Philips AVENT Newborn Starter Set
by Philips AVENT
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Our Price: $49.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Philips AVENT Newborn Starter Set
Customer Review: No where near as good as Ventaire
Summary: 2 Stars
These bottles have been used in the UK for years. I bought one and my husband made the passing remark, Oh, everyone uses these back home (him being British). When shopping for bottles while I was pregnant, we'd bought the Newborn set of Playtex drop-ins, a gift-set of the Ventaires and it wasn't until my son was about 2 weeks old that I bought one of these.
My son is now 11 weeks old and I can honestly say that I only use this bottle as a last resort. My husband and I, both have had problems with leaks, though not terribly so. It isn't due to the lack of following instructions, either. As I said, these are the most common ones my husband has used in England and he's very familiar with them.
The main reason I don't like these bottles is that the vents are on the nipple ring, allowing the air to pass through and aerate the formula, contributing to gas, which is thought to be the main cause of colic. The slower flow nipple is still too fast for my baby, even with him being a big eater. He has trouble controlling the flow on this bottle, that's where he gets messy, stuggles to feed, gets frustrated and then refuses the bottle. The ventaire bottles allow the natural vacuum in the bottle to suck air in through the bottle of the bottle via a thin silicone membrane on the vent rings. No air enters the formula and bubbles stay far away from baby's tummy.
Like others, I too, have found that the nipple isn't helpful to a breast/bottle fed baby. The shape looks like it would be helpful with latch as the pacakge suggests, but, really, any wide neck bottle provides a bit of latch help just as much. The silicone on these is just too thick and firm.
If you do want to try these bottles, I suggest putting in an anti-gas agent, like simethicone (Mylicon, I use the Wal-mart brand... much more affordable), into the formula before shaking. This will greatly reduce the retention of bubbles in the bottle, and burp your baby well. I also suggest getting the nipple slower than what the package suggests.
Just remember, bubbles going through the formula means bubbles in the tummy, and bubbles in the tummy means gas and discomfort.
Customer Review: They DO Leak... BUT.....
Summary: 4 Stars
Listen all - as a Dad of 2 (19mo & 3mo) these bottles LEAK.
It's not nipple age, microwaved, dish-washed, or how your kid sucks it down. It's a matter of how the nipple fits into the cap and how the cap and nipple screw onto the bottle.
Trust me, as a dude I went through all of the above. Brand new out of the box or used over 6 months you just have to resign to the fact that these things have a tendency to spill out.
DUDE's GUIDE TO LEAKING BOTTLE:
A. After filling the bottle's content, cap it and shake or tip the bottle over the sink. Allow contents to spill out of nipple. Then tip the bottle upright. It is at that time you will know if your bottle is leaking or not. If it is leaking, proceed to Step B. If it is not leaking, repeat process a couple more times just to be sure. Feed baby.
B. If the bottle does spill or leak, unscrew the cap and use a paper towel or bib and dry the inside threads of the white cap.
Dry the external threads of the bottle as well. Screw on cap. Reef on it like you mean it (usually you're PO'd by now so a little agression helps). Repeat Step A.
Avent bottles are based of a simple principle of channelling air through the nipple/cap threads rather than having the baby backwash (ala chugging a Dr. Pepper from a bottle). It needs to draw air. While eating, just make sure the nipple is at least 1/2 way in the baby's mouth and his lips/mouth are WIDE open as if he was nursing.
These moms that say they have to tip their baby upside down etc. is baloney. Tip the bottle - DUH! And as for air/gas/burping, all babies suck air while nursing/bottle-fed. Babies do that. They still have the breathe-thru-nose-while-eating mechanism after doing the same for months in the womb.
So trust me. It takes a little work to understand these things. These ARE good bottles and they DO work. Just be aware of the above.
Hope this helps.
Customer Review: Not so good
Summary: 1 Stars
These bottles are awful. And they leak, even if you follow the directions. I spoke to an Avent representative and they do not refund, they send you a box so that you can send them the bottles for a test. If they leak, they send you new ones, if they don't you get yours back. I told her I wanted my money back and she said they do not refund because they know that they do not leak. I am wondering why they make such a difficult-to-assemble bottle? Why, at 3am, do I have to worry so much about the collar of the nipple being just so and not overtightening and this and that. Can Avent please just make a bottle with fool-proof assembly at over 4 bucks a pop??? I know that some babies are picky with their nipples, but mine is not and she doesn't care what the milk comes out of, just make sure it comes out. So we have switched to some cheapy bottles that amazingly do not leak. I think they cost $1 a piece. Keep it simple, stupids.
