Hey folks! How to feed your baby is
one of the most important decisions you can make as a new parent. I
won't get into the whole breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding argument
because I have done both. Plus, I think we can all agree that the
bottom line is that baby is happy, healthy, and growing. With that
being said, let's talk bottles today!
There are sooo many bottles out there
to choose from now that finding one that is right for your baby can
be overwhelming enough, especially if you're a first time parent.
That is one bonus of the technological age we live in: Being able to
read reviews online from other parents who have already tried
products we are interested in. John and I researched and tried LOTS
of things before and after we had our first daughter, cloth diapers,
wipes, and bottles were no exception. So, I hope that today's review
of the
Breastflow Starter Set bottles from The First Years
helps you out in your own journey into parenthood!
Some info on the Breastflow Starter
Set:
·Unlike traditional nipples, baby uses
suction and compression, just like breastfeeding
·Supports every combination of
breastfeeding and formula feeding
·2-in-1 silicone nipple works like your
breast, letting your baby instinctively control the flow
·Designed to help reduce colic symptoms,
gas & spit up
·Two 5oz. bottles with slow flow nipple;
two 9oz. bottles with medium flow nipple
·Bottle cover fits onto bottle base, to
help keep it within reach
·Works with breastmilk and formula
·Wide neck design for easy filling
·Easy to assemble and clean
·Starter Set includes full-size bottle &
nipple brush
Sounds pretty great, right? Here are
some notes from our experience* with the bottles:
*First of all, this would make the
perfect baby shower gift, especially if you're not sure if the
recipient is planning on formula or breastfeeding.
*The nipples on these bottles are
definitely the closest in design I've seen to breastfeeding out of
any other bottle. The Breastflow bottles would be great for
caregivers to use in place of the breast of working moms. OR, they
would be handy for new breastfeeding moms who may need a “nipple
break” (been there!) since the nipple design is so similar to
breastfeeding and should lessen confusion for newborns.
*The Breastflow bottles only go up to
medium flow nipples (from what I have seen), but by that point your
baby can graduate to faster flow bottles/nipples and should be old
enough that he/she won't have any issues with nipple confusion if
you're still breastfeeding.
*I really like that the baby has more
control over the milk flow, also like breastfeeding.
*The design of the two nipple pieces
fitting together is neat because you can simply pinch the sides to
let the milk that fills up in the outer nipple back into the bottle
so none gets wasted!
*On a personal note (and you can read
why I'm mentioning this at the end), I would suggest graduating to a
faster flow bottle once your baby is really sucking it down because
of the way the outer nipple “squishes down”. If they're sucking
that hard it makes it to where the outer nipple forms to their mouth
weird. Plus, they're probably going to be frustrated and may not
finish before they're actually done from being tired from working so
hard!
*We will definitely be using these
if/when we have another baby. I wish we had come across them sooner
with Ripley since we supplemented for so long! Needless to say, I
highly recommend them to any new parent.
*It may look complicated putting the
Breastflow bottles together at first, but I assure you it isn't as
bad as it looks as far as assembly and cleaning go, especially
compared to our Dr.Brown's bottles! As if the design of these bottles
isn't awesome enough, they are also...
*Insanely affordable! You can purchase
your own Breastflow Starter Set on
Amazon for only
$15.11!!!
I couldn't believe it either!
If you're looking for a bottle set
that is as close to breastfeeding as possible or simply want to
prevent gas and fussiness in your baby, again, I highly recommend the
Breastflow Starter Set. Plus you can't beat the price!
*Full disclosure, we only used the 9 oz
bottle with the medium flow nipple once with Ripley because, as
predicted, it was just too slow for her since she has been off the
breast for a few months now.
*Mixed Bag Mama received
complimentary products in order to facilitate her review. No other
compensation was received. Regardless, all opinions are her own and
may differ from your own.
