Seeking Bottle Advice

We used Playtex Vent-air's and LOVED them! the air doesnt get trapped in the bottle so he wasnt sucking it all in and his gas issues improved greatly! after using one of these we thrugh away all of the other bottles and couldnt dream of using anything else (and they are very easy to clean since they come apart!)

good luck!

Hello there,
Congratulations on doing something so wonderful! I see that you have 29 responses and not to repeat what some others have said…BUT...my daughter had similar problems and after trying 2 or 3 different formulas (and about 10 different types of bottles), I found that Nestle Good Start worked great. I had several people tell me I should switch to that and finally I did. She never really had a problem since.
Best of luck!

Looks like you have more than enough advice here. I just wanted to comment that I was just reading on thesoftlanding.com they sell BPA free bottles which I have been looking for. On the site they compare some of the bottles and they comment that the air venting on the Born Free are great for gas/colic & that many moms switched to Born Free from Dr. Browns with great success. The adiri's seem to work better for finicky babies used to breastfeeding. I think they're worth the $, I've seen some on Ebay too. Good luck!!
K.

I use born free and LOVE them, but I didn't get them because of gas. When my daughter had gas issues I used to add a couple ant-gas drops to each bottle and that made a huge difference. I think the drops are called Mylecon. I have a very conservative doctor, and she said there are absolutly no issues with side effects from the drops.(I was using Avent bottles at the time.)

The type of formula you are using might be the cause of gas. We used Carnation and it gave our girls less gas than Enfamil.

M.,
I haven't used the bottles you were talking about. But for my son we used the playtes with the liners. You can push all the air out of the nipple so they get milk from the get go.

Hope that helps,

M.

I use Dr Browns. I have 2 boys and another on the way. The first baby was great with Dr Browns. The second was gassy still. So I started using Mylicon with my milk. I expressed milk, so I knew he was just a gassy baby. I your case, I would get the pre-made formula so you don't have to worry about extra bubbles of air when you mix powder. Add Mylicon to the bottle and you're set.

Good Luck!!

There are a couple possible issues here: 1) baby is having issues with the formula he is on and 2) he is having issues with a fast flow of milk. To let you know, I am a Lactation Consultant and specialize in feeding difficulties for babies who are on bottles (for whatever reason). :)

If it is a formula issue, then talk to his Ped about changing formulas to find one that works best with him. I do NOT EVER recommend Soy due to the phyto-estrogen issues and the overload of those hormones into babies bodies - it just isn't a good alternative. What we thought was safe 20 yrs ago we now know is not. There is a lot of info on the dangers of soy formula for infants. Easy to find...

If it is a pacing issue this will be seen by: baby guzzles his meal and is done drinking in 5-10 minutes; coughing, choking on the fast flow; he 'forgets' to breathe while drinking and has more that 4 swallows between breaths and when he does breathe it is very fast and then slows down - as if he is catching his breath.

If you observe and realize it is a pacing issue then YOU will need to help him learn to pace himself. Some babies just don't know how to do that - they are disorganized for whatever reason. They then need us to help them learn how to pace themselves safely. I wouldn't bother with the Adiri - it doesn't work - trust me on that one. The Dr. Brown standard (long slender nipple) can work fine ( I use this one all the time with babies who are having feeding difficulties and cannot breastfeed or need supplementation), but you have to control the flow. Here is how you do it:

Sit baby upright on your lap with his bottom between your legs (your legs together - this will form a nice little seat for him). Support his head at the nape of his neck (palm on his upper back and shoulders) letting it tip slightly back. Offer him the bottle. The bottle should be straight in his mouth - no tipping up or down or to the side. In other words Perpendicular. Adjust baby's body position (angle) (bringing him more upright or more laid back) to allow the nipple to be filled ONLY halfway with milk. This will slow down the flow for him. If he is taking more than 4 swallows before breathing, tip the bottle slightly down (towards your lap) just enough to drop the milk out of the nipple. He may/will continue to suck a few times and get air - don't worry! This can be burped up later. He will then stop sucking, pause and breathe. When he starts to suck again, tip the bottle up, back to perpendicular with the nipple filled only half-way with milk. Continue with this until he is done drinking. It should take him 15-20 minutes or so to drink a bottle of milk. As the bottle empties, go ahead and adjust the baby's body back to keep the nipple half-way filled with milk. Towards the end of the feeding he may be laying back quite a bit, but this will be ok because you will still be controlling the pace of the milk flow.

