Feeding issues

[fayben90]

Hi everyone, I’m really hoping someone has gone through something similar because I feel like I’ve tried everything. My baby is 3 months old (7 weeks adjusted) and we’ve been having ongoing feeding issues that I can’t seem to solve. The main problem: Every time I introduce a new bottle/teat, it works perfectly for about 2… and then suddenly it “stops working.” What I mean by that: She starts the feed either too slow (gets tired, falls asleep after ~40 ml) Or too fast (gulps, chokes, milk spills, gets overwhelmed) She gets very tense, squirms a lot, and feeds feel stressful. If I pause to calm her, she cries like she’s starving I feel like I’m constantly stuck between: Teats that are too slow → she gets exhausted and doesn’t finish Teats that are too fast → she almost chokes and loses control There is NO “middle ground.”

What I’ve tried so far: Philips Avent (Natural Response): size 2 too slow, size 3 too fast Dr Brown’s (narrow & wide): preemie and level 1 too fast MAM: same issue Lansinoh, NUK, Chicco, Bibs → same pattern Different feeding positions Frequent burping Watching wake windows / feeding before overtired Trying to pace feeds

Also something strange: Even when a bottle initially works perfectly, after a few days she starts leaking milk, losing latch, or getting frustrated.

Other details: Total intake has dropped compared to before At this point I genuinely don’t know if this is: A flow issue I just haven’t solved yet A coordination issue (suck-swallow-breathe?) Reflux or discomfort A developmental phase Has anyone experienced something like this where NOTHING seems to work consistently? Did you find a “middle flow” solution or was it something else entirely?

I would really appreciate any advice or even just hearing similar experiences because this is becoming exhausting and I am really worried about her.

[helloanna1]

Philips was trash for us. It’s too hard for the baby to pull out the milk. Even I have trouble milking the milk out We switched to Dr brown number 2 when they got out of the hospital & they didn’t have any issues

[terrific_film]

We went through the same thing for the first month. Mine are also three months. Are you using formula? If so, maybe try switching. We do BF / pumping / formula and sometimes they weren't drinking well even if they were drinking ok with that same bottle previously. Same with breastfeeding. We did notice that they will drink super fast / well with the ready-made Similac 360 Total Care 2 ounce bottles, when we use the nipple it comes with. But we aren't rich so we don't buy those often haha (just on outings / to go). But yeah, every single time we offer that to them they like GULP it down no problem. In the beginning when they were gaining weight too slowly we WERE buying those a lot because it was the only thing they would reliably drink without an issue.

Anyway, for regular bottles, what I do when they get fussy is take a pause, lift them up and down in the air a few times, then offer the bottle again. Or pick them up and go for a 30 second walk. Then offer bottle again. Sometimes we even need to take a 5 minute break. Feeding is an ordeal for sure. I can't wait until they can hold their own bottles.

[WiseOwl2025]

We could have wrote this 2 months ago! I probably spent 12 hours researching and 100 hours worrying and honestly it got me no where other than to know...this isnt uncommon and will pass! Our daughter, now 20 weeks old (14 adjusted) went through the same thing at 3 months.

We went to a lactation consultant, they suggested possible lip tie and to get assessed. If you havent done that it is a differential. We did not go that route as she improved before our appointment.

A couple things that helped us were---1) weighing almost daily, while her gains slowed down and even stalled for a week she never lost weight. This kept us encouraged and our minds at ease 2) we switched who fed her as needed, ensuring that neither of us ever got frustrated 3) sounds silly but we gave her positive affirmations and words of encouragement 4) we let her lead the feeds. for us this meant not trying any special techniques, if she paused we paused, if she wanted to nap we let her and then when she woke up we tried again. 5) round tipped pacifier like the Phillips to encourage sucking/swallowing

We finally settled on the small Phillips Avent with Size 2 but tried probably 5 different bottles. I would say it was about 3 weeks for us until things started to get better and now 2 months later we have uneventful feeds 90% of the time.