3 months baby drinking 4 oz in 6 mins, am I doing anything wrong?

[lorpro]

My baby just turned 3 months and was snacking the whole day on Philip avent anti colic nipple 2 (1m+), just couldnt follow the scheduled feeding - ate 2 oz every 1 or 2 hrs, max 3 oz at one go.

I changed to nipple 3 (3m+), she gulped down 4 oz in 6 mins total.

First 2 oz in 3 mins, Burp break 3 mins, Last 2 oz in 3 mins

Is that ok, it felt too fast, and such a sudden change from taking 30/40 mins to finish one feed to now roughly 10 mins. I am doubting myself that something may be a miss here. She occasionally spits up, not a spitting baby but she does get gassy/fussy in the night.

Is it that my baby was just plain lazy with the 1m+ nipple.

 

[stephanieann]

@lorpro The avent nipples are sooooooo slow. She was probably only drinking that small amount because it was such hard work. If it isn’t coming out the sides of her mouth when drinking she’s good!

 

[enfpthatsme]

@stephanieann Be careful spreading this as there are two different “Avent” nipples. One is the anti-colic (which OP has) and the other is the newer “natural response” nipple which has the very slow flow.

 

[stephanieann]

@enfpthatsme I found both to be very slow

 

[halvo]

@stephanieann Brand new mom here - why is it bad if it’s coming out the sides of the mouth?

 

[mak33]

@halvo It could mean that it’s going too fast for them to keep up. However my 5 month old still has a tiny bit of formula that leaks out the side so a tiny bit is normal. Its if it happens continuously it means they can’t eat it as fast as it’s coming

 

[conner]

@stephanieann Similar question. It always comes out the sides of my LO’s mouth. She is 7 weeks and on a size 1. Should I be doing something about this?

 

[nhuluong]

@conner My baby is 6 weeks and still on a size one with milk coming out too

 

[eltucan]

@lorpro Hey mama, just a heads up—when our LO switches to a faster flow nipple, it's totally normal for them to adjust their feeding pace. So, if your babe is now downing 4 oz in just 6 minutes with the new nipple, it could mean they were working a bit harder with the old one. Some spitting up and fussiness might pop up as their digestion system matures, but nothing to stress over. Just keep an eye on their cues and comfort levels. The quicker feeding time? Likely just thanks to that more suitable flow rate of the new nipple!

 

[noah13]

@lorpro Should be fine as long as she ain't gagging or dribbling milk all over herself. In your shoes I'd add a burp break at the halfway mark and keep her upright for 10 min after feeding, just in case, and then just enjoy the reduced amount of time spent on MOTN feeds.

 

[blayne]

@lorpro I would take the win. Like others have said, the higher flow nipple is probably what’s causing this and it is possible she will go back to her regular feeding amounts after she adjusts. But I think as long as she is not excessively spitting up her milk it should be fine. If a baby eats too much, they will simply vomit it out. It’s very difficult to truly over feed a baby

 

[henry123]

@lorpro Thanks for asking this - I switched to a bigger size and she downed a bottle so fast I was worried and switched back to the smaller size.

Now that I see people are saying that this is normal, I should try a bigger size again and enjoy the shorter feeding times. My baby currently also takes about 30 - 40 mins a bottle.

 

[nhuluong]

@henry123 How large are the bottles? Mine takes 30-40 minutes sometimes too for only 3 oz (6 weeks old)

 

[porthospathos]

@lorpro i was told it should only take 15 minutes max for baby to finish their feed. if they're taking any longer than they burn more calories than they intake. as long as babe isn't spitting it back up it should be fine. if you notice baby is taking longer than 15 minutes again it's time to go up a nipple size. the anticolic nipples are so so incredibly slow, even as a newborn my daughter would barely get anything out of the 0m+ nipple.

we had feeding issues with our daughter so this was advice given to me by her feeding therapist and gi doctors, ymmv, but i think it's a good rule of thumb for bottles in general

 

[tims]

@lorpro Super gassy & spitty LO here - at 5 months he still spits, I think this speed is normal for 3m baby. At his 3m he got mad at the dr brown's teat 1, we changed to teat 2 & suddenly no more problem.

 

[lelier]

@lorpro My kiddo is now 1 year old, but when he was that age he was finishing 8 ounces/feed within 8-10 mins flat with a flow 1 Philips Avent nipple. He had minimal spit up and there literally wasn’t a slower flow option we could switch to, so we just went with it. He was fine. He just has a strong suck and loves to eat. So, I wouldn’t worry unless your kiddo has excessive spit up or shows other signs of discomfort