Ways to know baby is relaxed with the feed and feeling safe: His hands and arms will be relaxed and down by his sides rather than in tight little fists up by his face, and his face will be relaxed rather than worried brow, eyes wide open, look of possible fear...

A great bottle I found that works wonders with babies is actually the BreastFlow bottle by First Years. It helps in so many ways, slowing the feed down seems to be one. If I had to suggest a change for this little guy, that would be it. If you have other questions and/or would like to get more info please feel free to call me at ###-###-####. There is no charge for phone advice... :)

Good luck and thank you for taking such good care of this little guy. It is a work of love...

Warmly,
J. Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM

Oddly enough, I learned this trick from an old vetrinarian friend. Put a couple of teaspoons of caro syrup in a bottle of warm water. Give that to your baby to drink. It helps bowel movements and eliminates trapped gas. Don't ask me why, but it works.
B.

Hi Mary,
My daughter was a VERY gassy,colicky infant (now 2 1/2) and I switched to soy formula. I have recently read about the use of probiotics for gassy/colicky babies. I read that there are some formulas that now contain probiotics. Studies are finding that extreme gas maybe caused by an immature digestive system. I wish I would have know about this when Paige was an infant. I also tried EVERY bottle out there before settling on Playtex dropins.
Sincerely,
L.

My son was also very gassy and had trouble pacing himself. I was advised by the pediatrician to pace feed him. That meant to allow 5 sucks then tilt the bottle down without pulling it out so that it's not at the 45 degree angle. Then once again, tilt up for 5 sucks. We used the Dr. Brown bottle and found it to be the best. We tried several different ones but I did not try the BornFree. Also, using Little Tummies which is simethecone for the gas may help.

I have used the Born Free. They seem to work well, but are very expensive. I used the playtex drop ins at that age, so I could push all of the air out of the bag prior to my son eating, then moved on to the bottles without the bags as he got older.

Hi Mary,
I had the same problem with my son and we tried different bottles, nipples you name it. I thought that maybe he was lactose intolerant so I tried soy based formula and that didn't work (he threw that up immediately). So I went back to the store and found Similac Sensitive (orange canister) it's for fusiness and gas due to lactose intolerance but is still milk based. The fussiness stopped immediately! His pediatrician also said that I could use the infant gas drops in his bottle, so we do that as well (just one or two drops does the trick). I hope this advise helps, I know how frustrating and sad it can be to watch your little one suffering like that.

Take care,
K.

Try the premie nipples, they are VERY slow flow. They are hard to find, but Babies R Us has them (they fit the Dr. Brown bottles). Then maybe try switching formulas.

I used the Born Free for a while, but what I learned was 2 things. My son couldn't handle the regular formula, so I had to switch him to soy, and the second, was to boil the water, even if it comes from a bottle. That cut out the gas a significant amount.

Hi Mary. I'm a foster parent to and have had too many gassy/refluxy babies to count. I have never tried any of the other bottles since we had sucesses with Dr. Browns. We had to do a lot of other things though. We used the premade formula instead of powder. When we did use powder it we had to stir it. We also had to put the kids in an upright position right after eating - bouncy seat or swing for a 5 week old. A position that keeps them in an incline for sleeping also helped. The wedge that goes under the sheet is great, but we also had success with the position that makes a heart beat sound and vibrates. It had wings that wrapped around them to support them more and the head could be raised. We had one little guy (that we eventually adopted) who had to be fed every 20 minutes, morning and night, and just small amounts until his system could handle more. Hope this helps.

I have used Avent bottles with both of my kids & have not had gassy/colic problems with either one. Hope this helps.

mylacon drops worked great for gass and you can use them for pretty young ones.

Hi Mary,

You might want to change the formula to a soy. I was a foster parent for 10 years and when we got the babies they usally had a problem with the reg formula. If the baby is a drug baby which most of them are the reg formula isto hard the stomach and they can get really gassy.Hope this helps.
K. P.

