[pinkblue]

I am doing some research into bottles etc incase I need to bottle feed my baby. I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice as to which bottles, teats, sterilizer is best for a newborn baby?

I already have a few Tommee tippee closer to nature bottles but I'm wondering if others are better. Ive heard the pigeon peristaltic bottles are good. There seems to be a new teat/bottles out now the peristaltic plus. Are these better than the original teats? I've also heard good things about the medela calma bottle/teats?

Also which formula is the best for newborns? I've heard good things about bellamy's? Should I stay away from NAN formulas?

And lastly, which sterilizer would you recommend to fit wide neck bottles?

I'm not definitely planning on bottle feeding, I just want to be prepared as to what to get in case I need to. I have some breast issues that may make breastfeeding difficult although I will be trying my hardest to make breastfeeding work for us in the beginning.

[~shannon~]

From my experience there's no real difference from one brand over another, except for the quality of the plastic (ie. BPA-free or not BPA-free). I bought lots of different brands because DD rejected bottles full stop at five months of age. I had to stop breastfeeding suddenly due to ill health and having to take strong medications. It was an incredibly stressful time as we bought every bottle under the sun to get her to feed, but she rejected all of them (this was an incredibly expensive exercise!). In the end, we had to starve her so that she would eventually suck and feed due to being so hungry. I do not recommend this method one bit, but it was necessary and we had a midwife assist us who also said this was the only option left.

Once she got the hang of it I was given some Avent bottles so I ended up using that brand the most and bought extra bottles, teats, etc as they all work together. I just had a microwave steriliser which worked fine (and much cheaper than the electric ones). Since you've already got Tommy Tippee, just stick with those for now.

As for formula, my midwife recommended Nestle NAN and I found it was the best for my DD. Another brand (can't remember which one) gave DD terrible constipation. Not sure why you would stay to "stay away" from NAN.

Good luck with breastfeeding OP, I hope you overcome any hurdles on the way.

[pinkblue]

I heard there were some issues with NAN formula awhile back? Lots of babies had reactions to it?

[Escapin]

My DD had to have formula for a few days when she was first born. She had NAN, no problems. Can't really comment on the bottle issues, once we got breastfeeding going, she wouldn't have a bar of any bottle!

If you're thinking you might have issues with breastfeeding, I would STRONGLY recommend that you get a lactation consultant lined up. If you can afford it, a private lactation consultant so they can come to you whenever you need help. If you're in Sydney I can PM you the details of the lady that I saw. I'm still breastfeeding DD now (at 19months OMG!) and I would have given up in the first 2 weeks.

[Dylan's Mummy]

My sister gave me some Advent bottles and a microwave sterilizer. I bought new teats though. I have since replaced the 2nd hand one with some new bottles. I also bought an Advent manual breast pump. The sterilizer is really easy to use.

I haven't given my bub formula. I was going to buy a can I case I needed it but I figured that if I needed some I could always go and buy a can. I just have a few expressed bottles in the freezer for if I need them.

[starboard]

DD had Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature bottles. She was a bit windy and I found that these helped relieve that post feed trapped wind rather than the Avent bottles.
DS, on the other hand, has no trouble with Avent as he is less windy and that is what we use now.

For both my babies, I was recommended S26 Gold by the paediatrician and midwives, which suited them both fine. However my friend's baby suffered constipation with it.

I'm sure you can get samples of formula from pharmacies ( I may be wrong), ask and try a few and see which one suits your baby.

Good luck!

[WithSprinkles]

I have medela bottles and steriliser and they have been fine (my baby is breastfed but I do express sometimes), no problems with bottle/nipple refusal either (though I did avoid bottle feeding for the first 6 weeks).

I did buy the calma teat (which is supposed to be good for breastfed babies) but DD had trouble getting milk out of it..I actually tried sucking on it myself and couldn't get it to work! Not sure if I did something wrong putting it on or anything though. Since the regular teats worked fine, I didn't worry. I don't think there is a huge difference between most of the brands.

I have been breastfeeding my DD now for over 6 months. I also took a breastfeeding class before her birth but found that much of the info covered in the class I had already found out myself through reading stuff on the internet (still a good class though).
That early support I got in hospital was essential to my breastfeeding experience. The midwives I had were fantastic.

ETA: Since I don't use formula I don't really have any advice for that, except I have heard a few of my friends mention that they changed formulas after the NAN issues were publicised.

This post has been edited by VanillaIcecream: 28/11/2012, 11:54 AM

[bakesgirls]

I used, and still use, NUK and Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature bottles. My DDs have never been too fussy over what bottle they were given. I just made sure they were BPA free.

All of them have been fed with S26 Gold from the time I stopped breastfeeding until they progressed on to cows milk. None of my girls ever really had any issues with constipation like some babies do when they are on S26.

All bottles and accessories were sterilised in Milton.

[Ehill]

I heard there were some issues with NAN formula awhile back? Lots of babies had reactions to it?

Yes they changed an ingredient about 5mo ago. My DS had a reaction as did thousands of other babies. Personally I would never use it again and would never recommend it to anyone. To the PP's who used it with no problems it was probably prior to this. I use Karicare Aptimal Gold with no problems now.

I use Avent bottles. Also I have a cheap Big W brand microwave sterilizer. It is great and no different to the Avent one which was over 3x the price. I borrowed an Avent one with my 1st baby so have used both.

[premmie_29weeks]

I've bottle fed two kids almost from birth. We used avent bpa free bottles, and initially pigeon teats. Once they were a bit older I used the avent teats. Pigeon I found was better for the first few weeks. Try get the ones that have no inner ring...then you can use pigeon teats on the avent bottles.

They are hardy, I'm still using the ones I bought for ds1 who is well over 2.

I used a microwave steriliser and nan ha gold formula for both. Apart from a bit of ongoing constipation from time to time we have had no issues with the nan formulas.