When to Switch from Slow-flow to Fast Flow Nipples and What About Cereal?

Hi K.,
My son is almost 7 mo old and still using the size 2 nipple. It has a slow to medium flow. I don't plan to move him to another size at all. My ped. told me that as long as he's not frusterated when drinking, then he doesn't need to switch.

As far as cereal goes, we started right at 4 mo, but it took until around 5 mo. for him to eat more than one or two baby spoonfuls. I was told by my pediatrician to always feed cereal from a spoon because you're really just teaching them to eat and swollow in a different way. The cereal is really not nutrition for them right now. Since you use a specialized formula, you might try mixing the cereal with water in the beginning because most of it will be wasted.

Good luck!

Honestly, I started all 3 of kids on a small amount of rice cereal at 3-5 weeks old. I would make it very watery and spoon feed. They slept thru the night. It's mostly trial and error, but you'll get it.

There are no dumb questions, so relax.
First off - your pediatrician *laughed* at your question? Seems like she's on a bit of an ego trip, and egos don't keep babies healthy.
Bit of experience here - My baby sister's doctor recommended adding rice cereal to her formula at 6 months of age to limit her spitting up - the next day she had a fecal ball so huge that it ripped her anus open. Where was Dr. Ego then? Not with a glob of petroleum jelly on his finger with a screaming infant in his lap. Listen to WIC - they are in the business of feeding babies, and doctors may, at best, take a semester course on child nutrition. Formula (as well as breastmilk, of course) is completely adequate for nutrition during the first year of life. Please don't put your baby at risk for excema and allergies. As a lifelong excema, asthma, food allergy, and allergic rhinitis sufferer, I'll tell you that he will thank you for your efforts, even if they don't work out (I was breastfed, but started solids at ONE month of age, at, you guessed it, the doctor's recommendation).
As for the nipple, I used a 3-month rated nipple (I used avent for my breastmilk while working) starting when my now 4 year old was 6 weeks old, because she was so frustrated and hungry trying to get enough flow from the newborn nipple to fill her belly fast enough). Best thing I can say is try to go by your baby's preference and his gestational age, to give his tiny digestive system a little wiggle room to catch up. Try a faster flow, he might like it, or he'll let you know. But that 'just add some rice already' recommendation from your oh-so-jolly doctor gives me the shivers.
Good luck, K., and please do come back with more questions, that's why we moms and read and respond - we want to help you!

Just my opinion, but it sounds like you need a new pediatrician. The sooner you feed babies solids (rice cereal, etc) the higher the chance of allergies- and if your son already has eczema then I would definitely hold off. Babies don't "need" food in their first year- breastfeeding or formula should be their primary source of nutrition- food is just for experimentation. Also, do not put the cereal in a bottle- it can be a choking hazard. Mix it up thinly and spoon feed him. He may reject it a few times until he becomes accustomed to this new consistency. Lots of luck to you, and trust your mommy instinct!

Not sure about the nipples but with the cereal-I say go with what your gut is telling you to do. I didn't give cereal to my son till he was 4.5 months old. My daughter I gave her cereal at 3 months old (new mom=long story)
If you want to try just get a baby spoon (rubber tipped ones) and just try a little and see how he does.

Here's my thought on this... my son is a very agressive eater... if we tried to switch him he would GAG like crazy, so up until 1 year - he was still on size 1... it's totally up to how your baby handles it. Give the next size and see how it work. As far as cereal - as soon as he is able to sort of sit and hold his head by himself, start introducing the spoon with super runny cereal.

Good luck!

i realize this is an old question but I decide to respond because people are still reading this today. Moms always have the same questions but the advice changes from time to time. I just want ted to say that while those who say to wait until 6 months and use a spoon vrs the bottle for rice cereal are not wrong and yes this is the current advice for all the reasons they listed (allergies, obesity, teaching baby about swallowing, etc). However, that being said it is not wrong to put a little rice in the bottle. It is an old trick, my mom used it with me at only 3 months to get me to "be full" and sleep longer. I am not obese nor do i have any allergies or anything else. If you are unsure about this consider that the formula companies have started doing this for us. Enfamil AR is a formula that has added rice...that's what the AR stands for...so you could try this formula if you have a very hungry baby and don't want to add rice yourself.

