If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that we had quite a lot of difficulty getting Chloe to accept a bottle.

She is nearly 1 ( next week – arrgghh) and for most of her life she has been exclusively breastfed from me. I tried quite a few times at the beginning of our breastfeeding journey to get her to take a bottle – I expressed when I could and built up a little stock in the freezer but I was spending a lot of my time pumping and the majority of it was being poured away.

At around the 10 month mark we had a little success using a beaker but we found she would never take more than an ounce or so and it made her very windy as she seemed to gulp at it.

Then I decided to try a Latch bottle that I had been gifted at Britmums Live from Munchkin UK. This bottle seemed different. The teat was soft and flexible and it didn’t just look like a nipple as some brands do but it also mimics the action of a nipple while the baby feeds.

“A correct latch is achieved when mums nipple reaches all the way back to baby’s soft palate. The accordion-style teat on the LATCH™ bottle stretches like the breast, helping baby latch easily & correctly.”

Chloe took the bottle immediately. She drank 4oz on that first attempt and we have used it every day since. It’s helped us so much. It’s meant that I can continue breastfeeding but I can also have a much needed break. Chloe has one bottle now during the day and also one from her Dad during the night at some point. She still has feeds from me in the evening, morning and at least twice in the night so it hasn’t affected our breastfeeding relationship at all. Later this month I am having a night away with Andrew and it makes me feel so much better knowing she will happily take a bottle.

I cannot recommend this bottle enough for parents who are looking to combine breastfeeding with bottle feeding.

* I received one bottle free at the Britmums live conference and a starter set was sent to me for the purpose of a review.