Tanner had his 12 mo. well baby appointment today. All went well:
- 55% on weight
- 85% on height
- No MMR until 15 months! Whew!
- only 3 shots today, but pink Band-Aids (Daddy groaned, lol)
- Advised NOT to use Johnson & Johnson baby soap/shampoo, but rather Dove for skin sensitivity
- Hemoglobin down a little, so he was put back on Poly-Vi-Sol with iron, 1cc per day
Our pediatrician advised that Tanner be weaned off bottle ASAP. Transition to the sippy. No binkie in the daytime except for naps and to go to sleep at night. (We're fine with that.) But here's the kicker......NO MILK AT BEDTIME without brushing his teeth. NO milk from a bottle at all. We have always given him a bottle at bedtime and that is what he is used to. Apparently, the sugars and flow from the bottle/nipple can cause tooth decay; I should have thought of that, or asked. However, it will wake him up to brush his teeth, won't it??? So, do we give him his bottle an hour before bed and try to get him to go to sleep with just the binkie? I can't imagine that working, but he may have to cry it out for a tad bit until he realizes that he has to put himself to sleep without the bottle. Is that what most parents do?? We also have been known to give him a bottle overnight when he wakes. No more of that!! I guess I can give him a bottle of plain water for the action he likes and he'll soon put it down since it won't taste the same and hopefully go back to sleep. Please help!!!
Sidenote: I tried to brush his teeth tonight after his bottle, but he was so asleep that all he did was pucker up his mouth, so I couldn't get in. That is obviously NOT the way to do it. I was just so worried about his teeth that I had to try.
Wow, I'm afraid I'm absolutely no help here. I didn't know that about milk either. I thought my ped said that the tooth decay was from the actual bottle (aka bottle teeth).
ReplyDeletethat is a tough one.I can empathize...it's hard enough to get little ones to bed and then without their soothing device...hmmmm. Good luck :(
WE never used a bottle to get Em to sleep. They had warned against that in our child classes. So we started with the paci from the get go. So, I guess I'm no help either.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a lovely thing to look forward to at the 12 month appointment. I can't say that I've used a bottle for putting Kailey to sleep either. I always feed her a bottle before bed and then give her a pacifier from that point to go to sleep.
ReplyDeleteI'm not looking forward to taking away all the bottles and starting with real food for a lot of things as well as sippy cups. Yikes!
But, if you rock them and give them their bottle, then give the pacifier, prior to placing them in the crib, when do you brush their teeth? I would think that the milk sugars would still be in their mouth and on their teeth whther they got the bottle while you rocked them or in the crib itself. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteI think my ped was saying that cow's milk has more sugar than formula, if it has any at all. That is why all of this came up.
Hey Holly! well personally the whole tooth decay thing seems silly since these are his baby teeth anyways and he will be losing them soon. I can't believe they even say we have to brush their teeth this early on. Seems like when they get to the point when they can immitate you and do it themselves is sufficient, but what do I know. The whole bottle 1 hour before bed and then having him fall asleep with a rocky and binkie is ok too, plus it will break him of NEEDING the bottle to go to sleep but that's only if it's a battle you want to fight. If he's still waking up midway through the night for a baba you could start watering it down and giving less (4 oz) until he won't want to wake up for something so blah!! that's something I read not sure if it will work but I thought it was a pretty good idea. Logan is on day 7 of sleeping from 8 or 9pm until I wake him up at 6:45am to leave for daycare. I hope this isn't short lived it's wonderful sleeping all night again and took him long enough!! But seriously I think that MOST parents give the bottle before bed without a second thought if that's what helps baby get to sleep. Hope this helps let me know what you decide
ReplyDeleteBeka
From my experience, milk didn't matter w/Sean b/c they are baby teeth!I put him to sleep every night with a bottle of cold milk and several books. Tanner will lose them in a few short years. I've never heard of a dentist filling a cavity in a baby tooth.
ReplyDeleteYou're not giving him Pepsi Hol.
I think Tanner being well-rested and comfortable is a lot more important for his health than depriving him of a bottle at bed time for baby tooth decay.
Holly-as a Certified Dental Asst., I am here to tell you that the Dental world and Physician world don't always agree. It is true that babies can have a fever and diarherra when teething-Physicians say they can't...So as far as a bottle-it is more about the actual milk not formula. Pacifers also can make the palatte and teeth form in a bad way.
ReplyDeleteDon't wake him to brush the teeth-since children don't go to the Dentist until age 3-4, you know that this is alittle obsessive.
It is the parent who puts the child to bed with juice, soda etc. the will have major problems. If you take away the bottle too soon, you could have a thumb sucker.
Isn't amazing that all the people that are baby boomers and above managed to raise children without all this "new found wisdom".
You are great parents! RELAX!
Anonymous~
ReplyDeleteNot sure if I know you, but I am glad to hear your opinions, nonetheless! I should have been more clear...we have always given Tanner a bottle before bed. It wasn't until recently, when my pregnant belly got in the way of holding Tanner, that we gave him his bottle in the crib instead of in the rocker. We remove it as soon as he falls asleep. I know they warn against this, but he is constantly watched on a video camera, with sound, so we would know if anything bad was happening. I plan to avoid fruit juices for as long as I can. He gets plenty of fresh and baby food fruit and doesn't need the sugars, any time of day. I DO think it is ridiculous to wake him or even attempt to clean his teeth after he has fallen asleep, and that was my instinct, so I am glad to hear you say that.
My question to you is...you said, "it is more about the actual milk, not formula." Please tell me more of what you meant by that.
Again, thanks for commenting and for the compliment at the end! :)
I don't have knowledge on whether or not it will cause tooth decay or not, but from experience I encourage you to stop drinks atleast an hour before bed. Not only to help you during potty training, which is probably only a year away. But also because my husband and I allowed our first child to have a bottle every night right before bed which of course he fell asleep while drinking and whenever he awoke in the middle of the night he needed us to help comfort him back to sleep. He is over the bottle, but he is not over letting us have to comfort him back to sleep in the middle of the night... and he is now four.
ReplyDeleteWith our second child we began her bedtime routine with her a little awake in her bed each evening, no last minute bottle, and she has slept 12 hours a night with no problem since she was 2 1/2 months old. I don't know if it is the difference between boy and girl, or if it is because we always put her to bed awake, but let me tell you that I know for a fact the middle of the night is a bad time to be comforting a four year old.
I encourage you to use your summer (before baby #2) to help him learn how to go to sleep on his own (of course binky in hand)so you can hopefully not have to be comforting in the middle of the night for years to come.
Hope my advice is helpful. Good luck with baby #2. Each child is a brand new blessing from God.
Hey Hol,
ReplyDeleteI actually do both. Peyton will fall asleep finishing his bottle after dinner (he is 9 mo so he still getting cereal and a bottle around 8pm but we are moving toward just a bottle). BUT he also will have nights where he doesn't fall asleep with the bottle and I do brush his teeth and lay him down awake. He slept through the night 7-9 hours since 2 months. Since 3 or 4 months he sleeps 10 plus hours a night. He has to learn to self sooth so you aren't getting up every 3-4 hours. NO overnight bottles!!!!! He will not starve and you never want to use a bottle to sooth. Binkie? Ok, but not a bottle. If he wakes at night give him 5 - 10 min to go back to sleep, if he is screaming for 5 min plus go in and give him the binkie and a kiss and WALK OUT. Repeat this at 10 min intervals. He will start to do it himself. Hang in there. You need your sleep girl, you are about to start this all over again. Good luck!