It sounds more like a formula issue than a bottle issue. We had to switch our daughter from Similac formula to Nestle Soy formula due to gas pain and that changed everything. We tried 3 differnt types of bottles used Mylicon drops with every bottle and nothing changed until we switched formulas

The born free bottles are better for older babies. They look more like sippy cups. have you tried gas drops?

My baby (who is now 5 mths) was considered a premie because of size. I supplemented a bottle & struggled with how much milk coming out. The baby was either struggling with too much sucking or too much formula. We found Gerber premie bottles. It helped my baby get enough formula without too much work. If your foster baby has a "small" mouth (which is what my baby has), you might want to try them. We found the bottle & nipples set at Target & Burlington Coat Factory had replacement nipples.

You might have already talked to your pediatrician but if not you might ask about changing formulas -- have you tried Enfamil GentleEase? If formula intolerance has been ruled out, I would suggest trying to hold him a bit more upright while feeding, and sitting him up to burp every
1-2 oz. Some babies just pitch a fit when we interrupt a feeding to burp them -- if that's the case with him then you have to decide if it's worth the interruption because more fussing will cause more gas!
I've had good success with Avent and also the old-fashioned Playtex nursers, but I think the bottle/nipple isn't as important as feeding in a calm, quiet environment and taking time -- when I'm trying to feed a baby in a hurry they don't do well. Also, 5-6 weeks is a stressful time for babies because their central nervous systems are being bombarded by sights and sounds, and they are more alert and can't tune them out like they might have as newborns. Finally, babies in foster care often display feeding problems because of prenatal drug or alcohol exposure, so get as much information as you can and then work with social services and his medical providers to get early intervention services. Good Luck!

could he be lactose intolerant? maybe trying switching to a soy based formula? we used dr. brown's too.

Put gas drops into the formula in the bottle before you feed him. You will see a difference right away..... Hope that helps!!

When my daughter was that age I had the same problem. I was given an AVENT bottle which seemed to help a little. I breastfed and suplimented with formula. I had to try several different formulas before I found one that didn't cause her to have gas. You may try to change to a formula that is lactose free. My daughter isn't lactose intollerant now but at that early age it didn't seem to agree with her. Hope this helps.

A little about me: I am an active duty army soldier. I am married and a mother to 1 boy (15) & 3 girls (14, 11, 20mo).

Hi Mary,

I too had the problem with my little one. However, she would only take one type of nipple so I was very limited. I truly don't think it is the bottle. I tried Mylacon, gripe water, you name it. Nothing worked! I found that once I put her on Nestle Good Start it all seemed to disappear. I nursed her up to 10 months and then started suplimenting with formulas. It wasn't till then I started to have an upset gassy baby. Try that and see if it works...good luck.

I am a HUGE fan of the Born Free bottles. Not only are you keeping the child healthier by using these bottles (no hormone disrupting chemicals), but when used properly, the venting system works VERY well in keeping air in the bottle and out of your child. A trick I learned is to ensure that you do not tighten the top down too much. If you screw the lid on gently (not as tight as it can go) you keep the venting system in better working order. I ended up throwing all of my other bottles out and only using these. Good luck.

My daughter also was very gassy. We debated for a long time and as a last resort we tried an erbal supplement called gripe water. We noticed a difference right away. You can mention it to your peditrican and pharmacist and see what they say. You can purchase it at most health food stores. Good luck.

I oldest daughter who is going to be 6 in April was very gassy as a baby. Her pediatrician told me to give her mylacon with every feeding. Before that I had tried different kinds of formula and the best one the worked for me was infamil. This helped a great deal.

I LOVE to bornfree bottles. After trying them, it's the only one my little guy will take. Good luck!

Have you though about changing formulas? that could be a cause. Try soy or even alimentum (sp?) I know that the last one is not cheap but it help with our daughter even though she was on the slowest flow nipple.

I would try to use the Avent with the liners, that way you can get all the air out. That has worked for me! Good luck!

Mary,

sounds like allergic reaction to the formula. Have you taken the baby to the docs?

Hi ! I am a foster mom also. I have had over 150 babies in the 20 years I have been taking care of newborns. I have lots of bottle advice and you are welcome to email me at ____@____.com and I will give you my phone number. I am with Santa Clara Cty. We might know each other!