring and screw-in seal to which you could add whichever flow teat you needed - you could keep the teat sterile all day like this. Bottle then had a white seal placed under the ring of the lid. Still used to get the occasional explosion due to putting lid on if the contents were still very warm. Also make sure you are using the right teats for the bottle and not the disposable system as I had problems in reverse with using normal teats on the disposable bottle (one set are blue tinged). Superdrug and Boots carry a wide range of Avent accessories but I think I bought some of mine in an independent Chemist.

There was a big discussion about this on the products thread about June time so its not just your bottles. Have a quick look it might explain the problem. I didn't buy Avent for ds2 because of all the complaints that I was hearing about them and I chose some Maws heat sensor bottles. They work fine but I had to buy an Avent bottle in the end to find a teat that ds2 would accept. The only problem with the Maws bottles it seems is that it only has one choice of teat, but apart from that they work really well. Oh and with the one little Avent bottle I have yet to see any leakage problems with it. My Avent breast-pump now thats another matter.

HTH

no advice but don't buy the tommee tippee nuby bottles - they leak like billy-oh, including when you are feeding. SO FRUSTRATING!

When dh phoned Avent to complain that our bottles leaked, they said we were overtightening them. Seemed to work as we haven't had any problems since. Maybe worth a try?

Are you happy about moving to bottles Saskia909? Seems a hassle when you B/F last time. Just that you used the word 'inexorably'. Just interested.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I checked the June thread Bekki and found it illuminating! I will certainly try not overtightening them, making sure the teats are in properly and putting the teats in wet. I have only used cartons of formula so far so have not heated the milk at all. Failing all that it looks like Maws is the way to go! And I was thinking of complaining to Avent - won't bother now. Oh and Mears, I guessed you might post about me switching to bottles. Just to say last time was when I was 10 years younger and life was a lot less stressful! Also am getting tons of aches and pains which my GP says could be down to the hormones still circulating because of breastfeeding so my ligaments (or something) haven't tightened up. It may end up that I still bf him a couple of times a day but I kind of have had enough this time. Thanks again everyone, you are all stars!

Thanks Saskia - I am so transparent I delayed asking because I was sure people would think 'here she goes'. I find it really helpful to hear of women's reasons for stopping feeding that they are happy with.

Mears, while you're on-line , can I sneak a question in? I am due to give birth in December. Last time, during my first week of breastfeeding, I had extremely painful, cracked, nearly-bleeding nipples. I was feeding DD approximately 45 minutes on each side, as that was what she seemed to want during the collostrum stage and into the milk stage, which I think didn't really come in for 6 or 7 days, as I recall. Anyway, what I'm wondering is whether there is some way to 'prepare' your nipples, so that the first week is not so painful this time. I did use the Lansinoh or Medela nipple creams, which helped and also the Medela cup things that keep your bra from touching your nipples. Any advice? TIA.

The main advice tinyfeet is to make sure baby is attached properly. There is nothing you can do to prepare the nipples in advance. If babies are attached properly, it doesn't matter how long they are on the breast for.
Usually you find that the baby's first few feeds are the ones that do the damage. Even though you have fed before, your nipples will still get sore if the postioning is not right. With ds2 my nipples were a mess because I didn't pay enough attention to getting him on properly. Does your hospital run breastfeeding workshops? If so, I would definately advise going to learn how to fix babies properly and what to watch for when feeding.

Thanks, Mears. I never had any latch on problems, and had actually taken a breastfeeding course before DD1. I also had a lactation consultant come in while I was in hospital. The one thing she said was that I should ensure that DD was taking as much of the nipple into her mouth as possible. I'll try to keep that in mind. I didn't realize that the soreness was from positioning. Appreciate the advice, and I'm sure I'll be coming to you in December for more.

Tinyfeet, I used a barrier cream called Kamillosan. Used sparingly no need to wash off before a feed. It worked a treat for me!

It can also be used for babies nappy rash once your nipples have healed.

Thanks, alohahawaii. It sounds similar to the Lanisol and Medeal creams that I used last time. I also have some ice packs that should be helpful if I have the same pain as last time. Hopefully, my positioning will be better this time, and none of this will be necessary