Dr. Brown’s Medical Specialty Feeding System, Narrow Baby Bottle, Infant-Paced Feeding Valve, Oral Feeding Solution for Infants with Cleft Lip, Tongue Tie, Lip Tie, 4 oz/120 mL – 2-Pack

One of my twin baby boys was born with a cleft palate. It was not expected so caught us by surprise. They came 4 weeks early also and that compounded the feeding issue. A preemie with cleft palate. We did finger feeding, tried Mead Johnson Sqeeze, then the hospital ordered a Haberman. We didn't have a whole lot of luck with it, most times he would take about 5ml and rare occasions somehow do 20ml, but no were what he needed to leave the hospital. It was also uncomfortable. He choked a lot, and spit up a lot and had SOO much gas. Of course while there I read and read and read and decided to try the Pigeon Cleft Palate bottle, AND also found that there was a Haberman MINI that was for smaller babies. Softer smaller nipple on it. So I ordered that as well. Still didn't have so much luck. Transferring about 10ml to 20ml on average, and good feeds he would do about 40ml, but that was rare, about once a day.I didn't order these because the hospital seemed to want to argue about nipple confusion, and to just stick with what they all knew, the Haberman. Plus in reading, the Haberman seems to own it, it is the leading bottle for cleft, so I kept putting off ordering these Dr. Browns becaues they were not as POPULAR as the Pigeon and Haberman. I knew that if I told the hospital I was going to try ANOTHER bottle that they would argue with me, so I put it off. I wish I had not. It may have made our 1 month stay much shorter!After realizing that these bottles were very new to the market, i realized that is probably why they didn't have the massive reviews and recommendations. Of course all daddys want to do everything they can to help, so I thought "what the heck I need to try every bottle available even if the hospital argues." so I ordered these.Now the hospital is going to carry them. We had great success. It was not immediately, but just a few days and he started transferring 40-50ml almost every feed. No choking (or very minimal) less gas (still gassy) but most importantly, he looks super blissed out while eating now, and consumes more than his minimum easily now at 1 month old.The system of this is great, espeically with twins, because the only thing that makes it any different from being a normal bottle is the valve. So take the valve out and the other baby can use it. Its a standard Dr. Browns bottle with the "specialty" one way valve that you can put in any standard dr. browns nipple.I didn't use the #3 nipple or #4 that this came with. We started with a #1 to get him used to the bottle and how it works. Much less choking. Now we have #2 nipples in it.If you have a baby with feeding issues, buy every fricken thing on the market and try it and find what works. This is what worked for us, and I am so very thankful. SO THANKFUL! It is such a hard thing to watch a baby, your baby have to struggle, and this made things so much better. I can feed him for comfort, instead of forcing it to keep him alive now. Phewww.

****Update: my daughter was diagnosed with dysphagia via a swallow study at six months old. And oral motor weakness. She survived on the speciality feeding system will she was diagnosed and we started thickening. We don't need them anymore and she's getting stronger. But I'll always be grateful for this system and how accessible it is, my daughter was able to eat and gain back the weight that she lost. Without it we could have been staring at a feeding tube.This system has helped us so much! So my sweet 12 week old baby essentially has the sucking power of a preemie baby, despite being full-term with no anatomical or developmental issues. Our pediatrician and feeding specialist don't have an answer as to why. But she began to really struggle at the bottle, she would constantly loose suction, take in air and reflux, choke, take 45+ minutes to eat, become exhausted, and not get in enough calories in a day. Then she wouldn't sleep well, and we were all miserable. A higher flow nipple overwhelmed her and caused more choking and aspiration. She had a tongue and lip tie released, but she continued to get worse.A blessed mom in an infant reflux support group pointed me to this system and it has changed our lives! My girl took 4 Oz in 20 minutes with just two small little burps, no clicking, no reflux, no crying, it was a miracle! My baby girl has increased her calorie intake, is sleeping better, and her reflux is practically gone. Our feeding specialist was thoroughly impressed with the system, and took it down to use with other patients. It's wonderful since it's still a regular bottle nipple, so she can still practice cupping with her tongue, but get the food she needs without so much work and suffering. It's an amazing tool that hopefully we won't need forever, but I was in tears during that first feeding. I was spending all day feeding her, and now we have time to go on walks, go visit family, and we can have our life back! I'm so grateful that this set is so available and affordable. It has greatly improved the quality of both of our lives, and provided me more time to play and bond with my darling baby. Thank you Dr. Browns!

My son was diagnosed with cleft lip and palate at second trimester screening. Boy, was I surprised or shocked. I was originally planning to breastfeed my baby so I went through several layers of emotional and mental stages. And I finally gathered myself and researched what my options were. On websites, Medela specialty feeding bottle looked the most preferred or popular among cleft babies. Also they were the most expensive bottles so I thought they should work for my baby. Fortunately, my baby arrived here little earlier and I haven't had time to actually purchase them. What a beautiful baby!! The problem was he did not want to eat. The speech pathologist brought Pigeon bottle so we tried it. First two days, he was sleeping all day long taking formula only 2ml here and 3 ml there. We also tried Medela bottle but it wasn't much different. Doctors and nurses took him to nicu because his blood glucose levels was barely normal. Few days after many trials and error, also putting feeding tube through his nose and little hope, disappointment and tears, we tried Dr. Brown bottle. It was working for my son!! He started taking 20ml, 30ml and even 40ml. We came home from nicu when he was 3 weeks old. Now he is 2month old and is one little hungry baby who wants to constantly eat. I love Dr. Brown bottle. Having cleft lip and palate and having a tongue-tie, it was really hard for my son to eat. However, I am not saying Dr. Brown bottle is the best. My point is that every baby is different and there will be one bottle that fits with your baby. I wanted to share my story with other moms and dads who have baby with feeding difficulty. Never give up!!