Dr. Brown’s Options Plastic Baby Bottle

Relatively scientific looking, Dr. Brown's Options Plastic Baby Bottle features a unique, removable venting system to prevent air from mixing with breastmilk or formula as your baby feeds, which cuts down on gas. The bottle has a reputation for being the top choice when it comes to gassy or colicky babies, and with six separate nipple stages, you can use this system for a good long time.

The bottle is made with quality materials (BPA-free polypropylene plastic for all parts except the nipple, which is made from medical-grade silicone), but the design is more complicated than many other bottles—there are six pieces to each bottle, including two for the internal vent system. While all these parts make for more work when it comes to bottle prep and cleaning, our hands-on parent testers said the gas- and spit up-reducing benefits outweighed any issues.

Ease of use

Our hands-on parent testers raved about the Dr. Brown's Options Bottle's ability to reduce their baby's gas and spit up, and there's no doubt this bottle would be a solid choice if you've got a colicky or gassy baby. But there are some things worth considering before you buy.

The Options Bottle has a slim profile, which allows for quick heating in a standard bottle warmer—a real plus when you’ve got a hungry and impatient audience. But the narrow mouth makes it trickier to get powdered formula into this bottle without the occasional spill—not impossible, but definitely a little more complicated. On the plus side, easy-to-read volume markers mean you won’t be left guessing when it comes to bottle prep on the fly.

While we like that the venting system is designed to prevent the nipple from collapsing, it’s worth noting that some of our testers felt that the flow rate of the suggested nipple stages was too much for their baby. Still, it's something that you can easily play around with to find the right fit for your tot.

Cleaning can be a bit of an effort given the number of parts that make up this bottle system. The bottle comes with a special brush for cleaning the two-part venting system, and you'll definitely want to invest in a good bottle brush given how narrow the bottle's mouth is. But the simple construction of the nipple makes it easy to wash up by hand. Some parts of the bottle may also stain if left sitting in a sink with other dishes: the nipple, collar and cap stained when we soaked the bottle's components overnight in a sink of hot soapy water with a bit of spaghetti sauce thrown in.

Our tests also suggested that the Options Bottle may be better suited for at-home use rather than on the go. We took a full bottle for a 30-minute walk in a diaper bag, and of all the bottles that we tested, this one leaked the most. And while the bottle’s travel cap snaps on with a satisfying click, it popped off nearly every time we dropped the bottle from counter height.

While complicated construction and leaking are concerns, all of our parent testers said that these issues simply didn't rate as important enough to outweigh the benefits of reducing their baby's painful gas and spit up.

Final word

While our parent testers felt that the Dr. Brown’s Options bottle offered average value, they would all buy it again and recommend it to other parents. The bottle may not be for you if you're looking for one bottle that does it all, including travelling well in a diaper bag, but if you have a colicky or gassy baby, and this bottle helps alleviate symptoms, you probably aren't going to cry over a little spilled milk.