I've always used Avent bottles, and they've been fine, but not great.
The pros:
-They don't tip over as easily as the cheaper, tall, skinny bottles.
-The nipple base is wider so my kids don't gag by sucking the nipple too far into their mouth.
-They're easy for my kids to grip.
The cons:
-They leak at the neck so much it drives me nuts! You have to be so careful about how you screw the top on, and usually you have to tighten, then loosen, then carefully tighten again to avoid leaks. And then when you shake it to mix the formula, it leaks a lot of the time. Drives me crazy!
-If they drop, they instantly leak at the neck.
-My babies always leak at the mouth when they're drinking from Avent bottles, so if they're not wearing a bib, their shirt is soaked.
So after 3 babies using Avent bottles, I thought I was stuck with this "leaking" frustration forever. And what about BPA? I guess it's found in plastics, including bottles, and is harmful to babies. My Avent bottles aren't BPA free.
When I was in England, I saw a bottle that looked strangely similar to a breast.
I asked the mother using it what it was, and it was an Adiri. I'm a HUGE research freak when it comes to baby stuff, so I looked it up online, willing to pay whatever it cost to get a bottle that didn't leak. Sadly, the reviews all said that it often leaked. Dang it! Was I ever going to find a leakless bottle with a nipple that didn't gag my babies? I checked out all the bottles and there was only one that got 5 stars and didn't have lots of small pieces to clean. And what was it? The Playtex Drop-Ins Nurser.
The one with the liners. I was hesitant to try it because it seems like the liners create a lot of waste (unless you have recycling facilities), and would get spendy considering you have to buy new ones all the time, but I thought I'd at least give them a try.
I bought a starter kit and here's what I think:
The pros:
-BPA free
-No leaking at the mouth with either the latex or silicone nipples! Wahoo!
-No leaking at the neck when I shake it (unless I spilled formula all over the top and didn't wipe it off, but even then it's only a couple of drops-nothing like the Avent leakage). Yeehaw!
-Kiersa can hold it at any angle and still eat, which is great for in the car seat. It doesn't have to be held upright like normal bottles.
-Super easy clean up! Just toss the liner (or recycle if your recycle place takes plastic other than milk jugs-mine doesn't) and rinse the nipple! Voila!
-You can push the air out so the baby isn't sucking air and thus isn't colicky.
The cons:
-Figuring out the ounces was confusing at first since there are several measurements on the outside and different sizes of liners. To solve the confusion, I put 8 oz of water in my Avent bottle, then poured it into the Playtex bottle. I found that with the expandable 10 oz liners, the 8 oz line is truly 8 oz. Problem solved, but it was frustrating at first. The 8 oz liners didn't have a true measurement when I tested it.
-You can only go up to 8oz of water, instead of 10 like my Avent bottles.
-It's tougher to mix the formula in the bottle because there isn't much room for the formula after the water is in. I have to pat the formula down a little or tap the bottle on the counter to ensure there's enough room for 4 formula scoops in an 8 oz bottle. I guess you're supposed to mix the formula separately and then put it in the bottle, which would solve the measuring and tapping dilemma, and the foaming after it's shaken, but who has the time to do that and who wants to clean one more thing? I'm thinking I'll get one of these Dr. Brown pitchers so I can mix the days formula ahead of time. They get great reviews.
Overall Playtex Drop-Ins review: the pros far outweigh the cons for me, and I love using these bottles. I especially love using them at work or when we go on vacation now since the clean up is so much easier. I had to use an Avent in the car the other day and was quickly reminded why I like the Playtex so much better. In my opinion, they're worth a try.
Kiersa's review:
She loves them enough to suck them dry as a bone, and yet doesn't end up with a bunch of air in her gut.
5 comments:
Hi, Tiana,
I used the Playtex drop-in bottles and liners with the last couple of my kids and loved them. Easy clean-up! Plus all the pros you mentioned.
I solved the mixing problem by putting enough for several bottles in the blender, run it for a few seconds or so til done. Then I put it in a pitcher in the fridge and just poured it into a bottle when needed. Got a day's worth mixed at once and made life easier.
Good luck,
Tracy
I have to admit that I just skipped over this blog since A) I'm not having any more kids and B) I never used bottles. But I love that you always do a ton of research and find the best thing.
I have always used the playtex bottles with all of my boys and I love them! Easy clean up, they can hold them, don't leak (too bad if at all), no air bubbles... I always put in about half of the water that I am going to use, 4 or 5 oz, then put in all the formula and shake it up. Then I add the rest of the water and shake again. It is all mixed up and they get a FULL bottle.
I'll be honest your post was too long and I didn't read it so this may make no since... but if you're looking for a boob like bottle we used first years breast flow bottles with Boston and he loved them.
I used the playtex bottles with liners for Matthew when he was little. We used breast milk for some days and Costco formula when he got older (6 months). I loved being able to just dump the liners. Target has the drop in liners that are cheap and work as well as the playtex ones. You'll have to stock up when you go next time.
Karin
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