Our son Finn had colic. If you've had a baby with colic, you know what that means: the evening feeds that stretched into hours, the inconsolable crying that started reliably at around 6pm and didn't stop until 9 or 10, the helplessness of not being able to do anything that made a consistent difference. If you haven't had a baby with colic, I'll tell you that it's one of the more exhausting and distressing experiences of early parenthood, and that you will try almost anything to reduce it.
I'm a 36-year-old secondary school history teacher based in York. My partner and I had read everything about colic, tried various approaches, and were at the point of accepting that we just had to wait it out when a colleague mentioned that switching teats had made a significant difference to her daughter's colic. We were sceptical. We tried it anyway.
What Colic Does to Feeding
Colic is associated with air intake during feeding — babies swallow air along with milk, the air causes discomfort, and the discomfort produces the prolonged crying that characterises colic. The teat is one of the variables in how much air a baby swallows during a feed. A teat that doesn't manage airflow well can contribute to the problem. A teat with an anti-colic valve is designed to reduce it.
We'd been using the teats that came with our bottles. They were fine. They hadn't been chosen with colic in mind because Finn didn't have colic when we bought them. By the time colic was established, we hadn't thought to question the teats. My colleague's suggestion made us think about it properly for the first time.
Why We Chose the Vital Baby Nurture Teats
The Vital Baby Nurture Silicone Teats Medium Flow had the specific features we were looking for. The anti-colic valve is designed to help reduce air intake during feeding — the valve manages the airflow into the bottle so that Finn was drawing milk rather than air with each suck. That's the mechanism that addresses the colic problem at the source rather than managing the symptoms after the fact.
The classic shaped, wide neck teat was important for the latch. Finn had been bottle-fed from early on and had established a feeding pattern — we didn't want to disrupt that with a dramatically different teat shape. The wide neck classic shape is designed for easy latch, which meant the transition was smooth rather than requiring him to relearn how to feed.
The super-soft silicone is gentle against a baby's face — Finn feeds with his cheek pressed against the bottle, and the softness of the teat matters for comfort during what can be a prolonged feed. BPA, latex, and phthalate free. Dishwasher safe on the top rack and suitable for all sterilisation methods, which for parents doing multiple feeds a day is a practical necessity.
Medium flow for a three-month-old was the right choice — fast enough that he wasn't working too hard for the milk (which causes more air intake), slow enough that he wasn't overwhelmed by the flow.
The First Feed
We switched to the Vital Baby teats on a Thursday evening. Finn took to the new teat without any resistance — the wide neck classic shape was familiar enough that he latched immediately. The feed was calmer than the previous few evenings had been. He finished the bottle without the pulling away and crying mid-feed that had become normal. He was settled within twenty minutes of finishing.
We didn't want to read too much into one feed. But the next evening was similar. And the one after that.
Two Months On
Finn is now five months old. The colic has resolved — as it typically does, around the three to four month mark — but the Vital Baby teats are still the ones we use. The feeds have been consistently calmer since we switched. The prolonged evening crying that had been our nightly experience reduced significantly within the first week of switching teats and continued to improve as the colic naturally resolved.
I can't say with certainty that the teats were the only factor — colic resolves on its own timeline and there were other things we were doing. But the timing of the improvement correlated closely with the teat switch, and the feeds themselves were observably calmer from the first use. That's enough for me to recommend them to any parent dealing with a colicky baby.
The Practical Details
The teats go in the dishwasher after every feed — top rack, as specified. They've been through hundreds of dishwasher cycles and the silicone is intact, the valve is functioning, and the shape is unchanged. The wide neck fits our existing bottles without any compatibility issues. The pack of two means we always have a clean teat ready while the other is being washed.
These are small practical details that matter when you're doing multiple feeds a day and you're already tired. A teat that's easy to clean, compatible with your existing bottles, and comes in a pack of two is a teat that fits into your routine without adding friction.
What It Changed
We got our evenings back. That's the change. The prolonged crying that had made 6pm to 10pm the hardest part of every day became manageable, and then normal, and then — as the colic resolved — easy. Whether the teats were the primary cause of that improvement or a contributing factor, the improvement happened after we switched, and I'm grateful for the colleague who suggested it.
If your baby has colic and you haven't tried switching teats, it's worth trying. It costs very little, it takes one feed to know whether it's making a difference, and if it works, the difference is significant.
My Verdict
The Vital Baby Nurture Silicone Teats Medium Flow are well-made, properly designed anti-colic teats that are easy to use, easy to clean, and compatible with standard wide-neck bottles. If your baby is showing signs of colic and you haven't tried anti-colic teats, these are the ones I'd start with. The improvement in our feeding experience was significant enough that I'd recommend them to any parent in the same situation.
Find them in our store and browse more feeding essentials here:
- Baby Bottle Nipples
- Baby Bottle Nipples & Liners
- Feeding Essentials
- Nursing & Feeding
- Baby & Toddler
Tom Gallagher is a secondary school history teacher and father of one based in York. His son Finn is five months old, the colic has resolved, and the evenings are considerably more peaceful than they were two months ago.
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