This bottle feeding system is very easy to use! I bought extra nipples so I don’t have to run the dish washer as much. Once a bottle is used I take the dirty nipple out and put a clean one in and throw out the drop in liner. I put a new liner in and the bottle is ready for the next feeding. This means the only thing I have to wash is the nipple!

WHAT’S INCLUDED?

Depending on how you purchase your Drop-ins system the contents of your package will vary. A single nurser generally comes with: leak proof cap, retainer ring, natural latch nipple, drop-ins pre-formed liner.

EASE OF USE & CLEANING

The nipple should be boiled for 5 minutes before its first use and then washed normally. These nipples are dishwasher safe. They can be boiled for five minutes weekly to maintain cleanliness. (If you are using latex nipples instead of the silicone ones, they should NOT be boiled after first use and should NOT be placed in steam sterilizers.)

The nursers can be rinsed clean if milk spills or if the child spits up on the nurser, otherwise the only part of the bottle that needs to be cleaned is the nipple. The liner can simply be thrown away. It doesn’t get easier than that.

DESIGN & AESTHETIC

8oz nurser bottle in clear polycarbonate with a cute “car and road” pattern with trees and a stop sign. It is printed with “expandable drop-ins 10oz” and has markers from 1-8oz that are printed white numbers on whimsical green bushes with dashed road divider marks inbetween. The included nipple is a silicone slow-flow nipple for 0-3mos. The parts all fit together well and have a satisfying feeling to the way that they fit that allows you to know that they are firmly closed. The nipple has a wide base and a single hole. It is not ribbed or ridged. It has a band of slightly more opaque silicone just below the nipple area which goes back to fully clear silicone where it attaches to the bottle ring. The bottle ring itself is a pale blue with spaced out raised lines for grip when you are unscrewing the bottle cap.

Available in five colors: pink, yellowish/orange, blue, purple, and green. These colors have a different pattern printed on them, and the color itself is on the nipple ring.

HOW IT WORKS

The disposable liner is a flexible insert made of BPA-Free Low Density Polyethylene that has more rigid “ridges” at the top that look as if it will screw down into the bottle, but it really seems to just hold the whole contraption together. Playtex recommends that for ease of insertion you fold the liner in half lengthwise and place into the holder so that the edge rests on the holder rim.

The flexible liner collapses as the milk is sucked out. This results in fewer gas bubbles, fewer issues with reflux and spitting up, and a much happier baby.

I don’t know if my baby just doesn’t have a gas problem, or if these bottles really do keep the gassiness down. We also use Dr Browns bottles and I don’t see any difference in the amount of gas my baby has – in fact I just made the decision to get rid of the Dr Browns bottles – they are just too much work and the Playtex Drop Ins are so easy! The more expensive bottles don’t seem to be any better!

ACCURACY OF MEASUREMENTS

More than one person that I’ve spoken with has had some issue with the accuracy of the measurements on the Playtex Drop-ins system. I think that they were using older liners with the new bottles, because I didn’t have any measurement problems as long as I made sure that the drop-in was free of creases. If you’re not sure if your liners and bottles match up, go by the measurements on the liner itself.

CONVENIENCE

I use the same system when I go out for the day – I will take one complete bottle and some extra nipples and clean drop in liners. The beauty of this system is how the diaper/bottle bag doesn’t end up full of empty bottles! Since the liners are soft I don’t have to worry about them in the bag, and I can throw them away as they are used.

The biggest inconvenience about this bottle is that it’s not that easy to just prepare a bottle at home and pack it on ice. I found that pre-filling a drop ins liner with milk or formula was a recipe for disaster as the whole contraption will leak or break a bit too easily when transported with liquid pre-loaded. This makes this system a lot better for moms that are formula feeding on the go than for moms that are breastfeeding who will want to transport their milk in a more rigid bottle that is less prone to spilling.

These bottles work with the Playtex brand drop in liners as well as the store no name brand liners. This is so handy because I haven’t always been able to find the Playtex liners in my local stores.

SAFETY

While the nurser itself is polycarbonate, the drop-in and the nipple are not polycarbonate and contain no BPA. Since the nurser never comes in contact with the breastmilk or formula, there is no chance for leeching.

The liners cannot be microwaved or boiled as they could leak or explode if heated. The nurser is clearly printed with a “warning: do not microwave or boil, liner may burst and result in injury” warning.

COST FACTOR

These bottles are very affordable! I paid 13.00 for a set of 5 bottles (including nipples, caps, rings and drop in liners).

With most bottles you purchase the bottles and then you’re done… Sort of. Bottles break down after use and need to be replaced. They end up scratched with formula or breast milk deposits that are hard to remove or that have been baked in by the dishwasher. Drop-ins, because the milk doesn’t come in contact with the nurser, don’t need to be replaced, and the nipples only need to be replaced with the same frequency as other bottles.

It works out to costing about 5-10 cents per liner, and you only have to buy the bottles once. Depending on how you look at it this can be seen as expensive or inexpensive. And even if you see it as being expensive, it may be well worth the convenience and time savings. Not to mention the fact that you always have a clean bottle.

BOTTOM LINE

If you’re looking for a convenient BPA-free bottle for your baby that helps prevent gas and colic, you’re really quite limited in your options. Especially if you’re shopping locally instead of dealing with mail-order or internet purchases. The Playtex Expandable Drop-Ins system fits the bill and makes it especially handy for feeding when you’re out and about and cannot easily wash your bottles for re-use or storage.

This system is one of the best systems to use for daycare. The workers appreciate that they don’t have to wash bottles across the day, and I was happy to know that no shortcuts were being taken with my child’s bottles. Even for people that choose to use other systems at home, you might want to consider having your care provider use drop-ins.

Affordability, convenience, ease of use and minimal air all work together to make these bottles a must have!