Which are the Best Bottles for Breastfed Babies?

The best bottles for breastfed babies support breastfeeding instead of undermining it. These great bottles do just that.

The best bottles for breastfed babies support breastfeeding instead of undermining it. Keep your breastfeeding relationship strong with these bottles.

Breast is best, right? But if you’re going back to work or want to have an afternoon off, you’ll have to pump and bottle feed. And that’s OK! But the big question is, which are the best bottles for breastfed babies?

If you have commitments that will keep you from feeding baby exclusively from the breast, but you want to maintain a nursing relationship, you need to know which bottles are best. Luckily, there are some great options that will help you keep a strong breastfeeding relationship while you’re away from baby.

When to offer the bottle

Lactation consultants recommend waiting until your milk supply is fully in and breastfeeding is going well before offering a bottle (or pacifier). This usually happens after 2–3 weeks. On the other hand, waiting too long (after 6 weeks) may cause baby to refuse a bottle altogether. That can make it tough when down the road, you and hubby need a night out, or you have a ladies’ lunch, or a business trip—or, you just a break!

That means the magic window for offering a bottle is somewhere between 3 and 6 weeks. From then on, offer the bottle once or twice a week (let daddy or grandma take a turn!) to get baby used to the bottle while maintaining a strong breastfeeding relationship. And don’t forget that even if you’re away, you need to pump every time baby gets a bottle to keep your supply up! (Want more pumping tips? Check out this post!)

What difference does the bottle make?

I wish I could give you a hard and fast rule on how this works. But the truth is, every baby and situation is different. For example, if you are only occasionally going to bottle feed, you may have more resistance from baby but it’s probably not a major stressor since it’s so infrequent. Some babies will accept the first bottle you give them. Others are much more finicky. I’ll never forget my working (outside the home) neighbor having to try TWELVE bottles to get one that her baby would take! As a caregiver, keep a positive attitude and believe baby is going to accept the bottle 🙂 It can’t hurt and baby may be picking up on some of your anxiety, causing him to reject the bottle.

Some babies will want a bottle that mimics a breast, and this can help the baby have continuity in regards to his feeding experience. I had a hard time getting Griffin to take a bottle until I found one that was shaped more like the breast because this is what he was used too.

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The importance of Paced Bottle Feeding

But truly, the way you bottle feed (see our post on Paced Bottle Feeding) is so critical… even more important than the bottle selection. This is where you can really “echo” the rhythm and flow of breastfeeding, which will support your overall breastfeeding relationship. Be sure to educate your care provider on the Pace Bottle Feeding Method before introducing a bottle.

Best bottles for breastfed babies

There are dozens and dozens of bottles out there So what are the best bottles for breastfed babies? Well, they will have a few key features.

Low flow or baby-controlled flow

When baby is at the breast, he is able to control the flow of milk with his suck. Bottles, on the other hand, often pour milk into baby’s mouth, not allowing him to pause to signal that he’s had enough (and learning early the feeling of satiety.)

It also takes work from baby to get milk from the breast, which strengthens and develops the baby’s palate, as well as gives him a form of exercise (watch how newborns will “sweat” sometimes when nursing!)

If baby has bottles all day that flow easily, he may lose the ability—and even the desire in some cases—to sufficiently remove milk from the breast when you two snuggle in for breastfeeding time. If your goal is to maintain a close breastfeeding relationship and not exclusively pump, this is obviously not good news!

In fact, the term “nipple confusion”, which we hear a lot about when we want to introduce a bottle, may really be more of a flow issue. Some babies will start to prefer the bottle because they don’t have to work so hard to get the milk. It’s gulp, gulp, gulp, burp and they’re done 🙂

That’s why bottles with a low flow or baby-controlled flow are the best bottles for breastfed babies. At the very least, choosing an infant or preemie nipple will help slow the milk flow and allow baby to retain those sucking muscles!

Nipple type

For some babies, the more similar the bottle nipple is to mom’s nipple, the more likely baby is to go back and forth between bottle and breast easily. These nipples are soft, wide and long enough to encourage proper sucking. Also, a wide textured nipple base most closely resembles mom’s breast. These bottles are almost always slow flow, so you don’t have to be as cautious when feeding baby. (It’s always a good idea to take breaks though throughout the feeding time to echo the rhythm of breastfeeding.)

For other babies, they will prefer a more narrow, traditional nipple shape. In fact, some Lactation Consultants prefer this type because baby can flange their lips onto the nipple, and have a deep latch, like they do with the breast.

