[wtchyhlr]

So, I've been wondering this a lot lately. how come nipples for bottles come in different flows? Is it purely for the convenience of the feeder so the baby will drink faster? I really don't think the holes in my nipples get bigger as the baby grows, do they?

DS is currently eating 16-20oz of EBM in the 8ish hours that i'm gone each day, and nurses on demand the rest of the time. I don't want him to have bottles that give him milk significantly faster than my breasts, so we're sticking with the super slow flow. Any reason to do any thing else?

 

[rebeckyr]

Your nipples actually have dozens of holes, so they aren't really like bottle nipples anyways. I moved up to larger holes somewhere around 4 or 5 months, so you might want to try it? They baby might get frustrated with a slow hole - just like in the beginning they nurse for a long time, as they get older, the nursing time cuts way down cause they suck stronger.

 

[G&B'sMama]

We never bothered to change from slow flow nipples. My own breasts are a bit of a "slow flow" as I never get a gush of a let down like many women experience. My DS can finish a 4 oz. bottle of EBM with a slow flow nipple in about 3 minutes- he sucks just as hard and eagerly as at the breast- so we never bothered to get a faster rubber nipple.

 

[hannahnc]

We haven't moved off of the slower flow nipples either. Elli is 6mos old. I think you have the right idea. If it ain't broke...

 

[EnviroBecca]

I think it must be an "efficiency" thing: Give the milk as fast as baby can handle it.

We started w/some Avent bottles we got used (I figured we'd be sterilizing them anyhow...) and some Gerber bottles that were a gift from people who said they'd found those to be the best. I noticed that the Gerber ones said "newborn" on the package but figured that referred to the size of the BOTTLE--they're 5 oz. and the Avent are 9 oz. EnviroBaby had his first bottle at 2mo when I had to be away for an afternoon; it was one of the Avents. EnviroDaddy was amazed at how fast the feeding went: "It was like watching someone drink from a beer bong!"

When he started daycare at 3mo, after a few days the sitter told me the Gerber bottles were better "because it doesn't come out so fast; he drinks it all instead of getting it on his face." I thought this was a difference between BRANDS of bottles until I went to get more Gerbers and saw the assortment in the store! He's 5mo now and uses the Gerbers first; if all of them are dirty or drying then I'll fill the Avents.

One of the other moms at daycare is...uhhh...well, the first thing she said to me after we were introduced was, "You're breastfeeding longer than I did; I give you credit for that!" Her son is only 2mo! (She's a SAHM who brings him to the sitter while she goes to the gym.) Yesterday the sitter was fretting to me that this mom not only uses the Avent bottles but thinks the 2mo should drink all 9 oz. at a feeding!

The sitter says she can't get him to drink more than half of it, and even after that, "He's panting, he looks scared."

Anyway, I haven't heard any reason why a faster flow is better even for older babies.

 

[suz515]

I've never moved off of the slow flow becuase I think it's better for Breastfed babies. They have to work to suck milk and those faster flow nipples, just pour out sometimes.

I know a woman who's baby went to the fast flow bottle and went on a nursing strike. Her dd was lazy and didn't want to work to get the milk when the bottle was so much easier.

 

[Ellien C]

I think I used the size 1 and size 2 Avent nipples and never got any further than that. I'm not sure why I bought the bigger size. It was like the thing to do. I know my kid was like 9 months old when I noticed the size 1 nipples were from 0-3 months, so I stepped up to a little bit larger ones. I agree though, that there's no reason to go bigger. I think it's just marketing - more products to buy!

 

[JNW]

I know that pacifiers and some sippy cups are graded by baby age because of teeth--the latex/silicone is more durable or something. Maybe in addition to having more or bigger holes, faster-flow nipples are also made of some tougher material.

JNW
Evan 11/25/04

 

[2babybees]

ds used the newborn nipple on his Avent bottles until 11 months when he switched to a sippy cup. Never seemed to have a problem.