How do I choose the right bottle and nipple flow, and avoid nipple confusion?

To avoid nipple confusion, moms favour slow-flow, wide-base teats that mimic breastfeeding (Philips Avent natural, Chicco, Comotomo) combined with paced feeding so the baby has to work for the milk. Start with the smallest appropriate teat and only size up when the baby gets fussy with the slow flow.

Community Answers from Moms(6)

Here's what moms in our community shared based on their own experience.

1. 1

   Practice paced feeding; without it bottles flow faster than the breast so babies prefer the bottle because it's less work, which causes nipple confusion.

2. 2

   Choose natural-flow, slow-paced teats; popular picks include Philips Avent (natural response teat) and brands moms tried like Hegen, Tommee Tippee, Dr Brown, Comotomo and Baby Forest, with several saying their baby loved Avent best.

3. 3

   Start with the minimum teat size (e.g. Avent number 2) and observe; the baby shouldn't feel overwhelmed or tired from too-fast flow, and number 1 is for very small babies.

4. 4

   If a feed takes far longer than the typical 20 to 30 minutes and the baby is actively sucking, size up the teat; conversely, if there's a lot of side spillage and the baby can't keep up, the flow is too fast and you can stick with the slower teat.

5. 5

   Sticking with a slower teat is fine, since drinking slowly reduces spit-ups; switch up only when the baby gets fussy and frustrated with the slow flow.

6. 6

   Babies have nipple preferences, so having 2 to 3 types of bottles on hand helps when introducing one.