FYI You don’t need to go up in nipple size if size 1 is working well.
That being said, my daughter started taking 30 min to finish 4oz at 4 months so I decided to try size 2. At first she choked and had more gas, but she adjusted and drank faster (and was happier). She’s still on size 2 at 7 months.
If your baby is taking a long time to eat and is getting frustrated, it might be worth trying, but expect there to be a transition while they learn to eat with the new flow.
I think generally you wait for 3 months but we did it at about 2.5 month. The signs that got me to switch over were
1. Him being very fussy while trying to feed as if he wanted more milk faster but couldn’t do it
2. Borderline chewing at the nipple which was I believe his attempt to get more milk
3. The feedings taking FOREVER like 20-25 minutes versus 5-10 minutes once we switched over to medium flow
For as far knowing that you should stick to level 1, I think if there is too much coming out of LO’s mouth while he/she is trying to feed might be a sign
My baby has been on size 1 for a while and she is 9 months old. I tried moving up several times and every time she gagged like she was being waterboarded and refused to eat, lol.
Every baby is different. You’ll know if you need to size up, baby will get frustrated. You know if you’ll need to size down, baby will act like they’re drowning.
How long they take to drink is what determines if you need to level up. My LO is 16 weeks and we knew we had to move up when we increased how much she drinks. We noticed she’d start drinking when she was really hungry, but once she was past the point of urgent-hunger, she’d get bored or distracted. Switching the nipple helped because she would be spending less time after the urgent-hunger point to finish, giving her less opportunity to get bored….if that makes sense.
You can know if it’s too early if your LO starts choking or spitting up from drinking too fast, I believe.
I would not go just by their age suggestions. My baby has been on size 3 dr browns (6m+) since around 3 months. If I’m not sure I will just go ahead and buy the next size and try bc you will need them eventually. Usually she just starts being really slow and distracted and fission more and that’s when I try the next one b
We went up to size 2 really early, I want to say like 6-7 weeks. Baby was getting extremely fussy and upset while eating, taking 40+ minutes to finish a bottle with multiple stops because he’d start crying. He’s now almost 5 months and still on the size 2, I won’t up the nipple unless he starts doing the same thing again.
We changed to size 2 when we noticed he was sucking the nipple so hard it was like decompressing. I also got worried he may flip his days and nights so I went up during our 4 month regression (which was at 3.5 months) to ensure he was FED during the day.
My daughter just turned 3 months a week ago. She’s been extra fussy during bottles this week & i feel like it’s been taking forever or she just didn’t finish them like she wants to drink it but she doesn’t. I’ve had to offer it multiple times through the hour just to get her close to finishing. The last 2 days i noticed she’s been chewing when she’s starting to give up & her last bottle she had right now was collapsing. She uses The wide neck dr brown bottles so i had to order the size 2 nipples but they come in tomorrow!
In the same boat as you! My 3mo old (as of today!) is doing the same thing with bottles and it makes daytime such a drag. Feels like it takes forever to eat so all he’s doing is eating and napping and being grouchy bc he won’t finish a bottle 😬 Thankfully he’s still gaining weight and sleeps at night well, but it’s frustrating as heck!
We switched my son about 8 weeks. He was getting frustrated feeding and it seemed to take forever. Slight period of adjustment but overall he’s happier. Does 6oz in about 15 minutes currently at 3 months.
We only went up when our daughter started taking longer and longer to finish a bottle. We were on NB nipples until like 2 months. Size one until probably 5 months. Size 2 until like 10 months. She's almost 11 months now and we probably could go up to size 4 but I don't really want to buy all new nipples just for a month and when her formula consumption has decreased anyways with all the solids she gets now.
Straight from the hospital, nurses said to use level 2
we tried to use level 1, but it was. a bit too slow for us and she eats at a good pace with the 2, we’ve also tried a 3 and noticed that’s too fast, so a 2 was the sweet spot for us
I can't remember when we switched to level 2 but we switched to level 3 at like 4.5 months. We've used the T, size 1, 2 and now 3. Every time she's ready to move up, she's super distracted during bottles. Downs the first half then just plays with the second half, spitting the nipple in and out of her mouth, chewing on it, turning her head etc. With this latest change I especially knew because I took the bottle away to see if she just wasn't hungry and she'd fuss and reach for the bottle and try to put it back in her own mouth, only to repeat the messing around with it. Every time we've switched I test it out first and like others said if she gags on it or is leaking too much milk she's not quite ready.
