This baby will most likely come early. Hoping not, but that's how it is.

What bottles are best for smaller babies (I know they make special preemie bottles and I'll get some of those too) and babies with latch issues that will still encourage her to be able to breastfeed or work up to breast feeding (if she CAN nurse directly I'll be doing that almost exclusively as I don't produce well for pumps and will have issues keeping supply if I can't direct nurse.

Suggestions?

I don't know about preemie babies, but the Playtex Drop-ins nurser set helped my son's latch tremendously.

Tommee Tippee or Playtex

The playtex drop ins with the tan/brown nipple gave my son the same latch to the bottle as my nipple and felt alot like skin VS the clear nipples IMO. I finally found some of the tan/brown drop in nipples at babies r us. I had looked everywhere and thought they stopped making them. No idea about preemies needs tho.

I don't know if they will work for a preemie but I used nuk for my breastfed nicu baby

We use tommee tippees, and our son is breastfed, but I probably wouldn't recommend them for a preemie. They work great for us, but the stage 1 nipple is not all that slow. Fine for a full term baby, but I bet it would be too fast for a preemie.

<blockquote><b>Quoting pilot Jess:</b>" We use tommee tippees, and our son is breastfed, but I probably wouldn't recommend them for a preemie. ... [snip!] ... for us, but the stage 1 nipple is not all that slow. Fine for a full term baby, but I bet it would be too fast for a preemie."</blockquote>




I agree I bought these for DD and had to stop
Using them as the flow was too fast and I noticed she was having more issues nursing so I stopped using them. Honestly I mainly just used the slow nipples on the Medela bottles and I bought a couple of the glass Dr Browns that worked really well but they are a pain to wash..

I used tommee tippee with my daughter. I pumped for the first 6 weeks of her life and she drank from the bottle. Then I tried directly from my breast and she took to it no problem. She's 14 months now still breastfeeding and on a sippy cup.
I have no idea about preemie babies though.

I won't pump much if she's big enough to direct nurse so I only really need info for preemies. So, I only really need info **specifically** for preemies getting pumped breast milk in hopes of getting big strong enough for direct nursing. Which is why I specified both in the OP and title.

My problem is that most of the breast-feeding style bottles I see have large nipples that are too big for a preemie and might be too hard for a preemie to get milk from---and other nips won't mimic breasts at all, so I worry she won't want my nip after using them even if it is my milk.

I nursed my son til 2 and he used plain Gerber bottles on the rare occasion he actually used a bottle. So I know all about pumping for a full/term baby and which bottles are designed for breast feeding and latch issues...but there's NO info out there to help us mamas who will be breast feeding or pumping for the teeny ones.

Since hubs will be doing most of the bottle feedings, I let him pick. He picked out the tomey tippee.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Devil Duckie:</b>" Since hubs will be doing most of the bottle feedings, I let him pick. He picked out the tomey tippee. "</blockquote>




For a preemie?

Quoting P Pickle Pants:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Devil Duckie:</b>" Since hubs will be doing most of the bottle ... [snip!] ... be doing most of the bottle feedings, I let him pick. He picked out the tomey tippee. "</blockquote> For a preemie?"

They seem small enough. I don't have a lot of bottle experience, but I don't think there would be a problem with them. Depending on how small she is, of course.

I wouldn't recommend breast flow for a preemie I bought them for my son (he wasnt a preemie) since I breastfed him and he did not like them I felt like he had a hard time getting the milk from it so I'm sure a preemie would have a harder time.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Mama Kat:</b>" I wouldn't recommend breast flow for a preemie I bought them for my son (he wasnt a preemie) since I ... [snip!] ... he did not like them I felt like he had a hard time getting the milk from it so I'm sure a preemie would have a harder time."</blockquote>




Thanks. That was a big concern for me about those ones

Ava was 36 weeks do considered a "late term" preemie. The 1st month or so while she was under 6.5lbs we used the dr browns preemie bottles (2oz bottles and have a super slow flow)