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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>6 Month Old Using Preemie Nipples
Unregistered 07:05 AM 11-14-2018
I have a 6 month old in care who was born at 36 weeks. Just yesterday I found out that the bottles mom sent with him when starting care have preemie nipples.
Yesterday I was talking to mom about how he was only wanting 2 oz per feeding the past couple of weeks and how it was taking him anywhere from 20-30 minutes to finish a bottle. That is when she said she may have to start sending size 1 nipples. I looked at her confused because I thought size 1 was the smallest size. That is when she told me he was using preemie nipples here. Why would they think a six month old needs to use preemie nipples?
Mom also mentioned that she is back to solely breastfeeding him at home because he is doing so well.(No bottle feeding at home) At the same time though, she mentioned that he wants to eat every 45 minutes once they arrive home and is waking every two hours to eat overnight. To me that sounds like he is going backwards. I am wondering if he is starting to struggle here because he is being solely breastfeed at home again, or because of using the preemie nipples.
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hwichlaz 07:10 AM 11-14-2018
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I have a 6 month old in care who was born at 36 weeks. Just yesterday I found out that the bottles mom sent with him when starting care have preemie nipples.
Yesterday I was talking to mom about how he was only wanting 2 oz per feeding the past couple of weeks and how it was taking him anywhere from 20-30 minutes to finish a bottle. That is when she said she may have to start sending size 1 nipples. I looked at her confused because I thought size 1 was the smallest size. That is when she told me he was using preemie nipples here. Why would they think a six month old needs to use preemie nipples?
Mom also mentioned that she is back to solely breastfeeding him at home because he is doing so well.(No bottle feeding at home) At the same time though, she mentioned that he wants to eat every 45 minutes once they arrive home and is waking every two hours to eat overnight. To me that sounds like he is going backwards. I am wondering if he is starting to struggle here because he is being solely breastfeed at home again, or because of using the preemie nipples.

Why wouldn't they think they work if they'd been working so far? I wouldn't think to fix something that isn't broken. He obviously needs new nips NOW, but he didn't before KWIM?
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Unregistered 07:10 AM 11-14-2018
I would say 6 months is too old to use preemie nipple. I didn't even know they made those.
I have a 2.5 year old who still uses a "slow flow" nipple bottle. Mom doesn't bring it here anymore since I told her he uses a cup here, but she has his bottle in the car waiting for him when he goes home.
Crazy.
I would mention to her that you would like to try a faster flow nipple. Unfortunately, you can't control what goes on at home.
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Hunni Bee 10:54 AM 11-14-2018
If he was born at 36 weeks, technically that makes him only 5 months old developmentally....but he still doesn't need preemie nipples. He's having to work too hard to get enough milk.
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daycarediva 11:02 AM 11-14-2018
Originally Posted by Hunni Bee:
If he was born at 36 weeks, technically that makes him only 5 months old developmentally....but he still doesn't need preemie nipples. He's having to work too hard to get enough milk.
I have a 35 weeker (my own DS) and they do not do adjusted ages for anything beyond 34 weeks. This was even despite his NICU stay.

Is he behind in any other areas? Obviously not tongue tied? If it were me I would just tell her he needs a bigger nipple size and see if it helps. I would also INSIST someone other than mom give him bottles at home on a regular basis to help.
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happymom 11:04 AM 11-14-2018
Many breastfeeding sources recommend starting with the slowest flowing nipple and only to change if the baby is getting frustrated with the bottle/speed. Some babies never change nipples...they are use to the slow flow of the breast.

I never changed nipples for either of my kids...they were only the entry level one until they stopped using bottles. I don't think it's as uncommon as you think...
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happymom 11:10 AM 11-14-2018
Please don't take it as though I have discounted the problem. Baby is not getting enough milk from the slow flow nipples and is reverse cycling at home

https://kellymom.com/bf/normal/reverse-cycling/

I'd say it's up to mom to decide if she feels they are "going backwards" -- some moms do not mind feeding throughout the night.

I can tell this is a problem for you (provider) because you are spending way too much time feeding this baby in a group care setting. But it should be a simple fix to just have mom send different nipples (no judgement needed).
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mommyneedsadayoff 11:38 AM 11-14-2018
I had a little guy that regressed like that around 6 to 7 months I think it was. Basically, he started waking in the middle of the night more frequently and mom pretty much just let him nurse throughout the night so she could still sleep. In the end, he was getting very little sleep through the evening and most of his nutrition through the evening. He would be at my house at 5 a.m. and I would put him right back to bed and he would sleep till 10, wake up and sometimes take a bottle, sometimes not, and then go back and nap from 1 to 4. I tried to see if Mom wanted help transitioning back to his usual, but she was okay with the way things were going, so I went with it. He basically had his days and nights reversed. I wasn't worried though, because he was getting a lot of food at home and getting most of his sleep in my house, and he was a pretty happy little guy. We did move him to one of those straw sippy cups much earlier than I usually do, and that really helped with his milk intake, because he was not a fan of the bottle. He also only used slow flow nipples and took forever to eat and rarely finished a 4 oz bottle. He's four now and Mom says he's still doesn't sleep at night. Not my monkeys, not my circus.
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jenboo 11:38 AM 11-14-2018
Originally Posted by happymom:
Many breastfeeding sources recommend starting with the slowest flowing nipple and only to change if the baby is getting frustrated with the bottle/speed. Some babies never change nipples...they are use to the slow flow of the breast.

I never changed nipples for either of my kids...they were only the entry level one until they stopped using bottles. I don't think it's as uncommon as you think...
My ds stayed on size 1 until a year old when we got rid of bottles. Faster flow nipples can cause the baby to chug the bottle and refuse the breast.

If it's causing issues and you think he is getting too tried and not finishing his bottles, I would ask mom if she could bring size 1. At 6 months he *should* be able to hold his own bottle of licensing doesn't state you have to hold a baby while feeding them.
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Tags:6 month old, infants - breakfast, nipple, preemie, preemie nipples
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