2 Week Old, Formula, bottles...sucking Too Fast than Crying

For my kids, I used Dr. Brown's, Avent, and Born Free bottles. Dr. Brown's and Born Free have extra parts to clean, but they helped my baby who is now 9 months old, with the gas issue. Avent's are great too, except sometimes they leak.

I used Bright Beginnings formula for both of my sons. I don't know if you are aware of this, but PBM Nutritionals, the maker of Bright Beginnings formula, is also the maker of the Target brand formula (Up and Up). My kids loved Bright Beginnings. It mixes well and didn't smell bad as other formulas.

M

Hi-
Here is some info on how to choose nipples and bottles (http://new-vis.com/fym/papers/p-feed3.htm):
Characteristics of an Effective Nipple
• The nipple fits the size and shape of the child's mouth.
• The nipple flow rate is appropriate for the infant's abilities, the consistency of the liquid being presented, and the infant's feeding position. The holes in the nipple are not artificially enlarged, causing a rapid, uncontrolled flow of liquid. Some nipples feature an adjustable flow rate by turning the orientation of the nipple in the baby's mouth.
• The nipple provides an adequate stiffness or resistance to the individual infant's sucking pattern. A softer nipple may be more appropriate for the infant or child whose suck is weak or who tends to tire easily. The nipple should not collapse with the child's sucking.
• The nipple provides a thin or narrowed area between the gums for the child who pushes open the mouth or bites down on the nipple.
• Thin tubing that does not interfere with the nursing process and provides the infant with an additional regulated amount of liquid assists the liquid flow from the nipple of the breast-feeding mother.
• Thin tubing that attaches to the mother's finger, which is used to stimulate the infant's sucking, facilitates the liquid flow into the infant's mouth.

Characteristics of an Effective Bottle
• The shape of the bottle supports the head positioning needs of the infant.
• The bottle holds the appropriate amount of fluid. A bottle that is too small will need to be refilled during the feeding to provide the correct amount of fluid. This can be disruptive to the flow of the feeding process.
• The bottle is easy and pleasing for the infant to hold.
• The bottle fits the size and shape of the feeder's hand.
• The bottle is easily cleaned, sturdy and unbreakable.
• The bottle can be colored or decorated to attract and maintain the infant's visual attention.

From http://www.itsamomsworld.com/paced-bottle-feeding.html

“Your baby should be encouraged to open his mouth wide, like a yawn, before the bottle is inserted. His lips should be around the wide part of a wide based bottle and not on the narrow teat. The nipple should be far enough back in his mouth that it reaches his "suck spot" the place where his soft palate and hard palate meet. This will cause him to suck properly. He will suck differently if the nipple only reaches the front of his mouth.

Unlike our breasts, most bottles flow instantly with out any sucking needed and this can cause the milk or formula to flow too quickly. Bottle-fed babies are often held cradled in a caregiver's arm practically on their backs, with the bottle held so that the milk pores into the baby's mouth. Babies fed this way have a difficulties breathing while eating and their oxygen levels decline. Bottle-fed babies get used to a flow that happens on its own and may even forget that they need to suck to get milk. TO AVOID THESE PROBLEMS, KEEP THE FLOW SLOW. 1) Use a nipple designed for newborns even if your baby is older.
2) Holding your baby in sitting position and the bottle horizontally will slow the flow down even more and encourage sucking. Your baby will be able to control the flow better and take breaks when he needs to.
3) If he is swallowing constantly, take the bottle out after every 10 sucks or so. It should take him about 15 minutes to finish a bottle. He may not feel satiated if he eats too quickly and cry for more. It takes time for our brains to register that our bellies are full.”

GOOD LUCK!

I agree with the PP's: You can slow him down if you need to by removing the bottle for a minute or two and giving him time to swallow & breathe a bit.
As for the best bottles, I tried them all, and I ended up liking the basic Gerber bottles & nipples the best and so did my son. Sometimes newer is not better!
Good luck with your little guy! :-)

Ok, I'm a peer counselor with Nursing Mothers Counsel, and we just had a WONDERFUL presentation regarding a new technique called Paced Bottle Feeding. Not sure why it got that name, but the idea is that when we lay babies down to eat, gravity forces too much formula/breast milk and air into our babies too quickly. This makes them gulp and SEEM ravenous, but they have no choice but to drink very fast.

If you turn most bottles upside down, the milk will literally drip out... even with newborn nipples. So, the idea is: sit baby upright like he's sitting at the dining room table with you. Hold the bottle parallel to the "dining room table" with milk covering just the hole. This forces him to actually suck instead of receive. We want baby to CREATE the flow, not RECEIVE the flow. Usually gas is caused by baby ingesting too much air, causing air bubbles in their belly and digestive system, which for some babies causes a lot of discomfort.

