When I first got pregnant with Olivia, I was overwhelmed with all the different baby products out there. As I put together our baby registry, I would often make selections on popularity or features (not always understanding what all the features meant). One prime example of this is baby bottles. These days there are bottles out there with every feature under the sun. Some claim to prevent colic. Others are great at mimicking the breast for a smooth transition into bottle feeding. And then there are all kinds of materials: glass, plastic, silicone. I decided to give the Nuk Simply Natural a try and share my experience with it.
Will the Nuk Simply Natural Work for You?
I’ll admit, a lot of my experience with baby bottles was trial and error. I chose a few brands that I knew were popular just to see what would work best. I subscribe to the belief that not all babies are created equal. What has worked for us may not work for others. But this post is about sharing our experience with a new type of bottle, so you have more than just a list of features to base your decision around. If you have used bottles in the past that haven’t worked or if you are looking for a good bottle to create a seamless transition between breast and bottle, you’ll know what you can expect with NUK Simply Natural.
A little background on us: Olivia is currently 8 months old. She has been using bottles since she was 3 months old. It took a few weeks to get her adjusted, but once we got there, she became a champ at using bottles. I still breastfeed her, but she is bottle fed at daycare. When initially choosing my bottles, I essentially picked at random because even though I didn’t know what “anti-colic venting systems” meant, it sounded good at the time. Now that Olivia is 8 months old, she’s been using bottles for awhile. However, she just started going through this phase where she either wants to be nursed or fed solid food – bottles just don’t do it for her. But at this stage, milk is still her most important source of nutrition. So I was glad when we got the opportunity to try out NUK Simply Natural bottles, because I’d heard they are great for a closer to breastfeeding feel. We tried them out at home and took them to daycare and here’s what we thought:
NUK’s Close-to-Mom Feel
A lot of bottles out there claim to be designed around the shape of mom’s breast. These style bottles are made to transition from breastfeeding to bottle or when going back and forth between the two, like I do with Olivia. I haven’t tried every bottle out there, but I can say the claims aren’t unfounded. This bottle is truly designed with the woman’s breast in mind. It’s perfect because no matter who is feeding her, she still gets that comforting, breastfed feel. And at a stage where all she wants is nursing, it has been critical for us to find a bottle that successfully creates that mom-baby bond.
NUK is Easy to Clean
I have to throw this out there because it is often something you don’t think about when you are comparing all the other fancy features present in a lot of bottles. But when you’re constantly cycling through bottles, I think this is a super important factor to consider. You already have so much to do and clean for the baby, do yourself a favor and get a bottle that is easy to clean. You’ll be so happy knowing you don’t have 12 different parts to sterilize and clean from every bottle.
Natural Feeding Experience
with the Nipple Design
This bottle comes with up to 9 nipple holes (depends on flow rate) because that’s how many mom’s breast has. A fact I never knew before, but now I’m like “hey that’s pretty cool”. That feature combined with the soft silicone, makes it a pretty darn close match to the breast, so baby will have no problem with the fit. Plus the silicone is very flexible, which helps deter any un-latching mid-feed.
Transitions with Baby
Another important factor when selecting a bottle is your baby’s age. We have the gift pack, which contains 2- 5 oz bottles, 2- 9 oz bottles, 3 Orthodontic silicone pacifiers (1 newborn and 2 for 6-18 months), and 2 extra nipples. The 5 oz bottles come with slow flow nipples and the 9 oz bottles are for slightly older babies with medium flow nipples. This makes for a great transition for first introducing your baby to the bottle and then later when giving larger amounts at a faster rate. I love that it grows with my baby.
The anti-colic system is another great feature. It doesn’t really apply to us since Olivia is passed the age where colic is really an issue, but for younger babies, it’s nice to know it’s there.
Now for my one piece of criticism. The shape of the nipple is great. It’s flexible and helps Olivia feel more comfortable because it’s a close feel to nursing. But it is slightly tricky to get a handle on holding the bottle. Due to the shape of the nipple and it not being the same all around, you have to ensure you are holding the bottle in a way that is pleasant for your little one. Usually Nick feeds Olivia when she’s getting a bottle and he recommends using it with some light, as it can be challenging to see how you’re holding it when it’s dark. That being said, after the first couple feeds, you get used to the style and how you should hold it.
After trying it out, I’m really happy with the results. Olivia is encountering some problems with bottle feedings and this design really helped get her to take some extra milk. I love the gift set for how it transitions with the baby. NUK sells the gift pack on their website along with all the other sets. You can also check out Amazon for availability as they often have a lot of great deals. And if you like the Simply Natural bottles, NUK also makes a hands free pumping accessory, called Freemie. The Freemie Collection Cups are another must have for easy and discreet pumping.
Every baby seems to have his/her own personality and inevitably will like or dislike different things. Hopefully this gives you some insight as to what we consider important factors when selecting the perfect baby bottle. We tried a lot of the course of 8 months and hope our experience can help others navigate the complex world of baby product overload.
Is NUK a good brand?
We’ve reviewed the features and you know our opinion. But how does NUK stack up against the competition? It’s also important to understand other parents’ experiences because every baby is different. So I analyzed Amazon reviews for 7 of the top baby bottles on the market. Here’s where things stand:
- Comotomo Baby Bottle – 4.7 out of 5 stars with over 23,000 reviews
- Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature – 4.7 out of 5 stars with over 9,000 reviews
- Dr. Brown’s Original Bottle – 4.7 out of 5 stars with over 18,000 reviews
- Munchkin Latch – 4.4 out of 5 stars with over 3,000 reviews
- Philips Avent Natural Baby Bottle – 4.8 out of 5 stars with over 8,000 reviews
- nanobebe Breastfeeding Baby Bottles – 4.4 out of 5 stars with over 2,000 reviews
- Boon NURSH – 4.6 out of 5 stars with over 6,000 reviews
- MAM Anti-Colic Bottles – 4.8 out of 5 stars with over 8,000 reviews
And how does NUK compare?
NUK Simply Natural Baby Bottles – 4.7 out of 5 stars with over 13,000 reviews
Is NUK a good brand? According to reviewers on Amazon, NUK is a great brand. Users consistently comment on the quality and ease of cleaning these products. Many people choose NUK for getting good value for their money.
As you can see when compares to reviews for other bottle brands, NUK stacks up nicely. It compares pretty well to all the other bottle brands, and has a lot of reviews to boost it up. But what do these reviews tell us? Many of them are pretty competitive – around the same number of stars. What that means is, it’s really trial and error. Every baby is different and will respond different to each brand.
Our recommendation? Pick up a couple bottles from a variety of brands and test them. Once you have a winner, go back and buy more of that bottle type. It’s much easier than investing in a full line of baby bottles your little once might reject.
This post was sponsored by NUK as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central, however all opinions expressed are my own. This post also contains affiliate links and we may make a small commission at no cost to you.
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