Dr. Brown's Options+ Bottles Review
An honest, research-based look at the Dr. Brown's Options+ Bottles: what it does well, where it falls short, and who should actually buy it.
- BuyOnceRight Research Desk
- Updated
- 3 min read
Dr. Brown's
Dr. Brown's Options+ Bottles
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Our verdict
The Dr. Brown's Options+ Bottles is a solid option in its class with clear strengths and a few honest tradeoffs. It suits buyers whose priorities match its strengths above; if your needs differ, the alternatives below are worth a look.
An honest, research-based look at the Dr. Brown's Options+ Bottles: what it does well, where it falls short, and who should actually buy it.
Who should buy it?
A good fit if you…
- Brown's Options+ Glass is right if: your baby shows real symptoms of gas or colic, you want the most researched anti-colic vent system available, and you don't
- Consider alternatives if: you want the simplest possible daily routine (Philips Avent Natural), you're worried about glass breakage (the plastic Options+ versio
Look elsewhere if you…
- Buyers who need a different feature set, check the alternatives below.
What You Are Buying
The Options+ line comes in glass or plastic, narrow or wide neck, and this specific 4-pack is the narrow-neck borosilicate glass version with 8oz and 4oz sizes included.
It ships with a Level 1 slow-flow nipple, appropriate for newborns.
The internal vent is the defining feature.
It sits inside the bottle as a 2-piece assembly, a reservoir that attaches to the collar and a straw that reaches toward the bottom of the bottle, creating a path for air to travel that bypasses the milk itself.
Using It Day to Day
Assembly with the vent installed takes longer than a standard 3-part bottle, roughly 30 to 45 extra seconds per bottle once you know the routine.
The vent has to seat correctly in the collar or it won't vent properly and can leak.
Washing requires taking apart all 5 pieces, including the 2-piece vent, every time.
The pieces are small enough that a bottle-specific drying rack or mesh bag for dishwasher use helps keep track of them.
What It Does Well
The anti-colic performance is the clear standout.
For babies showing real symptoms of swallowed-air discomfort, gas, spit-up, fussiness during or after feeds, the vent system addresses a specific, well-documented mechanism rather than a vague marketing claim.
The glass build quality holds up.
Bottles that see daily dishwasher use for a year still look close to new, without the cloudy, scratched appearance that some plastic bottles develop.
What Falls Short
The part count is a real daily cost.
5 pieces per bottle, times 6 to 8 bottles a day, adds up to meaningfully more washing and reassembly time than a 3-part competitor like Philips Avent.
The vent needs to be seated correctly, and it's easy to get slightly wrong in the first few weeks, leading to leaking or an ineffective vent until the routine becomes second nature.
Glass adds weight and breakage risk.
Who Should Buy It
Brown's Options+ Glass is right if: your baby shows real symptoms of gas or colic, you want the most researched anti-colic vent system available, and you don't mind extra parts and wash time in exchange.
Consider alternatives if: you want the simplest possible daily routine (Philips Avent Natural), you're worried about glass breakage (the plastic Options+ version, or Comotomo's silicone body), or your baby shows no particular gas symptoms and a simpler valve-based bottle is sufficient.
See Also
Philips Avent Natural Bottles Review, the simpler 3-part alternative Brown's Options+ vs Philips Avent Natural, head-to-head comparison Best Baby Bottles for Colic, full category roundup
Dr. Brown's Options+ Bottles
Check current price, availability and owner reviews.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dr. Brown's Options+ vent system removable?
Yes, the vent can be removed once the baby transitions to a stage where anti-colic venting is less needed, without switching to a different bottle. Options+ bottles work with or without the vent, which is the reason for the 'Options' name, unlike Dr. Brown's original vent-only bottles.
How many parts does the Dr. Brown's Options+ bottle have?
With the vent system in place, each bottle has 5 parts: the bottle, the internal vent (which itself is 2 pieces, a reservoir and a straw), the nipple, and the collar. Without the vent, it drops to 3 parts, bottle, nipple, and collar, the same as most 3-piece competitors.
Is the glass version worth it over the plastic version?
Glass resists odor and staining better than plastic over years of daily washing and doesn't develop the scratched, cloudy look plastic bottles sometimes get after repeated dishwasher cycles. It's heavier and can chip if dropped on a hard floor, a real tradeoff for one-handed nighttime feeds or households worried about breakage.
Does the vent system actually reduce colic?
Brown's vent design has the most published research behind it of any bottle brand's anti-colic mechanism, generally showing reduced air intake during feeding. Colic itself has multiple potential causes, so no bottle eliminates it for every baby, but the vent system is a legitimate, well-studied approach to reducing one contributing factor.
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