If you are familiar with the brand name Avent, then you’re most likely a parent. This post and several more to come aim to offer some information to parents or parents-to-be on milk bottles and teats. More specifically, this post will feature Avent milk bottles and you can expect one on NUK bottles coming up soon after (updated 17 July: read the NUK post here). Then I will do a comparison of the two brands.
Actually, I can’t believe I’m writing posts on milk bottles! I must sound like a real boring person who have nothing better to do than to analyse milk bottles! But never mind how boring I may be, because if you are reading this and finding this post useful, then you’re in the same boat as me in wanting to know more about milk bottles!!
So let’s move on to the serious business of milk bottles then…
Avent feeding bottles
The Avent bottles come in wide neck sizes and the company prides itself in this design as it offers more stability as compared to the standard slimmer bottles, and a somewhat better hold or grip on the bottle as well.
Personally, I also find that wide neck bottles are easier to clean as well as to fill up. Don’t underestimate the latter. You may appreciate it as much as me when you have to be pouring in hot water and scooping in milk powder whilst being half asleep in the wee hours of the morning!
Avent feeding bottles are BPA-free. BPA is an abbreviation for Bisphenol A. To understand why a BPA-free product is important, read this short excerpt on what is BPA (sourced from Wikipedia).
Bisphenol A is used primarily to make plastics, and products containing bisphenol A-based plastics have been in commerce for more than 50 years. It is used in the synthesis of polyesters, polysulfones, and polyether ketones, as an antioxidant in some plasticizers, and as a polymerization inhibitor in PVC. It is a key monomer in production of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastic, which is clear and nearly shatter-proof, is used to make a variety of common products including baby and water bottles, sports equipment, medical and dental devices, dental fillings and sealants, lenses, CDs and DVDs, and household electronics. Epoxy resins containing bisphenol A are used as coatings on the inside of almost all food and beverage cans. Bisphenol A is also a precursor to the flame retardant, tetrabromobisphenol A, and was formerly used as a fungicide. Low doses of bisphenol A can mimic the body’s own hormones, possibly causing negative health effects.
The Avent bottles come in three sizes so you can have your pick from these:
4oz (125 ml) feeding bottles normally come with newborn teat size 1 – only recommended for small feeds, juice or water
9oz (260 ml) feeding bottles normally come with teat size 2 (slow flow)
11oz (330 ml) feeding bottles that come with variable flow teats
Avent feedling bottles in 3 different sizes
Some personal tips in choosing the sizes of the bottles:
I have never bought the 4oz bottles as I find them too small. It may be fine for initial use when the baby is at newborn stage, but once he or she outgrows that amount of feed, you will need a bigger bottle and the 4oz bottles will go to waste. So I bought 9oz and 11oz bottles and I’ve been using them for 2 years now.
But do bear in mind that if you are purchasing the bigger sized bottles for a newborn baby, the teats may not be suitable as the flow will be too fast for a newborn. That being the case, you may want to purchase additional teats separately to be fixed onto the bottles. You can keep the larger teats that come with the bottles for future use. They won’t be wasted.
The prices of the Avent bottles vary according to sizes, but you can expect to pay an average of about RM27 per bottle. You can either purchase them one at a time or in packs of 2, 3 or 4. I would suggest you check out various places to find the best offers on them, from boutique baby stores like Mothercare to department stores like Metrojaya or Jusco and even places like Babyland. You will be surprised that you will find the prices varying from one place to another.
Also check out some sale periods where you may be able to get as much as 20% off. I’ve never really seen a bigger discount than that so if you spot a place that is selling for more than 20% discount, let me know and I’ll go grab some new bottles!
Avent nipples
Avent Airflex nipple
The Avent Airflex teats or nipples are made of silicone and are soft and broad in shape. It is designed to help reduce colic in babies through its unique venting system where the air flows back into the bottle instead of to baby.
It is also designed to be breastfeeding friendly as the teat is shaped as close as possible after a mother’s breast. The Airflex teat system also controls the flow of milk to mimick that of breastfeed flow. The Avent nipples come in three flow sizes, from 1 to 3.
1 hole Newborn Flow for newborn babies up to 1 month old
2 hole Slow Flow for use of babies from 1 month to 3 month old
3 hole Medium or Variable Flow for babies 3 months and above
The Avent nipples are sold in a pack of 2 for RM19.90 for any of the 3 sizes above.
I hope the above article has provided you with some useful information and review of what the Avent feeding system is like. Coming up next will be a similar article on the NUK brand of feeding system (read it here).
{ 1 trackback }
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I use Pigeon wide necked bottles with peristaltic nipples. It looks the same as what you have described above. Perhaps the only difference being BPA free. Pigeon’s prices are lower as they spend less on marketing.
But, NUK is a different thing altogether. It is to me by far the best of them all.
I agree that Pigeon products cost less than Avent. One great product from Pigeon that Avent doesn’t have is the glass feeding bottle. It beats any BPA free bottle but then again I question the practicality and safety on using a glass bottle. You know how the kids may just drop or throw the bottle! And yes, I’m also more in favour of NUK!
hi penny,
blog hop from TinyTapir’s blog
would like to share some info on Avent bottles.
From what i know, Avent bottles are not ‘all’ BPA free. thats what i read from the website it self.
“The Philips AVENT Airflex reusable bottle is made from polycarbonate and, therefore, contains BPA but parents should know that the use of polycarbonate in materials which come into contact with food is approved in every single market where our products are sold including North America and Europe. For parents who are seeking alternatives to polycarbonate plastic, the Philips AVENT VIA Feeding System and Magic range (Cups and Sportster), both of which can be used interchangeably with Philips AVENT nipples, are made from polypropylene or polyethylene – neither of which contains BPA. Philips AVENT will also be introducing a new bottle made from BPA-free plastic towards the end of the year”
I suppose the new ones will be BPA free (looks a bit yellowish to me). so becareful when buying, some might still have the old stocks selling in their stores.
Very useful post. Thank you. As you know I only use Avent
and I have no complains except when trying to find its spare parts… and would like to add that they are so much cheaper if purchased in Singapore!
Please i want to buy an Avent Babies bottle
send some shop names wer i can get them in and around Hyderabad
Hi Pankaj, sorry I’m unable to help you. Perhaps if you do just a search on some search engines, you will most likely find something. Hope you can get what you need.
try shoppers stop