Picking a Baby Bottle
If you’ve never stood in the baby gear section of Target, surrounded by countless bottles and pacifiers and blankets and diapers and bibs and burp clothes, and wanted to pull your hair out due to the sheer overwhelm…then count yourself lucky. Because for most expecting parents, a trip down the baby section aisle can be daunting, to say the least. And one product that I receive numerous questions about from clients is: What is the best baby bottle? So today on the blog we’re sharing some insight into how to pick a bottle for your baby.
Type of Bottle
When it comes to choosing a bottle for your baby, you have options. A lot of options. So where to even begin? Let’s start with what the bottle is made of - plastic versus glass. Those are the two most popular materials that bottles are made from today and they have their own pros and cons.
For plastic, one of the biggest pros is cost effectiveness. Plastic bottles will almost always be more cost efficient than their glass counterparts. Plastic is also lighter and, importantly, shatter proof. So there are no worries about babies dropping bottles and breaking them.
One con for plastic bottles is longevity. Over time, plastic can scratch and tiny scratches in the plastic can be places where bacteria can hide. This definitely shortens the lifespan of plastic bottles when compared to glass. And for some families, plastic itself is a con. The environmental impact of plastic coupled with concerns about heating plastic (although today’s plastic bottles are all BPA free) can be reason enough for some people to choose glass.
When it comes to glass, the pros tend to focus around the longetivty of the bottle - because glass does not scratch like plastic can, these bottles can be used over and over for quite a long time - as well as the general preference for replacing household items with glass. As mentioned previously, glass is often more expensive so that can be one factor that weighs against this type of bottle. Concerns around the weight and breakability also come up, but many glass baby bottles do come with silicon sleeves to help prevent shattering.
One other type of bottle that people often have questions about are bottles with venting systems. These venting systems are often marketed as “anti-colic” or “anti-reflux” bottles, although in reality they are certainly not a magic bullet for a baby struggling with those kinds of issues. Venting systems are designed to move milk away from the nipple and in theory this means babies swallow less air with a vented bottle. In our experience, a nice, slow feed is the best way to reduce swallowed air and eliminate the other discomforts of over-feeding, so if practicing paced bottle feeding, a vented bottle is not necessary.
Type of Nipple
Another very important consideration when it comes to picking a bottle, is the type of nipple, including flow and shape.
One of the main goals of paced bottle feeding is to slow the flow and make sure the feeding is nice and slow. For this reason, using a slow flow nipple is always important. A slow flow nipple will mimic more closely the flow at the breast if this is a baby that goes between breast and bottle for feeding. A slow flow nipple also slows down the feeding time and helps to prevent overfeeding, which happens when babies eat too quickly. So even for a baby that is exclusively bottle fed, a slow flow nipple is important to stop the baby from eating too much and experiencing the discomfort of overfeeding.
It is important to note that bottle manufacturers all have different labeling systems when it comes to their nipples. For Dr. Brown’s, the preemie is the slowest flow nipple, whereas for the Evenflo bottles, their slowest flow is indicated with an S. So you should always look up on the manufacturer’s website how they label their nipples and then make sure you are using their slowest flow.
The shape of the nipple is also important. Bottle nipples can come range from tapered and narrow to wide and squat. The circumference of the nipple cap ring will give you an indication of how wide or narrow the nipple is - if the ring is very large, the nipple will be wide; if the ring is a small circle, the nipple will be narrow (and often more tapered). Wide nipples include the Tommee Tippee, the Como Tomo, and the Phillips Avent. Narrow shaped nipples are found on Dr. Brown’s, the Lansinoh Momma, and Evenflo.
Why does this matter? It matters because the shape of the nipple can affect the baby’s latch. A narrow, tapered nipple - like the ones found on Dr. Brown’s or Evenflo bottles - help foster a deeper latch for the baby. A wide nipple can often cause a shallow latch for the baby. If your baby is going to be feeding from both breast and bottle, picking a nipple shape that encourages and reinforces that deep latch is important. But even if your baby is exclusively bottle fed, a shallow latch can still be more work for your baby, because they often have to overcompensate with their lips and cheeks to make up for incorrect tongue placement, and can also lead to messier bottle feeds. So a narrow nipple can be just as beneficial for the exclusively bottle fed baby.
When to Introduce
One other common question I hear from new parents is whether they need to buy a lot of different types of bottles so their baby can try different ones. In my experience, the answer to this is no, especially if the bottle is introduced at the right time.
According to lactation consultants, the ideal time to introduce a bottle to a breastfed baby is somewhere around 3-4 weeks. At this stage, if breastfeeding is established and going well, a bottle can be introduced fairly easily. Sucking is reflexive for newborn babies and, in these early weeks, the tongue thrust reflex is slightly less pronounced, so that makes for an ideal time to introduce the bottle. Waiting until closer to 6 weeks or after can sometimes be a struggle as babies become a lot more “stubborn” about what enters the mouth and what will be reflexively thrust back out.
So ideally, if the bottle is introduced early enough, your baby will take to it with very little issues, thus eliminating the need to buy multiple bottles and try them out. And even if you have waited longer or your baby struggles with the bottle, be consistent. Offer one bottle and allow your baby to get to “learn” it, rather than introducing multiple different types in a short time period.