Dr. Brown's Natural Flow Options Glass Wide-Neck Bottle

Durable, easy to use and among the top choices for gassy babies, the Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Options Glass Wide-Neck Bottle features an internal venting system that works to reduce colic, gas and spit-up, and the vented nipple allows baby to control the pace of her own feeding. All of the babies who tried this bottle quickly latched and easily accepted the nipple, and none had issues with nipple collapse. Plus, our parent testers all strongly agreed that the nipple flow seemed right for their baby. (Dr. Brown's nipples come in five flow rates, ranging from newborn to nine months plus.) One of our testers even found that her baby spit up less during and after feeding when using the Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Options Glass Wide-Neck Bottle.

The two main concerns many parents have with glass bottles are weight and breakage. This borosilicate glass bottle has an hourglass shape that allows it to sit naturally in your hand while you feed your baby. Our testers were given the larger nine-ounce bottle to try, and while one found the bottle heavy, the majority felt that it was both easy to grip and comfortable to hold during feedings. To test the durability of the glass, we dropped the prepared bottle from counter height five times. The Dr. Brown's glass bottle suffered no breakage, cracking or scratches, and the bottle's travel lid stayed on four out of five times.

Because this is a wide-neck bottle, we found prep to be much easier than with many other bottles we tested. This is especially good news for sleep-deprived parents who might be prepping a bottle in the middle of the night. All of our testers felt the bottle was simple and straightforward to assemble and they consistently found that it was easy to pour liquid into the bottle without spills. The volume markers, which are printed on the side of the bottle, could not be scratched off during our lab testing and were easy for the majority of our parent testers to read. It's worth noting that glass heats up quickly, and in our lab tests, we found that this bottle was too hot to hold right out of the bottle warmer. Luckily, the hourglass shape makes it easy to maneuver the bottle with a pair of tongs.

The Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Options Glass Wide-Neck Bottle has six separate pieces (a couple more than many bottles), so it requires a little extra TLC when it comes to cleaning. But we love that the wide neck allows users to get in there with a regular kitchen cloth or sponge. The majority of our parent testers agreed with us and also found that this bottle was easy to clean by hand or by dishwasher. But take note: In our lab tests, we found that the nipple retained a slight detergent smell after running it in the dishwasher, and the smell persisted even after the bottle was boiled. To really put the nipple to the test for staining, we let it sit overnight in a sink full of soapy water with a little pasta sauce added (there's nothing quite like that tomato stain). After washing and boiling the nipple, the stains were gone.

Leaks are a concern for anyone who's bottle feeding. In our lab tests, we found that the Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Options Glass Wide-Neck Bottle didn't leak at all when carried around in a diaper bag for 30 minutes. But, when we left the bottle on its side for 30 minutes, several drops of liquid collected in the travel cap. That said, none of our parent testers reported any leaks or spills when preparing, feeding or transporting the bottle.

FINAL WORD

All of our parent testers agreed that the Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Options Glass Wide-Neck Bottle provided very good quality and was easy to use. Overall, our at-home testers were satisfied with the bottle and agreed it provided good value. They also all told us that they wouldn't hesitate to recommend this bottle to another parent. We found its performance and durability make it a good option for those looking for a vented glass bottle to help improve their baby's colic or gassiness and reduce spit-up.