When I drink something, I’m not a dainty sipper – I’m more like a frantic gulper. And, I discovered, so is Olivia. Since she hasn’t yet perfected the art like her mom, she occasionally chokes (super scary) or swallows huge gulps which I can literally hear turning into air bubbles as they go down. Our doctor (who we absolutely love, btw), suggested a very scientific approach to solving Olivia’s chomping woes: test out as many bottles as possible! To find the best baby bottle for our gassy baby, we tested eight brands, the results of which are below (all nipples tested were Level 1/Slow Flow). Unfortunately, I feel like this will be an ever-evolving process since as she grows, different bottles may work better. For now, I think we’ve gotten as close as we can – we’re alternating between the Dr. Brown’s bottle with Playtex VentAire nipple, the Playtex VentAire (with VentAire nipple), the MAM and AVENT.
Green = great ¦ Blue = okay ¦ Red = not recommended ¦ * = “anti-colic” system
AVENT
* ¦ Pros: Great nipple flow; Easy to clean Cons: Visible air bubbles form in nipple Parts: 4
Dr. Brown’s
* ¦ Pros: Great at preventing air bubbles from forming in the nipple Cons: Parts are really cumbersome to clean; Nipple is soft and causes milk to flow too quickly, even on Level 1 and Preemie nipples Parts: 5
MAM
* ¦ Pros: Best nipple, hands down; Bottle is self-sterilizing in the microwave if you re-arrange the parts Cons: Bottle is awkwardly shaped – doesn’t fit in all bottle warmers Parts: 5
Medela
¦ This came with my breast pump and is really your basic bottle/nipple. No pros or cons worth noting. I wouldn’t use this bottle regularly for a baby with excessive gas or reflux issues. Parts: 3
Similac SimplySmart
* ¦ Pros: Additional piece mixes formula evenly and reduces air bubbles Cons: Lots of parts to clean and keep track of; Bottle is awkwardly shaped – difficult to feed entire contents; Doesn’t fit in all bottle warmers Parts: 5
Playtex Drop Ins Nurser
* ¦ Pros: You can squeeze all of the air out of the liner; Nipple flow is pretty good; You only have to clean the nipple since liner is disposable Cons: Liners are an added cost; Bottle is very wide; You can’t prep and heat – you have to heat milk in a different container and then pour into liner Parts: 4 (including liner)
Playtex VentAire
* ¦ Pros: Nipple flow is great, mostly because nipple is not as soft as others; Angled bottle shape facilitates better positioning during feeding Cons: Can’t really think of any Parts: 5
Tommee Tippee
* ¦ Pros: Heat-sensing indicator tells you if milk is too hot Cons: Lots of parts to clean and keep track of; Bottle is awkwardly shaped – difficult to feed entire contents; Doesn’t fit in all bottle warmers; Fairly expensive Parts: 6
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I really like the Bare air free bottle system. The bottle works like a syringe in that all air is forced out so nothing is left for baby to suck in. They also have two nipple options; the perfe-latch is a great nipple for use with breastfeeding as it has more movement. The nipples allow the baby to control the flow with pressure. They are available at Babies R US