Dr. Brown's Bottles ? and nipple size ?

nikinikinine

My kids were terrible spitters for the first 6 months of their lives. When we went to formula I put them on Dr. Brown's bottles. The spitting was still an issue, but it got better. Now that they can sit up, they rarely spit up. I'm thinking about taking the air vent pieces out of the bottles now. Has anyone done this? How did your LO's do - were they spitting again?

Those pieces are a PITA to clean, so if they don't need them, I'd rather not use them.

Also, the babies are still on a Level 1 nipple - is it necessary to move them up to a Level 2 if they are happy with the flow. I was thinking about getting them used to faster flows so that the conversion to a sippy cup isn't as hard. But I think I'm overthinking this.

 

naflmj

I tried that and they leaked...not sure if I just didn't put the nipple on right or what but it was a mess.

ladychicago

I am pretty sure the bottles will leak without all the pieces in there...but I can't remember if I ever tried it. I just used the dishwasher basket for all the parts and it made cleaning them a piece of cake. Not sure if you have one of those or not.

and there is no reason to change nipple flow if they are happy with what they are using now (my kid would periodically get pissed off during bottle feedings, which signaled our need to switch nipples). The only reason might be is if you want to see if they will tolerate a faster flow to make bottle feedings go faster. But if they are prone to spit up, faster might not be better!

OrangeSmoke

They will leak without the blue tube-y thing in the middle.

I would think you might be able to move them to level 2 or even 3.  It'll make your feedings to a lot faster and you are right about the transition to sippies.

 

ladychicago

Oh, as for the sippy cup issue...I was shocked at how slow some sippy cups are. I gave them a try and had a hard time getting liquid out of there. In fact, I think that is why my DD hates most sippy cups, and only really drinks from one kind (it leaks like crazy but the flow is a lot faster than anything else we tried). Point is, if they are used to slow flow nipples and it turns out that is better for their tummy issues, I think you could find sippies that are slow, as well.

AlissaCell701

OrangeSmoke:

They will leak without the blue tube-y thing in the middle.

I would think you might be able to move them to level 2 or even 3.  It'll make your feedings to a lot faster and you are right about the transition to sippies.

 

This! Jake needed the faster flow by that age.. He would cry and get pissed off if it got to slow.

madybug

Dr browns are such a PITA. they will leak if you dont use all the parts. I was just thinking today about switching DD to different bottles since her issues are fading away. She uses  playtex drop ins and a ventaire occasionally and she seems to have no problems.

She has used a level 2 since 5 months because she was getting bored drinking her bottle. But i agree that it might be a good way to transition them to a sippy cup. G is shocked by how fast the sippy cup flows... most of it ends up down the front of her.

Ali212

ladychicago:

I am pretty sure the bottles will leak without all the pieces in there...but I can't remember if I ever tried it. I just used the dishwasher basket for all the parts and it made cleaning them a piece of cake. Not sure if you have one of those or not.

and there is no reason to change nipple flow if they are happy with what they are using now (my kid would periodically get pissed off during bottle feedings, which signaled our need to switch nipples). The only reason might be is if you want to see if they will tolerate a faster flow to make bottle feedings go faster. But if they are prone to spit up, faster might not be better!

Yes, the bottles will be a complete mess if you don't use with all the pieces.  With my older daughter, I used both Dr. Browns and Born Free and both came with additional pieces.  The Born Free ones actually work fine without the additional pieces (it's different than the Dr. Brown's one but, I believe, is intended to serve the same purpose).  

 

On the nipple flow, it's fine to keep it that way if your kids are fine with it although it may help them begin adjusting to sippies a bit since those do flow faster usually.  My daughter has a huge spitting up problem so I've moved her up on nipple levels slower than I moved my older daughter but she gets really impatient with the speed (she's a big drinker) so I have moved her up (she's on level 2 now, I'll probably go to level 3 around 9.5 months or so).    

Mouseygail

I can't answer your Dr. Brown questions, but DS still uses a level one nipple...he never had any issues with sippies

dusk42

I got a cheap munchkin basket at Target and tossed all the pieces in there (I might have started putting the center straws upside down on the dishwasher tines toward the end).  Super easy.  I use an Oxo flat-stretchy thing now for sippy cup parts (valves, etc.).  

 

I used preemie nipples for DD until she was done with bottles - we started using them because I have low supply and we wanted the slowest flow possible.  She never seemed to care, so I didn't bother switching.  I think the nipple flow rate matters more for non-Dr. Brown's bottles - she would easily collapse the Medela nipples, so we rarely used them.  The straw in the Dr. Brown's bottle kept the nipple from collapsing, which was what drove her batty.  The sippy cups are slow too, and those were more frustrating to her than the bottle.  If she spilled, it was because she was having fun pooling the liquid in her mouth and then opening it an letting it fall out.  

kbeach82

We've never used Dr. Brown's, but V has reflux issues and we recently started using the Evenflo Purely Comfi bottles. I LOVE THEM. He is able to use the fast flow nipples with these and eats 7-8 oz in 10-15 minutes with ZERO spitting issues. I wish I'd found them sooner!