I dont personally mind that at 3w3d DS takes 20 min for 4 ounces. When I gave him a slightly faster bottle and nipple, he chugged the same amount in 10 min and ended up spitting/vomitg a lot of it up. I would think the timing is different for all babies, maybe try the next nipple up and see how she does with it.
We use Playtex Drop Ins, but I just switched DS to medium flow nipples yesterday because he was taking like 30+ min for a 3-4 oz bottle. He's a little messier with the medium nipples but isn't spitting up, and is consistently taking 4 oz now, rather than 3...and in a faster amount of time, so I think he's doing okay with it. We didn't switch my older DS until he was 4 months though, so I think it really depends on the baby.
We switched to medium flow nipples when DS was just under 2 months. The signs to look for are falling asleep before the bottle is mostly done, taking over 25 minutes to eat a small amount, and the biggest one is you can hear a "smacking" sound (its when the nipple is being sucked on too hard and it collapses in the mouth). Its a trial and error deal. Just be sure that the first time you keep a close eye on the baby. Take breaks often during the feed and watch for gagging.
I will admit, this caused a lot of anxiety for me (not sure why) but after we made the switch it really made all the difference! Good Luck!
Thank you for asking this... I was just about to google for some information. My DS is still to little for the size 2 nipples, but takes forever to eat and has to work so hard at it. Good to know when other people have switched nipples.
Re: When to switch to level 2 dr brown nipples?
We use Playtex Drop Ins, but I just switched DS to medium flow nipples yesterday because he was taking like 30+ min for a 3-4 oz bottle. He's a little messier with the medium nipples but isn't spitting up, and is consistently taking 4 oz now, rather than 3...and in a faster amount of time, so I think he's doing okay with it. We didn't switch my older DS until he was 4 months though, so I think it really depends on the baby.
We switched to medium flow nipples when DS was just under 2 months. The signs to look for are falling asleep before the bottle is mostly done, taking over 25 minutes to eat a small amount, and the biggest one is you can hear a "smacking" sound (its when the nipple is being sucked on too hard and it collapses in the mouth). Its a trial and error deal. Just be sure that the first time you keep a close eye on the baby. Take breaks often during the feed and watch for gagging.
I will admit, this caused a lot of anxiety for me (not sure why) but after we made the switch it really made all the difference! Good Luck!