Before our baby arrives, one of the tasks on my checklist is to sort out the baby bottles. I took a look at what we have at home and how to use them. I casually mentioned that I'd check them out soon, and my wife brought all the bottles we have. I remember purchasing DoubleHeart myself, but apparently, we received the rest as gifts or promotions.
Why do we have so many bottles? 😱
We only have one baby, but when I asked if we really needed all these bottles, I was told they vary depending on the baby's age. I had no idea there were so many options, and I jokingly said I'd write a blog about it – feels like I've bitten off more than I can chew now! 😅 Nonetheless, I've tried to categorize the bottles and nipples simply. Seeing terms like "PP bottle" and "PPSU bottle," I researched what they meant.
From my findings, there are differences, but the bottles at our house are of only two types: PP and PPSU.
DoubleHeart
We plan on always sterilizing by boiling, so I'd been considering the PPSU bottles. I bought DoubleHeart directly from their official website on my wife's request.
The plastic type is PPSU, but even the nipple types varied (I'm totally clueless about everything from A to Z! 🥲). Going through the product description, I found that the amount the baby drinks varies according to their age. We bought both SS and S since our baby will use them all (sizes are indicated at the bottom for reference).
When to increase nipple size:
- If baby seems to be sucking too hard and feeding takes longer.
- If the nipple collapses during feeding.
When to decrease nipple size:
- If baby chokes.
- If milk leaks from the baby's mouth.
Bottle sizes also vary. I learned that newborns use 120~150 ml, after 3 months it's 240~260 ml, and after 8 months it's 300 ml.
When I reminded my wife that we only bought the 160ml bottles last time, she said the nipples are compatible. Such a revelation! 😲 We tried fitting DoubleHeart nipples to our baby's bottle (DoubleHeart nipple compatibility with the baby bottle...👍👍👍). It works perfectly!
While we have only three DoubleHeart nipples, the rest are from other brands. Brands like DoubleHeart, UPIS, Yumi bottle, and Spectra are all compatible. In any case, since both DoubleHeart and our baby bottle are PPSU, which is more heat-resistant than PP, I think we'll mainly use these two types.
Tommee Tippee
Of all the bottles for our baby, the design of the Tommee Tippee bottle stood out. The smaller one was brown (probably PPSU) and the larger one was white (seemingly PP). Its product description said that the wide nipple is designed to resemble a mother's breast, providing a similar environment to breastfeeding. Unlike other long and narrow bottles, Tommee Tippee's bottle was broad.
It seems to be a British brand. Maybe they have a different research focus? Not only the appearance and size but also the type differed, with numbers instead of S or SS (presumably, 0 for S and 1 for SS).
This brand wasn't compatible with any other we had, nor was the Ubimom PP bottle we received as a promotional item.
PP bottles are primarily used in maternity hospitals, but maybe the compatibility isn't crucial if you're using products from a connected brand? Just my personal thoughts...😅
Whatever the bottle type, as long as our baby feeds well without any discomfort or tummy issues, we'll probably stick to it. Wonder which one will be the best fit for our baby? My wife seems intrigued by the Hegn bottle because of its design, but considering its relatively high price, we ended up purchasing the more affordable DoubleHeart.
For now, I've covered baby bottles. Soon, I'll also explore cleaning agents, tools, and sterilization methods for bottles and share in a post. So much to learn about parenting!
Diary entry for March 27, 2023.