We have tried so many types of bottles with my son. It’s not that he was a particularly picky baby, or that he would refuse bottle. My son would accept any bottle eagerly, wolf his milk down and cry for more. We tried paced bottle feedings, feedings closer together (although mostly he got bottles on demand), a pacifier when I wasn’t around, and more breastmilk when we had it (but this wasn’t too terribly often since we’ve been struggling with low supply since the beginning – read our full nursing journey here), but the same thing would happen at every feeding.
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That’s when we tried the Honest Company’s silicone bottles. It features a silicone bottle and perilistic nipple, and a food grade Food-Grade polypropylene collar and cap. All materials are free from BPA, BPS, phthalates, latex, lead, PVC, PET, and nitrosamines and only the silicone comes into contact with the contents of the bottle. They are available in rich jewel tones of teal, peach and green making them a nice change of pace from the standard blue and pink that is normally seen for babies. They come in two sizes 5 oz and 8 oz. Since Ethan is primarily fed breast milk, we have the 5 oz ones (which this review will focus on). Click images to expand.
Touching these for the first time was a bizarre sensation. Even though I knew silicone was flexible, it was still strange having having a squishy bottle, rather than the rigid bottles we had been using (glass, tin and even the bags in the Kiinde system).
Ethan however, took to this immediately. The flexible texture made it easy for him to grip and play with. Often, when he is nursing with me, he will massage my breast at the same time. I’m not sure if this is comforting to him, or if helps the milk flow faster (probably both) but he really seems to enjoy it. With these bottles, he will do the same thing. We’ve never had any issue with my son squeezing them too much, however too much pressure on these bottles will cause them to open. My sister-in-law once placed the bottle on the couch while picking Ethan up and accidentally sat on it causing it to burst and leak breast milk everywhere. This has been our only issue.
During the work week while I am pumping I will store my milk in these (and a few Comotomo bottles I have) until feeding time. I’ll typically bring 1 bottle to work and separate the milk into feedings when I get home. The 5 oz size fits easily into my mini cooler, and not buying the plastic milk bags is great for the environment and my wallet. Since the bottles are silicone, I don’t have to worry about the chemicals from plastic leeching into my milk.
Washing these bottles is really easy. To remove the collar, simply squeeze the bottle inwards and pull off. They are dishwasher safe, however, I choose to hand wash mine since I find they need washing more often than our dishwasher is run. Any bottle brush will work on these bottles, and the malleability of allows you to flex the bottles to get into the crevices. I find the nipples to be slightly more difficult to clean due to the ventilation dents present. The company recommends against using nipple brushes to clean the vents, however, I find if I don’t, formula and milk get stuck up there. Gently cleaning them with a straw brush does the trick, but if you accidentally stretch too far the silicone will rip, which causes leakage during use. The nipples are available for purchase separately and are easily replaceable. They do come in 3 speeds, but we stick to the slowest flow, to best mimic breastfeeding.
Best of all, these bottles really seem to pace my son. He doesn’t gulp his milk so fast, which leads to a fuller most satisfied baby (and a more satisfied mama! Since my milk lasts longer). There’s even been a few times he’s pushed the bottle away or fallen asleep before the milk is gone.
Overall, we love out bottles from the Honest Company. The fun bright colors are a welcome change from the dichotomy of blue and pink, the silicone is nontoxic and nonporous and it’s made such a difference in pacing my son during meal time.
The Honest Company’s silicone bottles are available online at The Honest Company’s Website (affiliate) and Amazon.com or in stores where other Honest Co. products are sold.
Looking for more information? Check out my article on the alternatives to plastic baby bottles.
Have you used Honest Company’s silicone baby bottles? What did you think?
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