Venting

Proper venting helps reduce gas and colic when baby drinks from a bottle by reducing the amount of air a baby swallows. If your bottle has venting, it’s even more important to make sure the bottles are sterilized properly and all milk is cleaned out of the vents.

Safe materials

Plastic, even BPA-free plastic (or especially BPA-free), is harmful and best avoided. There is no perfect bottle, but the safest materials to look for are stainless steel, silicone, and glass.

Breast-like shape

Though this feature is of least importance, it is still good for baby to have a similar shape for bottle and breast. A large rounded bottle is ergonomically similar to the breast. The combination of the breast-like shape, plus the fact that baby will have to work at sucking to get milk, will also help her palate formation, which is very important for long-term mouth, nasal and jaw formation. And if you’re noticing any sort of pattern here, it’s that whatever bottles are like the breast, are the best bottles for breastfed babies!

Best bottles for breastfed babies

Here are some of the best bottles for breastfeeding babies that include the above features, and help to support the precious nursing relationship.

Best bottle for breastfed babies: Philips Avent

Philips Avent

This bottle is made of borosilicate glass, which means you can take it from the fridge to hot (even boiling) water without it breaking. It has the wide nipple base and textured nipple that are so great for breastfed babies.

Best bottle for breastfed babies: Comotomo

Mama Natural Comotomo

The Comotomo is an all-around great choice. It’s 100% silicone and is soft, flexible, and shaped like a breast. The flexibility of the bottle mimics a breast and helps baby be active in “letting down” the milk, just like with breastfeeding. The slow flow silicone nipple is perfect for breastfed babies. Keep in mind that silicone is safest when not heated, so if you want to heat the milk, use another container first.

Best bottle for breastfed babies: Pura Kiki

Mama Natural Pura

This stainless steel bottle is awesome because it’s not only safe, but it can grow with your child. You can change the baby nipple to a sippy top and then to a sport top as her needs change. As you can see in the above image, this bottle has a more narrow, traditional nipple shape, which works better for some babies. Pura makes their own infant nipples designed for baby to regulate the flow of milk. It also fits many other nipples, including Pigeon, Dr. Browns, and ThinkBaby nipples, which are great for baby-regulated milk flow and for encouraging proper suckling, though they aren’t the ideal wide breast-like shape.

One drawback is that the painted bottles have been known to chip, so I would stick with the unpainted ones, either plain stainless steel or with a silicone sleeve.

How about you?

When you’re looking for bottles for your breastfed baby, remember to go with a bottle that is most like the breast and made from safe materials. Baby will tell you which one she likes best! And know, if none of the breast-shaped bottles work, try other types. Obviously, the most important thing is that baby eats!

How about you? In your experience with your children, which was the best bottles for breastfed babies? Share with us in the comments below!

Genevieve Howland

About the Author

Genevieve Howland is a doula and childbirth educator. She is the bestselling author of The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth and creator of the Mama Natural Birth Course. A mother of three, graduate of the University of Colorado, and YouTuber with over 135,000,000 views, she helps mothers and moms-to-be lead healthier and more natural lives.

42 Comments

  1. Stay away from Dr. Brown bottles!! They are nothing more than a gimmick to gouge vulnerable new moms out of money. They do nothing to reduce gas, and do you really want to disassemble and clean so many pieces? The narrow ones also look nothing like a breast. They are also prone to leaking. Do you really want to waste your milk by having it spill all over your bag before your baby gets to drink it? If your baby gets gas, try playtex nursers. You can squeeze the air out of the plastic bags before feeding baby. You’ll also save your baby’s caregiver a lot of grief.

    • I disagree. Dr. Brown’s bottles and nipples have been great for my little one. They have worked really well. They are recommended by the lactation consultants in my area. There are only two pieces to the anticolic bottles besides bottle and nipple. It’s really more about the nipple the than the bottles. You can really use any bottle. You should just be using premie nipples so that you have the slowest flow for your breast fed baby so that they have to work like they do when eating from the breast.

  2. My 4 week old daughter took her first bottle from daddy over the weekend and she did great. I got the Chicco Duo bottles which are glass on the inside and plastic on the outside so they are lightweight and shatter proof. My daughter did awesome with it and I love the design and ease of using these bottles.

  3. 2 years ago when I was pregnant, I was gifted the Kiinde starter pack. I wasn’t sure about it but once I started using it, I LOVED IT!! It comes with 3 nipples ( slow, medium and fast flow). The “bottle” is a hollow plastic piece that fits over the breastmilk storage bags and then you pop one of the nipes on top. Very easy to use and you don’t have to transfer the breastmilk out of the storage bag. Less work and less steps is a win win for any parent or caregiver ?

