The number 12 nipple
Sunday, August 5, 2007 at 11:27PM Years ago, when San was pregnant with Jr., we had a baby shower at my work place for her. One of the gifts was an AVENT bottle set with a few bottles, nipples, cleaning stuff etc..
Glad that the feeding bottles were already given to us, and finding out that AVENT was the most common brandname that newbie parents used, we started using the set with great results. I used to admire the intricate design which would let air bubbles escape through the special lid, the fl oz markings etc. etc.
Trouble started when Jr. was four months old. She used to get extremely furstrated with the bottle. Being the astute observer and experimenter that I was, I concluded that there was definitely something wrong with the bottle or nipple and it was not Jr.'s fault. By then the nipple had become less transparent and we collectively agreed that we needed a new set.
We were promptly adviced by "the parents and relatives" gang on how they couldn't advice us on such problems because in those good old days the breast was the only bottle, etc. etc., this in spite of the fact that Jr. was an entirely breast milk bottle fed baby!
In hindsight, drinking from a breast vs. a bottle would probably be like driving an automatic vs. manual transmission vehicle! The breast probably adjusts flow to the demands of the baby and has some kind of psychic feed back loop between the mom and baby. I cannot prove this, but I am sure the many scientists who have devoted their entire lifetime to the breast, have studies that support my hypothesis! A bottle with a nipple, on the other hand is like driving on a single gear. Readers of this blog, must know by now, that there is always some study somewhere that supports my hypothesis!
So, imagine our surprise when we go to Toys'r'us and the guy asks me, "Which number AVENT nipple would you like to buy Sir?".
San and me looked at each other and went "What number?"
The guy gave us this look which could loosely be translated as "just because some body parts fit, people like this end up as parents! there has got to be a pre-parenthood IQ test".. anyways, I digress and you probably got the drift.
To top things off he showed us a #1 embossed on the side of the nipple. I had washed that thing a few million times without once realizing that there was a "1" on the side. Of course the nipple was 100% transparent and the "1" was 99% transparent and that fact would explain why! Nevertheless, we were branded in the eyes of that salesman and the other parents shopping in the feeding bottle aisle.
Having learnt our lesson, we walked back with some #2 and #4 nipples to prepare us for the days to come. We were also smart enough to start our second child, on #2 right away and went promptly to #4 in a few months.
Trouble has revisited us after three years. Jr. went from #4 straight to a sippy cup and would drink water, milk or anything liquid, through the sippy cup. The little one has somehow identified the "sippy cup" to be dedicated for water only. If we give her milk, she takes the first sip and promptly spits it out on the floor! After writing a little thesis on the impact of spat out milk on various flooring materials, I decided, enough was enough!
Took a #4, punched out a few extra holes with grandma's safety pin and we now behold, the #12 nipple! The holes are not exactly professional and we can see the little one is getting variable flow. We guess this by the way her eyebrows change as the nipple suddenly goes from trickle to flood in under six seconds. The surprise element is helping the otherwise bored child and daddy is considering a patent on the surprise nipple!
Tomorrow, we plan to buy a new #4 and put holes with a hot needle or search for a better solution. We also have promised Pillaiyaar Ummachchi a few rupees worth of Kalpooram if the little one takes to a the sippy cup soon!
.
Reader Comments (10)
What to say? We have not struggled this much. In Chennai, especially in Vijaya the Doctors were very strict that we should not use nipples and bottles. 90% of diarrohea was due to improper using of bottles and sippers. I think you must be knowing that the effect of this is, most of the children do not develop good teeth. We used spoons when they were small and straight into cups to avoid all these stuff.
It takes kids about 2 weeks to adjust to a sippy cup. Bottle feeding is not recommended (for older kids) because teeth might not form well. You can find some sippy cups with a soft spout that might help. Poking with pins is not recommended because of choking hazards.
Do I sound like a stuffy old grandma? :-)
Btw, there happens to be "fast flow","medium flow" and "slow flow" in each of these sizes. Guess you need to have another baby to figure that one out :-)
sundar:
our little one went from bottle to tumbler, so be prepared for that too! the transition was hell, as you might expect.
- s.b.
balaji Sir, some people are lucky!
munimma, no! you sound right. there is no choking hazard. I have put water and tested max flow. the problem with the holes I put is that they close almost instantaneously..
the 1,2, and 4 are the slow medium fast. there is another variable nipple Anu. That is the one for slurry type cereal. We did not try that! and NO, we dont need to have another kid to find out.
s.b., Jr. was like that. the little one has a mind of her own..
:)
LOL - That was a great post :D. Ah! the Indian Innovator - hasn't faded after years in the US.
I was grumpy and irritable after reading some other blog and now I feel better.
Sundar - I presume that you are a person in research, or atleast was earlier in research. I'd like to have your opinion on this - http://www.nonoscience.info/2007/08/04/taming-the-indian-phd-high-horse" REL="nofollow">Taming the Indian PhD High Horse.
You could either reply to the original post or post your reply here.
I would suggest Nuby brand sippy cup available in walmart. They have soft spout. I transitioned my boy soon after one year to this sippy cup. It took him couple of days and I was persistent. I put away avent bottles out of his sight, told him he was a big boy and that only small babies drink from bottles.
RRmom
sundar, I added salt to the milk in the bottle and presented it to the little one. I also had a regular sippy cup of milk standing by to show her the difference between the "yucky" and "good" stuff. The two-year-old weaned herself out of the bottle before the day was over.
Thanks for a great post, Sundar. I like the idea of putting salt in a bottle to help with weaning. My little god daughter has quite a will of her own and wants to go directly from bottle to glass cups and glasses. Quite nerve wracking, but she seems to get the hang of it quickly. We will have to be carefull though.