There are a ton of bottles on the market these days. So how do you know which ones to buy? I have laid out all of the details of some of the best bottles for babies for you here, but it will ultimately come down to what your baby prefers. I would recommend starting out with one or two from a couple different brands to see what you like before stocking up. Once you find your favorite you’ll want to buy a bunch and probably in a couple different sizes.
Best Overall
Product: Dr. Brown’s
Bottle Material: Glass or BPA-Free Plastic
Available Sizes: 4oz, 5oz, & 8oz (glass – 5oz & 9oz)
Best Feature: Internal vent system
Rainbow Mommy Rating: 5/5
Amazon Customer Rating: 4.2/5
Average price per bottle: $7
Where to but it: Dr. Brown’s on Amazon.com
What’s Great About This Bottle: This bottle has an internal vent system that works along with the nipple to control the flow of milk and help reduce gas and spit up. The vent system can also be removed as your baby gets older and doesn’t need as much help with flow control. They have a variety of nipple sizes, including premie, that can easily be swapped out as your baby grows out of them.
This bottle is my personal favorite and the one that worked best for my son.
What’s Not So Great About This Bottle: The biggest downside to this bottle is that it is difficult to clean and put together because it has so many pieces. Also if you buy a few different sizes and styles, you have to try to match the pieces back together because they aren’t the same for all of their bottles.
Some moms also had issues with the bottles leaking.
Most Baby-Proof Bottle
Product: Comotomo
Bottle Material: BPA-Free Silicone
Available Sizes: 5oz & 8oz
Best Feature: Flexible silicone base
Rainbow Mommy Rating: 5/5
Amazon Customer Rating: 4.4/5
Average price per bottle: $14
Where to but it: Comotomo on Amazon.com
What’s Great About This Bottle: This bottle is great because its silicone base makes it durable and easy to feed. It also has a leak proof nipple that has two vents to control airflow.
The wide nipple base helps it to more closely resemble a breast, making for an easier transition between breast and bottle.
What’s Not So Great About This Bottle: The biggest complaint of moms with this bottle is that the silicone can collect hair and dust on the outside. It can also be difficult to see how much is in the bottle both when mixing formula and when feeding.
Best For Gas and Reflux
Product: Tommee Tippee
Bottle Material: BPA-Free Plastic
Available Sizes: 5oz, 9oz, & 11oz
Best Feature: Vented nipple
Rainbow Mommy Rating: 4/5
Amazon Customer Rating: 4.3/5
Average price per bottle: $9
Where to but it: Tommee Tippee on Amazon.com
What’s Great About This Bottle: This bottle has great, easy to hold design. It is also easy to clean and put together because of the wide design and the fact that the vent is built into the nipple.
This bottle is also designed to be similar to a breast to make the switch between breastfeeding and bottle-feeding a breeze.
What’s Not So Great About This Bottle: Some moms had problems with the nipple collapsing, making it difficult for their baby to feed and leading them to reject the bottle.
Best Glass Bottle
Product: Philips Avent
Bottle Material: Glass or BPA-Free Plastic
Available Sizes: 4oz, 9oz, & 11oz (glass – 4oz & 8oz)
Best Feature: Price
Rainbow Mommy Rating: 4/5
Amazon Customer Rating: 4.6/5
Average price per bottle: $3(glass – $11)
Where to but it: Philips Avent Natural Glass on Amazon.com
What’s Great About This Bottle: This bottle is one of the cheapest options and for the price it’s a great choice. The nipple is designed to help with airflow to ease colic and fussiness. Their glass bottle is a great option if you want to avoid plastic and it is heat and thermal shock resistant so it can be warmed and cooled without a problem.
What’s Not So Great About This Bottle: This bottle doesn’t slow milk flow as much as some options so it’s possible that your baby will get too much milk too quickly. This can cause them to spit up or get gas. The glass bottles are more prone to breaking so you should buy a silicone cover if you are going to use them.
Best For Breastfed Babies
Product: Medela Calma
Bottle Material: BPA-Free Plastic
Available Sizes: 5oz & 8oz
Best Feature: Specially designed nipple
Rainbow Mommy Rating: 3/5
Amazon Customer Rating: 3.2/5
Average price per bottle: $16
Where to but it: Medela Calma on Amazon.com
What’s Great About This Bottle: This bottle is great for breastfeeding moms. The nipple is designed to require baby to actively suck to get milk out, making it more similar to breastfeeding. This is great because it can help keep your baby interested in breastfeeding for longer.
The nipple can also be used on either a 5oz or 8oz bottle so, as your baby starts drinking more at each feeding, you don’t have to replace the entire system.
What’s Not So Great About This Bottle: This bottle is on the expensive side, with most of that cost coming from the nipple itself.
Some moms also had complaints about their babies either getting too much air, causing them to spit up, or their babies not wanting to take the bottle at all.
What an informative review for anyone needing to buy new bottles! I love that you have different categories to choose from. Thank you so much for taking the time to do all of this research to help so many that don’t know where to start!
I know how much trial and error goes into being a new parent so I’m glad you found this information valuable.
We have been using Dr. Browns for my grand daughter. Since switching she has had very little spit ups. This is a fantastic resource tool! I am going to share it with my daughter.
I’m so glad you found it helpful. If your granddaughter is formula fed, make sure you check out my review on formulas also.
We used Medela for our twins and found them robust and lasted the distance. Beware of the Tommee Tippee as they don’t fit into all sterilizers.
That’s an awesome tip Vince. Thanks for the feedback.