Stupid questions from 1st time mom: 6-12 months

[Vishenka69]

I can't find my original thread, so I'm starting a new one.

1. How/when do I know if she's ready for stage 2 nipples (for bottles)?

2. I recently had to throw out 2 bottles (different brands) along with all their inserts because they got moldy. What caused that and how do I prevent it? I never had this problem with non-baby containers, is it BPA-free aspect that's causing this? 99% of the time I run bottles through the dishwasher, although usually it takes 2 days to fill it.

3. According to What to Expect First Year, after 6 months babies shouldn't be eating in the middle of the night. She still wakes up but at this point, it's more of a snack/comfort me wake up than a full meal, even though at that point she's been down for 7-8 hours. But every night she picks a different time, which means that both my head and my breasts are very confused and are craving for any kind of pattern. Do I just accept that I will no longer be in control of anything or can I keep hoping?

[HouseofWool]

1. Try the stage 2 nipples. If she doesn't choke on them (as in getting too much milk too fast) then she is fine.

2. I've never had that happen before, but I am pretty anal about not assembling the whole bottle when it goes into the cupboard. I will assembly the nipple and collar but not add the cover or screw it onto the bottle to ensure air flow around it.

3. Sophie had a middle of the night snack FOR-FREAKING-EVER. I thought she was never going to wean. It finally got to the point where I decided to just not nurse her when I went in. I would pick her up and soothe her, but not nurse. Eventually she cut them out, but it was well after a year before she slept though the night consistantly.

[SuzySunshine]

I agree with Kris on #1.

#2 - that is odd! I've never had that happen either. I assemble the bottom part of the bottle and the top part but don't put the nipple part on until I use it. I wonder how it got moldy??

#3 - don't ask me! We MAY have finally gotten past this. A friend did say on my recent fb question about the same thing that her doc told her if the baby is weighing in fine and thriving that you could give them 4oz of water at night to break them from waking up for a snack. If R wakes up tonight that is what I'm trying.

[Deebs]

I have no more helpful advice other than what you've been given other than a dishwasher idea....

when we bought our last dishwasher, we were told that if we didn't run it daily to run the "rinse" cycle daily. It doesn't wash, but does a hot rinse on what's in there (it will prevent odors, too).

[MrsK]

I was told that if you are bf-ing, you should stick with stage 1 nipples. It's already easier to drink from a bottle than from a breast. BabyK is still using the stage 1 nipples and he's fine.

Don't know about the mold. What sort of bottles are you using. We use the medela ones and let them air dry entirely before putting them away.

BabyK still wants to nurse if he wakes at night but I think it is more for comfort than nurishment. For instance, last night DrK heard the baby cough, rushed in, picked him up, and then proceeded to entirely undress the baby to check whether his diaper was wet. By the time I got in there, the baby was wailing. (Heck, I felt like crying too after being woken from a sound sleep.) As soon as DrK handed him to me, he stopped crying, sighed, and began to nurse. This was purely comfort nursing.

[moonlight]

1. I think with our bottles (dr. browns) it said to start using stage 2 at 3 months. Baby girl didn't see bothered by stage 1 but I (like the silly consumer i am) went ahead and bought stage two as the packaging had suggested. She did seem to be a little overwhelmed by the bigger hole. She got used to it in a couple days tho. We moved up to stage 3 at six months old. She is 9 months old now and sucks the bottle down quick! LOL!

2. I've never had that happen either. I hand washed her bottles until she was about 8 months old. Now I run everything through the dishwasher expect the nipples. My dishwasher doesn't get the nipples clean enough. I also wash the bottles every day. Then I use the dr. brown's drying rack when i take all the parts out of the dishwasher. That way everything gets aired out/dry.

3. Middle of the night feeding? When does she go to sleep?
Better you than me. I'm so grateful she loves sleep as much as I do.

[Tenacious_D]

We just tested the stage 2 nipples and he didn't choke so I figured he was fine at 5 months... I was also still breastfeeding.

As for the bottles... Never had mold but I store them on the drying rack and keep them on that until it's time to fill with milk.

E is 20 months and has just started sleeping straight through with no feedings so my advice there is garbage!

Don't know about the bottles...

The first three kids didn't get into a consistent sleep schedule until they were around 8 months old. The twins transitioned to the cribs at that age (they had been in our bed at night so I wouldn't be so sleep-deprived). I don't think they were ready for it before then. They were small and needed occasional night feedings longer than other babies might need them. By 8 months, they pretty much slept through the night all the time.

The third baby (DD#2) slept in our bed until one year old (not recommended!). She didn't sleep soundly that way, so sometimes she still woke up for comfort nursing. I allowed it because I figured she could use the extra calories. She was weaned at one year, and we started the Ferber modified cry-it-out method to transition her completely to the crib. (Ferber's book, "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems," seemed like a balanced and medically grounded approach to me. That's a discussion for Debates, though.) After the first couple nights of that, she was falling asleep easily and sleeping through the night most nights.

I don't know if we did things the best way, but I was trying to follow their cues, to sense when they were ready for transitions. This was the timeline that worked for our kids, especially the first two.

[GrayMatterWife]

Question #1: nipples come in STAGES? I had no idea. It makes a lot of sense, though. I just jabbed the teeny-weeny hole with a fork tyne until it opened up a little more. **EMBARRASSED** If it's any help, I started doing that around month 4, I think, with my older two.

Question #2: Scalding hot water followed by very thorough air dry is the only way I could prevent it. I love love LOVE glass bottles for this very reason, though. They don't grow mold or film or get cloudy or otherwise look/smell/feel icky. Of course, you've still got to disessemble the nipple and ring and wash them in hot warm. But the glass bottles seem cleaner to me.

Question #3: I'm sorry--my kids didn't have this issue, so I don't feel like I can offer any good ideas. Other than the classic: add a smidge of rice to make the last evening meal more filling.

[GrayMatterWife]

For instance, last night DrK heard the baby cough, rushed in, picked him up, and then proceeded to entirely undress the baby to check whether his diaper was wet. By the time I got in there, the baby was wailing.

Oh, no!! Major amateur's error! NEVER UNDRESS A BABY AT NIGHT. If you do, you're screwed. They never go back down once they've been naked/cold.

[MrsK]

Oh, no!! Major amateur's error! NEVER UNDRESS A BABY AT NIGHT. If you do, you're screwed. They never go back down once they've been naked/cold.

And never wake a sleeping baby! WTH did he have to rush in and pick the baby up??? And I have no idea why he had to undress the baby entirely to check his diaper. I just open one snap and feel the front of the diaper. It's super easy to tell if a baby boy is wet. FWIW, the baby got back to sleep after nursing. But momma could not fall back to sleep. I was so annoyed.

[moonlight]

I've got a burning question. is there such a thing as organic meat baby food that is only meat and not mixed with veggies or fruit? I'm trying my best to do organic baby food (store bought, not made by me!) and it's hard to find baby food that isn't a 'mixed' pack or jar.

[MrsK]

I've got a burning question. is there such a thing as organic meat baby food that is only meat and not mixed with veggies or fruit? I'm trying my best to do organic baby food (store bought, not made by me!) and it's hard to find baby food that isn't a 'mixed' pack or jar.

I don't know but FWIW, the stuff that is only meat smells like catfood. My baby won't eat it and I don't blame him.

[moonlight]

Cat food?!? Yuck! Nevermind!!! Forget I asked.

[HouseofWool]

I don't know but FWIW, the stuff that is only meat smells like catfood. My baby won't eat it and I don't blame him.

No - catfood smells better.