Nipple for Cereal Feeding- No More Responses Please

J. ~
You can take a needle, heat it up and push it through the nipple to make the hole larger. That should help. My grandson had reflux, too, and they ended up with 2 prescriptions (one emptied the stomach faster, one reduced the acid - reglan). They also tried several formulas, on their pediatrician's advice, but the best one for him was prosobee. They limited how much formula he took, even at 9, 10 months he only took 3 ounces at a feeding, and ate more often. It was somewhat better after he started eating regular food. Now that he's 20 months, it's pretty much gone.
Good luck!
D.

1 mom found this helpful

I don't understand how making something heavier for a baby to drink would help with choking.

Edit: I'm sorry, I don't mean to come across as rude or mean, I just didn't understand. Sorry if I sounded crass!

My baby had the same problem. If the Y nipple does not work you can try the infant feeder bottle by Sassy (it's an infa feeder):
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2793324

I will honestly tell you to do it - if it helps!! My youngest daughter got about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cereal to an 8 oz. bottle - the consistency of a milk shake before she would keep it down. That was with two medications!! We did that from the time she was 3 weeks old - it was that or have her classified as a "failure to thrive".

We couldn't find a nipple that work, and like you we used the Playtex Y nipples. We just enlarged the hole a bit. Keep cutting it until it flows out SLOWLY. You don't want the baby to get to much at one time, because that could cause her to choke and gag a bit. We started by enlarging it just a little bit at a time until we found the right size hole that worked for her.

J. C,
Have you sought out the help of a chiropractor in your area?
Chiropractors are not neck and back pain doctors, we are nervous system doctors. Our bodies are self healing and self organizing. The central nervous system (our brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system (the nerves that branch out of the spinal cord and go to the cells, tissues, and organs in our bodies) control how our bodies heal and organize itself. If there is any interference in the communication of our nervous system with the body, then there will either be increased activity or decreased activity, either way the body is no longer functioning at it’s highest potential. Chiropractors call this interference a subluxation (sub-lux-a-tion). This interference/subluxation is caused by three major life stresses- Physical stress (trauma, repetitive motions, poor posture); Biochemical stress (preservatives in food, drugs- prescription, alcohol, smoking); and Mental or Emotional stress.
The nerves to the stomach and esophagus may have this interference which is resulting in acid reflux. By removing this interference it is possible to help your child without medications. Chiropractic is very safe for everyone of all ages, infant to over 100. There are Chiropractors who specialize in pediatric chiropractic and you can go online to the Michigan Chiropractic Pediatric Assositation (MCPA) at www.mcpakids.org to look up a pediatric chiropractor in your area as well read research on chiropractic and the benefits of adjusting children.
I am a chiropractor in Eastpointe, MI at Khalil Family Chiropractic. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Yours in Health and Wellness
Dr. B. G

My cousin went through the same thing her doc told her about a formula enfamil..I think its in a blue or purple can sorry I cant remember the name but its thicker so it helps with reflux. Good luck

I vaguely remember cutting an X in the nipples to make it bigger (and then re-sterilizing) to accommodate a larger flow for rice added.

Good luck!

Hi J.,

My older son started eating cereal at 2 weeks old from a spoon and did just fine with it. (ok...all of you ladies can pick your jaw back up off the floor because I fed a 2 wk old baby cereal...it was almost 18 years ago and was not taboo back then). I just mixed the cereal thinner with formula and he learned very quickly to eat it off the spoon. The first few times get a little messy but they do get the hang of it. It's worth a try.

T.

Babies 'R Us sells some bottles that are specifically made for cereal/baby food. They have a little plunger thing in them that you push up as baby eats to keep air out.

