The Size of a Nipple

Not THAT kind of a nipple... a baby bottle nipple.

A few weeks ago Alex almost stopped drinking her formula. I got concerned, naturally, and have been trying to figure out what is going on for sometime.

It did coincide with the introduction of solids. And she was taking in A LOT of rice cereal at each sitting.

It also coincided with what appears to be teething and I have read that some babies find sucking to be painful when they are teething.

And at one point she did get an oral yeast infection (thrush) and that most certainly is painful and it looked like it could be coming back.

We completely resolved the thrush with an additional prescription of Nystatin and she slowed her intake of rice cereal as the novelty wore off. But her formula drinking didn't make a rebound. She still seems to be teething, but I wasn't positive that was the issue.

It wouldn't be the end of the world, as she appears to be gaining weight. But the reduction in formula also coincided with a return to feeding once at night. So clearly, she needs more formula during the day.

So, I bought a new nipple size. Moved from a Dr. Brown's level 2 to a level 3. It took some time to find them, as no one seems to carry them in stock - so I had to order them online. They arrived today.

She took more in her last two bottles of the day (with the new nipples) than she has in WEEKS!! So it must have been that the milk flow was too slow for her.

She gets her impatience from me. So, I have no one to blame but myself.

Here's hoping that a day or two of the new nipples will lead to the return of the 12-hour sleeps.