Since Mommy and Daddy's trip to Babies R Us last week Mommy has been looking at all the items on the recommended checklist and doing research on them. The first items Mommy decided to look into were bottles. Mommy is planning on breastfeeding but still she felt that having some bottles in the house before Jellybean arrived would still be a good idea. For one thing Mommy herself was formula fed because her own mommy couldn't breastfeed her so Mommy is aware that the possibility of breastfeeding might be hereditary and she simply might not be able to. Another reason Mommy wanted to buy bottles is so that Daddy could assist with feeding Jellybean as well as bond with him. Lastly obviously if Mommy is out and another person is watching Jellybean then they would obviously need bottles to feed Jellybean as well as if Mommy is out and breastfeeding isn't convenient at the time. In short there are numerous reasons having a few bottles around the house is a good idea for first time parents.
So Mommy started to do some research and wow are there a lot of different kinds of bottles. DISCLAIMER: All of this is independant research done by one consumer who has not yet even tested out any of these products so take what you will from this.
Mommy immediately ruled out any kind of drop in liner bottles because while convenient she hates the idea of creating more unnecessary waste for the planet.
Next was the plastic vs glass issue. Mommy has been reading up a lot in the past few years about plastic studies and the more she reads about it the less inclined to plastic use she has become. In her own life Mommy has been slowly trying to phase out the use of plastic and replace it with glass (ie food storage) as it has been shown that plastic, especially under heat sources, has been known to leech. Overtime as the plastic is used more it leeches more and more and all of that seeps into your food, skin, etc. There was a big controversy recently over this discovery and the affects on baby bottles which are often used in microwaves or warmed milk is placed within. There was a bog recall and change in the industry and now most bottles advertise that they are BPA free which is the harmful toxin within plastic. While Mommy knows that its impossible to have a plastic free life (especially when children are involved) she wants to limit to use of plastic as much as she can so she decided to only look into glass bottles for Jellybean.
Mommy found a few brands namely Evenflo, Born Free, and Dr Brown which she considered for Jellybean.
Evenflo is a company that has always stuck with glass bottles. Even when other companies started to move toward plastic bottles Evenflo stuck with glass production. They also made plastic ones I believe but they have always had glass as an alternative. Their glasses are also significantly cheaper then most other brands. Also Evenflo makes grips for some of their bottles helping with the slipping issue of glass.
Evenflo bottles with cozies 3 pack of 4 oz bottles- $7.98 at Babies R Us
Evenflo pack of 6 4 oz bottles- $11.99 at Amazon.com
Born Free bottles advertise a wider neck bottle creating a more breast-like feeding experience for the baby which they say is best for parents who plan on switching between breast and bottle as the transition isn't as stark for the baby. They also created a air vent system within the bottles which they claim helps eliminate colic issues as well as gas ones. There are also a wide variety of nipple choices that come with the wide neck bottles. Born Free bottles however cost quite a bit more then say the Evenflo bottles.
Born Free pack has 3 5 oz glasses, 2 9 oz glasses, and 2 level 2 nipples- $44.99 at Babies R Us
Dr Brown Natural Flow bottles advertise that with their internal vent system babies have an easier time nursing and experience less adverse affects such as colic, gas, and spitting up. The venting system helps create a vacuum inside the bottle trapping air and now allowing it to reach your babies's milk. This system is achieved through an extra straw piece inside the bottle which they supply a special cleaning tool for as well. Dr Brown bottles are on the more expensive side as well.
