Lots of bottles work with the Medela pumps. Dr. Brown's, some no-name CVS ones I got near the office when I forgot bottles one day, etc. You don't need the expensive, small Medela bottles necessarily.

Okay, I was the poster who said my baby wouldn't take a bottle at all, and that we'd been trying since she was 3 days old. Yesterday she took 3 ounces from a Tommy Tippee bottle! Yay!

Born Free. Lots of parts, but they are MUCH easier to wash than the Brown's parts (we did Born Free with #1 and did Brown's with #2 b/c DC1 thought of the Born Free as his).

I firmly believe that the brand does not matter at all. It is all about starting them on a bottle early enough that they don't reject the bottle. If you wait too long they will reject any bottle you give them. With #1 I waited until 3-4 weeks and it was a disaster getting him to take the bottle. Tried a few and it didn't matter. I gave him the ones we had the most of and eventully he took the bottle. Baby #2 was given a bottle of BM in the hospital and we continued giving him one from day 1. When I had to leave him for a day when he was 2 weeks old he took the bottle all day long and had no issue going back to nursing. He had no issues nursing and would take any bottle I gave him (madela, born free..).

You know, despite all the talk of nipple confusion (which I was really worried about before having my daughter), I know only one mom whose child suffers from that going between breast and bottle -- and I'm in a number of new moms' groups where we talk about these things. That is not to say your child won't, but just to say that it might not be as much of an issue as you think. After doing a lot of research during my pregnancy, it seemed that most women with picky children had great luck with Breastflow, which is what I bought. And then promptly gave it up for the Medela bottles that work with the pump. ... No reason to wash more bottles and parts than absolutely necessary if you can help it!! ... So my advice is to try Medela (maybe the new Calma) first. Only try the fancier ones if you must.

We used Nuk nipples in a traditional bottle because my DD was fussy about nipples, and it had the same nipple as her binky that she loved. Worked like a charm. They weren't always easy to find, but all she would take. silicone, also

We tried Dr. Brown's at the BF Center's suggestion, but the flow was too fast at my daughter wouldn't take them. Pat at the BF Center suggested BreastFlow, which were ultimately the only bottles that my daughter would take. I would recommend buying a bunch of different bottles and just seeing what your child takes. Don't buy a full kit unitl you know--we wasted a lot of $ on a dr brown's kit!

Anonymous wrote:I tried using a bottle 3 days after she was born. She was so upset and angry. We kept trying about every other day for the next 3 weeks - all kinds of bottles - Medela, Tommy Tippee, Playtex, etc . . - nothing worked. So, here we are 3 months later and she won't take a bottle. I get so irritated when friends/family say "You waited to long!" Really - 3 days is waiting too long? My baby is just very picky I guess.

We were told to wait at least 3-4 weeks before introducing either a pacifier or a bottle so that breastfeeding was well-established and to avoid nipple confusion.

I tried using a bottle 3 days after she was born. She was so upset and angry. We kept trying about every other day for the next 3 weeks - all kinds of bottles - Medela, Tommy Tippee, Playtex, etc . . - nothing worked. So, here we are 3 months later and she won't take a bottle. I get so irritated when friends/family say "You waited to long!" Really - 3 days is waiting too long? My baby is just very picky I guess.

Just buy a couple of whatever bottle you want to try because this varies wildly by baby. Ours liked the plain Medela ones best.

Anonymous wrote:Whatever they will take. We used the cheap Evenflo bottles. He never had a problem going from breast to bottle or vice versa, thy are cheap, and easy to clean.

Don't over think it.

this is what we did too -- I used the glass ones. They do not have so many insane parts like the others and are easier to clean. And much cheaper. They are made in Mexico, so not sure if that bothers you or not. I figure glass is glass and unless they put lead in it, I should not worry too much if they are made in mexico.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what is the best way to get a baby to go back and forth from breast to bottle (whether its formula or pumped milk)? I would love for baby to be ok with either as soon as possible. How soon should I start trying to introduce a bottle nipple?

..tough question. I think if you wait to long they get used to the breast and fight the bottle. I think 4 weeks, before they get set in their way

We did 3 weeks on the dot. I started pumping at 2.5w, and pimped once a day. One .5-2oz bottle every night, no issue going back and forth.

Anonymous wrote:what is the best way to get a baby to go back and forth from breast to bottle (whether its formula or pumped milk)? I would love for baby to be ok with either as soon as possible. How soon should I start trying to introduce a bottle nipple?

..tough question. I think if you wait to long they get used to the breast and fight the bottle. I think 4 weeks, before they get set in their way

We tried a lot of bottles; I like the playtex nurser (drop ins) the best. Easy to clean, very slow flow, keeps baby from being gassy, and shaped like my breast. When he was fighting the bottle (only had success when he went to daycare), Avent bottles worked best.

Anonymous wrote:Medela, because you will get extra bottles with your pump kit and bottles work with the pump.

+1

I'd introduce a bottle by 3-4 weeks, and then continue giving at least 1-2 per week after that. My midwife recommended by 6 weeks; I got lazy with not pumping and waited until about 7-8 weeks with dc2 and he wasn't happy taking a bottle. I had a few weeks of worrying whether he would ever learn to drink from it, but he has accepted it fine and switched back and forth no problem. Dc1 got a bottle by 2 weeks and switched between bottle and breast beautifully, from the beginning.