  4. My spouse and I use Mason Bottle nipples on regular mouth mason jars – it’s great! We can freeze and reheat then feed all in the same bottle.

  5. My kids have never had issues latch but my son 2 months in a few weeks spots up all the time. He eats really fast and some times falls asleep which I think causes him to suck in air. The only bottle so far that has not caused him to spot up a ton or has a bunch of burps is the MAM. Also uses the pacifier. Haven’t tried very many bottles yet but this is his favorite so far. His sisters favorite was the NUK simply natural. Dr Browns were good too.

  6. My baby is almost 5 weeks and she is breastfed. She is my 4th and all of my babies did fine with Dr Brown bottles. She does fine with it also when I pump. I have always been happy with these bottles.

  7. How does one overcome having to pump into BPA-free plastic milk storage bags? Is there concern with bad stuff leaching into breast milk? Any alternative options, as I’m at a loss?!

    • You could pump into a bpa free plastic bottle or a glass bottle that can be frozen.

      • What are good glass bottles that can be frozen? Is storage in stainless steel or freezing an option?

        • You can get mason jars in different sizes. There are also silicone sleeves I found by Junobe that you can freeze breast milk in.

  8. When looking for a bottle that mimics the breast we tried both Comotomo and Boon. The Comotomo nipple is way too fast for my baby, even at six weeks. He spits up a lot and gets the hiccups every time. I LOVE the Boon ones!! They seem so slow in comparison but that’s what makes it great. And I appreciate how the silicone collapses preventing air being swallowed. I highly recommend them!!

    • The ComoTomo was way too fast for my son too. Same issue with spitting up. I could hear him swallowing the air.

  9. My baby just turned a month yesterday she is getting ng a little bit of both worlds she is my 6th baby so things are crazy busy around here so the formula is my best friend when she is not nursing she drinks about 2 ounces from the advent bottles stage Newborn all my kids latched on well with those I don’t have time to pump nor the Patience..so I try to nurse as much as possible good luck mamas !!❤️

  10. We use Boon Nursh bottles. Wide neck and only silicome touches milk. Also no venting, the silicone bottle collapses as bsby drinks so we don’t have to make sure the vent is away from baby’s mouth.

  11. Hello I have a baby that just breastfed but he doesn’t want to take the bottle and I tried so many bottles and no luck. Please help ??

    • my first baby also refused every bottle (and pacifier) I tried. I never found luck with a pacifier but he ended up accepting the lansinoh momma nippled bottles. He was quite a few months old when he finally accepted it so he took the medium flow, But I I think there are slower flows.

  12. We used the LUX bottles. They are the best thing going for breastfed babies. We tried them and were able to maintain a great breastfeeding relationship with no issues. We were able to wean from the Boob during the middle of the night and our baby is happy with the bottle which is most important!

  13. My babies is almost 3 months, I breastfeed but have also been bottle feeding, we’ve tried Nuke, Avant, Tommee Tippy and now Pigeon
    He seems to latch more easily and longer with the Avant and Pigeon and our Pediatrician also recommended we use a glass bottle which I’m very satisfied with.

  14. Hi, my baby can’t lach on and he is 1 month old now, I use nipple shields to help him. Does the paced bottle feeding helps the baby learn how to lach on the breast?

    • No, paced bottle feeding mimics the flow of the breast, it doesn’t help with the latch when breastfeeding. If you are having latch issues, please reach out to an experienced lactation consultant, preferably an IBCLC.

    • Try Mimijumi bottle.

  15. My baby girl is a breastfed baby but I want to go back to work. She’s 9 weeks old, she use to take the bottle and pacifier just fine. Now shes fussy and will refuse to take the bottle, I tried the small 0+ nipple first, she use to drink it now she wont. Now she has a Nuk bottle which is a wider nipple 0-3. She still refuses the bottle I need help

  16. My baby girl is a breastfed baby but I want to go back to work. She’s 9 weeks old, she use to take the bottle and pacifier just fine. Now shes fussy and will refuse to take the bottle, I tried the small 0+ nipple first, she use to drink it now she wont. Now she has a Nuk bottle which is a wider nipple 0-3. She still refuses the bottle I need help

    • I highly recommend contacting a lactation consultant.

  17. I have a baby girl who is teething and every bottle and pacifier that I have tries she will not take. It’s getting hard to feed her by breast with her teething? I need help on finding the right bottle!

