Dr Brown's Level 3 Teats?

[dizzyjoo]

Hi all

Does anyone have any experience of the Dr Brown's Level 3 teats - I think they are for 6m+

Toby is 11-weeks old and still suffering with his wind but I am at a loss with what to do! It isn't full on colic, but he does have some bad episodes every now and again (at least one per day!) and he struggles to settle for bedtime and daytime naps because he has wind.

He was previously on TT Closer to Nature bottles and at around 5-weeks old changed to their teat size 2 (3m+) as he was taking an hour to drink 3ozs and falling asleep and getting frustrated etc.

His wind was getting worse and worse and I could tell he was just finding it hard to drink from his TT bottles.

We tried Variflow, Avent bottles and their size 2, 3 and Variflow teats and no use.

He tried a Dr Brown's bottles for 2-days and the difference was amazing wind wise, BUT, the teat is way too slow for him and he was taking an hour again to drink 3ozs and only managing to drink 22ozs ish per day when normally he has 26-28ozs per day! He last weighed in two weeks ago at 11.1lbs (we are going this morning to weigh him).

His HV advised to discontinue use of the Dr Brown's bottles as it was more important for him to get his milk intake right - which hubby and I agreed. Plus he started to get hungry after 2hrs instead of 3hrs and also woke up in the night whereas previously he had been sleeping through.

So my whole point of this long waffle is to ask if anyone has any experience of Dr Brown's level 3 teats. I wondered if its worth trying Toby on them as they'll be a faster flow but he'll still benefit from the goodness the bottle gives him in terms of wind!

To be honest, I think I have made matters worse by changing bottles so often and so have a huge cloud of guilt over me that its somehow my fault my LO is suffering.

We tried going back to his normal TT bottles and even he is struggling on those now, the flow seems to fast?!?!?!

My last resort is to try maybe Mothercare's own brand of bottle to see if their teats are any different. I am at a loss!!!

xxx

 

[Tegans Mama]

I used dr browns bottles and they were fantastic. We used Level 3 teats from ten weeks onwards. Pick a bottle and stick to it as he will be getting confused.

 

[dizzyjoo]

Thanks! I'll try the level 3 for a day and if that doesn't help, just stick to his TT bottles and hope he is ok on the Detinox and gripe water. HV says he could grow out of it soon but no assurances on that part!!!
xxx

 

[lisaptas]

Hi Again,

This is Lisa, from Dr. Dr. Brown's. I am sorry your baby is still suffering! How frustrating it can be - for sure!

Switching bottles that many times probably has confused your little guy. So I have some questions and recommendations and hopefully this will help!

I spoke with our customer service manager and we really can't imagine that an 11-week old baby would need the Level 3 nipple. The flow of the Level 3 is quite fast and is recommended for babies 6 months and up.

Are you adding anything to the formula to thicken it? If so, maybe the faster flow nipple would be needed. The thicker the fluid would dictate which level would be needed.

Also, if your guy is a really aggressive eater than maybe a Level 3 would be needed.

Just to point out the difference, the Level 1 and 2 nipples have a steady "drip" when you turn them upside down but the Level 3 nipple has a steady "stream" when turned upside down.

Also, the Dr. Brown's nipples are designed for Dr. Brown's bottles only so if you are using the Dr. Brown's nipples with a different bottle, or a Dr. Brown's bottle with a different nipple, it will not likely work well.

We would recommend using Dr. Brown's Level 2 nipple with a Dr. Brown's bottle and sticking with it for a while and see how he does.

Good luck!
Lisa

 

[lollylou1]

i used level 3 from 6 months as annabelle has always been happy with the correct stage teat. i did find however that milk dribbles out a lot with the stage 3 but im not sure if thats because she is the worlds slowest drinker

Lou
xxx

 

[dizzyjoo]

Lisa, nope we are not using anything to thicken his milk, he is on Aptamil 1. I have purchased some level 3 teats to try - I guess anything is worth a go as the Dr Brown bottles did help, but he can't continue to use the size 2 teats as he is getting 5-8ozs of milk less per day which is very significant. He was also starting to want feeding more often because he was taking less at each feed. I did a bit of googling and found a few Mum's whose LOs are 10-12 weeks ish and on the size 3 teats.

I know I have probably made it worse now by changing his bottles so often, but when you have a screaming baby suffering from wind and who can't settle to sleep because of it - you'll try anything!

Thanks for the help x

 

[dizzyjoo]

P.S. No I am not using the Dr Brown teats or any other bottles or any other teats on the Dr Brown bottles!

 

[lisaptas]

I understand! When my oldest son was a newborn, I was breastfeeding him. He cried all the time unless I was feeding him or he was sleeping - he was never content!! I was willing to try almost anything to get him to stop crying. I called my dr. and she said to try eliminating dairy out of my diet because maybe it was upsetting his stomach. I love yogurt and milk and cheese but I thought if it will help him I will do it! Sure enough, it did help. Their little systems are so sensitive. So I know what you mean.

Try the Level 3 and see how it goes.

Take care!
Lisa

 

[Tegans Mama]

The reason we used level 3 with Tigs is that she was on level 2 from birth (she was in hospital eight weeks and they use medium flow teats). HOWEVER she is still using level 3 now - although no longer Dr browns because imo they aren't necessary unless your LO has problems with wind/reflux.

 

[dizzyjoo]

Well I am very pleased to report we are having success with the Dr Brown Level 3 Teats!!! Toby has taken to them really well, I think in terms of flow rate, they are not much faster than the TT CTN Size 2 Teats he was previously on! As the teats are better, his wind has settled down loads. He is very contented after a feed, is winding well and just generally better, we can def. notice a difference. We bought two more bottles today as we've been using just the one. Going to get one more single bottle tomorrow and some more teats and see how we do with 4 bottles, but will likely end up buying another 2 as Toby has 6 feeds per day.
Thanks so much for the advice! xxx

 

[lesleyann]

Well I am very pleased to report we are having success with the Dr Brown Level 3 Teats!!! Toby has taken to them really well, I think in terms of flow rate, they are not much faster than the TT CTN Size 2 Teats he was previously on! As the teats are better, his wind has settled down loads. He is very contented after a feed, is winding well and just generally better, we can def. notice a difference. We bought two more bottles today as we've been using just the one. Going to get one more single bottle tomorrow and some more teats and see how we do with 4 bottles, but will likely end up buying another 2 as Toby has 6 feeds per day.
Thanks so much for the advice! xxx

Was almost going to say, Tommie Tippie do a bottle just like doc browns with the tube down the middle now, but if he has settled now no need, but for anyone else who has this problem might be helpful

 

[dizzyjoo]

We tried them and they made no difference which is a shame!
But they must work as they are really helping my friends little girl who has wind issues as well! xxx