In-depth reviews guided by a Pediatrician

The First Years Breastflow Review

A sturdy feeling, wide-mouth bottle but the double nipple concept is more work than it's worth
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Price:   $8.00 List | $6.00 each (in 3-pack) at Amazon
Pros:  sturdy, wide mouth and nipple base, good price point
Cons:  milk and food caught between nipples, annoying "milk realease tabs"
Manufacturer:   TOMY
By Lindsay Ellis ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  Sep 23, 2012
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69
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Nipple - 25% 5
  • Ease-of-cleaning - 20% 7
  • Leakage - 30% 9
  • Ease-of-use - 10% 6
  • Eco-health - 15% 6

The Skinny

The First Years Breastflow is another one of the bottles we tested that offers a unique design feature that sounded great on paper but came up short in our testing. This time, it's a nipple inside a nipple designed to mimic breastfeeding, stating that baby has to "suck and compress" just like the real thing. We found this double nipple only created more work for us, and our little testers were just as happy with one, basic nipple.

Our Analysis and Test Results

We were happy to see a wide-mouthed, sturdy looking bottle when we opened the Breastflow, and curious to see what that double nipple could do for baby. However, the nipple-in-nipple feature really only seemed to make our feeding experiences more difficult. The large, softer outer nipple collapses very easily. We don't feel that it interfered with milk-flow, but baby's latch would slip a little. Another annoyance? Milk and food got stuck between the two nipples. Now apparently this is expected as they've created built-in "milk-release tabs" that you squeeze to allow the milk to drain back into the bottle. This is just a pain and also felt a little unsanitary.

Likes


Had a sturdy feel; comfortable for baby to hold. This bottle has a wide mouth that made filling and cleaning (the base) easy.

No trouble with leaking.

Dislikes


The double nipple and built-in tabs/holes make for extra work while cleaning and assembling.

We just didn't care for the "milk release tabs". Even after squeezing them while tipping, tapping, swishing, etc. we still couldn't get all the milk back in the bottle.
Squeezing the "milk release tabs" on the Breastflow. They help a little but we don't like the thought of milk recirculating.
Squeezing the "milk release tabs" on the Breastflow. They help a little but we don't like the thought of milk recirculating.

Conclusion


The Breastflow offers us yet another overcomplicated feature with it's nipple-in-nipple design. Although leak-free and sturdy at a decent price point, the milk and food trapped between nipples left us, and probably our baby, with a bad taste in our mouth. We'll be sticking to the one-nipple basics.

— Lindsay Ellis