[...] In which we band together and discuss nipple flow. (Verdict, level 1 it is!) [...]

I don’t know a thing about bottles, but I think maybe babies become more efficient nursers as they get older. Honestly, each of my kids nursed so differently right from the start, I’m not sure there is a “normal.” And my mom swears my brother weaned himself when she started supplementing him before bed because once he figured out he could get the milk faster, he didn’t want to go back to that slowpoke boob.

My guess is that part of it is increased efficiency, and part of it is supplementing with purees and table foods.

Not that any of that helps to answer your nipple question :)

For bottles – faster nipple = bigger hole (or sometimes 3 holes)

We had to go to faster flow nipples because we had to add cereal to the formula to thicken it and help with reflux (with all 4 of my kids). And logic would tell you that the 3 hole fast flow nipples won’t work for that because the cereal can’t flow through easily. But yeah…I am not always logical, so it took me a few very frustrated feedings to figure that one out.

I am a breastfeeding mama but I work full time so my son takes bottles of pumped milk during the day. We started with the slow flow and were that way for a few months… in fact, I believed he had either started or was just about to start on solids when we switched to a medium flow nipple (I just use the medela ones that came with the bottles). We also switched when he started getting frustrated that he wasn’t getting the milk fast enough. Medela only makes slow and medium flow nipples so we never progressed beyond that and it has been fine.

I stuck with slow flow when I went back to work with my first. I didn’t want him to get his milk from a bottle so fast that he wouldn’t want to nurse when I got home…I never changed it and he never seemed to mind…about to set out on the same road with number two and keeping my fingers crossed!

I breastfeed and work full-time, too. I use medium flow nipples with the Playtex drop ins. I’ve read that you want to keep the nipples slow to mimic nursing. It works for us.

I too had a lot of confusion about the nipples, and also was unable to nurse and consciously made an effort to keep bottle feeding as close to breastfeeding as humanly possible. From bottle feeding day 1 the bottle was only ever offered with it lying parallel across my breast with the baby in a nursing position, just so we could keep the contact. When she started getting older and turning into a chow hound, I tried switching to a faster nipple to accommodate her and she hated it. Gave me a face like ‘Woah, woah, woah…You had me thinking I was still nursing, now I’m on to you! This is nothing like boob!” and totally rejected it. I immediately switched back. Now she’s 18 months old, and I’ve been slowly diluting the bottles with water from her first birthday up until last month. She now has a bottle of water before her naps and bedtime (never had a paci or a lovie, so this is her only major comfort item) and still only takes her bottle of water while being held to my chest in a nursing position. I still love it, and she still adamantly refuses anything more than a slow flow. Me and my slow nipples ended up with a 26 pound chow hound. So no, it’s not necessary. It might take a little longer, but why rush a good cuddle? Man, with an 18 month old running around I’ll take any chance for a cuddle I can get, even if it’s just long enough to suck down a bottle of water twice a day. As long as baby isn’t getting frustrated trying to get their necessary nutrition, why mess with what works?

I love the adiri bottles… you can get them on amazon. They were.recommended by the teacher of my childbirth class as a good airing with breast feeding, and I havent had any trouble with them. They have different rates of flow for different ages. They are also a very nice simple design which pleases my designer sense, not to mention fewer parts to clean. Whatever you do, stay away from the “breastflo” bottles… they leak horribly.

I agree with the comments above about the baby letting you know when he/she needs a faster nipple flow. We kept our daughter on the newborn nipple until around 4 months when I noticed she was playing more than she was eating. After a few days of frustration on my part (and I’m sure WAY more on her part), I decided to try a faster flow, and VOILA! She sucked the bottle down without one bit of playing with it and could go on with her day. Like at the breast, I think they just get more efficient at sucking somewhere around 3 months (which is why all the level 1 nipples say 0-3 months I’m guessing) and would either get more milk from the boob in a faster time, or they need a faster nipple flow on the bottle in order to be satisfied. Wait until Vivi shows you she needs it to change.