How many bottles?

[mmeneely]

Originally Posted by JulieBeth I have three small bottles for right now (4 month old) I wash them immediately after I use them. I have 4 large ones for when she starts eating more than 4oz at a time. I bought Tommee Tipee bottles and my DD hated them, she will only use Advent. So, I say don't stock up lots on one particular brand until you know what your LO will take. Also, I thought I was being super smart and stockpiled formula. I mean....cans & cans and formula. Ultra prepared. She's allergic to milk and soy, and all the cans we bought she can't use. All the regular formulas are pretty much the same and that is what I would start on.

[srbordenstein]

Totally agree with not stockpiling. Every baby is different. We have about 20 Dr Brown (after trying 3 other brands). I work full-time and like to make a day's worth each night. I have tons of extra bottles so that I'm not stressed to wash bottles all the time. I couldn't live without the Dr Brown formula mixer, bottle warmer and dishwasher racks. I washed all by hand last time and it is pretty tedious.

As far as formula, we love to travel so needed an easy-to-find brand. We use Gerber Goodstart Protect (with probiotics). I then add extra infant probiotics to one bottle per day. When we travel we use the pre-made bottles. We tried Similac with first baby and it didn't work for us. I would sign up now with the different companies so that you can start receiving coupons.

[P!nkPepper]

We have 8 bottles and use Elecare formula after many months of trying Enfamil, Gentle Ease, Nutrmigen, Prosobee, Isomil, Alumentin powder & RTF. He was Failure To Thrive until the allergist gave us samples of Elecare.

I agree with not stockpiling formula or bottles. We have Playtex Ventaire bottles now but used several others before. Dr Browns are not for us since we have to thicken the formula.

Jodie ~ mama to Big K, Medium K & Lil' k

[FindingMercy]

We have 10 bottles, which is a couple more than I need a day, so that I can just wash them all in the dishwasher at night and not have to hand wash. I just rinse thoroughly after use.

We have to use an amino acid formula (PurAmino -formally Nutramigen AA) because my son was FTT and its the only kind he will consume the recommended daily number of ounces of.

[Sha-nanagins]

Originally Posted by jessicanashville I previously breast fed but had a breast enlargement after my last son and then got pregnant with this baby kinda expectantly. I am not sure if I will have a full milk supply or any milk at all. I want to be prepared so my question is: How many bottles do you need to have to rotate them comfortably? How do you pick a formula? It seems like there are a million options. Is there anything else I need to know? Thanks in advance

How many bottles: I found that 6 was about the right number, but I had to wash every day. Personally, I liked the Born Free bottles the best - the small (5oz) bottles. Because I have relatively long fingers and these have a wider than average mouth, I could reach all the way into the bottle to wash them thoroughly (when I didn't have a full dishwasher load to run). I also found that I did not need to buy the larger bottle. Even though the small bottles are only marked for 5 oz, they actually hold between 7 and 8 when filled all the way to the top. My son never ate more than 6-7 oz at a feeding, so it was no problem.

How to pick a formula: The most important thing here is, what formula can your baby drink without having an allergic reaction or tummy distress. All formulas are required by law to meet the same nutritional standards, so that isn't an issue. The only way to find out what formula works is by trial and error.

Unless you are vegan (in which case you will want to use soy formula), start with a standard milk-based formula. If you prefer organic, then Earth's Best, Babies' Only, Similac Organic, or Walmart's Parent's Choice Organic. If not, Similac Advance, Enfamil Lipil, Nestle Goodstart or generic. FYI- If you sign up with Similac or Enfamil, they will send you sample cans of formula and coupons.

Only if your baby shows signs of allergy or intolerance will your doctor suggest trying one of the other types of formula, such as reduced lactose or hypoallergenic.

Since there's no way to know what will work best, I would suggest signing up for the sample programs with the formula companies. They will send you coupons and samples of their products so, if you find you need formula, you can try out some of the different options at no cost. Here are a couple of links:
Similac's "Strong Mom's" program - http://similac.com/formula-coupons-free-samples (Don't know what they send now - 4 years ago, it was a sample size can (about 8 oz) each of Similac Advance and Similac Soy)

Enfamil Family Beginnings: https://www.enfamil.com/app/iwp/Cons...1&r=3541341901

[luvsviola]

We have 12 bottles. I am lazy, and work full time, so the dishwasher didn't always get run every night. It was enough that we never were without bottles, even if I hadn't collected the dirty bottles from upstairs in the morning. We use Dr. Browns standard bottles.

We used Costco formula most of the time, and sometimes Target brand. The nutrition content is federally controlled, so my pediatrician told us you are mostly paying for the advertising with the name brand formulas. There is a small difference, but in her opinion, not enough to warrant paying the name brand formula prices.

[Sarah-B]

I would buy organic (earths best) because I would want to steer clear of Genetically Modified ingredients.

[Ola_]

We used Costco formula and DD did really well on it. As far as bottles, we got 4 of the small size and had to wash a lot in the beginning (but I was still trying to BF so wasn't sure if we would need them full time or not). Then I added 6 of the large size, which worked well because we had extra bottles when she was eating frequently, but when she went to bigger, less frequent feedings we could just use the large ones and still had enough.