I never changed from the slow-flow nipples for my first child. She was born at 32 weeks and really struggled with sucking. She had the same slow flow nipples until she was weaned at 12 months.

With regards to the cereal, you have to first take into account your son's adjusted age. He is really only 3 months old and so are his internal organs. That being said, he may actually be ready for cereal when he is four months old (adjusted age). Also, if he has food allergies, you need to make sure the cereal does not have soy in it. My middle child had a milk and soy allergies. She had eczema and was also on Nutramigen. When we put her on cereal, the eczema got really bad. It wasn't until we went in for a follow-up allegy appointment that we found out about the soy in the cereal. If I remember right, Beech Nut does not have soy in it but check the label just in case.

It is really hard to know what to do, just trust your instinct. Good luck.

Hi K.,
I have a 7 month old (adopted also!)who went from wanting a bottle every 4 hours to every 2 hours, at 3 months old. He was ALWAYS hungry. A friend who is a nutritionist, and also worked for WIC, told me that the reason they say to wait until 6 months old to start solids is so that the baby is getting the majority of his nutrition from the breastmilk or formula. Also alot of babies' digestive systems are not mature enough yet for solids. She said that a lot of women would begin solids and find them easier to feed than bottles, then the baby would not be getting the nutrition he needs during his first year.

My ped. recommended cereal to satisfy my baby's hunger. So, at 4 months I began spoon feeding watery cereal to him. Within a week I learned what satisfied him best was a thicker consistancy, and twice a day. I MADE SURE he was still drinking at least 30 ounces of formula each day for the nutrition. The cereal actually helped him out a bit with his constipation too.
Now at 7 months he eats a whole bowl of cereal with fruit (about a cup and a half!) every morning, and stage 2 and 3 foods for lunch and dinner, PLUS drinking 24 ounces of formula per day! I find that he needs thicker foods, and wants to chew. (He complains if I give him applesauce unless I thicken it with a little cereal).

For the nipple: He is on size 3. I switched when he began fussing because the formula wasn't coming fast enough for him. (He would push the bottle away, then immediately grab for it again.)

Of course every baby is an individual, so I am sure you will figure out what is best for yours! Just go slowly...

I would like to hear your adoption story someday! I would like to get to know other adoptive parents in the area. You may email me if you want at: ____@____.com

Good luck!
R.

Ok...my son was 6 weeks early and we started him on cereals at 4mos. WIC is a government agency...They are going to tell you things, but honestly are not really authorized to do so. My son was 3.8lb at birth. They had me all confused with wanting me to try him on the high calorie formula, when my son's pediatrician was STRONGLY against it. I would listen to the person who HAS a license to practice MEDICINE! HELLO! I didnt see WIC with an M.D. behind it lol.
Point being, give the kid some cereal. If it were going to harm your child the dr wouldnt have advised it. WIC on the other hand just needs to stop playing m.d. and print the checks.

Hey may be a little young for the faster flow nipple, but you won't know until you try it. Buy a pack of them and see. I tried it with my son and I knew he wasn't ready because he was choking a little bit and a lot of it he would drool out. As for the cereal, I don't know about him being a premie, but once again you can just try it. I kind of agree with your pediatrician, what's the harm? He may not be ready for the spoon, but you can just give a try and see what happens. Maybe because he's developmentally younger he'll push out with his tongue a little longer. Good luck!

K.,

Your confusion is warranted. I'm so sorry that your child's Dr was so rude. Until a baby is able to sit on their own, and shows interest in solid foods no baby should be fed solids of any kind. When a baby requires cereal to keep their food down, there's something wrong with what they're eating, or physically wrong with the baby, not a need for solids. A baby's digestive system is not mature enough to properly digest anything other than breast milk (or formula) until they are at least 6 months old. Waiting until 6 months or more is recommended, and in the case of your little one and the eczema you mentioned, he would do far better to wait until at least 6 months if not closer to 8, and at that point you will probably be able to skip cereal altogether. Foregoing the juice is another good option as well.

