https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Apr 2026 15:52:34 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/medium-flow-nipple-for-bf-baby#post-2476110 Fri, 26 Feb 2016 12:00:31 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2476110@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@nanilani: Great update! The other thought I had for you, is you dont have to do all of one flow. I think for a while for my older son we alternated between 1 and 2 nipples. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/medium-flow-nipple-for-bf-baby#post-2475812 Fri, 26 Feb 2016 09:32:01 +0000 nanilani 2475812@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The first day of stage 2 nipples seemed to work out well! His feeds at daycare dropped from 1 hour to 20 minutes each, and he still nursed as well as he ever does last night and this morning. Hopefully that is still true on Day 2! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/medium-flow-nipple-for-bf-baby#post-2472751 Wed, 24 Feb 2016 12:57:44 +0000 nanilani 2472751@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for all of the input! I'm waiting on a call back from the pediatrician, but it sounds like I don't necessarily need to be scared of trying a higher flow nipple if we decide to go that route. It took so much effort to get into a BF groove that I'm hesitant to make any changes that might eff it up. I'm glad to hear that other parents have had success with the faster nipple, it makes me feel like I have more options to work with. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/medium-flow-nipple-for-bf-baby#post-2472643 Wed, 24 Feb 2016 12:10:30 +0000 SweetCaroline 2472643@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I breastfed without supplementing and we used medium flow nipples. Baby wasnt drinking/gaining enough from her daycare bottles. If she did, it would take her an hour go finish a bottle. I was hesitant because "they" say you shouldn't with a breastfed baby, but it worked great! No impact on breastfeeding. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/medium-flow-nipple-for-bf-baby#post-2472317 Wed, 24 Feb 2016 09:42:09 +0000 MrsBrewer 2472317@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I EBF and my 9 month old uses a size 3 nipple. She gets way to frustrated at the slower ones and loses interest. She nurses just fine with me, she only has bottles 3 days a week with babysitter </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/medium-flow-nipple-for-bf-baby#post-2472275 Wed, 24 Feb 2016 09:27:28 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2472275@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It sounds like the faster flow may be a good choice for you guys. What you want to watch for is that they dont develop a bottle preference (aka they want the bottle because its less work than the breast). You also need to make sure they aren't over eating because of the faster flow but thats obviously not an issue for you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/medium-flow-nipple-for-bf-baby#post-2472239 Wed, 24 Feb 2016 09:02:14 +0000 yerpie110 2472239@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Dd1 (who was ebf for her first year) went on a bottle strike around 10 weeks. I tried a host of different things and in the end, it was due to the nipple. I have an overactive letdown and by then she was used to getting milk FAST and got frustrated from the slow flow nipples. As soon as I changed it to medium, no problem. She was in medium/fast from then on and never had any problems with nipple confusion. So I think it's worth a try? If it doesn't work, you can always go back to the slow flow. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/medium-flow-nipple-for-bf-baby#post-2472193 Wed, 24 Feb 2016 08:33:33 +0000 Adira 2472193@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We never went above the slowest flow nipple for my kids, after a while, the nipples do kind of wear out. I realized at around 7 months with Xander that his nipples were so worn out that milk was just gushing out of them like a fast flow nipple and he could down bottles in less than 5 minutes. He still nursed just fine for me, so being able to drink bottles quickly didn't create a preference for him.</p> <p>You could certainly try a faster flow nipple. If it's really taking him an hour to drink a bottle, he might be spending more calories trying to drink it than he should be (vs. his intake), so I think it might be worth-while to try the next size nipple and see if that makes any difference. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/medium-flow-nipple-for-bf-baby#post-2472183 Wed, 24 Feb 2016 08:25:24 +0000 nanilani 2472183@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: He's four months and EBF. His doctor wants the volume to increase because he's a tiny guy -- below 1st percentile for weight, just made it onto the chart for length (2nd percentile). His growth had also flattened out a bit a few weeks back, although the rate seems to be back on track now, more or less. </p> <p>I've read the same thing about the volume intake holding steady, but about half of his daycare bottles each day come from my freezer stash (we try to rotate through so it doesn't expire) so the calorie content is probably not as high as the portion that comes from more recently expressed milk. Regardless, we've been slowly bumping up the bottle volumes over time in hopes of avoiding a failure to thrive diagnosis. His ped also mentioned the option of fortifying the caloric content of his bottles by mixing formula into BM, but I'm hoping not to have to go that route again (we did this when he was first released from the NICU).