J. - 1st let me say I am sorry you are going thru this, it can be very hard for the parents. I had what they called a happy spitter, they had her on meds but that did not seem to help so we decided to take her off them. She was on soy formula and spit up until probably 1 or a little after until she started to walk all the time. She was a happy spitter because she was not in any distress, only we were.
Any who we startd her with rice in her formula at about 4-6weeks (she is 2 1/2 now, I was using dr. browns bottles and the Y nipple was way to big it just poured out so what I did was sterlize a needle and made the hole bigger in the #1 nipple and that worked wonderful.
I also work at a babies r us so I am familar with all the bottles and nipples plus I have experience with this issue. I am surprised that the Y nipple for playtex (which I did not know they had) did not work - are you putting one teaspoon of rice per ounce of formula? If so it should not be making it so thick the Y nipple does not work, we normally hear the opposite and it is too big. We don't have a bottle that is just for cereal, I don't know why people assume we do. We may have years ago (I have worked for them for 2yrs) but nothing now. If you have playtex just get a size med/fast nipple by playtex and modify it to work for you. Have you also tried a different bottle - dr.browns - they have a system that helps keep air out or maybe if you are not using them playtex ventair. Also only by a couple sterlize them and if your baby takes them come back and get more - don't waste your money in case he does not like the nipple.
Ok this is long - so you can send me a private message if you need anymore help - good luck and also I am sorry some people are just so dang rude on this site. I wish they would just stop using this site!

I had to feed my daughter who has Down syndrome and didn't have good tongue control (kept pushing the food back out with her tongue) with a bottle until she was almost 2 and we of course had to give her cereal with her milk and also baby food mixed in too. We had great success with the 2nd stage of the airvent bottle the hole is a little bit larger than your regular nipple is. Hopefully all works out for you and keep loving Jesus. He will see you through your trials, he has seen me through many also.
God Bless you and your family

Hi, cereal seems to not get mixed up well, and tends to stick in the nipple, try a feeding bottle, special for cereal feedings, mix with formula to thick consistentcy, 1 to 2 oz. then formula only bottle after cereal, also, try with juice it might mix together better. Best of luck.

Oh my goodness, I was completely in your situation when my daughter was 7 weeks old. After *much* trial and error, I finally found the Avent variable flow nipple. These were a godsend! Our daughter's formula had to be very thick for her to keep it down and these worked perfectly right out of the package. No need to widen the hole or cut a slit in it...I assure you, it does get better.

My daughter eventually started to refuse the zantac. I don't know if you tried tasting it, but it's vile stuff. They can only flavor it grape and that makes it even worse. We even tried sneaking it into her bottles and she'd refuse those. My boss's daughter was also put on it. He had the pharmacist recommend putting a dab of Hershey syrup on the front of her tongue just before giving her the zantac. The chocolate flavor is stronger than the bitter flavor of the zantac and they'll swallow it down easier.

My daughter was 18 months old before she finally started to grow out of it. She's 5 now with no issues at all.

I think I remember seeing a nipple for thicker liquids for Dr. Browns bottles, or Avent. I don't remember. Don't worry about feeding your baby cereal in the bottle. I have to say, when my daughter was a NB and my MIL was telling me all kinds of things, I think one to put cereal in the bottle I was telling her no to everything. But I had to start giving my baby formula a couple times a week last month and after being breastfed exclusively for 6 months, she wouldn't drink the formula. So I added some rice cereal. Two weeks of that and now she'll drink the formula no problem. You do what you have to do!! Anyhow, you might have to try going to a higher up nipple, stage 2 maybe. I'm not familar with playtex bottles. Or you might even be adding too much cereal. I added about 2 tablespoons to a 7 oz bottle. I'm not sure what your dr said to add. Send me a personal message if you have any questions. good luck!!

My son had reflux and lots of spitting up too. I nursed for about 6 months, but after that, we used a formula that has rice in it, it was Enfamil AR. Worked great (although there was some spitting up no matter WHAT we did!!!) and we didn't need to use different nipples. Just a thought! Good luck!

We fed our kids cereal from the bottle when they were babies too, at the time there were no special nipples, so we cut the holes in regular nipples a little bit bigger until they could get it flowing-not too big that they choked. And just keep those nipples for the "cereal feeding" times. Hope this helps.
ML

Okay my only suggestion would be to seek an alternative practitioner who could help with the stomach problem. You could be possibly worsening the problem. When I have indigestion I manipulate my stomach back into place. Trust me it helps immensely. I went years "having dinner'' over and over until I took some mint to calm the indigestion. That could be a help too thinking of it.
But Zantac on a baby?

i just took a pair of sissors and made an "X" at the top of the nipples when I was doing that. There may be other things now as that was 14 years ago!

