Tommee Tippee Closer To Nature Bottles (for sensitive tummys)

I know, it's a little strange that I would review a sippy cup and then go backward in time to when my daughter was using bottles, but I saw them sitting there, unused, and decided I needed to share with everyone my bottle experience.

When my daughter was born, I was gung-ho about breastfeeding.  I was going to breastfeed her come hell or high water.  Well, she had jaundice at birth, so they insisted that is supplement with formula to help clear her system.  I fought tooth and nail against it because she latched on well at birth, and I just knew that if I gave that little girl formula, it would ruin breastfeeding forever.  Well, yes and no.  I did end up giving in to the nurses because they convinced me that she needed more fluids than I could provide just a day postpartum, but then my quest for a bottle that mimicked the way I fed her was on!

From the day she first had formula, it wasn't that she didn't want breast milk, it was that she LIKED the bottle better.  This resulted in my using a nipple shield when I breastfed to make it more like a bottle to her and pumping so my husband could feed her with a bottle when I was to exhausted to do anything (that little piggy wanted to eat every 30 min., I kid you not!).  Eventually the every 30 min. feedings were just too much for me, and I decided that in order to actually enjoy being a first time parent, I needed to stop.  This was not a decision I took lightly.  I mulled it over for WEEKS.  I started pumping more and more, and stopped nursing completely.  While I regret that decision as far as my daughter was concerned, it was what I needed to do at the time to avoid hating my life, so in the end, it was a good choice for me.

Long back story aside, these bottles were my dream come true when I was switching from nursing to bottle feeding!  I REALLY feel like they helped avoid too much nipple confusion.  Even though I was using a shield when I came home from the hospital, I think anyone who has used one of those would agree that they are quite different from the nipple on a bottle.  The way a baby latches on isn't as straw-like as when they use a bottle, they use their whole mouth and open it wide to achieve optimal extraction of the milk.

You'll notice the giant nipple on these bottles, that's what makes them so different.  The baby can latch on just as they do at the breast and the nipple on these bottles mimics the natural expanding, contracting, and movement of the breast during nursing.

The tube you see in the center is their "anti-colic vent tube," it allows for less air to reach baby's mouth.  The tube also has a stripe that changes color to tell you if the milk or formula is too hot for them to drink.  It turns pink when it's too hot, and turns blue when it's safe.

The nipples can be interchanged to meet the needs of babies that want a faster or slower flow, which is really nice.  We've had the same bottles since Keeley was born and just changed out the nipples as she got older.  When I say, "changed out the nipple," I mean literally only the nipple.  That white plastic ring that you see in the picture stays with the bottle for the duration, making them more environmentally friendly.

These bottles do have seemingly a gazillion parts to wash:

The cover on top that protects the nipple from dirt
The nipple itself
The ring that holds the nipple to the bottle
There's a disc inside that holds the tube and assists with air venting
The tube
The disc at the bottom of the tube that lets air out but keeps milk from backing up the tube
and the bottle itself
whew!

These particular bottles hold 9 oz. of liquid, and are A LOT shorter and wider than most 9 oz. bottles.  This either makes them easier or more difficult to transport in a diaper bag, depending on your needs.  For us it wasn't really that much of an issue, and to feel like I was able to give my daughter the closest that I could to myself, made it even more worth it.

These bottles retail for approximately $20 for two, but for breastfeeding moms, I think it's totally worth it!

Byron's weigh in:

Wow.  What to say after my wife's very informative post above?  I can not really comment on the replication of the true-to-life action the bottles are intended to mimic, but I can confirm the laundry list of parts to wash.  Hand washing more than a bottle or two completely is a chore, but we just rotated eight bottles and ran the dishwasher for our dishes and her bottles nightly.  I personally like the size and shape of the bottles.  All in all, I highly recommend this product.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 (missed a point due to difficulty of cleaning, otherwise a total 5)