Newborn & Toddler Okay to Share Bottles?

Think twins... I had twins and yes they shared everything and still do...the only thing that you will have to get is newborn nipples and a sterilizer...good luck

The baby will probably need a slower flow nipple, and it may be easier to keep the two separated if they have different bottles, but (germ-wise) they won't share any more germs through the bottles than by cuddles and kisses.

You are going to need new nipples for the newborn. If they fit on the old bottles then I think that would be fine, the nipple is the main thing I wouldn't want them to share anyway. However, chances are you will need to get new bottles to fit the new nipples. Baby #2 gets so many hand me downs from birth on anyway! The least he could do is get his OWN bottles!! (I'm talking to hubby here!! ;-))

No one mentioned this bit yet so . . . just as you should not share your drink with your child as you transmit germs and the cavity causing yuckies (which will up your childs chances to get cavities) the children should not share.

Don't panic if your child gives the baby her bottle but do try to keep them from crossing gums with the other ones drink as much as possible.

Your husband is right. Dont waste your money, or contribute to our landfills. Use the same bottles. In the beginning your newborn will need "newborn" nipples, but other than that provided you clean them (duh) and sterilize them in the very beginning--there is no reason you need to BUY more stuff! Get rid of that american way of thinking "Consume, consume consume!" I used all my stuff, bottles & nipples, pumping equipment, pacifiers (soothie brand and the silicone ones) with my baby and toddlers and curremtly they all share sippee cups.
There is no difference in flow from a narrow bottle or wide one, it is the nipple that makes the difference.
If you are still unsettled, why not PLAN on breastfeeding? It will save you tons of money! Not to mention the health benefits for you and your baby. Peace.

I think either way would be fine. The one thing would be the nipples a newborn would need a slower flow then a 2 year old. It may be easier is they had different kinds just for identifying who's is who's but I don't think anything is wrong with them using the same kind like you said they are washed in between uses. Good luck!!

I.,

No they shouldn't share bottles b/c of the saliva chemical difference btwn their little mouths... nothing wrong but they shouldn't.

Also, the flow is less for a newborn vs a toddler who can't shoke as fast as the newborn if the bottle flows too fast.

Put your toddler on the sippie cups that have the soft nipple which are wider at the top and it'll help you get her transitioned to sippie cups instead of bottles...

avoiding damage to her teeth would be best. :-)

Good luck

C.

I don't think you need new bottles you probably just need new nipples. Your older daughter can handle more coming out of the nipple than your son will be able to handle. This will help keep the germ transmission down some.

The flow difference is in the nipples more than the actual bottles, and you will need different nipples, of course. But I would go for a different type of bottle just to be on the safe side. Your new baby will have different formula and you do not want to get confused.

I would worry more when the little one gets mobile, because they can find each other's drinks and share germs, but that will happen no matter what, so it is really a mute point. Your newborn will use the slow flow nipples, and everything will be washed, so just make sure that your big girl does not drink from her baby's bottles (the germ factor) and put all bottles immediately in the dishwasher when they are done. Families share everything anyway. You will see!

The 2 year old shouldn't even be on a bottle. They are normally on sippy cups by one year old. That should solve the problem.

Newborns need the slow flow nipple and probably the smaller 4 oz for the first few months. I would put the bigger ones away for a while. I would aso get your toddler more sippy cups. My Dr. recomends that they be off the bottle completly at 18 months, so that's what I have done.

In this economy, I wouldn't go out and buy new bottles, but you may need to get new nipples for the newborn as your 2 yr old may have worn them out and may cause too fast flow for newborn. try putting a wrap or something around the older ones bottle so she knows its hers. Actually to think about it, it is not like the new born is going to be walking around the house leaving bottles everywhere, so by the time the youngest is able to get his/her own bottle, the oldest should be off the bottle entirely (don't start now -- too soon to birth of newborn, wait until things settle first )

Hi. You really need to get your 25 month old off a bottle before the baby comes or she'll never want to get off it when she sees the baby drinking a bottle. My doctor told me to have my son off a bottle by 12 months. Also, the bottles you used for your daughter are probably fine, but I would change the nipples to a slower flow. Babies need the flow to be very small and I'm sure your 25 month old has a bigger flow and maybe has even bitten the nipples to make the wholes bigger. Good Luck!

Newborn needs to have newborn nipples, the one your other child uses is old and the nipples stretch, dang hubby's I swear... always cutting the corners on things, this part you can't cheat on get the new bottles & nipples.

Newborns need slow flow nipples. If the baby drinks to fast, your looking at spitting up and choking problems. I would just save the bottle for when the baby is older. And get your 2 year old off the bottle and you obviously wont have this problem. Just tell your toddler that there is a new routine and follow through. I have just recently took my 18 month old off a sippy cup of milk before nap time. It was to hard to give her the cup and then ask her to brush her teeth when she is exhausted. So ,I explained to her what changes that were going to be made and she was ok with it. She doesn't need it anyway, it's just a comfort thing. I tell her she can have her milk after naptime. By the time she wakes up 2 hours later, she has forgotten all about it.
As far as sharing goes, as long as the bottle are cleaned properly and no one is sick, then I don't see the harm in it, but like I said, the new baby will most likely need a different kind of nipple.
Good luck!

