Trouble with Avent Bottles?

This sounds EXACTLY like my situation with my first born! He was breastfed exclusively -- but we would do a bottle of expressed milk once a day so that he knew how to use a bottle. I used Avent b/c everyone I knew used Avent. He was ALWAYS a mess! I would layer 2 bibs, and a burp cloth everytime he had a bottle. This went on for SIX months... until I finally asked myself, "could he use a different bottle?" My friend used Playtex (the old school ones that our moms used on us - latex nipple and all). So I just picked one up at the grocery store to try. He gobbled down all 8oz without a speck on him! I was amazed -- and laughed at myself for wating so long! It took six months! Anyway -- just went straight to playtex with my daughter, and have never had a problem! They worked for me - i liked them! Good luck!

Hey J.

If the #2 nipples weren't leaking and she was able to take the bottle, then go ahead and use it. If she is dribbling from the other ones than they are too fast for her, doesn't matter what the manufacturer says... I used playtex and they have different flow rates but neither of my babies needed anything other than the slow flow nipple.
About the sippy cup, great for starting. Just keep giving it to her to have and she will some day actually figure it out. Sometimes they need the spill proof device taken out so that they realize there is really something in there and then they start sucking to get more. Then you can put the valve back in. Good Luck!

J.,

Go back to the #2 nipple. The #3 and #4 Avent nipples are just too fast. I also tried to switch when my daughter was slightly older and had the same problem. The return to #2 corrected the problem. And she stayed with the #2 until she gave up the bottle. Another friend also encountered the same exact problem with the same exact results.

PS. To aleviate leakage between the nipple and collar make sure you hear that POP when you put the two together or the seal is not tight and will leak.

RELAX! Quit reading all the labels. Although my daughter used Avent, my son could not (of course because I already owned all the Avent stuff). I breastfed both children-her 13 montha and him still (am/pm/night only). He used those cheap Gerber baby bottles that are like the free ones the hospital has. Not sure why but he needed the smaller nipple to be successful. I know it's awful buying different brands but these cheap Evenflo/Gerber/Target brand ones can be $1 for 1 so not an expensive trial. Skip the sippy cup for now. My daughter did use the avent sippy tops on her cups/bottles but again, my son did better with Playtex and Nubbly. Hang in there.

T.
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I had the same problems with the Avent bottles... and I did not have the money to pursue a new line of bottles either. After talking with some other moms, I found others who had the same problems - only one had taken a stand and contacted Avent and was able to recover some of her financial loss. I ended up continuing the Avent bottles, wrapping a towel around everyone of them for feeding – just in case!

You do need to move your baby up in nipple size - it is vital to their digestive health. Please confirm this with your pediatrician. I am not a doctor, but understand that what it would be like to constantly be sucking out of a too-small straw all day... how that might impact my mouth, GI track, and desire/frustration with eating.

Just my two cents, hope that helps!

Hi J.! I use avent bottles still with my one year old...he's not interested in giving them up yet:) I have had problems in the past with these bottles. It may not be the nipple issue... you really have to make sure the entire lid is on correctly or it will leak out horribly. I can get so frustrated sometimes because if you don't get the lid on perfectly then forget it. So, just make sure the lid is twisted on correctly and you may fine. Best of Luck:) leah

I actually tried at least four different brands, and had leakage issues with all but Playtex VentAire. These are the slanted bottle ones, and only have two stages of nipples. i definitely recommend them, nad have been able to easily transition to sippy cups from them. Good luck!

J.,
Let me save you some trouble. I bought & tried every bottle known to man. Guess what worked the best for my son? The plain old Gerber baby bottles and nipples. Not glamorous--just functional! Good luck!

We got frustrated with the Avent bottles too! Even when we CRANKED down on them they still leaked from under the screw top!
However, it does sound like you might have two different things going on here: nipple flow too fast, and leaking. Maybe you first try to back down to the #3. If it continues to leak switch bottle systems. Our kids also had mild spit-up issues, so we played it safe and went to the Dr. Brown's bottles (wide neck - Babies R Us) to cut down on air intake. We loved them.
Hope all goes well!

