William was a colicky baby. For four months he cried. I hadn’t been around a lot of babies before having him. I didn’t know babies came like that. He’s lucky my siblings are my best friends or he would be an only child. I guess Anna, Clara, and Kate are lucky too,for that matter.
Back to the colic. We were willing to try anything that might help. I nursed him but he had to occasionally have a bottle too. I had multiple friends that swore by Dr. Browns bottles. So, we bought them. I used them for Anna too since I already had them.
When we started gearing up for the girls, the thought of another colicky baby, let alone two, made me nervous. I knew I planned to nurse as much as I could but that they’d also need more bottles since they’d be going to a daycare where the bottles have to be prepared for the whole day. So, I decided to go with the Dr.Brown bottles again.
What I like about them:
- They are BPA free. Of course, virtually every bottle is now days but they were when the BPA hype all started so they deserve props for that.
- They’re dishwasher safe. We run them and the accessories through the dishwasher to sanitize them every night.
- They screw onto my Medela pump accessories, which is helpful to eliminate the need for bags, depending on your pumping process. I only do this at home because I have to use bags to pump at work for storage reasons.
- They come in 2 oz bottles, which was really nice when we were supplementing the girls at first.
- It may reduce gas. It’s really hard to tell but if you have a colicky baby, it is probably worth the try.
What I don’t like about them:
- Sooooooo many parts to wash. This is NOT optimal with two sets of bottles. We put them into bottle accessory containers in the dishwasher and it takes three of them.
- They sometimes leak when you warm them in water. It is a pain in the rear and makes for an unhappy daycare staff. The wide mouth ones were so bad they asked us to stop using them.
- They leak if turned over very quickly. When you have to pack 6 at a time, occasionally one turns over and, let me tell you, I cry over spilled milk when that happens. Not only is it a mess but it’s my hard-earned pumped milk mixed in there with very expensive formula.
- They aren’t as “cute” as the other bottles. There are so many fun looking bottles out there. Dr. Browns bottles design has stayed the same. I can respect that- if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. But they could use a little more flair.
Additional Notes:
- The girls liked the wide mouth version better so we use them here but not at daycare since they leak a bit when you warm them in water. See above.
- We tried Tommy Tippee’s version but it leaked even worse and neither girl liked them.
- I don’t think they really need this type of bottle anymore but haven’t invested in a whole new set yet.
What are your favorite bottles? I’d love to see your experiences.
Chicken Minus Head 