When I had my little one, I struggled to get her to feed from the bottle…no matter what brand of bottle I purchased, she knew that somehow it wasn’t quite her mama’s boob! In the end, I failed to find a fitting teat and resigned to the fact that there was only one thing that my bubba would be taking from a bottle and that would be water.
Fast-forward to today and Philips Avent has introduced a new natural line of feeding bottles, their first major re-design of bottle shapes in 29 years! Designed with the challenging boob-to-bottle transition in mind, they promise to be as close to the breastfeeding experience as you can get! So, what are the changes?
First up, there are two types of bottle, both of which are completely natural. One line is made of BPA-free polypropylene (PP) and the other is made of BPA-free glass. Naturally, the glass bottle is heavier and promises to be heat, thermal and shock-resistant. Compared to the original Philips bottles, shape-wise they have a wider neck for ease of filling and are also more ergonomical, making it easier for little hands to grip! Both bottles each also come in two sizes, the PP in 125mls and 260mls, and the glass bottles holding slightly less liquid at 120mls and 240mls.
The teat is where there are the most interesting changes for me. Aiming to be much more natural and breast-like, the wider, softer and stretchier silicone teat contains ‘petals’ which help to prevent collapsing and leaking. Furthermore, there is a one-way valve that acts as a clinically proven anti-colic measure.
Though I have yet to test drive these new bottles myself, I have scoured the interwebs for the general feedback and it looks to be quite good! Here is a summary – please kindly note that these are the opinions of others:
PROs
- No issues with leaking
- No more ‘anti-leak ring’ so there are less pieces to clean and fit together
- Babies who had previously only been breastfed, found it quite easy to latch on
- Venting system does indeed reduce colic and some mum’s even stated that no burping was necessary between feeds – what a time saver!
- Wide neck mouth makes it simple to clean and pour
- With the pump adaptor, you can pump milk straight into the bottle
- Easy for the baby to grip and self-feed
- Bottles, especially the glass ones, look good and don’t retain smells
CONs
- Glass bottle seemed quite heavy and also very hot after sterilization
- Glass is a little tricky to bring to day care and also doesn’t come with a protective sleeve for travels. That being said, lots of feedback stated that the glass is quite thick and sturdy.
- You can’t mix and match teats/plastic ring with the original bottles, as the shape is different
The prices range from $7.90 (for teats) to $22.90 (for the 240ml glass bottle), and are available at leading departmental stores, baby specialty shops and selected hospital pharmacies.
Related articles
- Advent Bottles (adventbottlesza.wordpress.com)
- Advent Baby Bottles (adventbabybottlesza.wordpress.com)
- Review: New Philips Avent Natural range (mummyed.wordpress.com)
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