My son has been using the ready to feed Similac bottles since he was born, he is now almost a month old. I tried the Playtex drop-in and the vent aire bottles in the beginning and all different sizes of nipples and nothing worked. He would just suck and suck, never seeming to get anything. Finally the doctor had me try the Similac ready to feed bottles and for some reason he loves them and has been drinking just fine since then. But, everytime I try and switch him back to the Playtex bottles he has trouble getting anything from them. I have tried making th holes bigger and buying different nipples with different sized holes. Nothing seems to work, except the Similac bottles. I discovered that the nipples that are on the Similac bottles have a hole and then they also have a tiny "x" size hole. I am thinking that that must make all the difference in him having an easier time sucking and getting formula from those nipples. Are there any nipples out there that have two holes or am I going to have to make muy own? Or does anyone have any suggestions as to what bottles and nipples I should try? I need so try and get him on some new bottles as he is now starting to drink more than 2 ounces and that is all the Similac bottles hold. He seems to perfer the small size of the Similac nipples too. Any suggestions would be great.
We started out with ready feed bottles as well for my 1 month old. Once we got home from the hospital we switched to Nuk orthodontic nipples and Dr. Brown's glass bottles.
We went from the ready feed bottles to the Avent bottles and they worked well. They have all kinds of differnt nipple flows, so you can customize it to what works for you. The ready feeds nipple allows the formula to come out really fast, which was too quick for my daughter so we started her on the Avent #1 nipples, but if your child like the faster flow, then you can go up to a 2 or 3.
Go into a store with a large selection of bottles (like Babies R Us) and look through all the nipples sold separately. Look for one as close to the one you are using now as possible. You need to match the material (if the nipple he uses is brown, then don't buy clear ones), match shape & size (there are tons of different shapes), and last, make sure that the nipple you pick has an X cut on top. Once you find the right nipple, buy the corresponding bottle. I recommend looking at Evenflo... I am guessing theirs are the closest.
I noticed some suggestions to use the nipples you have on other bottles... just want to caution you that if the nipples say that they are for single use, then you should not reuse them over a long period of time.
Hi A.,
My now 5 1/2 month old had similar problems. We used the Similac bottles too, but used the powdered formula (mixed it up and poured it in the bottles. Once he got beyond 2 ounces, we used two of the bottles to feed him. We went through alot of different bottles. I bought about 6 individual bottles of different kinds to find one that he could eat from. Then of course the one he did was the cheapest one! Try the bottles at Walmart, they are the .98 per bottle or $2.98 for a 3 pack. They have 3 different size of nipples, the beginning that it comes with and then two other sizes. The bottles have frogs on them (blue and green) or have BABY spelled on them. The nipple is similar in size of the Similac nipples. Good Luck and I hope this helps!
S.
If I remember right those nipples are a standard size screw on so you can put them on other similar bottles I believe gerber made the same size.
Nuk has Orthodontic Wide Neck Bottles & Nipples (BPA FREE). These bottles are made with 2 holes. They are sold at Targert and made by Gerber. I like them because they are easy to fill if using formula and they go up to 10oz. My son likes them too. He also had a small and had no problem with these.
hi,
you could try the glass gerber bottles 4 oz and 8oz.. sold at target or baby r us.. then use the nipples that you are using.. or you could try advent bottles and nipples a try.. my daughter really liked the enfamil ready to feed bottles.. so I bought the gerber glass bottles switched the nipples.. then eventually used gerber nipples.. then when she was older advent bottles that were plastic.
Lenc
Margo is right, the Similac RTF nipples are interchangeable with the Gerber (glass OR plastic) bottles. We realized that with our newborn just recently. Gerber makes a "Nuk" nipple that has that cross-hatch (x) on it too.
You probably DON'T want him to drink too fast at this point. He's very young still and the "slow" nipples (Like on Playtex and Avent) are designed to help them not take in too much too fast. If you do that, they can learn to overeat early on. Are you giving him plenty of time to drink? Are you holding him upright rather than laying on his back? You may even consult someone like a lactation nurse who can give you advice with his latch... see if there is anyone at his pediatrician's office who can help-- it might seem weird since it's not about breastfeeding, but they might have some advice.
