Seeking the formula for parenting

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Sunday, October 08, 2006

If it comes from a doctor, it should be good, right?

“What’s up with his bottle?” “What’s that thing in the center?” “Did you need to go to a special training to learn how to use that bottle?” These are common questions I get when people see my younger son’s (YS) bottle. Okay, maybe not that last question. With both my children I have used Dr. Brown’s bottles. The brand’s claim to fame is that it reduces gas and colic. It works by having a plastic insert in the bottle that at first glance appears to require a masters degree in engineering to figure out. Fear not! After a couple of uses, you’ll be able to do it in your sleep. (I often have.) This insert supposedly removes extra air from the bottle, which is a cause of extra gas and colic.

Do these bottles work? I did a little on-line research and according to the reviews on Amazon.com, people love them. They received between 4 and 4.5 stars out of 5. I’ve known a couple other people that swear by them too. I began using them with my older son (OS) because they were the only bottles that he would latch onto. He never had a problem with uncomfortable gas (although he happily generated his fair share of bad smells that made me “uncomfortable”) or colic so they may have worked great. Or maybe we just lucked out and it was never a problem to begin with. With my younger son (YS) we used them because we used them with OS. He also has had no problems with gas or colic. Or at least gas that makes him uncomfortable because I could have sworn today when I walked into the living room that someone had a dirty diaper. After checking both boys and giving them the clear, I then concluded that the dog must have moved the couch, “gone” behind it, and then moved the couch back against the wall (since I couldn’t see any evidence anywhere). The cats were hiding out in the basement so they had an alibi. Although thinking it over now, my husband didn’t have an alibi.

Are there any negatives to the Dr. Brown’s bottles? Unfortunately, there are a few. First of all, they can be hard to find. That may not be too much of an issue, since Babies R Us/Toys R Us have carried them and Target recently began to carry them too. As with most things in this day and age, they’re also available on-line. Second, not surprisingly they’re more expensive than the typical bottles. I feel they’re worth it. You can get a three pack of either the 4 ounce or 8 ounce bottles for $12.99 off of Amazon.com. Third, you have to take apart the insert to wash the bottle. This isn’t a huge deal, but it is covered in formula and can be a little gross. I have had no problem throwing all the pieces (insert, bottle and nipple) in the dishwasher. A friend of mine soaks everything first. Again, as I posted before, I recommend Cascade Gel packs with Dawn.

The final weakness, which is the only one I found before getting tired of reading the 189 Amazon.com reviews, is the one I mentioned in a previous post: if you fill the bottle above the “fill line,” it will leak. In all fairness it says it right on the bottle. So what does that mean? It means if you have a 4 ounce bottle and you want to make 4 ounces you should make the formula ahead of time in a separate container or use pre-made formula. Some people routinely make their daily formula in a pitcher first thing in the morning. Physics 101: when you add a solid to a liquid, it will make the liquid level rise (think of what happens when you sit in a bath tub.) Alternately, you can make 4 ounces in the 8 ounce bottle so when the liquid rises slightly after the powder is added, it won’t be anywhere near the fill line. Or you can just be lazy like me and wrap a cloth diaper/burp cloth/paper towel around the bottle because you haven’t run the dishwasher and you haven’t bought enough of the larger bottles that your child now requires.

If you make the nipple extra tight, it may leak, but this is true about any brand of bottle. Also, it doesn't work as a regular bottle if you remove the insert. A "friend" of mine tried it and it looked like a formula monsoon had hit my...I mean..her son.


A. Elliot’s Lesson: At least 191 parents (189 who reviewed on Amazon.com, my husband, and me) have had good results with Dr. Brown’s bottles.






Picture of Insert
Bottle Completely DisassembledInsert Assembled
Bottle Completely Disassembled Insert Assembled

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posted by Alex Elliot @ 7:14 PM   1 comments
1 Comments:

  • At 10/09/2006 6:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Make it 192. Those bottles work for me too, although I am also partial to the Vent Aire.
    -J

     
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Name:Alex Elliot
Home:MA, United States
About Me:Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe.
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For those of us who didn't get an instruction manual with our babies and for whom parenting hasn't always gone as planned. On a more serious note this blog is about supporting a woman's ability to make her own choices about parenting including the choice, for whatever reason, to bottle feed her babies formula.

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