  18. Hello I have a baby that just breastfed but she doesn’t want to take the bottle and I don’t know witch to try

  19. I used the Mason Bottle and loved it. My son took it right away and I didn’t have to buy bags or storage containers because I would pump and dump the milk right into a mason jar and freeze it. Then I would defrost and just pop the nipple on.

  20. Is it safe to warm breast milk in stainless steel?

  21. My husband gave my daughter her first bottle of pumped milk at 3 weeks and she took it like she had been drinking from a bottle the whole time!!! It was perfect timing. My mom waited a long time to give me a bottle and I wouldn’t take it. We had the best luck with the original Avent. The new bottles hadn’t come out yet. She wouldn’t take bottles with a skinny nipple. She would just chew on it and act like she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. I think it’s because there wasn’t enough to fill her mouth like with breastfeeding. My sister used the newer Avent bottles with my niece and she took those great as well. The best advice nursing mothers gave me was to not buy a huge set of one kind of bottle and I’m glad that I didn’t because originally I was going to use the Playtex nursers because so many nursing moms said their babies loved them but my daughter wouldn’t take them. It all depends on your baby’s preference.

    • Nice! Did you use the 0-month or 1-month model (or else)?

  22. My first child, who was also breastfed, would take any bottle. We mostly used dr. Browns for him. I kept them all so we could use them for our next one too. She refuses them, along with Avent and two other types of bottles. I bought a $25 bottle and she refused that one too! I finally got the Comotomo bottles and she loves them! Still is the only bottle she will drink from!

  23. Do you guys have any experience with Lifefactory glass bottles?

    We are planning to breastfeed for a year but will need to supplement with bottle fed breast milk when I go back to work.

    Many thanks!

    • Yep, we love Lifefactory bottles. The bottles featured in the article better mimic the shape of a breast, and may help avoid nipple confusion. But my kids took to the Lifefactory bottles just fine. ?

  24. I am still BF my 15 month old but bought the pure kiki bottle and love it. No spills, no cracks, easy to wash. I use it mostly for water for my little one.

  25. I breastfed my son exclusively for 5 months then I had to return to work. I used munchkin LATCH bottles and he took to the bottle very well. I own comotomo bottles as well but didn’t use those until he was 8 months.

  26. Paced bottle feeding is very essential to the breastfed baby, who regularly gets bottles. We usually recommend the medela calma nipple.

    • What exactly is paced breastfeeding? This might have helped me with my daughter. Two months after I went back to work she stopped nursing because she preferred the bottle to the breast since that’s what she was getting for most of the day. ?

  27. I used the advent bottles for my son, I had to pump for him since he was so tiny as a Premie, I credit those bottles for helping him to actually get on the breast when his mouth was big enough! He never has gas or spit up or anything.

    My daughter was full term and went straight on the boob, but I was hospitalized when she was five weeks, so in that emergency all we had were three 4oz glass Evenflow bottles with silicone size 1 nipples. She did fine, and now at 15 months sometimes enjoys a bottle of regular cows milk in those same bottles. I just wonder if I should change out the nipple to a size 3, she’s still nursing, but I’m probably gonna take away the bottles altogether anyway since she can drink from a straw and regular cup now.

  28. My three month old refuses to take a bottle. We’ve tried Avent natural, Avent classic, Playtex, Medela, Munchkin Latch, and Kiinde with no luck. He screams bloody murder and thrusts the bottle’s nipple out of his mouth with his tongue. He also refuses a paci. Anyone else experience this who’s also been successful in getting baby to take a bottle?

    • Have you tried the NUK orthodontic nipples< They are different because the hole at the nipple is on the top versus in the middle. So the milk hits the roof of the mouth versus pours down the throat. I used that for an exclusive breastfed baby that I was caring for and it worked. They also tried the Medala Calma one too which did not help them.

    • My son did not take any bottle. We reverse fed. While I was at work, he would not eat. He would wait all day until I came home. And the moment I came home we were nursing all through the night to make up for the day. Our pediatrician said as long as he’s gaining weight and has soiled nappys he’s fine! I desperately called the Lactation consultant and she told me to try a straw cup. Miraculously he took the zoli Straw cup but he still preferred boob!! So, while i pumped at work to keep my supply up I was just stocking up the freezer and having our sitter offer throughout the day every 2 hrs. But, he still waited for me until I get home over the Straw cup. But, he’s fine and 3 yo and breast fed until 35months!!


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