When my first baby was just a few weeks old, I injured my back which meant medicine for me and bottles for my baby. I was a basketcase, and he was totally confused because he was used to nursing. Of course there are all kinds of reasons that new moms bottle feed, and I really believe that having the most breast-like bottle for your baby can be ideal, especially if you’re weaning or experiencing unexpected incidents like I did.
The newest bottle to mimic breastfeeding is the LATCH bottle from Munchkin.I’d say that while it doesn’t look like a boob, in some ways it acts like one and that can make things a lot easier on everyone.
Two things stand out to make the LATCH bottle special. One is the accordion movement of the nipple; it stretches better and pumps when your baby applies pressure–the same way nursing works. The other nice benefit is an anti-colic valve on the bottom of the bottle, which helps to remove air from the milk inside it. I’m usually skeptical when bottles claim to be “anti-colic,” because, come on. Still, I tried this out on my hiccup-y brand new nephew and he immediately took to it. I can’t vouch for colic claims but did seem to calm his belly a little bit, which his mama loved.
If you’re weaning–which can be emotional to begin with–this one is made to ease the transition with a stage 1 nipple designed to mimic the flow of breast milk. (There are also stage 2 and 3 nipples as the baby grows.) And if you’re a longtime breastfeeder ready to go straight from the breast to a sippy cup, the LATCH transition cup has the same accordion spout too.
I will say that when I washed my bottle in the dishwasher, I noticed a little pool of dirty dishwater in the anti-colic valve at the bottom when the cycle was done. The opening down there is pretty small, so a stream of water won’t really working to clean it out. Make sure you get a bottle and valve cleaner for that, which is sold separately.
You didn’t think you could get away with buying a baby bottle without needing a zillion other accessories too, right?
You can find the Munchkin LATCH bottles at their website or at our affiliate Amazon, Babies R Us, Target, Diapers.com and local specialty retailers near you. The bottles are, of course, BPA and phthalate free, and come in both 4-oz and 8-oz sizes.
