My boys have always latched on direct and hated to be bottle-fed. Ben only started really drinking from a milk bottle when he was much older at around 18 months, when he was able to hold it himself and had to follow the routines of daycare. Nat still is a suckler; and if you asked him, he would tell you he’d prefer his milk warm, straight from the source, thank you very much. Feeding him milk from the bottle is an epic battle of wills in itself one should avoid at all costs unless one is prepared to be deafened by yelling and injured by scratching.

Who’s the one that loves the bottle? The little girl. Becks has indicated that preference very early in her life, when latching got difficult and she refused to persevere. She’s the best person to review the new Natural feeding bottles Philips AVENT sent us recently.

All along, I’ve never used a milk bottle with a wide neck. I’ve stuck to using those long, thin classic bottles. I was surprised how wideneck bottles made filling milk powder so easy. I didn’t need to aim each scoop of milk powder. With long, thin bottles, your aiming’s gotta be perfect so milk powder wouldn’t scatter, and when it does (as often), I’d always have to wipe so ants wouldn’t come a’marching. Just this alone is reason enough for me to consider changing all the bottles at home to wideneck ones!

No aiming required when filling the milk bottle – I’m snapping a picture with my right hand while filling milk with my left!

The new Natural feeding bottle is designed to make bottle feeding natural for the baby. It features a wide, breast-shaped teat that promises high acceptance and an almost instant latch-on, so the transition between breast and bottle-feeding can be smooth. Technically speaking, the tester for this should be Nat; he’s the one that needs to learn to feed from the bottle. But alas, he is not ready to make the switch yet. I’ll definitely make him try this bottle when he’s a little older.

So Tester Becks used it, and she’s been using it every night. The Natural bottle is easy to hold with its ergonomic shape designed for grip in any direction and maximum comfort. One thing I also noticed about the Philips AVENT Natural bottle is that the teat doesn’t collapse. Its unique comfort petals are flexible yet firm. The three parts of the bottle (teat, ring and bottle) are also easy to clean and assemble.

The Natural teat

The new ergonomic design

I asked Becks which bottle she preferred – the old or the new – and she says she likes to hold her new Natural bottle, though I wished the bottles came more colourfully designed so I can buy a different design to personalise the bottle for each of my children. Some patterns and prints would be nice!

And this is how the little girl drinks her milk every night. Well, if she likes it, she’ll have it!

Becks, the bottle and Avery, the Philips AVENT bear

More details:

• The Philips AVENT Natural feeding bottle (BPA-free polypropylene) retails at $20.90 for the Single 260ml pack and $36.90 for the Twin pack. The 125ml Single pack retails at $17.90 and $30.90 for the Twin pack.
• The Philips AVENT Natural feeding bottle (BPA-free borosilicate type 1 glass) retails at $18.90 for the 120ml Single pack and $22.90 for the 240ml Single pack.

Disclosure: I received the single electric Comfort breastpump and the 260ml Twin pack Natural range feeding bottles for the purpose of this review. This post is part of a series of sponsored conversations by Philips AVENT.

I reviewed the Philips AVENT Comfort breastpump too. Read about my experience here.