Here are the best baby bottles for 2017!
1. Dr. Brown's Original Bottles - Glass or BPA-free Plastic. About $4-5 per bottle. These are excellent bottles. Dr. Brown's has been making the original anti-colic, anti-gas, anti-fuss bottles since 1996. They use a unique vent system designed by Dr. Brown himself, a pediatrician who designed and patented a two-piece venting system that prevents the negative pressure "vacuum" that typically forms in bottles while a baby feeds. Like actual breasts, these create a positive-pressure flow. These are great for moms who switch between breast- and bottle-feeding, or moms who only bottle feed; they are particularly excellent for relieving the symptoms of colic and gas. The original glass version of this bottle has been around for about two decades, but the company has slowly phased out the glass in favor of BPA-free plastic. This has resulted in lower cost, though we must say that we prefer the original glass version, which is much harder to find and sellers are increasing the price due to the limited availability. If you can't find the glass ones for under about $20 each, then don't bother (you're getting ripped off). And if you're really intent on getting a glass bottle, check out the excellent Joovy Boob, below, which is an excellent bottle that has a much more reasonable price. The newer BPA-free plastic version is lighter weight and shatter-proof, definite advantages over the traditional glass version. Only downfall of the any of the Dr. Brown's bottles is that the vent system can be a bit of a pain to clean; but we promise, it's worth it! In our testing, we found superior colic and gas prevention, great fit and function of the traditional-style nipples, and minimal leaking unless vigorously shaking to mix formula. Note that Dr. Brown's also sells the similar Options line of bottles. The Options bottles allow you to use the bottle with or without the venting system; in our experience, they are not quite up to par with the original Natural Flow bottles, but you can check them out here and decide for yourself!
2. Comotomo Natural Feel Baby Bottles. A little pricier than most other options on this list at around $14 per bottle, the Comotomo bottle is relatively new to the U.S. baby bottle market and is making a huge splash among discerning moms. Designed with a very wide (about 3") nipple base, a more natural nipple shape and feel, these are made for moms who want to switch flexibly between breast- and bottle-feeding. Moms love the unique soft and squeezable silicone feel of the bottle, as do babies, who can comfortably grip the bottle while feeding - it feels a bit like mom's soft skin. The width of the nipple base, and its pliability, make it very natural - in our testing, we found that babies are able to make cheek, tip of nose, and chin contact with the wide nipple base, promoting a nice vacuum seal much like a real breast. The vent design is quite unique and not as much of a hassle to clean like the Dr. Brown's or Tommee Tippee. Instead of a long tube to clean, the bottle uses two small vents positioned at the base of the nipple. The squeezable bottle is nice for adding a bit of pressure to the feed to mimic let-down. During feeding, we noticed that the entire wide base of the nipple elongated and retracted very smoothly, much like a natural breast. In a more practical sense, the wide base made it easier to clean, and we also liked the small tab on the side of the wide green base, which made it much easier to grip and open or tighten the bottle. Overall, this baby bottle is a fantastic option, and over the past 2 years it has slowly climbed into this #2 spot. With time it may even surpass the Dr. Brown's. Drawbacks? Just a few, mostly related to the translucent bottle, which moms report can make it hard to see the number labels on the side, or see inside to check how much milk is remaining. We didn't think this was a major issue, but did agree that it made it a bit more difficult to see how much milk was remaining, especially during nighttime feedings. And we thought the venting was great, but not quite as good as the Dr. Brown's. Note that this bottle is somewhat similar to the MimiJumi bottles, but those didn't make it onto this year's list due to a feeding angle that's a bit too extreme, the venting isn't quite as good, and some leaking and inconsistent flow issues have been reported.
3. Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Bottles. About $6 per bottle, which come in 5oz or 9oz sizes. These are a close runner-up to Comotomo, and you will realize that they are actually quite similar in shape, venting, and nipple. They have a wide body with nice curvature for grip (your grip, and baby's grip!). The nipple itself is not quite as wide and convex as the Comotomo, through it is basically somewhere in between Munchkin Latch (or AVENT) and the Comotomo in terms of nipple shape and size. In our test, we found that these nipples do replicate a natural elongation and retraction movement, though not quite as pronounced and natural looking as the Comotomo. Given their wider and shorter stance, these bottles were particularly easy to clean. The venting on the nipple is very similar to the Comotomo, except there is only a single vent. The single vent typically worked very well, but we noticed that it's more likely to be covered by the cheek, lips, or chin, which means it won't be venting very well. That's a distinct advantage to the Comotomo, as is the more natural form and function nipple. The Tommee Tippee is a great second option for moms who want the flexibility of switching between breast- and bottle-feeding. Because the nipple and its surround are relatively realistic, the baby does not become accustomed to a different nipple style and subsequently reject breastfeeding. Of course, this type of rejection is rare, but for very particular babies this is another great option.