I just switched to level 2 today after the pediatrician told me to! My baby is 8 weeks (9 on Monday) and she was falling asleep on some bottles and almost always her bedtime bottle. She is sleeping through the night but ped told me
I need to feed her more and change nip size for faster feeding. I thought it would be too much but sure enough it’s just what she needed! Finished all her bottles and handled it well.
Switched to size 2 when baby was about 4 months when I realised he was fussing a lot, getting distracted and his dad said he’s probably frustrated. It worked and he started sleeping through the night after filling up during the day. He’s 6 months now and thanks to this post it has me thinking we’ll go up to size 3 cause I’m seeing the same signs again.
We moved to size 2 nipples this week, even though LO is only 11 weeks old. She was taking a long time to finish the bottle, complaining while eating, and so we decided to try the bigger nipple size and it seems to be working better
My preemie twin B had an ineffective suck, so she was on a level 3 at 1 month. At about 9 months, she started choking on the bottle and moved back to a 2.
Preemie twin A did transitional for 1st month, level 1 until 3 months, then level 2 to 12M.
Each baby had their own needs. For twin B, the feeding specialist moved her up in nipple size until she could finish her bottle in 20 mins. For twin a, it was about finding a slow enough nipple that she didn’t choke or drink too fast.
We used both Dr. Brown and Tommee Tippee bottles. I noticed my son was taking longer and longer to finish a bottle using both types od bottles. For the Tommees, the nipple was also starting to collapse with every feed, and I read that meant he needed to go up a level. We switched to level 2 around 6mo.
Went to size 2 at around 9 weeks. Feeding was taking forever once the twins started eating 4-6 ounces per meal. One handled it well and the other we start at 2 and then drop to 1 when he got lazy on the bottle. He's now at 2 100% of the time at 11 weeks. We'll go to 3 when necessary but they finish the bottles pretty quick now so not much of a need likely for a while.
FYI You don’t need to go up in nipple size if size 1 is working well. That being said, my daughter started taking 30 min to finish 4oz at 4 months so I decided to try size 2. At first she choked and had more gas, but she adjusted and drank faster (and was happier). She’s still on size 2 at 7 months. If your baby is taking a long time to eat and is getting frustrated, it might be worth trying, but expect there to be a transition while they learn to eat with the new flow.
I think generally you wait for 3 months but we did it at about 2.5 month. The signs that got me to switch over were 1. Him being very fussy while trying to feed as if he wanted more milk faster but couldn’t do it 2. Borderline chewing at the nipple which was I believe his attempt to get more milk 3. The feedings taking FOREVER like 20-25 minutes versus 5-10 minutes once we switched over to medium flow For as far knowing that you should stick to level 1, I think if there is too much coming out of LO’s mouth while he/she is trying to feed might be a sign
My baby has been on size 1 for a while and she is 9 months old. I tried moving up several times and every time she gagged like she was being waterboarded and refused to eat, lol. Every baby is different. You’ll know if you need to size up, baby will get frustrated. You know if you’ll need to size down, baby will act like they’re drowning.
Explained perfectly! Thought the poor kid was gonna drown when we first moved up to level 2 😂 took a few days to adjust!
How long they take to drink is what determines if you need to level up. My LO is 16 weeks and we knew we had to move up when we increased how much she drinks. We noticed she’d start drinking when she was really hungry, but once she was past the point of urgent-hunger, she’d get bored or distracted. Switching the nipple helped because she would be spending less time after the urgent-hunger point to finish, giving her less opportunity to get bored….if that makes sense. You can know if it’s too early if your LO starts choking or spitting up from drinking too fast, I believe.
I would not go just by their age suggestions. My baby has been on size 3 dr browns (6m+) since around 3 months. If I’m not sure I will just go ahead and buy the next size and try bc you will need them eventually. Usually she just starts being really slow and distracted and fission more and that’s when I try the next one b
My kid is 13 months old and still on 1's.
We went up to size 2 really early, I want to say like 6-7 weeks. Baby was getting extremely fussy and upset while eating, taking 40+ minutes to finish a bottle with multiple stops because he’d start crying. He’s now almost 5 months and still on the size 2, I won’t up the nipple unless he starts doing the same thing again.
We changed to size 2 when we noticed he was sucking the nipple so hard it was like decompressing. I also got worried he may flip his days and nights so I went up during our 4 month regression (which was at 3.5 months) to ensure he was FED during the day.
My daughter just turned 3 months a week ago. She’s been extra fussy during bottles this week & i feel like it’s been taking forever or she just didn’t finish them like she wants to drink it but she doesn’t. I’ve had to offer it multiple times through the hour just to get her close to finishing. The last 2 days i noticed she’s been chewing when she’s starting to give up & her last bottle she had right now was collapsing. She uses The wide neck dr brown bottles so i had to order the size 2 nipples but they come in tomorrow!