So, while we may think baby is ravenous and gulping because he's so hungry, it's really because he's just trying to keep up with breathing and swallowing. And when given the choice between eating & breathing, babies will ALWAYS choose to breathe! This is probably also the main cause of babies choking and sputtering: too much milk at once. Try this technique and see if his gas lessens. I'd love to hear if it helps you!

When it comes to choosing a nipple and bottle, keep these in mind:
- Choose a bottle that's comparable to how much your baby eats and not more than twice his normal intake. ie: If baby eats 3oz at a time, don't use an 8oz bottle.
- Bottle shape should be uniform or straight with no bends, etc. ie: Playtex ventaire. This actually increases the force of gravity on the milk in the nipple. I was wrong about this one! I thought less air in the nipple would be better, but didn't think about gravity.
- Choose a nipple that's soft and longer, not rigid or short.
- Choose a nipple that doesn't change in shape dramatically. ie: the Adiri nurser. Being a breastfeeding mom, I thought something that looked more like my nipple would be best, but the drastic change in shape causes baby to slip down on the nipple (which is bad if mom is going from breast to bottle, so maybe this won't matter as much for an exclusive bottle-feeder?)

Hopefully these suggestions will help :) Congrats on 2 beautiful babies!

My first thought reading your message is to be cautious with some formulas because not all are FDA approved.

When I had to switch to formula when my daughter was 11 weeks (so I could start chemo), we asked the pediatrician which brand he recommended. His advice was that he could validate the scientific/medical claims of the name brands because of the clinical data available and FDA filings. When you go to generic brands, organic, etc. few have any clinical data to support their claims. Though they have the same ingredients, they're often not in the exact same proportions.

Our daughter was a guzzler. We'd have to pull the bottle out of her mouth occasionally to let her catch-up to herself. We didn't find a particular bottle to be better than others, but the nipples made a big difference. I don't recall seeing anything about if you're using Stage 1 nipples, but that will help decrease the flow if you're not.

He's really not too young for "gripe water", but there's no clinical evidence that it works to aide digestive issues. It's usually a mix of fennel, ginger, etc. and is largely based upon old wives tales vs. clinical evidence. We'd asked our pediatrician about it as well. He'd never heard of it. He also wasn't as supportive of products such as Mylicon unless they were given on a schedule as they really aren't effective after the fact.

I'd try to regulate the amount he gets by pulling the bottle out occasionally while he's feeding and letting him resume when ready. I'd also make sure to hold him in positions on his tummy afterwards and when cranky to help alleviate abdominal pressure that air/gas may be creating. For our daughter, it was the football hold that seemed to pacify her best.

Good luck.

I found the playtex drop ins with Enfamil A.R. worked really well for us with my son who's belly was upset and he would spit up all the time.

Good luck, it's not fun to have an upset baby :(

It sounds like the flow might be too fast even though it is a slow flow. I had to use premie nipples. I think playtex has them and you can order them at diapers.com.
Also to make the milk come out slower try holding the bottle as parallel to the floor as possible.
good luck

When he starts gulping take the bottle out of his mouth, then start over.

Sounds like it may be the flow of the bottle to me. You can experiment with different types of bottles, it seems some flow faster than others, even with the newborn nipples. He may also be having a little belly pain with going to 100% formula, it's a change from what he is used to and not as easy on the gut. Massaging his belly or warm compresses may help.

Yes, he's sure to be gassy is why he is crying. Also, the formula you are using might not be working for him. Try different ones . I used Similac early beginnings but every baby is different. Are you sure the nipples are slow flow? I used Gerber latex slow flow made for colic types. That worked wonders. Used those for months then went to the same type for medium flow then for fast flow. They were awesome. My son had a lot of the same types of issues so I used those nipples plus the ones they gave me at the hospital. Did you get any? If not, buy the Gerber latex made-for-colic slow flow. Also, be sure to be vigilant after every feeding to get a burp from him. They showed me the updated version at the hospital of how to burp. Hold him sitting up w/your hand on his chest and under his chin then you have him in your lap to rub/slightly tap his back. Since my son took in a lot of air and was super gassy, I had to also elevated his cradle for months and used Mylicon gas drops when necessary. Those saved his tummy every time. For bottles I think Avent makes good ones. Again, it's more about the nipple. Hope these help. :)

You might try the Adiri natural nurser Stage 1 bottles.

Hi J.,

We are using Up & Up Brand formula which is Target's brand. It has the same ingredients as Similac Advance. Our 7 week old is doing well with it and we use the Avent Bottle system. The #1 nipples have a very slow flow and are supposed to help reduce air bubbles. So far we are having good success with this system.

Also, as you know it is super important to make sure he is burping regularly.We try to burp after each ounce to ensure we are not leaving any gas bubbles in his tummy. It seems burping with bottle feeding is more necessary than with breastfed babies.

I hope this helps. :)