Good Luck!

I understand your frustration! My little girl (who is now three) had reflux so bad it was considered over 97% worse than any case documented. She actually went through ph probes...You will get a lot of advice from people who have not had a child with very severe reflux-a lot of people consider relux spitting up and I understand that is not what you are talking about. Children's Hospital has some of the best docs in the gastro clinic. I would trust them! We added rice to both of my daughters formula starting at a very young age(my second had it also) We wound up sterilizing a tiny pair of cosmetic sissors and cutting small crosses in the nipple. It is a pain and it will take some trial and error -the nipple will be too small or to large so be prepared to keep trying. Also, Children's has a formula for a previcid suspension so you don't have to mess with the tabs (if they suggest). My daugher was on three meds -reglan, zantac and previcid. I realize it is a lot of meds but I will take that over the effects severe reflux was having on her gastro tract and throat. Good luck!

Have you tried nipples for older babies as they have larger holes in them.

J.,

I completely sympatize with you. My son also had severe acid reflux at that age. I never tried the cereal in the formula because I was breastfeeding, so the whole nipple thing I can't really advise on, but I may have some other tips for you. Have you elevated his matress at the head so he is not laying completely flat. I simply put a folded up towel under the mattress to make it tilt just slightly. Or, if need be, my son slept alot in his car seat or swing or bouncy. Anything that kept him ore upright. Also, keep up with your doc because any increase in weight, you have to increase the zantac. You will notice him getting better and then worse again. That was always a signal to get my son weighed and the dosage increased. Don't worry, as he gets older the better it gets. As soon as you can start cereal, you will see a significant increase. Maybe for now, try less of the cereal, so it will be thinner, or try a fast flow nipple that is used for older babies. It is probably just too thick to fit through the tiny holes. Good Luck and like I said, have him sleep in the swing if you have to get some rest. I remember all too well.

K.

Reflux could be an intolerance or allergy to a forumla ingredient--there's a lot of corn in some formulas. Have you tried switching formulas?

J., Hi my name is M. and I love Jesus too. I am a pediatric nurse, have been for the past 4 years. The children in our practice that have been to see the GI at Childrens were started on 1-2 teaspoons of rice cereal in bottle of breastmilk or formula. If you mix the cereal up really well it should go thru any type of nipple. Maybe you are getting clumps of the cereal inside the nipple making it difficult for baby to suck. Make sure you shake the bottle up really good.We don't recommend early starts on cereal normally but with severe reflux that would be our Dr.s recommendation too. You may try keeping baby upright for about 1/2 hour after feeds to help her belly start digesting easier.ood luck

My son also had severe acid reflux and we tried all kinds of things to help him with this. I can't really recommend a certain nipple, but I know that Enfamil makes a formula that has the pink label called Enfamil AR. It has rice starch added to the formula to make it thicker and this did help our son for quite a while. It came out of the nipple okay and didn't require us to add rice cereal. Just as a side note, our ped had put our son on Zantac but also on Raglan. He told us the Zantac only changed the pH acidity of the stomach so that what was refluxed did not burn the esophagus or throat. The Raglan was used to move the food out of the stomach faster so that there was less food to spit up. I know we all hate having to give our kids so much medicine when they are so young but I wanted to let you know about it in case you would like to look into it. I hope this helps some. Good luck.

I feel for you! My son had reflux from birth until 18 months. He also took zantac and we gave him the rice cereal to stop the spit up. I personally used a regular nipple (Avent) and cut a little bigger hole in it. It worked out great. The cereal helped so much. I hope it works well for your baby. God bless.

