When my daughter was first born over 6 years ago, I had a difficult time nursing. I don't think I got the latch quite right but still, we kept on. She was born on the small side and left the hospital at a mere 5 lbs 12 oz but managed to gain a pound per month for the first five months. No one ever said breastfeeding would be easy but I never thought in a million years I would encounter so much resistance to the idea that my daughter could be exclusively breast fed for the first six months. It was an ongoing struggle to stick to my motherly instinct and I often felt it was a struggle I faced alone.


We ended up finding an organic baby formula that we had shipped in from the U.S. and started giving it to her just after her 5-month checkup. When it came to looking for a baby bottle, we chose AVENT bottles since they were "clinically proven to reduce colic and fussing, especially during nighttime hours." I would buy them whenever I saw them on sale at Shoppers Drugmart. I also loved being able to replace the nipples with sprouts and adding handles to use as a sippy cup when she got older.

Later, we heard all about the BPA scare and missed out on the chance to return old baby bottles to Toys R Us. But at that point, we weren't really using them anymore. When my son was born, however, we made sure to look for BPA-free baby bottles and also bought some glass baby bottles, too. Those didn't last as long as I had hoped, though, for obvious reasons.

This year, the holidays will be full of excitement as we gear up for the arrival of my brother's first-born. They are expecting a baby girl on New Year's Eve! What a way to ring in 2012! When I think of what to get my brother and sister-in-law, all I can think of are items for baby. The AVENT BPA-free baby bottles will be included as part of a little gift for the growing family. Gosh, it seems so long ago that I first had to use baby bottles. I'm looking forward to being able to feed my first niece using her new bottles and will feel secure in knowing that there isn't any risk of BPA leaching into her milk.

Philips AVENT BPA-Free Bottles are available in pink and blue at Shoppers Drug Mart and Babies R Us for $25.99 for a pack of three.

Disclosure: I received product to facilitate this post. All opinions expressed are my own.