UPDATE: I sent the bottles to Avent. They left me a message on my machine. I called them back. They told me that my bottles do not leak (surprise surprise...but oh do they leak) and that it looked as if I had been using a brillo pad when washing them. I used their stupid brush that was included in the kit. So they sent me back my bottles. No new bottles, no refund, nothing. I told them that I was disappointed with their product and that I had spent all sorts of money on it and that I was very perturbed that they cannot make a product that is simple to assemble and doesn't leak. I also told them that I had purchased some bottles at Wal-Mart for less than a dollar each that also have anti-colic nipples that are easy to assemble and do not leak. Whatever. I am just so upset that this company does not aim to make their consumer happy.
I highly recommend using a different bottle system, unless you want a soaked kid.
Customer Review: Disappointed My Son Didn't Like Bottles
Summary: 2 Stars
While I like the idea that this starter set has the essentials, I was disappointed that my son wouldn't take to these bottles (or the pacifiers for that matter). That's not to say that every baby will refuse this bottle, but mine did. I had registered for and received this set, as well as several 3-packs of the 4 oz. and 9 oz. bottles, after reading how well they complimented breastfeeding. I had read the silicone nipple "mimics the feel and shape of the breast." My son did not agree. I think he found them to be too slick and too firm. He would refuse to eat from the bottle and my husband would call me at work in a panic because he couldn't get the baby to stop screaming in hunger. We decided to try different bottles and bought the Playtex Complete Original Nurser Starter Set. It contained similar types of items but had several different nipples to choose from. My son prefers the latex Natural Latch nipple. It is textured and extremely flexible. I had also read that the Avent bottles were supposed to reduce air swallowing and, therefore, painful gas. When my son would finally take the bottle, he had more gas than he does now with the Nursers. I realize all babies have some degree of gas no matter what bottle you use, but he seemed to have more with these. My husband could never seem to tip the bottle over to the right angle to keep air out of the nipple.
The bottles do have their pluses though. I use them store my expressed breastmilk and we never had a problem with them leaking. The bottle brush is also nice. It is less harsh than others.
After learning the hard way, I would recommend to new moms that instead of investing in only one type of bottle before you know what your baby will prefer, buy one or two bottles with all kinds of nipples from several different brands. That way if you baby doesn't like one, you have another on hand to try.
Customer Review: my kids love them, i hate them
Summary: 2 Stars
I have been a loyal Avent customer since the birth of my now 2 1/2 year old son, and I have always recommended their products to anybody I know (and even some strangers I see shopping). I absolutely loved all of the products, despite their higher cost and more involved assembly procedures. My children, 2 1/2 and 11 months, both love (and loved) these bottles. in fact, they are the only bottle that either of them would use. However, the past several months, as I have been trying to make the transition to sippy cups with my daughter, now 10 months, I have been having the most awful experiences with their sippy cups. I have been using the Magic Cups with nipples instead of sippy spouts (in order to get my daughter first accustomed to the new shape, then to the new spout). Whenever we go to feed her, the cup leaks profusely from the neck of the cup, below the base of the top piece, and often leaves her so wet that we have to change her clothes, occasionally three to four times a day. We have tried reconnecting the lid (sometimes up to ten times) and often, it STILL leaks. We have since gone back to using the bottles, and I have told several of my friends about the problems I am experiencing not just with one cup, but with all 6 cup and lid combinations that we have. Also, the problem is not just limited to the sippy cups and bottles when used with the bottle nipples on the sippy cups (as I had thought could be the case,) but even with the sippy spouts that we have, the problem still occurs. I have not yet been able to find a way to remedy the situation completely, as we have had several, albeit fewer, problems with the bottles as well, but my daughter will not accept any other bottles (or sippy cups, much to my dismay) so for now, we are stuck using Avent products, which I am unfortunately, very disappointed with this time around.