Dr Brown's Natural Flow Bottles

As I breastfed Pierre for 14 months, I never really got around to trying many baby's bottles. He did use them at the childminder's but my own personal experience was pretty limited. By the time he started using bottles, he'd gone beyond that early stage where many babies suffer with colic, so I won't be able to personally comment on that aspect of Dr Brown's bottles. 

The findings of a colic survey carried out earlier in the year are so impressive that I have to mention them though ! The survey, commissioned by Central Medical Supplies Ltd  with a view to producing a set of independent, practical recommendations for a better understanding of colic, its symptoms and remedies, took place in May 2010, with 1000 respondents taking part across 12 UK regions. So it's not just some tinpot survey run by Dr Brown's to make their own products look good !

As Dr Brown's proudly explain, key findings revealed that Dr Brown’s Natural Flow was the first choice (43%) for mums changing their baby’s bottle to relieve the symptoms of colic.Three quarters of babies with colic (75%) whose mums changed to Dr Brown’s Natural Flow saw improvement in their colicky symptoms after their bottles were changed. That sounds pretty good to me ! Also, colic led 62% of mums to be frustrated that they couldn’t solve the problem, 29% felt that the crying caused a lot of stress in the household and a fifth (20%) felt guilty because they thought that they were doing something wrong. Sophie suffered badly with colic as a baby and the constant crying, coupled with a lack of sleep and possibly the baby blues, is really hard to take.

Colic aside, the bottles are really good for older babies too. 15-month-old Pierre finds them really easy to hold on to and to tip up, and even when he drinks his thickened milk, it comes through the hole in the teat with no problem. I think this is one of the only bottles where I haven't had to attack the teat with a pair of scissors to make the hole big enough for the milk to come out ! The internal vent system (which eliminates the vacuum and air bubbles that you get with many bottles, thereby reducing the symptoms of colic and wind and making sucking much easier) comes totally apart so washing the bottles is really easy too, especially as they have a wide neck. 

Another huge plus point - they don't leak ! When I'm working, the morning is always a bit of a rush so I wake up Pierre and give him a bottle of milk to drink while I dash off to get dressed and head to the bathroom. Some days - and it's always when I'm not using a Dr Brown's bottle - I come back to a disaster zone where Pierre is sitting in a sleeping bag covered with milk, having gaily dripped the contents of his bottle all over his cot. Funnily enough, that has never happened with the Dr Brown's bottles.

I have to say, they are the ideal feeding bottle for Pierre and that's even without taking the anti-colic benefits into account.

star rating : 5/5

RRP : £20.20 for a 4-pack of 240ml bottles (£5.50 for one)

Other reviews you may be interested in :

Dr Brown's Natural Flow Trainer Cups

Nuby Natural Touch Softflex Silicone Nurser - Ideal for Transition from Breast to Bottle
Born Free Baby Bottles and Training Cups

Nuby 3 Stage Natural Nurser - Breast Size Nipple / No Spill Spout