My son is 4 months old and has been on Playtex VentAire wide bottles. Around 3 months I tried switching him to their Stage 2 nipple and it was way too fast (milk spilling out of mouth, coughing). I waited several weeks and just tried switching him again - especially since he seems to be too slow and taking in too much air with the Stage 1 nipples. He's been on the Stage 2 nipples for a week now and they're still too fast. He ends up soaked even after I use a bib and a burp cloth!
So, even though I've loved the VentAire bottles, I think I'm going to have to switch him since the nipple isn't working. Any suggestions for a fast flow nipple/bottle which worked well for you? Did anyone else have the same problem with the Playtex VentAire nipples? Thanks for your help!
I appreciate everyone's feedback. I've moved him back to Stage 1 VentAire nipples and he's doing much better. I'll probably try Stage 2 again in several weeks if he seems to slow down even more. Also, I'll probably give Dr. Browns Stage 2 a try per the recommendation of several people. Thanks!
I had 3 boys with reflux and the BEST bottle for us was the Dr. Brown and we use the stage 2 nipple with that and it works great. but he is 13 months and still uses the stage 2 nipple because the 3 is too fast. but we tried avent, and vent aire and love the brown best.
good luck, A. J
I tried the Vent Air and found too much air coming in and I didn't like the nipples.
I second the Dr. Brown's. Love 'em! I have a preemie and we are on the level 2 and they are just right. She gets a little wet sometimes and even with the level 2, every once in a while I will run into a nipple that is too small. I just open the hole a little w a saftey pin. Good luck.
I have a 4 month old son as well. I tried the Playtex bottles when he was a newborn and had the same result. I also tried the Avent and didn't like it then finally settled on the Dr. Brown bottles and have been using them ever since. He is using the level 2 nipple now for the past few weeks and it seems to be working well. Good luck!
It all depends on if your baby is a "latex nipple-baby" or a "silicone nipple-baby". Both of mine ended up being "latex-babies". I used Platex's "Natural Latch" latex nipple for both of mine & my daughter ended up preferring the "orthodontic" nipple & my son prefers the natural latch. Both of mine remained of the "slow-flow" until they were about 5-6 months then moved up to "medium-flow" & by the time they were about 9-12 months then it was the "fast-flow". Maybe you should buy (1) package of a couple of kinds & see which one they like best. But babies do like & need to suck so the gradual increase in the flows of nipples usually works best.
TAKE CARE & BE BLESSED!
M.
Hi D.!
I used the Playtex Natural Flow bottles and I also found that the fast nipple was hard for my son to take. So I kept him on slow. There really is nothing wrong with keeping him on slow. It takes forever for them to finish their bottle but at least they don't gulp it down and still feel hungry. Once my son turned 9 mos, I switched him to the fast flow once again and he drank it down like a pro! I suppose he just wasn't ready when I first tried it at 6 mos.
Now he drinks mainly from the sippy cup and only gets a bottle at night before I brush his teeth and put him to bed. It's part of his "downtime" routine.
Anyway, I suppose if you are intent on making the switch to fast flow, you could expiriment with other bottles and see if their fast flows are any different. I know that many people use Dr Brown's or Avent. I breastfed and the Playtex Naturals were the nipples my son liked best. Also, when giving him the fast flow,try feeding him when he is propped up a little and not laying all the way down so that he can swallow better. (Imagine trying to take a sip of a drink while you're lying down).
4 mos is still very young and I'd be hesitant to make the switch to fast flow so soon. Perhaps you should wait until you start giving him solids and his swallowing techniques improve? Every Mom knows their own child best so if you feel he is ready for the switch and you're not happy with Playtex, try expirementing. As mentioned above,Avent and Dr Brown's are the most popular.
Good luck!
You can continue to use the stage one nipples! Just use a toothpick to widen the hole a bit til he gets used to the flow rate of the stage 2. We had to do that with our son because the difference between the flow was too much for him.
We had the same problem with ventair but loved them too so my hubby just made the stage one nipple a little bigger. I have also just tried Evenflo's Elan wide bottles and have liked them so far. My son only gets one bottle a night and is breastfed the rest of the time so both he and I like that the nipple is softer and more flexiable than the ventair ones but they have a venting system on the bottom of the bottom as well. The stage one nipple comes out a little faster than the ventairs stage one too. It took him a few times to not dribble some of it but now he's got the hang of the difference in flow compared to me and or the ventair. Don't try the soothie bottles though! Waste of money, at least here it was!
We really liked the Dr. Brown bottles the best. I had the same problem with the VentAire bottles and the Dr. Brown ones worked great. I think they have Stage 1, 2 and 3 and the stage 3 would probably work fine for a 4 month old. Hope this helps!
He may just have a really strong suck and using the stage one nipples longer may do the trick until he can "catch up" with swallowing.
I am glad to hear that I am not the only one with this problem. I use the Vent Aire, regular Gerber and Evenflo Comfi. I also tried to switch to Stage 2 and ALL of them come out too fast (same issues--milk leaking out of mouth, coughing, gagging). So, I wish I could tell you that I found a solution. I am just continuing to use Stage 1, which, by the way is VERY difficult to find in the stores.
Why are you so quick to change the nipple? My daughter is 7 months old and she's still on the Stage 1 nipples. We use the same bottles as you and the Stage 2 is just to fast for her.
