I have worked as a child minder/ nanny/ babysitter and mother's help for years now. In recent years I have had more experience working with new born babies and much younger children. As a result I've used a number of different bottles over the years but more recently have noticed a lot of mothers opting for Dr Brown's.

I'm not sure whether it is a bit of a fashion trend or these simply are the best bottles out there at the moment, but almost everybody I work for has chosen these bottles. It is an interesting choice because they are a little more expensive than other bottles out there but there are a few reasons why I think they are better than others.

The bottle is similar in shape the the majority of others I have used. It is circular and then tapers towards the top where the neck and teat screw into place. The neck of the bottle is detachable and is made of a hard white plastic. The teat you can also removed from this part of the bottle, you simply pull it out from underneath. The treat is made of a soft, clear plastic that is very flexible and easily moulds to the babies mouth. There is also a clear plastic lid, this is ever so slightly not long enough for the length of the teat and can push the teat to the side a little. This doesn't really cause any problems other than that milk rises slightly through the central tunnel because of the air pressure.

To make the flow of the milk very natural and ease wind/colic there is a tube that runs down the inside of the bottle. This is suspended in the bottle by a yellow rubber valve that sits in the neck of the bottle. This has one direct hole through to the treat and two that run along the sides into the middle. The milk can feed through the funnel and also straight into the teat through remaining gaps. This creates a nice flow which is kind to the babies digestion and also noticeably reduces wind, which is especially helpful for younger babies.

Each part of the bottle is detachable and easily cleaned in a steriliser. My only comment would be that the yellow rubber of the valve has discoloured over time and goes a little dirty looking (though it obviously isn't). It is also really important, because of all the nooks and crannies in the parts of this bottle, that a proper brush is used to clean these prior to sterilisation. I tend to wash them in hot water and with a little washing up liquid. I use a brush to clean the insides and then Dr Brown's provide you with a very smaller (pip cleaner-esque) brush which goes into all the tunnels and holes in the valve part and the funnel. This does tend to prolong the cleaning a little and it is a little fiddly but I prefer to do this for peace of mind.

For many of the families I work for this has not been a first choice bottle, in fact they have started out with another bottle and eventually come to use Dr Brown's. This is mostly due to babies having bad wind and colic as a result of using other bottles. Mothers I work for have then had recommendations from friends or read online that the Dr Brown's bottles alleviate some of these things and so opted for these instead. In one case I personally recommended them to someone I work for as I've had good experiences when using them with other babies. The bottles natural flow definitely has helped to alleviate colic and wind in many of the babies I look after, and there is a noticeable difference between these and other varieties of bottles. One of the babies I look after also has a rather small mouth and found the teats on these bottles easier than on other ones the family had used.

These bottles do tend to be more expensive than competing brands, though I think it's hard to put a price on a happy and contented baby and personal peace of mind. Having used these extensively with many different children I have to say I am impressed as these work well across the board with a number of different children I look after.

I would definitely recommend these bottles if you are struggling with the ones you have or looking for a first time bottle.