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My now five-month-old, Mack, was born with a tongue tie.
A tongue tie means that the underside of the tongue and the floor of the mouth are connected by a band of tissue. For tongue-tied babies the band of tissue is shorter and/or thicker, limiting movement of the tongue. It really makes a significant difference when baby is feeding.
When Mack was born, he didn’t have feeding issues per se; he latched surprisingly well, but he would take so long eating that he’d fall asleep. When he woke up a half hour later, he was starving, so he’d latch, eat slowly, and fall asleep again.
He was eating around the clock and never filling his stomach. We switched entirely to bottle feeding at 10 weeks and had so many suggestions on what different bottles to try. We tried several until we found the right bottle for us.
Baby Mack with his bottle.
Here Are the Best Baby Bottles According to Our Tongue-Tied Baby:
1. Dr Brown’s Natural Flow Bottle
These by far are Mack’s favorite. The nipples are longer, so it’s easier to get a deep latch, and there are different-sized holes on the nipples to regulate the flow of milk. Size one worked best for him until his tongue tie was fixed and felt like it was the easiest bottle of the ones we tried. Per Dr. Brown’s website, these are the best choice for babies with a lip tie.
2. Evenflo Feeding Classic Bottle
These have slow flow nipples, and has a glass option which makes it an eco-friendly option. Now that Mack is showing more interest in holding his bottle, I think the design of these will be the best baby bottle that's easier for him to grip. Plus I really like the idea of using glass bottles in our feeding journey!
3. NUK Perfect Match
This is one I’d have loved to have when we were figuring out bottles for Mack. With tongue tie, you really want a bottle nipple that encourages a good latch (and a natural latch!), so this could be especially helpful because its flexible silicone nipple is designed to mimic breastfeeding.
4. Lansinoh Feeding Bottles
This is newer to the market, so I didn’t get to try Lansinoh bottles, but they’re something I’d consider if one of my standbys didn’t work. The soft silicone nipple has a textured base and triangle shape to help with an optimal latch and baby’s milk flow, two things I know were really important for us with Mack.
5. Tommee Tippee Natural Start
I’m always a fan of anything that makes feeding easier as your baby grows, so I’d definitely recommend this to anyone going through the tongue-tie bottle search. I love that it’s easy for little hands to hold once they start wanting to do it themselves and a lot of other CityMoms with tongue tie babies said it was the best bottle for them.
Image credit: Curious Courtney’s Photography
Other Factors:
He had a hard time eating from ones with a wider base. He would try to put his mouth on the entire nipple and would suck in too many air bubbles.
Nipple shape seemed to be the most important factor as well. A long shape of the nipples with a standard base worked best for his tongue tie.
KEEPING BABY'S ROUTINE GENTLE?
Tongue-Tie Release
While I found bottles that worked for Mack, severe tongue ties can cause speech problems if left untreated. Per the recommendation from his pediatrician, we visited a pediatric dentist. The dentist believed Mack’s tongue tie was severe enough that it could cause lasting issues, so we had it clipped.
A tongue-tie release is a quick medical procedure where they numb the bottom of the tongue and use a laser pen to release the tissue in baby’s mouth.
Within minutes after the procedure, Mack had stopped crying and was drinking a bottle like nothing happened. The area was swollen and gray for a few weeks, but his tongue movement increased almost instantly. We were able to go up a size in nipples to increase the flow rate of the nipple and he was chatting so much more!