For the nipple question, if baby is fussing when taking the bottle, it might be time to move to maybe a medium flow nipple. This flow is typically recommended for babies over 3 months. The Fast flow nipple is generally suggested for when babies reach 6 months. What nipple system are you using? Perhaps their website might provide some insight.

I hope this helped, even just a little.

Blessings to you and your little one,
Rolinda
Wife, Mother, Friend

my ped says wic are idiots, they tried to tell me my oldest had low uron but they were going on an adult scale, as for the cereal my daughter has had many feeding problems and is now at six months gaining weight first we switched her to nutramigan and by what the ped and a ped gi specialist said to add on tsp of rice cereal per 1 oz of formula to thicken and add carlories. wic does not have dr they have nutrintist just pay them no mind to get the formula and listen to your dr..if your baby isnt having a problem with the nipple you are y=using then don't change it, as for eczema my middle daughter has that,asthma and is autistic she did't have real food until 6 months (i waited because she did't seem ready to me) i always parent on my gut instict

The lactation consultants I have talked to had a really good point about these fast flow nipples. They pointed out that when you're breastfeeding, you're nipples don't change and become fast flow, so why should you change a bottle's nipples. It's just a marketing ploy. So called "slow flow" bottle nipples are still faster than nursing, so there's no need to make access any easier than it already is.

As for the cereal, we started both our kids at around 5 months, from a spoon. I'm pretty sure that most sources tell you not to give cereal through a bottle, but I don't remember exactly why.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

hi K.
I can't help you with the nipple question, but here's what my doctor told me about starting cereal. If you child is actively watching you eat and moving his mouth while you are eating then he is ready to start trying cereal. If you child is not at all interested in what you're eating and doesn't watch and focus on the food going into your mouth then he is probably not ready. My first son started cereal at 5.5 months and my second at 4.5 months, in both cases because they were trying to get the food my husband and were eating. Like some of the other moms' said, trust your instincts. I never dealt with WIC, but I have always been leary of people who approach child rearing with absolutes and especially when they don't know your child the way you do (that goes for you peds response too). Also, if your son seems interested in your food, but pushes it out with his tounge when you start feeding him cereal, he still may not be quite ready. Also, I have never been a fan of cereal in a baby bottle, but I know people who have done it with no harm caused. Good luck, and if you follow your son's lead I'm sure you'll do fine.

Hi K.,

I just switched my 3 month old to level 2. I knew she was ready because she looked like she was sucking so hard and not getting anything. It was also taking her a while to eat (like an hour). I did check the label on the level 2 nipples and it said 3-6 months (I use Dr. Brown bottles, check the label on the bottle nipples you use). Also, my pediatrician does not want my daughter to start cereal until at least 6 months old and that is if she is ready.

S. B

I breastfed both of mine with very occasional pumping and bottle use. Honestly I think they were way past the age that they "should" have been changed to a larger nipple when it occured to me to do it. I just didn't use them often enough to really consider it. I noticed they were starting to get frustrated with the bottle. I'd say if you had a hard time getting her set on a bottle and she's happy, then there isn't a big rush.

The cereal recommendation is usually 4-6 months so neither WIC or your ped are really off. Though from everything I've read and been told from my ped is to NEVER put cereal in the bottle - offer very thin cereal on an infant spoon and start with just a few bites. If she's ready, she'll be interested and take to it. If not, then let it go a week or more and try again. The main reasons for adding cereal to their diets is because of the iron it provides (mostly an issue for breastfed babies as their natural stores are used us around that time and breastmilk isn't fortified with it...but most formulas are). The other reason is to help them learn to use a spoon and eat food - so practice for later on...it's not in any way supposed to take over major nutritional needs. It adds a few vitamins and minerals, but the majority of nutrition still should come from milk. I first offered cereal to both of mine at 6 months and plan to do the same with #3.

This isn't answering your question and I'm sure you've figured it out by now since you posted years ago haha.... I searched when to switch from slow flow nipples and came across your post. The more of it I read, the more it could have been me writing it! My baby was 6 weeks early, on Nutramigen ready to feed (after much experimentation), using Playtex Drop-ins and has eczema. Coincidence!!! I'd love to hear how your little one is doing now!!!