Born Free Stage 1 & 2 Nipples - Breastfeeding and bottle nipples

Hi,

I also breastfeed though only use bottles when my husband is with my son/I'm not available to nurse. We've never used anything but #1 and #2 nipples. I remember bumping up to the #2 when he was about 4 months old or so, though only did that because I didn't know much about it and thought that's what you had to do, didn't know you could use any nipple no matter the age as long as it works for baby. Once I figured that out I left it at that! At 9 months it's what we still use, I've never seen signs from him that he needs more flow so I've just stuck with it. When I did bump him up to the #2 I watched for gulping too quickly and/or whether or not he looked relaxed while eating. I remember at first he was gulping and his eyes would open real wide as if he was struggling/wasn't as comfortable with the flow so I went back to #1 and waited another week to try #2. Did this maybe a handful of times until it seemed like he was comfortable and relaxed with the #2 flow. Though our situations differ a bit with frequency of bottle use, perhaps this might help in some way.
J.

Hello again, I do not think you should be worrying about it. I am a very young mom and have many doubts also and when it came to my daughter, I just let her do what she wants. I just would move her up on her own and I would just test her every once and a while. I am 21 years old now and when I had her I was 20, but it seemed like an epidemic here with girls I went to school with, a bunch of us had babies :(, but one of my good friends had a girl and we hung out and this past summer, my daughter was on maybe the medium (stage 2) nipples and almost taking the stage 3 the fast flow nipples and she was about 7-8 months and I noticed that my best friend's daughter who was around 8-9 months old was still on the slow flow and refused to go any higher because she loved taking her time. Now the two girls 14 & 15 months old are one sippy cups and everything just fine. So DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! :)

If she's not getting frustrated during feeding then there shouldn't be a need to change the nipple flow. If she's not getting the milk fast enough she'll let you know. Also pay attention on how long her feedings take. Shouldn't take more than a 1/2 hour. My son is is four months and he uses 1's & 2's (Avent). I tried stage 3 since they are supposed to be for 3 months and older but it's way to fast and he chokes on them.

My son is 4months old and I was pumping during the day and nursing at night and then we switched the nipples from 1-2 and he stopped nursing at night. I would suggest if she is fine w/the feedings right now just keep using 1's. I hope this helps.

I don't think it really matters what you use. use whatever your baby likes. I found a certain type that my sweetie liked and they are stage 2 and I have never changed them. I breastfed her till she was 7 months (exclusively till 5 months and then with formula in the bottle and me morning and night) now she is on to a sippy cup.

I wondered the same thing with my breast-fed daughter (now 10 months). The lactation consultants from our hospital said there wasn't really a need to go up to the next level of nipple, so I never bothered. My daughter still gets one bottle a day at the babysitters (with level 1 nipples from Dr. Brown), plus a sippy cup, and does just fine.

I didn't move my son off of the slow flow nipples until he was done nursing (at 11 months). He didn't know the difference, and was just fine with it (in fact, I accidentally gave him a fast flow one and he just gagged the whole time). My lactation consultant advised against moving to a faster flow until later because he might refuse to nurse once he got used to the faster flow. Good luck!

No need to change nipple sizes. If you are breastfeeding you should stay on the slowest flow nipple so she won't get nipple confusion/preference. Any breast milk you can give her is wonderful!

If it ain't broke, why fix it!?!?!?

I am also splitting the time up with fomula and breast feeding. He just turned 5 months old and I am using #2 Avent nipples. I am considering going to #3 but I am also concerned about a fast flow.

If she's not getting frustrated eating, I wouldn't worry about it. My daughter, who is 7 months, is still on a stage one slow flow nipple (vent-aire from playtex) and is doing just fine. I nurse her as well as give her bottles and she's eating solids now too.

Your child adjusts the flow of breastfeeding with the trusting of her tongue.
Nature is wonderful.

I breastfeed/breastfeeding both my kids and bottle fed/feed as well. Each child is different. My daughter always used the small nursing nipples from gerber and never did want to use a different one. She nursed until 8 months old and went straight to a sippy cup with whole milk (her choice). My son just turned 4 months and he uses those big advent nipples. He has used flow 2 and is content( I tried to move him up recently but he was not interested). If your baby is fussy when using the bottle then the flow is probably to slow. Both my kids nursed/nurse great and I never had/have any trouble flipping back and forth. Your baby probably prefers the breast so even if you up the flow on the bottle it should be fine. Your breast flows faster then you think, your baby can just control it easier. Good Luck!

Honestly we moved Stevie up to a stage 2 when he was 5 months old and well... within a month he had completely weaned himself... so if she is not getting upset that the flow is slow keep her on it as long as possible because time and time again I have seen babies move up to a faster flow nipple before they were frustrated with the flow and well... no more BFing each and every time...