We had the same issue with a different bottles once our twins hit 6-7 months. Seemed like so many of the "larger" nipples leaked. We switched to the Born Free bottle (BFA Free as a bonus!) with a sippy-cup nipple. They work great. It gets them ready for a real sippy, but gives them the shape with a nipple they have to still suck on. They sell them as a trainer bottle or you can get the nipple for one of their traditional bottles.

Good luck!

My daughter in-law used the Advent Bottles and would send them for my granddaughter. I had a lot of leakage with each different nipple. When taking a new infant I had used the Playtex nurser which I used when my son was an infant. They are a little different now and I believe more convienent (drop in liners) I LOVE them. The baby loves them (nipple is more natural) My DIL mentioned that if she has another baby that she would not get the Advent again. I thought that I was the only one having the problem, but she was too.

Try the breastflow bottles (babies R us). I breastfed 3 children and pumped when I was at work for a year a peice. Between the three, I think that we tried every bottle out there. I like the breastflow the best. They have a double nipple system that requires the child to use the same tounch mechanism as breastfeeding. The nipple is more flexible and more naturally shaped then Avent. So, she may get a better "seal."

I have a five and a half month old boy who is also mainly breastfed. When I went back to worktwo months ago I tried the two different kind of bottles but my son didn't like either of them at all. Then I tried Breastflow bottles. They look a little different but they work great. He loves them is able to switch back between breast and bottle without any problems. At this point I still use the first stage nipples. He could probably be using the medium stage but I figure that since he is handling them fine that I didn't need to change it. I bought them at Babies R Us and would recommend them to anyone (especially if you're nursing as well.) Good Luck

My son uses Avent and I love them. I would recommend trying the #3 nipples for several feedings. She may take time adjusting to the flow of the nipple and she needs to get comfortable with the bottle since she's not normally fed that way. If it still leaks you may want to go back to the #2 nipple and try that for a few. Also, make sure that it's not the bottle itself that is leaking around the seal. If the Avent bottles aren't put together completely dry - I'm mean totally dry, not a spot of water on them - they will leak at times around the seal of the nipple.
And to not confuse her with the breast, bottle and sippy cup - Avent makes a bottle trainer kit that fits onto their bottles. So while you are getting her comfortable with the nipples and bottles you can put these handles on the bottle to get her use to holding it herself and the kit also comes with a sippy spout that replaces the nipple in the bottle. I think they're about $7 a kit. Good luck :)

I too had problems with Avent bottles leaking and switched to Dr. Browns and had no problems.

Hi J.. I also started having that problem and realized that some of the plastic rings that you put the nipple into were leaking. I threw out the rings that leaked. Also make sure that the nipple is in tight. Sometimes my husband screws it on for me b/c he can make it really tight.

I'd keep trying the sippy cup. The more you give it to her, the faster she'll figure it out. I'd suggest the Nuby ones with the soft tip, but it sounds like she'd be wearing it then, too, since she probably is chewing. I breastfed both of my girls and started them on sippys at 5 months. She'll pick it up.

I have had this problem with all three of my kids and the only ones I have found that they had no problems with is the plain old basic nipple and for some reason my baby won't drink out of the silicone ones only the old brown kind. I think it's because there softer, the silicone is very hard and stiff and they seemed to have problems getting a good suction on it. Honestly after trying about 10 different bottles I'm convinced it's all to make money because this was the only one that has worked so far and if you think about it is most like the nipple. I hope this helps I know it was a big stress on me never being able to go anywhere because she wouldn't take a bottle.
C.

Hi J.,

The flow from the bottles may be too fast for her. I would try a slower nipple. Breastfed babies are not used to the fast flow that comes from bottles. I kept my son on number 1 nipples the whole time because it was more similar to the breast and I didn't want him to "like" the bottle too much. My son also refused to eat from Avent bottles so we used the Playtex Nursers with the drop ins. I am not 100% sure, but you should also check to see if the Avent bottles have BPA. I think they used to and they may have changed them, but you really don't want to be giving your baby anything that contains BPA. The Playtex Nursers are safe.