Dr Brown's 2 pack of 3.5 oz bottles- $12.99 at Babies R Us
After much thought and consideration Mommy decided to go with both Evenflo and Born Free bottles. They say with babies that bottles are often a trial and error has each baby has their own preferences (just like the rest of us) and Mommy decided that out of the three glass bottle choices she was debating on these two fit her needs better. She liked that Evenflo bottles were cheaper then their competitors and even created a slip grip for their bottles to help prevent breaking (please note that all reviews Mommy has read about all three bottle brands have stated that the glass is sturdy and often times people have dropped them or the bottles have been thrown by children and stayed in tact). She also read specifically that Evenflo bottles work perfectly with the Medela breast pump machines (more on that later). Mommy also choose Born Free because of its wonderful reputation (a lot of mothers swear by these bottles) and the fact that it advertises to help relieve gas and colic as well as the best bottles for transitions. Also Mommy would like to see what if there is any real difference between the cheaper Evenflo bottles and the more advanced venting system and multiple nipple stages of the Born Free bottles. The reason Mommy did not choose Dr Brown's bottles (even though they also have a large following with mother's) is for a few reasons. The first one simply being with the extra venting system it creates one more piece to clean. Dr Brown does provide you with a special tool to assit with the cleaning but Mommy saw online that replacements are avaialble for this tool probbaly meaning that it is small and easily lost which can be another pain on top of the additional cleaning. Also Mommy read from other mother's online that because the system is somewhat straw like its harder to place inside the dishwasher because it can get lost or break. Also you have to check rountinely that the straw does not break because if it does parts can fall into the bottle itself possibly causing problems with your baby. Also Mommy was disheartened a bit to read that before the big BPA industry change all of Dr Brown's products were found to be high on polycarbonate a component of the BPA recall. Even though we are talking about glass in this case with the Dr Brown's bottles which of course wouldn't be affected by BPA it still leaves a bad taste in Mommy's mind and therefore that along with the added cleaning made Mommy decide to not go with that brand. This is of course a personal decision and not one Mommy is saying is for everyone.
Mommy knows that these are her current plans before Jellybean is born and naturally things can change once Jellybean arrives and some flexibility is required in all of this.
If you are still interested in plastic bottles, glass does have it drawbacks being heavier, more breakable, as well as hotter to hold at first touch, most brands including the ones we mentioned today all carry BPA free plastic bottles as well. Just make sure to look for BPA free written on them. If Mommy were to buy plastic the one brand she wouldn't be hesitent about buying from are both Born Free and Medela. Both of these brands have been BPA free even before the industry change and Mommy would feel confident using either of those brands.
Medela BPA-Free 3 5 oz bottles- $16.99 at Babies R Us
As Mommy mentioned before about Medela and Evenflo. Mommy admits while she did all this research on bottles she did very little when it came to the breastpump brand she wanted, Medela. Medela is not only the brand Mommy's hospital rents out but it is well touted all over the Internet by mother's. Mommy is still decideding which set she wants to use but she knows that this is the brand for her. She liked the fact that not only is the breast pump well touted but medlea bottles ahve always been BPA free and thus the storage bottles that came with the set which are plastic are and have always been BPA free. Also like she previously said Evenflo bottles have been said to work very well with this system so Mommy figures if Jellybean doesn't care for the Evenflo bottles she can always use the extra ones as storage.
If you want to read more about BPA and bottles this is an article Mommy found talking about the different bottle brands before the industry change.
So Mommy started to do some research and wow are there a lot of different kinds of bottles. DISCLAIMER: All of this is independant research done by one consumer who has not yet even tested out any of these products so take what you will from this.
Mommy immediately ruled out any kind of drop in liner bottles because while convenient she hates the idea of creating more unnecessary waste for the planet.
Next was the plastic vs glass issue. Mommy has been reading up a lot in the past few years about plastic studies and the more she reads about it the less inclined to plastic use she has become. In her own life Mommy has been slowly trying to phase out the use of plastic and replace it with glass (ie food storage) as it has been shown that plastic, especially under heat sources, has been known to leech. Overtime as the plastic is used more it leeches more and more and all of that seeps into your food, skin, etc. There was a big controversy recently over this discovery and the affects on baby bottles which are often used in microwaves or warmed milk is placed within. There was a bog recall and change in the industry and now most bottles advertise that they are BPA free which is the harmful toxin within plastic. While Mommy knows that its impossible to have a plastic free life (especially when children are involved) she wants to limit to use of plastic as much as she can so she decided to only look into glass bottles for Jellybean.Mommy found a few brands namely Evenflo, Born Free, and Dr Brown which she considered for Jellybean.
Evenflo is a company that has always stuck with glass bottles. Even when other companies started to move toward plastic bottles Evenflo stuck with glass production. They also made plastic ones I believe but they have always had glass as an alternative. Their glasses are also significantly cheaper then most other brands. Also Evenflo makes grips for some of their bottles helping with the slipping issue of glass.