4. Joovy BOOB BPA-free PPSU or Glass Baby Bottles. These are a recent addition to our best baby bottles list, and made a great impression during our hands-on reviews. These bottles come in three varieties: Glass, PPSU, and PP. The glass bottles are our most recommended, and we believe these bottles in particular deserve a very high spot on this list; the glass is very strong, the bottle is comfortable to hold, and they come with nice outside silicone grippers (and impact absorbers if dropped!) that you can easily pull on and off. The PPSU is a slightly grey-tinted plastic that is not very vulnerable to staining, discoloration, or cracking, and tend not to absorb colors or odors as much as other plastic types. Finally, the PP is very similar to the PPSU, but not as invulnerable to the absorption of colors and odors. We found so many things to love about these bottles. First, the venting was really fantastic. Joovy uses a venting ring that goes onto the opening of the bottle before you screw on the nipple. And it worked substantially better than many of the other venting approaches used by the other bottles, which should result in less gas, fussiness, spit-up, and colic. Good venting is so important in a baby bottle! Second, we really liked the countors of the bottle itself, which make it not only look nice, but feel nice in the hand; especially the glass bottle with the silicone sleeve on it, felt really nice to hold. The only drawback with this shape, relative to something like the Tommee Tippee, is that it can be slightly more difficult for the baby to learn how to hold, since it is overall thicker in the middle. Third, the soft silicone nipples were really quite good, and were great for preventing nipple confusion. The shape of the nipples is very similar to the Avent (below) nipples, and we think the Joovy and Avent bottles might be a good set to use interchangeably (we don't mean the parts are interchangeable, we just mean that the nipples are so similar that the baby won't likely notice a difference between the two). Finally, we found them easy to clean (including the vent ring), and we appreciated that they are dishwasher safe and safe to sterilize. Our only gripes with these bottles are: first, the vent ring is a bit of a pain, since you need to put it on each time before screwing on the nipple. This can be tough for late night feedings when you're stumbling around trying to get a bottle ready, possibly while also holding baby in one hand. Second, we are all about boobs and their contributions to the world, but we're not sure it was the best marketing decision to place the word BOOB front and center on each bottle. But that's for you to decide! These bottles are a bit pricey, coming in at around $13 each for glass, $10 each for PPSU, and $6 each for PP. We think the glass is totally worth it, but note that the Dr. Brown's glass baby bottle is usually much cheaper. 
5. Minbie Newborn BPA-free Baby Bottles. One of the more expensive bottles on our list, coming in at around $10 per bottle, plus the cost of nipples (about $5 each), the Minbie collection of newborn and infant bottles (slow to fast flow) are an excellent newcomer to the marketplace. The Minbie bottles use BPA-free polypropylene plastic and BPA-free flexible and super soft silicone nipples. There are so many things to love about these nipples. The shape is super unique, with a tip shape and contours that are unlike any other bottle, with an award-winning teat that supports both latch-on and a natural breastfeeding motion. The flat side of the nipple tip goes up against the roof of the mouth, resting comfortably on the palate. These nipples are excellent for preventing bottle rejection, and also reduces the incidence of nipple confusion for moms who switch between the breast and bottle. Like many all the others on this list, the Minbie bottles also integrate a very effective anti-colic system by venting air into the bottle through small holes at the base of the nipple. In our testing, we tried this bottle on two infants, one 2 months of age and one 4 months of age. Both took to the nipple without a fuss, and were very successful at feeding and didn't seem to injest much air and develop gas. A couple things we realized about this bottle. First, we thought the slow flow nipple was a bit faster than what we experienced with other brands, such as the Comotomo or Tommee Tippee; nothing major, but noticeable in a head-to-head comparison. Second, because the nipple is directionally specific and you need to place the flat side against the roof of the mouth, you have to pay a bit more attention than usual. This especially becames an issue when your baby is old enough to hold (and spin around!) his or her own bottle. We didn't have any particular issues with it, but we were testing with a 2 and 3 month old. Overall, this is our first year for testing the Minbie, and we were happy to get our hands on it to write this review. Other than the small limitations, we think this is an excellent bottle, even with the slightly high price tag!
Know more
now about more
Comments
Post a Comment