When I was preparing for Alexis’ arrival, I was planning on pumping, storing milk & having daddy feed Alexis from the bottle occasionally. That meant that, even though I’d be exclusively breast feeding (EBF), I would still need all the supplies of a mom who bottle feeds. There lay 2 very big and important dilemmas: bottles that don’t contain toxic chemicals and bottle warmer’s that don’t kill all that is good about breast milk in the first place.

I’m iffy about plastics, even plastics that claim that they are BPA/pthalates free. I always worry that if BPA is one component of plastics that disrupts hormones and just completely screws up our system, what’s not to say that there isn’t some other chemical that hasn’t been tested yet, considering most chemicals used by us in every day life haven’t been evaluated as to the effects they have on our bodies. It turns out my fears were not unfounded. While most companies did away with BPA, the question is what DID they replace it with? The answer for some of them – equally dangerous BPS that hasn’t been studied as well as BPA. I won’t go into detail but you can read more about it here if you’re interested.

So the only reasonable solution to the plastic bottle dilemma was glass. Glass bottles don’t leech any chemicals. Yes they are heavy and slightly more expensive but who can put a price on our kids’ health (did you know BPA is also linked to kids’ behavioral problems?). The problem with glass was they are pretty limited with what you can get. I wanted a wide neck and some kind of system that helped with the air bubbles. After spending hours searching the internet and lists of best bottles of each category, I found  the bottles that are the closest to what I want. You might not have the same needs or concerns, but this is what worked for us.

Glass bottles tend to be limited to a standard bottle and nipple. But when you’re a new mom, you’re worried about everything, including ” If I give my baby a bottle, it will screw up breast feeding”. The other concern that glass bottle manifactorers sometimes ignore is the flow of the milk and air bubbles that can cause gas. Ideally I wanted a system that prevents gas bubbles from forming and isn’t dripping with milk (I.e. more difficult to suck, mimicking a breast).

The closest I found to what I needed/wanted was Born Free glass bottles.

All their bottles have a wide nipple base to sort of mimick the shape of the breast. This way your baby should have minimal breast/bottle confusion, as the latch is not much different from the breast. They have a fancy-shmancy system called Active Flow Venting that according to their website “… [mimicks] mom’s natural milk flow, helps prevent nipple confusion and reduces air ingested while feeding, helps reduce colic symptoms like gas pain, spit-up, crying, and fussiness.”

Ok, EXACTLY what I needed. How did it fare in the real world? Exactly how you’d expect! Alexis has never had any gas pains or tummy trouble and the bottle definitely didn’t add to it. She did have reflux, but I hadn’t noticed any increase in that after bottle feeding, and even though we did introduce a bottle before the recommended 6 weeks, she’s obviously still breastfeeding, so no nipple confusion for this little lady.

All in all, there aren’t any other brand or bottles I am ever going to need to buy, because Born Free does exactly what I need.

I had contacted Born Free to help me run a giveaway for you guys and they would LOVE to give you a chance to win a Born Free 3 pack glass bottle set. When you’re done reading, scroll down to enter.

LEARN MORE:

*** Born Free website *** Facebook ***Twitter***

BUY IT: Amazon.com

WIN IT: See Rafflecopter at the end of this post.

 

The second discovery I made as I was researching a feeding system other than my breasts was that bottle warmers aren’t all that they are cracked up to be.  You aren’t supposed to heat milk in the microwave- that is well known. But almost any other heating system that uses steam or boiling water is just as detrimental to our natural breast milk. There’s the issue of hot spots, loss of those precious antibodies and nutrients we breastfeed our babies for, and the leakage of chemicals from the plastic containers. You can’t imagine how happy I was when I found a super cool looking Kiinde warmer.  It’s a warmer that can be used for breastmilk, formula, bottles, bags, baby food, pretty much anything that fits into it.

The concept is the following: it uses “… low temperature, nutrient-safe water bath that is safe for ALL bottle and bag types. The water in the warmer is about as warm as warm tap water.” Awesome, right?  Here how it’s achieved, if you’re curious for that type of thing ( I always am. Love the “How things work” documentaries)  It has “…circulating bath of warm water that improves warming efficiency, allowing the use of lower temperature water without compromising warming speed. The thermostatically controlled water bath is maintained at the temperature of warm tap water…” In layman’s terms, “it’s the flowing warm water that gets the job done safely and fast.”

Kiinde Kozii has a timer knob that you turn and it shuts off completely on its own when it is done. {Did you know how many bottle warmers that I looked into do not have an AUTO shut off button? That’s ridiculous} It also has a technology that ensures that the milk is always warmed up to approximately the same temperature, so your baby enjoys it like she/he would straight out of the breast.

It’s really a wonderful invention, especially for working moms and isn’t like anything else I’ve seen on the market.

LEARN MORE:

*** Kiinde Kozii website *** Facebook ***

BUY IT: Amazon.com

WIN IT: See Rafflecopter at the end of this post.

3 Pack Glass Bottles from Born Free & Kiinde Kozii Bottle Warmer

BELOW ARE THE GIVEAWAYS RULES
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Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. Companies provided me with a product sample to review. All opinions are 100% my own.

 

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