</p> <p>I tried to ask our daycare provider for more info this morning, but didn't get too much out of her. When I told her about the extra volume she had a strong reaction and (finally) told me that all of his bottles take an hour to eat. I have no idea why she never brought this up before when I ask how his feeds went that day! I've known that he gets distracted by activity in the afternoon (she can't leave the other kids, we're at an in-home daycare), but she'd never mentioned an issue with his first two bottles until now. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/medium-flow-nipple-for-bf-baby#post-2472164 Wed, 24 Feb 2016 08:06:14 +0000 regberadaisy 2472164@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@nanilani: is he EBF or are you supplementing too?<br /> With both girls I never went above a level 1 nipple for bottles.<br /> I am curious as to why your ped wants his volume to increase? How old is he? At one point with DD2 we did have to slightly increase her bottle volume. But generally speaking, BF babies volume intake doesn't need to increase. The idea is that your BM calorie/fat content changes per his needs. But I'm sure there are exceptions to every rule! ;)</p> <p>I would find out more from daycare as to why he's taking an hour to finish a bottle? Is he self feeding? If so, can they feed him for a portion of it to speed it up? Is he getting distracted? If so, can they sit with him in a separate space away from all the action? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/medium-flow-nipple-for-bf-baby#post-2472157 Wed, 24 Feb 2016 07:57:50 +0000 nanilani 2472157@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Has anyone had success using a medium flow nipple when feeding a breastfed baby a bottle of expressed milk? Or did it introduce any bottle preference over breast?</p> <p>A while back, a LC told us to always use a slow flow nipple when feeding LO bottles of expressed milk. This morning I found out that he takes an hour to finish each bottle at daycare -- and now his ped wants his volume to increase too! I'm willing to try out a faster flow nipple to see if it helps speed things along, but I don't want to create any issues when he's feeding at the breast. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618251 Wed, 07 May 2014 08:27:30 +0000 Meltini 1618251@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We also had to use a shield. Little man weaned himself off of it right around 2 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618227 Wed, 07 May 2014 08:18:05 +0000 LovelyPlum 1618227@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We use a shield, too: <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2901997&#038;cp=2255982.2256161.16917356&#038;parentPage=family" rel="nofollow">http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2901997&#038;cp=2255982.2256161.16917356&#038;parentPage=family</a></p> <p>It is the only way that she will latch! At first, we had to do some suck training with my finget and an eye dropper full of formula or colostrum, but after a few days she got the hang of the shield. It works beautifully now! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618186 Wed, 07 May 2014 08:04:35 +0000 bhbee 1618186@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I nursed for 18 months and used the shield starting the end of day 1 . . . I didn't find it troublesome so I never tried to wean off. and though they say it can, I certainly did not get supply problems from it. I always had way more milk than needed. </p> <p>it was a huge lifesaver in the beginning! if it helps I wouldn't feel bad about it. ask a lactation consultant for help at first and they can also help you wean off it when you want to try. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618135 Wed, 07 May 2014 07:23:01 +0000 knittylady 1618135@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We used nipple shields the first 2 months or less. Weaning from them wasn't stessful for us at all and it is absolutely why led<br /> To our successful nursing relationship! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618078 Wed, 07 May 2014 06:37:37 +0000 avivoca 1618078@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I used to pull on the nipple to make it stand up. I sometimes still do that when I am getting ready to pump. </p> <p>@rrachael: Just wanted to say that I love your name! My sister spells hers the same way. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618054 Wed, 07 May 2014 05:53:29 +0000 NerdBee 1618054@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My mw helped me with technique. In addition to playing with them to get them erect, when LO opened his mouth to latch I would also help him by pushing my boob into his mouth and put pressure down on his bottom lip with my boob to make sure that his mouth got around the nipple. It also helped to hold my boob like a hamburger (like squish it flatter) to help LO get his mouth around it. I don't know if my description makes sense but I hope helps. I dont know if I could have done it without support from my mw. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618051 Wed, 07 May 2014 05:44:25 +0000 artsyfartsy 1618051@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The nurses popped a nipple shield on me. He still wouldn't latch well. So we dropped a little sugar water on the shield to get him started. I didn't want to use any of these things but after 2 days straight of crying and frustration I gave in and figured it out and we actually got it working. It was a relief! We're still using the shield but we ditched the sugar water really quick after he learned that there was milk to be had! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618047 Wed, 07 May 2014 05:31:49 +0000 Anagram 1618047@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>There is also this latch assist thing by Lansinoh. I used it and one thing that's good is that it also kind of draws the milk out a little to entice the baby to suck.</p> <p>I wish I would have found it sooner-- next time I'm taking it to the hospital. </p> [attach=2976/14/n57991.250x250.image.jpg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618034 Wed, 07 May 2014 04:24:58 +0000 illumina 1618034@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had a little trouble with soft, flat nipples at times and I didn't use a shell or anything like that, I just played with them a bit until they were more erect so she could get a good latch. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618032 Wed, 07 May 2014 04:06:34 +0000 Pumuckl 1618032@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have soft, flat nipples as well and in the first few weeks wore these Medela nipple formers. You just position them over your nipple and tug everthing into your nursing bra. Worked REALLY well for us and spared us from having to use a nipple shield.</p> <p><a href="http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/592/softshells" rel="nofollow">http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/592/softshells</a></p> <p>The ones with the smaller inner circle. </p> [attach=4925/14/n5766b.222x230.Medela.jpg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618019 Wed, 07 May 2014 02:27:51 +0000 bookwormmama 1618019@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't have flat nipples, but I agree with @Mrs. Bee breast shells (not shields) are awesome. They were made for flat/inverted nipples but they were just generally awesome for the early breast feeding days. They helped my LO latch when I was engorged and helped my nipples air out and feel more comfortable between feedings. If I tried to go without them in the early weeks my nipples would get really sore. I wish hospitals/lactation consultants handed them out rather than soothies...they were so much better for me! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618017 Wed, 07 May 2014 02:14:31 +0000 nana87 1618017@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nipple shields work for my flat nipples. I have the breast shells too but don't like them. Dd is 5 weeks and my nipples are much more drawn out than before but still not all the way </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1618015 Wed, 07 May 2014 01:56:25 +0000 lamariniere 1618015@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had them and used breast shells like @Mrs. Bee: said. It took a few weeks to "draw out my nipples", but they did help. Pumping can also help. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1617998 Wed, 07 May 2014 00:49:46 +0000 rrachael 1617998@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Try to see a lactation nurse/consultant ... They can fit you with a nipple shield which could help a lot :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1617980 Wed, 07 May 2014 00:01:57 +0000 Mrs. Bee 1617980@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Use breast shells! Philips avent makes a great one. Much better than getting addicted to shields. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1617970 Tue, 06 May 2014 23:52:40 +0000 Honeygold89 1617970@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not sure but you might have to use a shield but maybe you could contact a lactation counselor for some help </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/soft-flat-nipples-anyone#post-1617966 Tue, 06 May 2014 23:48:17 +0000 Glitter 1617966@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>G is 2 days old and poor guy is trying hard to latch on, but my soft flat nipples are giving him a hard time! Have any of you experienced this? I would be grateful for any help! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/momo-free-to-grow-glass-bottles#post-529299 Sat, 26 Jan 2013 18:01:32 +0000 immabeetoo 529299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@shopaholic: ahh that is scary! I have two 4 oz bottles; he probably gets one a weekend or so and usually eats 3.5 oz or so. And then nurses forever the next time I'm there lol. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/momo-free-to-grow-glass-bottles#post-529261 Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:57:38 +0000 shopaholic 529261@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@scg00387: Yeah, my concern is just about space issue. I don't want a million bottles if I'm BF. How many bottles do you have if you're EBF? Also, one review I read said that they found that little pieces of glass seemed to have chipped off and she was worried if baby had swallowed any! </p>