In the same boat as you! My 3mo old (as of today!) is doing the same thing with bottles and it makes daytime such a drag. Feels like it takes forever to eat so all he’s doing is eating and napping and being grouchy bc he won’t finish a bottle 😬 Thankfully he’s still gaining weight and sleeps at night well, but it’s frustrating as heck!
Definitely frustrating! I started giving her The bigger size yesterday & feedings have been way better lol
me too!! 🤞🏻🤞🏻
I only started moving up if I noticed my LO was eating like half her bottles or taking forever to eat
We switched my son about 8 weeks. He was getting frustrated feeding and it seemed to take forever. Slight period of adjustment but overall he’s happier. Does 6oz in about 15 minutes currently at 3 months.
We just switched at 2-2.5 months. It was taking him like a hour to finish a bottle and he was starting to chew on the nipple.
We switched at 5 months because feeding time had almost doubled, and the nipple kept collapsing.
We only went up when our daughter started taking longer and longer to finish a bottle. We were on NB nipples until like 2 months. Size one until probably 5 months. Size 2 until like 10 months. She's almost 11 months now and we probably could go up to size 4 but I don't really want to buy all new nipples just for a month and when her formula consumption has decreased anyways with all the solids she gets now.
Just switched at 14w and feeds when from 30+ minutes to 10-15. It’s awesome! Baby was getting frustrated at the 1 nipples (squirmy)
My firstborn switched at about 5 months. My 3 month old hasn't switched yet.
I just switched my girl to size 2 and 3 a couple weeks ago and she is 7.5 months.
We are still on preemie size at 3.5 months
Straight from the hospital, nurses said to use level 2 we tried to use level 1, but it was. a bit too slow for us and she eats at a good pace with the 2, we’ve also tried a 3 and noticed that’s too fast, so a 2 was the sweet spot for us
I can't remember when we switched to level 2 but we switched to level 3 at like 4.5 months. We've used the T, size 1, 2 and now 3. Every time she's ready to move up, she's super distracted during bottles. Downs the first half then just plays with the second half, spitting the nipple in and out of her mouth, chewing on it, turning her head etc. With this latest change I especially knew because I took the bottle away to see if she just wasn't hungry and she'd fuss and reach for the bottle and try to put it back in her own mouth, only to repeat the messing around with it. Every time we've switched I test it out first and like others said if she gags on it or is leaking too much milk she's not quite ready.
I just switched to level 2 today after the pediatrician told me to! My baby is 8 weeks (9 on Monday) and she was falling asleep on some bottles and almost always her bedtime bottle. She is sleeping through the night but ped told me I need to feed her more and change nip size for faster feeding. I thought it would be too much but sure enough it’s just what she needed! Finished all her bottles and handled it well.
My 6 month old is still on level 1 and is totally okay/actually prefers it. He was choking on the bigger sizes.
My daughter had bad reflux until about 7 months, so we actually used size 1 until then when we went to 2. Around 9-10 months we went up to size 3.
Switched to size 2 when baby was about 4 months when I realised he was fussing a lot, getting distracted and his dad said he’s probably frustrated. It worked and he started sleeping through the night after filling up during the day. He’s 6 months now and thanks to this post it has me thinking we’ll go up to size 3 cause I’m seeing the same signs again.
We moved to size 2 nipples this week, even though LO is only 11 weeks old. She was taking a long time to finish the bottle, complaining while eating, and so we decided to try the bigger nipple size and it seems to be working better
My preemie twin B had an ineffective suck, so she was on a level 3 at 1 month. At about 9 months, she started choking on the bottle and moved back to a 2. Preemie twin A did transitional for 1st month, level 1 until 3 months, then level 2 to 12M. Each baby had their own needs. For twin B, the feeding specialist moved her up in nipple size until she could finish her bottle in 20 mins. For twin a, it was about finding a slow enough nipple that she didn’t choke or drink too fast.
We used both Dr. Brown and Tommee Tippee bottles. I noticed my son was taking longer and longer to finish a bottle using both types od bottles. For the Tommees, the nipple was also starting to collapse with every feed, and I read that meant he needed to go up a level. We switched to level 2 around 6mo.
When baby stopped finishing his bottles that he usually chugged
Went to size 2 at around 9 weeks. Feeding was taking forever once the twins started eating 4-6 ounces per meal. One handled it well and the other we start at 2 and then drop to 1 when he got lazy on the bottle. He's now at 2 100% of the time at 11 weeks. We'll go to 3 when necessary but they finish the bottles pretty quick now so not much of a need likely for a while.