Evenflo bottles with cozies 3 pack of 4 oz bottles- $7.98 at Babies R Us
Evenflo pack of 6 4 oz bottles- $11.99 at Amazon.comBorn Free bottles advertise a wider neck bottle creating a more breast-like feeding experience for the baby which they say is best for parents who plan on switching between breast and bottle as the transition isn't as stark for the baby. They also created a air vent system within the bottles which they claim helps eliminate colic issues as well as gas ones. There are also a wide variety of nipple choices that come with the wide neck bottles. Born Free bottles however cost quite a bit more then say the Evenflo bottles.
Born Free pack has 3 5 oz glasses, 2 9 oz glasses, and 2 level 2 nipples- $44.99 at Babies R UsDr Brown Natural Flow bottles advertise that with their internal vent system babies have an easier time nursing and experience less adverse affects such as colic, gas, and spitting up. The venting system helps create a vacuum inside the bottle trapping air and now allowing it to reach your babies's milk. This system is achieved through an extra straw piece inside the bottle which they supply a special cleaning tool for as well. Dr Brown bottles are on the more expensive side as well.
Dr Brown's 2 pack of 3.5 oz bottles- $12.99 at Babies R UsAfter much thought and consideration Mommy decided to go with both Evenflo and Born Free bottles. They say with babies that bottles are often a trial and error has each baby has their own preferences (just like the rest of us) and Mommy decided that out of the three glass bottle choices she was debating on these two fit her needs better. She liked that Evenflo bottles were cheaper then their competitors and even created a slip grip for their bottles to help prevent breaking (please note that all reviews Mommy has read about all three bottle brands have stated that the glass is sturdy and often times people have dropped them or the bottles have been thrown by children and stayed in tact). She also read specifically that Evenflo bottles work perfectly with the Medela breast pump machines (more on that later). Mommy also choose Born Free because of its wonderful reputation (a lot of mothers swear by these bottles) and the fact that it advertises to help relieve gas and colic as well as the best bottles for transitions. Also Mommy would like to see what if there is any real difference between the cheaper Evenflo bottles and the more advanced venting system and multiple nipple stages of the Born Free bottles. The reason Mommy did not choose Dr Brown's bottles (even though they also have a large following with mother's) is for a few reasons. The first one simply being with the extra venting system it creates one more piece to clean. Dr Brown does provide you with a special tool to assit with the cleaning but Mommy saw online that replacements are avaialble for this tool probbaly meaning that it is small and easily lost which can be another pain on top of the additional cleaning. Also Mommy read from other mother's online that because the system is somewhat straw like its harder to place inside the dishwasher because it can get lost or break. Also you have to check rountinely that the straw does not break because if it does parts can fall into the bottle itself possibly causing problems with your baby. Also Mommy was disheartened a bit to read that before the big BPA industry change all of Dr Brown's products were found to be high on polycarbonate a component of the BPA recall. Even though we are talking about glass in this case with the Dr Brown's bottles which of course wouldn't be affected by BPA it still leaves a bad taste in Mommy's mind and therefore that along with the added cleaning made Mommy decide to not go with that brand. This is of course a personal decision and not one Mommy is saying is for everyone.
Mommy knows that these are her current plans before Jellybean is born and naturally things can change once Jellybean arrives and some flexibility is required in all of this.
If you are still interested in plastic bottles, glass does have it drawbacks being heavier, more breakable, as well as hotter to hold at first touch, most brands including the ones we mentioned today all carry BPA free plastic bottles as well. Just make sure to look for BPA free written on them. If Mommy were to buy plastic the one brand she wouldn't be hesitent about buying from are both Born Free and Medela. Both of these brands have been BPA free even before the industry change and Mommy would feel confident using either of those brands.
Medela BPA-Free 3 5 oz bottles- $16.99 at Babies R UsAs Mommy mentioned before about Medela and Evenflo. Mommy admits while she did all this research on bottles she did very little when it came to the breastpump brand she wanted, Medela. Medela is not only the brand Mommy's hospital rents out but it is well touted all over the Internet by mother's. Mommy is still decideding which set she wants to use but she knows that this is the brand for her. She liked the fact that not only is the breast pump well touted but medlea bottles ahve always been BPA free and thus the storage bottles that came with the set which are plastic are and have always been BPA free. Also like she previously said Evenflo bottles have been said to work very well with this system so Mommy figures if Jellybean doesn't care for the Evenflo bottles she can always use the extra ones as storage.
If you want to read more about BPA and bottles this is an article Mommy found talking about the different bottle brands before the industry change.
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