Geraldine,

I breast fed all three of my children. It doesn't make me an expert but at least experienced! I never moved beyond the stage 1 nipple with two of the three. They were always fine. My first had very week muscles in his mouth and tongue so nursing was already challenging. He did great on the nipples that had a quicker flow but did continue to nurse until I stopped. I believe from my own children and from the experiences of my friends that if a baby is an established nursing baby that this is something they will always come back to for comfort. There is no right or wrong way that will work for every baby. Trust your instincts. You know your baby best. If she is doing great on the slower flow nipple I would continue with it. I just replaced that nipple with the same nipple every 3-4 months to be sure the nipple wasn't wearing out or damaged in any way for safety reasons. Good luck!

If you want to continue to breastfeed, you should not be changing nipples at all. Only babies who primarily use formula really need to use the faster flow. A slow flow nipple flows more similar to the flow she is used to while breastfeeding. If you change to a faster flow when she ages it is likely that she will start to prefer the bottle cause she knows she can get the formula out faster. My son used slow flow all the way up to when he was weaned off bottles at 14 months, and was primarily breastfed and took BM bottles at daycare.

I think it really all depends on your child. Each one is different. I gave my oldest one bottle each day. She would scream if it didn't flow easily so she went to the stage II very soon after I brought her home. She still nursed until she was a year old so I don't think the flow rate matters to most children. Nursing is just as comforting to those little ones as it is to you and I do believe she will nurse regardless of the nipple you use on her bottles.

My second child took a bottle at the hospital to supplement until my milk came in, but I got lazy at home the first few weeks and didn't continue with one. She wouldn't take a bottle for the world after that.

They are all different. You will know what she will and won't do very quickly. And it won't hurt her to try. If it's too much for her, she will cough or choke a little and you will know to switch her back. I don't believe she will want to stop nursing because of the flow difference. But you would know that too.

congrats on your daughter and on breastfeeding!

the way i see it is this: your nipple holes don't change, so why should the nipples on the baby bottle? I say, stick w/ the ones you have until it seems to become a problem.

if you're interested in joining my breastfeeding support group, we meet weekly to talk on Mondays in Naperville at Book/95th. Here's the link (it's not a business, I volunteer my free time, it's free, and my lactation consultant donates her time for free and offers great, informed, educated, advice each week too!):
http://www.mamasource.com/business/8288988875477483521

Switching to a faster-flow nipple didn't affect my son's nursing behavior at all. He weaned himself when he was ready, at around 9 or 10 months. He still loved his morning nursing until that point. At around 7-8 months I started gradually cutting out nursing sessions because he seemed to be ready. He was excessively distracted, and it was more of a struggle than an enjoyable experience.

I went up in bottle nipples whenever he reached the next milestone. Otherwise he got very frustrated with the bottle.

Hey,
There is a great write up on babybargains.com about bottle feeding and that mom's logic was that she figured since the flow of her breast wasn't going to change significantly that she didn't see the need to keep changing up the flow of the bottle nipple and only used the stage one size the entire time she bottle-feed her baby. It made sense to me and my 8 month old is still fine with stage one. Saves money too.

I did move my son up in nipples, but only when I saw he was having problems or was impatient with the bottle. (he would try the bottle and suck on it for a few minutes and seem like he was working at it). [It was an instinctive/ observation thing] Then I bumped him up. Kids drink more from mommy naturally but maybe we don't need to bump up as quickly. Just check you child to see if they are struggling with the bottle or any odd reactions (my son would try and then get bored or tired. When I switched him up to the next one that solved the problem). At 4 months though- I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think I switched until 9 mo (maybe a year???). It was pretty late (I didn't follow the labels). If your child seems fine- probably don't worry about it for now. Just keep in mind as she advances - maybe around 9 mo- 1 year (if she has problems or seems to act odd with using the bottle- that is when I realized to bump him up).

Geraldine,
I think you may be needlessly worrying yourself. If your daughter is happy with the bottle when you give it to her,why change the nipple? I tend to go by the old philosophy "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" haha
I breastfed my son and now my daughter and they each got fairly regular bottles of pumped milk when I worked or my husband and I went out and neither had a problem switching back and forth from breast to bottle. He was very particular about which bottles/nipples he would take and she will eat from anything. Some children just seem to prefer a specific bottle or nipple type and my suggetion would be to let her have whatever seems to be working and is making her happy.
Hope this helps.......

I breastfed my daughter until she was 6months. When we were out, she drank pumped breast milk from a bottle. We used Avent bottles and the nipples are sizes N, 1, 2, 3, 4. While I was breastfeeding we used N and 1. The N size we used till she was about 3 months. I noticed her needing to suck harder on the bottle nipple and she got frustrated/fussy with it...so we graduated to the size 1 nipple. When I was weening from breastfeeding, I started to introduce the 2 nipple. She was ready for the faster flow, but had I started earlier, I think it would have affected my breastfeeding. We only used up to size 3...she is now one and her last bottles of formula she drank from were size 3. I read that you shouldn't go off of the age they recommend on the package of the different size/flow nipples...it's different for every baby because of how much you breastfeed vs bottle feed. Your baby will help you with letting you know when she wants a fast flowing nipple....personally, I stayed more conservative on the bottle nipple flow while breastfeeding. Good luck!