Hi J....

when I was giving my baby cereal inthe bottles, I was using Dr. Brown bottles. I really love those bottles. My son never choked while using them. The only thing about those bottles is the cleaning. They are time consuming...but all worth the while. You may also want to try Prosobee formula (soy)
Good luck!

so sorry, its really tough when babies have this problem, enlarging the nipples, or try an infant feeding bottle for solid foods it should have 2 sizes in the package i got mine at babies r us. on the regular bottles try to make a x cut on the nipple but don't get carried away or the cut can be to large and the little one will choke on the food, plus try to keep the little one more elevated when eating and when done slowly raise baby up fast movement will also bring back up the food i wish you luck patty

When my son was a baby (about three weeks) i put cereal in his bottle so he could go more than an hour without eating. he turned out just fine. i suggest putting small amounts in at first (like a tbl spoon in an 8oz bottle) then work up to a thicker formula. all i did to get the thick formula through the nipple was get the larger gage needles for the craft or sewing store and make the hole bigger. later on when it was too thick to go through the hole i just made a little snip at the end of the nipple going up. it work, he was happier and more rested and it made the transition better between formula and more solid foods. i wish you luck.

J.,
They make these bottles especially for this if you want to try them, I believe they are called nurser bottles. I used them and they work great but there is a little trick to it and this may work for your current bottles you are using. You need to make sure the cereal is kinda thin. If it's too thick it won't come out of any nipple you use. I fed my daughter with these until she got use to the spoon and i just loved them.

Thanks,
K.

We used the "tri-cut" playtex nipples and it worked just fine... maybe you're putting in too much cereal and it's getting too thick? IDK. Just an idea.

Good luck!

I also used Playtex bottles when I was going through this. You can try two nipples. Just use the step 2 for playtex (I believe it is stage 2 or 6-12 months), or I found (at Dollar General only) a Gerber (yes it till fit on the playtex bottle) it said it was size 0-3 monthes, however, my son used those nipples till he was off the bottle (first starting with cereal then just learning to drink faster). I wouldn't recommend cutting and X in the nipple because they tend to rip bigger as the child sucks hards...at least that was my experience. Also, if you don't notice a difference with the meds and cereal, try switching to soy. Both my kids had the same signs as yours, however, my second one ended up being allergic to milk. Even on soy formula the child may spit up, just hopefully not as much. And as a mom who has been through this frustrating times with two kids, I 100% support you with cereal in the bottle!!

Hi J.,
I had the same problem with my daughter (who is now almost 6). I just ended up cutting a bigger hole in the nipple. Just doing it carefully and test it before giving it to your daughter. You don't want it comming out to fast. Also, you probably already know this but, I would make sure to kind of hold the baby upright when feeding her. I think it would be easier for her to swallow and not choke. My kids had ear infectioons and this was recommended to keep fluid from their ears. I don't think there is anything wrong with giving a little cereal to babies.Our mothers did it to us and we are all fine. I hope it works for you and your daughter.

J.,

Try cutting the nipple a little bit so the cereal will flow through easier otherwise as you have experienced, nothing will come out.

Both my boys had it and while the Dr's may have suggested it, I still wouldn't do it, especially with a baby that young. If the Zantac does work, ask them about Prevacid melt caps. That what my sons use. Also, not sure what formula you are using but you will probably have to find a different one. Formula alone can be a great cause of spitting up if it doesn't fit good for them. Neither of my children got sick with Good Start brand (Orange label), I loved it. Unfortunately hubby got laid off and we had to get WIC and they don't cover it so after trying Enfamil Gentlease (which didn't work) we found Enfamil A.R. in a peachy color can (AR for Acid Reflux) It is formula but it has "rice starch" pulverized (so basically the cereal) and added to the formula so it comes out a regular nipple but has the same filling effect. The one thing I found with it though was I don't use quite as much as they call for on the can, otherwise you get huge lumps that clog the nipple. I put in lukewarm water in the bottom, 1 scoop shor of whatever you are mixing for, and cap it and mix until it's a paste. Then I add the rest of the warm water-as this helps keep it from clumping as well.
Let me know if you run into anymore problems, had it with both boys and done a lot of experimenting.
C.