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  1. #1
    K-Bear is offline Silver level (200+ posts)
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    Default when to switch nipples?

    My DD is 4 weeks old and I've noticed in the past week or so, she is drinking from the bottle much slower than she did in the past.

    When she was first born, she would down the bottles in no time. Now, it's taking her a relatively longer time to finish a bottle.

    Could she be ready for a faster nipple? What are some other reasons she would be drinking so slowly when she used to be a fast drinker?

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Default RE: when to switch nipples?

    Boy, I had to laugh when I read this -- my DD was just about 4 weeks old when I started what my husband and I now call "the nipple dance" which is when I basically tried every nipple under the sun!! I am not sure if you will chuckle, cry, or learn from our experience, but here is what we did. First we started on "slow flow" Playtex drop-ins. She did fine for about a month but it started taking her FOREVER to finish 4 ounces or so. I can so vividly recall our nights (she is almost 9 months now) where it would take almost an hour for me to get her to finish drinking, and she would fall asleep, fuss, etc. I was bound and determined to get all that formula in her no matter what (even though I read 100 places that this was not necessary, that babies know when they are full). So we started switching nipples. First we tried Avent where we could go from a 1 to a 2 (I think that were the numbers) and the poor child started puking after every bottle. Then diarrea, then some blood in the diaper. We went to the pediatrician 4 times in 4 days. I simply would not leave the doctor's office until they could tell me what was wrong and FIX IT (I think I might have had some PPD). So they thought maybe it was a milk protein allergy, so started on Alimentum. We also switched away from the Avents and tried NUK. Sadie hated those and wouldn't drink. So back to Playtex, then we went to a fast flow nipple (the drop ins don't make a medium flow). She started downing her bottles and stopped the throwing up. That is what we settled on. You can search this board under "fast flow" I think and find some of my neurotic musings. :)

    In hindsight, I am not sure if we really needed to change or if Sadie was just enjoying taking her time drinking, or not really hungry. But I read in Dr. Spock's book that if they start to slow down, it could mean a clogged nipple or a nipple that doesn't flow fast enough for them. She never choked or spit out the fast flow fluid, so I figure she was ready and ok with that.

    Regardless, we eventually got over all the issues and has been on fast flow ever since. And she finishes her bottle.

    So you might try a faster flow. We tried to stick toothpicks to stretch the hole, but that never really worked for us. But boy there were many nights that I made my husband go to CVS at 11 pm to try to find some different nipples!
    Jill

  3. #3
    mdb78 is offline Silver level (200+ posts)
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    Apr 2007
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    S. FL
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    Default RE: when to switch nipples?

    Actually just last week we changed dd nipples to fast flow. She's already 6 months old and she seemed fine with the slow flow whenever she had the bottle. Just recently she would hit the bottle and bite the nipple so we figured she wanted that milk to come out!
    Mommy to DD#1 (05/07)

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