Bottles...guess I should throw out the old but what new ones should I use?

[Anonymous]

I'm expecting #2 here shortly and trying to figure out what I should do about bottles. Previously (four years ago) we used Avent and like so many, were frustrated by them leaking. However, we did find the trick to make them not leak and kept using them. I liked that they didn't have all the extra parts to them. (We bought one Dr. Browns but it was too much stuff for us to deal with - at the time at least.) So I kept all those old bottles and pulled them out recently, but should I assume they all have BPA and should throw them out? And what about breast pump bottles and accessories (Medela)? So annoying to see all that money go down the drain and have to repurchase...

That said, I'm assuming that's what I need to do - I'd love to hear from others what your favorites are (I'm not against rebuying some Avent). And if they have "parts" I think you'll have to convince me why it's worth it and not a total pain in the butt. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

The old Avent bottles had BPA. I'm pretty sure they've changed that these days. I loved Born Free bottles, although they do have an extra part to wash, so if that bugs you, I'd steer clear.

[Anonymous]

Avent just redesigned their BPA-free bottles a few months ago - the new ones have an extra ring that fits between the neck of the bottle and the base of the nipple, and we've had probably two leaks total since we switched over to these newer ones.

[Anonymous]

I could have written your post - we are expecting #2 in Dec. For what it is worth, I was planning to buy Avent again (in fact, even bought a couple), but then read the reviews on Babies R'Us regarding the new Avent design and for the most part, the reviews were horrible and consistently cited leaking. We never had an Avent bottle leak with #1 in 2006-07, but apparently the new design is not as foolproof. I decided to go with Born Free as their reviews were much more positive. Wish I had some "real" experience to share, but the number of negative reviews was quite significant for Avent.

[Anonymous]

Hmm, we got the Avent BPA free bottles about a year ago (to replace our BPA laden Avents from 2006). Never has a problem with the new ones leaking. The bottles were the only thing that needed to be pitched -- rings and nipples were interchangeable and could be reused. Not sure if that's the same with the redesigned BPA free ones, but if you go that route, you might want to save them until you figure out if they work.

[Anonymous]

I use the medela bottles to pump and feed. They are great. We had some leaking issues with them when we had DC! but they redesigned the nipples since then for DC2 and we havent had a problem.

Medela is all BPA free.

[Anonymous]

I threw away all my old bottles (except the glass ones) and nipples, and all my old breast pump tubing, flanges, etc. Basically anything plastic that I used for DD, even BPA free stuff, I threw away and want to start with new stuff for DC #2. Just seems like after all those runs through the dishwasher it would be kind of gross to keep using.

For the next one, I am planning to continue to pump into new Medela plastic bottles (which are BPA free), and then transfer the milk into glass bottles or those special freezer bags for breast milk. You can get all the replacement breast pump stuff and Medela bottles at the DC breastfeeding center or online. I think they have glass bottles at Babies R Us, but I got mine online.

For bottles for the baby, I used the playtex drop in bottles. Thought they were great since there is no clean up involved - just toss the liner when you are done.

[Anonymous]

I LOVE my bottles: "born free" bottles. They are BPA free, have a special vent to reduce gas and are very good quality (no leaks at all, work perfectly). They are a little more expensive and harder to find than other bottles but they are definitely worth it.

[Anonymous]

Could you contact Avent and see if they will give you some sort of discount toward the purchase of new ones? Say you are a loyal customer and want to use their products but are concerned about BPA. Might be worth a try. I remember a while back BRU was letting people trade in BPA bottles for replacements with a credit, but I'm not sure they're still doing that.