Make Bottle-Feeding Simple with the Playtex SmartSteam 3-in-1 Microwave Sterilizer-Giveaway

Bottle-feeding my baby is not my first choice, but for a lot of women it may be their only option or a necessary compliment to breastfeeding at times.  In any case, every mother wants to know that her bottles and sterilization methods are going to be safe for her baby.  As a working mother I know that my newborn baby will need to be fed by bottle when I am not there and I want to have the peace of mind that my absence is not going to compromise her health.  For these reasons I was pleased with the opportunity to try out a set of bottles and the new SmartSteam Microwave Sterilizer courtesy of Playtex.

I didn’t give much thought to the world of baby bottles with my past two children and generally just chose the cutest looking ones on the shelf.  Then along came worries about BPA which suddenly meant I had to critically evaluate my choices from a totally different perspective.  Thankfully, Playtex makes choosing a safe bottle simple by ensuring all it bottles are BPA-free. The company sent me two different types of bottles, the Nurser with drop in liners and the Ventaire, to test.

I had never used liners when bottle-feeding in the past and probably never would have if the liners hadn’t been included in the package from Playtex.  They always looked like an additional hassle to me, but to my surprise they have actually made bottle-feeding easier.  The liners are already sterilized and disposable so they actually reduce the work involved in safe bottle-feeding.  And by collapsing as my baby empties the liner, I know that she isn’t swallowing a bunch of extra air.  The Ventaire is another option designed to prevent air from being swallowed.  This bottle vents air at the back to keep it out of my baby’s tummy.  I like this bottle too but I think I will use the Ventaire more for formula feeding in the future.  I have honestly just found the liner system so simple and convenient that it has become my preference!

And when it comes to cleaning and sterilizing bottles and nipples, Playtex has made that task a lot simpler too.  I have been trying out the SmartSteam 3-in-1 Microwave Sterilizer and it has been so convenient.  I simply load all my dirty bottle pieces into the dishwasher basket for an initial cleaning and then transfer the basket into the sterilizing unit. Then I add water up to the fill line and microwave for 2 minutes. That’s all there is to it!  The unit holds six bottles, which is ideal because we don’t generally use more than that during my workday, and the fact that our dishwasher fills up daily anyways means that there is essentially no extra work to have a daily supply of safe sterile bottles ready to go. 

Another great aspect to the sterilizing unit is that it works as a storage compartment for the sterile bottles before you need to use them.  Rather than boiling the pieces and having them sit on the counter potentially picking up airborne particles while waiting to be used I can just leave all of the bottles, nipples etc in the unit where they are protected from contamination until I need one. And if you’d love to try out this sterilizer, you’re in luck because Playtex is very generously offering one lucky Mommy Kat and Kids reader a prize pack just like the one I received containing a SmartSteam 3-in-1 Microwave Sterilizer and Playtex Ventaire and Nurser bottles! To enter to win, just leave a blog comment about whether you’ve ever used a bottle sterilizer before.

Overall the SmartSteam 3-in-1 Microwave Sterilizer and baby bottles from Playtex have been so simple and convenient that bottle-feeding my little one is almost as easy as breastfeeding.  With two older children needing attention as well, I have really enjoyed the simplicity of the sterilizing system as a way to decrease my workload around the house, which I am sure any new parent can appreciate.
a Rafflecopter giveaway