Product Description
Breastflow is the only feeding system that requires both suction and compression, just like breast feeding. The nipple is designed to mimic the breast so baby can latch on and to encourage the same mouth and tongue posit… More >>
$12.95
The First Years Breastflow BPA Free Bottle 3-Pack, 5 Oz
The First Years Breastflow BPA Free Bottle 3-Pack, 5 Oz
July 4, 2010 By 5 Comment
The 2 most important things for me were reducing air swallowed and easy transition between breast and bottle. I tried Adiri and Avent bottles, but the both, even with slowest flow nipples, choked my son with too much milk. With the Breast flow he controls how much or how little he gets in his mouth. Also my son would grasp the tip of my nipple instead of my whole areola following use of either the Avent or the Adiri…ouch, which he does not do with the Breast flow bottles! The Avent would be my second choice, they are a slower flow than the Adiri and because the Adiri bottles have no lip around the nipple so when my son released the nipple milk spills all over the bottle and you have a sticky mess! plus if you don’t get the bottom on just right it ends up everywhere and the valve doesn’t work correctly…there are 3 pieces but it really is not that much trouble…and we don’t have a dish washer…
Rating: 5 / 5
My baby had to supplement almost from the start due to breastfeeding supply problems. We started using a bottle at about 3 wks of age. I bought about 10 different types of bottles trying to find one that he could successfully draw milk from. Most, including this one, were too hard for him to get anything out of. I finally had some success with the cheapy-cheap-cheap Gerber bottle and nipple I found at the supermarket.
Now that he’s older, approaching 10 wks of age, the Gerber bottle and nipple is much too easy for him and he glugs and crushes the nipple with the strength of his suck. The same is true for his Green to Grow, Medela, and Evenflo Purely Comfi nipples. So my quest now is to find bottles that have firm enough nipples that he doesn’t squish them with his suck and also to find bottles/nipples with appropriate flow rates.
I have revisited some of the bottles that were inappropriate when he was 3 wks old. This bottle has turned out to be the winner of the group.
Pros:
- Good flow speed, not too fast, not too slow.
- Broad nipple base is hard for the boy to flatten with his strong suck
- Broad nipple base helps the boy retain some of his breastfeeding chops, as we continue to try and nurse the few times a day my supply will allow for.
Cons:
- Frequent leaks. This bottle’s nipple-within-a-nipple design means the chamber between the outer and inner nipple fills with milk, which is fine. But when you set the bottle down, that milk drains back downward, ideally back into the bottle. Often (but not always), unfortunately, on its way back down into the bottle, the formula leaks out thru the threads where you screw the nipple collar onto the bottle. If that makes any sense. This is true even if you carefully align the two nipples properly.
My main comment about this bottle is that it’s a good aid in maintaining breastfeeding skills but if you find your baby doesn’t like it at first, hang onto it. He/she may grow into it like my baby has. As with so many things, what’s in favor one week is never the same the following week.
Rating: 3 / 5
i have tried avent, dr. brown’s, you name it, i have bought them. it was only until i tried first year’s breastflow bottle that my baby finally was happy to continue w/my breastfeeding and switch over to the bottle at the same time. its designed to help w/moms who breastfeed and bottle feed at the same time. my baby will not take to any other bottle besides this bottle and she loves it and so do i. i highly recommend this bottle.
Rating: 5 / 5
We bought these bottles so my husband could feed our son at night during his shift. I had read some reviews complaining about cleaning all the parts, but the extra time spent cleaning is definitely worth it. My son didn’t have any trouble taking to the nipple on this bottle, and I strongly believe it’s due to the unique design of the nipple. He places his mouth around the entire nipple, as if it were my breast, and eats without interruption. Also, he has very little spit up after feeding, and I attribute this to him not taking in excess air while swallowing.
In terms of my son taking the bottle and my breast, there have not been any issues with this. He will take from the bottle during my husband’s feedings, then hours later I can breastfeed with ease.
I’m only giving 4/5 stars, though, because sometimes the cap doesn’t form a tight seal. After you screw on the cap, hold the bottle up to make sure the cap is secured straight. It may seem like it’s screwed on correctly, but when you tip the bottle over, you’ll notice a slight leak. Unscrewing/rescrewing the cap will fix this problem.
Rating: 4 / 5
I have been very happy with the performance of the BreastFlow bottles. I too had started out using Avent bottles after hearing rave reviews of them when I was still pregnant. However, I found that the Avent nipples basically poured and dumped the milk into my daughter’s mouth; she would go through 4 ounces in 4 minutes, wearing about half an ounce on her bib. Then when she returned to breastfeed later, she’d have a very disorganized suck from nipple confusion.
These BreastFlow bottles and their unique (though uncomplicated) nipples mimic breastfeeding so much better that she’ll even take a bottle from me. We have no more problems alternating between breast and bottle. It now takes her about 10-12 minutes to finish a 4 oz bottle, sometimes up to 15 minutes, which is about the same duration she spends breastfeeding. She doesn’t end up wearing most of her meal, either.
Overall, I would recommend this to any breastfeeding mother who has to offer her baby a bottle. Even the caregivers at my daughter’s daycare were impressed with the performance of the BreastFlow system.
Rating: 5 / 5