J.

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J., I went through the same thing with my son. He wasn't super interested in the bottle to begin with, and mostly chewed on the nipples so he ended up soaked as well. I started to transition him to the sippy cup around 6 1/2 months because I got tired of trying new bottles. It was becoming a huge expense. I've found that he does really well with the Nuby sippy cup. They make a short, fat version of the cup that he's been really successful with. Our plan is to go from breast to sippy cup, and thus far this has worked for us.

I also had trouble with the Avent bottles when I first started using them with my daughter. I found that once I put the cap on the nipple and then screwed that whole piece on to the bottle that I didn't have any more leaks. At first i was just trying to put the nipple on the bottle seperately not knowing that the bottle wouldn't seal properly without the lid attached. Hope this helps.

J.,

I have had trouble with the lids sealing properly on the Avent bottles if it not placed just so, it leaks all over baby. NOT FUN! That may be the problem and not the nipple. I gave them to another mom who swore by Avent and tried the breastflow brand from Babies R Us. She took better to them. I have a brand new set, never used, I washed them and put them away, and she decided bottles were not for her at all and went to the cup. Hope that helps. If you want them and are in the delco area, they are yours. Let me know.
M.

M.

J.,

I use Avent bottles also, and had some trouble in the beginning too. My son just had to get used to flow. Your daughter will learn how to control it, just goive her a little time. My son, uses the #4 now with no problem. It took about 2 weeks, but it does get better.

Good Luck!

I never had an issue with Avent bottles with my son, but with my daughter I had the same issue as you. She couldn't open her mouth wide enough to get a good seal around the nipples. I ended up switching her to gerber bottles, which have a smaller nipple. I used the clear silicon nipples, the rubber ones she also had issues. They are cheap to boot.
Hope this helps.

Hi J. -

I had this problem with the Avent bottles. It turns out that the problem was the nipple was not fully sealed on the collar of the bottle. Try tightening the the nipple and see if that helps. If your daughter bites the nipple, that may cause a leak in the seal also. When I transitioned to the sippy cup, I used the Nuby for an easier transition. Good luck!

J.

My son had issues early on and was supplemented with bottles. Then he refused to breastfeed so after 6 weeks of pumping and trying to get him to latch and refuse, we switched him to full-time bottle feeding. I tried the First Years bottles at first but he had a problem getting a good seal when sucking them and we switched to the Avent bottles which I had used with the my daughter and to supplement my first son.

We don't have a problem with the size 1 and 2 nipples but for some reason the size 3 nipples allow too much liquid to come out to quickly. My son is now 10 months old and still uses the size 1 and 2 nipples. We have a few size 3 nipples but only use them for juice because of how quickly the fluid comes out. I think it is less a problem with the seal they get more a problem with how quickly the fluid comes out. At the same time, my son doesn't have a problem with sippy cups or straws. I think part of it is expectation on their part, what they are used to and the position they are in when they are drinking from each. He is more upright with a sippy cup or a straw.

At any rate, my advice is to switch back to the size 1 or 2 nipples if she does okay with those. They may match up more closely with the pace she gets her breast milk when she is breastfeeding.

I have to say, I didn't have this problem with my first two kids. Just this one. So maybe they have changed something with their nipples in the past 3 years as well.

I've also experienced the leaking problem that others have spoken of. Sometimes it can be frustrating. It seems to be caused by a couple of factors. If the silicon doesn't line up with the bottle when you screw it on or you don't screw it on tight enough it can happen. But it tends to happen more with nipples you have had for several months as opposed to new nipples. So it could be an issue with degrading of the silicon after months of use and washing or with soap/water residue (in the case of hard water) left on the nipples. Anyhow, I don't think that is the real issue you asked about. And since you seemed to have success with the size 1 and 2 nipples, I suggest switching back down to them.

Anyhow, good luck. I hope this helps.

We had the same trouble with them leaking, and realized that we weren't putting the rings on the bottles correctly. For some reason you have to put the ring on, turn it counter-clockwise and then screw it on normally. Good luck.