Bottles & Nipples Registry Question

I am sooooooo lost right now!

Here are my questions. If you girls can let me know what you did I can get a better idea of what I should do...

I plan to breast feed and register for a Medela Pump. What accessories do I also need to register for? Do I register for Medela Bottles? Extra Nipples?

Now everywhere I read says register for 3 brands of bottles, do starter kits and see what baby likes... Do I register for 3 bottle brands (ie: playtex, dr browns, avent) AND Medela bottles? Do I register for extra nipples for ALL 3 brands? Or do I wait until baby arrives and I figure out what she likes and then I just go buy the extra nipples and whateva else I need?

And the bottle warmer do I buy a generic one that will warm ANY kind of bottle? do you have recommendations? I seen online that Dr Browns got the best reviews but it says it fits 'most major brands' what if it doesnt fit the brand I end up with?

OMG THIS IS SOOOOOOOOOOOO OVERWHELMING!

Re: Bottles & Nipples Registry Question

Having BTDT, I would not suggest registerng for starter sets. I would register for at most a 3pack of each, of even just a single of each brand. The starter sets are expensive and if your child does not take them, the money is wasted. I would not register for any extra nipples at this point.
My son came early and spent 7 wks in the NICU. The only bottles he used were the disposable. I had 2 starter sets at home that I wanted to try. He did not like either. Would take the nipple, but would not drink from it. I went to BRU and bought 1 of every type of bottle and went through them all. It was the last bottle that I tried was the one he would drink from. Thank goodness because I did not know what I would do next. Once I knew he would take them, then I went out and bought the whole set.

As for the bottle warmer, I have a generic one. But my advice would be to skip it all together. I just use a glass and run hot water to warm his bottles. I find the bottle gets to the point that he likes them quicker. For the bottle warmer, I would need 2 cycles and it can not be run for 2 consecutive cycles (need 10 minutes in between) and that is for a 4 oz bottle. I can not imagine how cold an 8 oz bottle would be.

Knowing what I know now, I would not register for breast pump either, but that is because for me, BF'ing just did not work.

HTH.

Re: Bottles & Nipples Registry Question

I breastfeed but haven't pumped in forever. I was pumping a lot in the beginning because I had really sore nipples and breast infections so it was just easier to pump all the time. That being said, I got the Medela Pump In Style. It comes with everything you will need to pump. I think I got four bottles with mine that screw into the pump thing so that the milk collects in them then it comes with tops for those bottles and one nipple. I tried feeding DS with that once and it was the worst bottle ever, there was no air flow hole in the nipple so it was so difficult for DS to drink from.

I registered for Tommee Tippee bottles but only 4 because like everyone says, you never know if your kid will like them or not. I chose those bottles because a friend with a DS a few months older than mine was breastfeeding and pumping and said she had good luck with those bottles because they are boobie shaped lol. Luckily, DS took to them and we bought a few more.

I pumped into the Medela bottles that come with the pump and then left in the fridge what I needed for the day and froze the rest. I highly recommend the Lanisoh bags for freezing the milk because the Medela bags leaked for me and many moms on here. It's great to freeze in the bags because you lie them flat and they freeze like that so it takes up less space then freezing in plastic containers.

As for the bottle warmer, I got the Tommee Tippee one because well it fit the Tommee Tippee bottles lol. I didn't have the same problem as the PP where I had to warm it twice. Mine warmed the first time just fine and there were different settings like 2 mins, and higher. I needed the warmer because the bottles I had on hand to feed him were in the fridge because I had pumped them out and they needed to be in the fridge. In the beginning, they eat 2-3 ozs. Mine ate 2oz for awhile so I would pump and then pour into bottles but only 2oz in each bottle then have a days worth on hand. They stay fresh in the fridge for a few days. (kellymom.com is a good source to learn the "rules" of pumping and storing and freezing and reheating and when to toss) Then when I didn't nurse and DH fed DS, he would take the bottle out, throw in warmer, then give to DS. He hated cold bottles.

My sister formula fed and just kept brita water in bottles ready to go but not in fridge so that when she poured the powdered formula in the room temp bottle full of water it was ready to go, not needing to be heated up because her DD would also only take heated or room temp bottles.

Message edited 2/20/2012 1:03:13 PM.