Hi I.,

I would think you would need different bottles, newborns usually take a very slow flow nipple whereas a two year old would take a faster flow. I used to have to poke the hole and make it bigger when my girls were 1 and older...also if you are going to have a baby shower new bottles might be a good thing to choose for your registry. Also tell your hubby that bottles are not that expensive and new ones would be best for the new baby...and your two year old won't be using a bottle for very much longer anyways. I don't know what the difference between the wide and narrow mouthed bottles are, my girls had the narrow and did fine and my grandson uses the wide ones, I think its just what you start them out on and what works for them..good luck and congrats...M.

Congratulations on baby number two. Have you thought about breastfeeding? If not the wide mouth bottles are much better. The flow is better for the baby and much like your own breast. No, sharing bottle is not sanitary. Your new born needs to be protected from germs. As you know a two year old is a germ magnet. Advent makes a very good selection of bottles and other products for breast feeding and bottle feeding. Blessings!!

I haven't been in the sitaution but, when my little one got older the bottles I used for him were not different, just the nipples. You could use the same bottle, just slower flow nipples. But, this of course is a go with your gut situation. In my opinion, I'd get new ones for a newborn.

I went thru this a few years ago, one son was only 14 months old when we brought home another LOL! Any way I used the same bottles but two different nipples! New born used the slow flow #1s and the toddler used med flow #3s. Also the toddler had a bad habit of chewing on the nipples so sometimes the hole would be a bit bigger after it was chewed up. The toddlers nipples would put a flow out that was too fast for the new baby! I used the Avent and just kept all the nipples in seperate baskets so in the middle of the night I would not accidently grap a 3 when I was getting a 1. I weaned both the boys at the same time. They were about 2 and 3, I know that is LATE so I hope not to get too much grief for that, but I had trouble getting the older one to give his up when there was still bottles in the house! I just took a long weekend and tossed them all - it was horrid but we survived =} Good luck and congrats on the new baby!

There is really no difference in flow between the narrow (or standard) and the wide neck bottles....it all has to do with the "flow" of the nipple you use (slow/newborn, medium, fast). Purely out of convenience, you may want a different brand to avoid accidentally putting a fast flowing nipple on a bottle for the new baby. Or grabbing the wrong bottle from the fridge for baby (ie whole milk for newborn...ooops...not a good idea) But, if you can seem to keep the bottles & nipples separate, no biggie...you don't need different bottles.

If you want inexpensive, basic bottles that are BPA free, check out Evenflow (the opaque clear and colored plastic bottles), you can get a package of three for $3.00 at Babies R Us or Target, we've been using these bottles for almost a year and have only had to change the flow of the nipple at 4 months from the slow flow that they came with to medium. So you could get 6 small and 6 large for about $12 and be done with it! Oh also, because these bottles have standard/narrow necks, they fit on my Medela breast pump...one less step :-)

Good luck!

I think both options are viable.
For me personally to be able to tell them apart probably would be easier, in case in you have two out at the same time, you'll know which is different, because, most likely they are going to have different formulas/milk.

Just let hubby know you'd feel more comfortable with that.

EO

Hi I.,

My sons were also 25 months apart. They are now 30 & 28. When my second son was born my first son was already weaned from the bottle. If i was in your shoes though i would definitely use different nipples & maybe even a shorter bottle for the newborn because each child has a different need & the two year old will also see the difference between the baby bottle & the big kid bottle. If you wean the two year old from the bottle now you may encounter sibling rivalry. Two years is still a baby. My 1st issue with sibling rivalry was when i came home with child #2...I never left #1's side & then i go away for a couple of days & when i return child #1 opens the front door for me & there stands mommy with another baby in her arms. I can still see the look of betrayal on his little face from that day. I can laugh about it now, but not so funny at the moment. I wish i would have had someone else carry in the new baby! GOOD LUCK! No two kids are the same!!!

My boys are 14 months apart and I decided to ween the oldest before the baby was born. It would just seem to me that it will be more difficult to take away the bottle from your 25 month old after the baby is born. If you didn't transition to sippie cups now, at what age would you then transition her to the cup?? Keep in mind that the baby will then be on a bottle (if you go by the same time table) until after the age of 2 and your oldest will be almost 5 and entering school. I would just consider the least amount of stress. I would think that you could even incorporate the babies arrival with the transition. "time to drink from a cup now, the baby is going to need the bottles and you are a big girl now and can drink from a cup." Just my thoughts. Good luck and congrats on the new baby!!

I was in the same situation not too long ago. I am the mother of a 17 year old, an 18 month old and a 7 month old. When I gave birth to the 7 month old, the 18 month old was only 10 1/2 months old, so she was still on bottles and formula. They shared the same bottles, I just bought new slow flow nipples for the newborn and they were kept in a separate bowl from the fast flow nipples from the 10 1/2 month old. That is how I solved that problem. I was working as an aide in a school and my hubby was unemployed, so we did not have a lot of money.

When the 18 month old turned a year old, she threw her bottle and we used just a sippy cup from that point on. She still uses a sippy and she is happy and healthy. Now we are using new middle flow transitioning into fast flow nipples for our 7 month old, as she is also starting baby food. It will be great when there are no more bottles, formula, or diapers in our house. It will make life so much easier for me. I love them both tons...but, I will be happy for the success.

Best of Luck! I think it really depends on how you feel and what works best for you and your family.

K. C.

You can use the same bottles - provided they are cleaned and sterilized. Just use different nipples. Babies need slow flow and toddlers need fast flow. But, at 25months, your daughter shouldn't be using a bottle anyway - it's time to progress into sippy cups.