When and why should I take away her night time bottle

My baby is no longer breast feeding as i am UTD and she had me in tears it was so painful, so instead she has a bottle after her story, in bed, to go to sleep at night. My GP said we should try and get her off the bottle. She has a sippy cup or straw or pop top for all of her other drinks. We tried giving her a straw cup for her night milk and she drank it during her story, but it spills sometimes so I was forever telling her to sit up/ keep it straight, etc and it was really annoying. Tonight I have gone back to the bottle and it was so much easier and she settled so much better. Not even a peep when I left the room. Is there any reason in particular that I should take the bottle away from her? Will it hurt her teeth or something like that? Thanks :)

Babies/kids falling asleep with the bottle is supposed to cause tooth decay. DD1 & DD2 have both had bottles until they were 2. Before that, I just couldn't get it off them. As soon as they were asleep though, I'd go in and get the bottle.

Yes I have had numerous friends who's babies had to see a dentist for work at 2 due to bottles in bed. It is very very bad for their teeth. It doesn't take long for the enamel to be broken down and it happens often before you realise.

What's the go with babies who fall asleep on the breast? Is that the same re tooth decay?
(sorry to hijack...)

Bella still has a night time bottle but she has it like normal in the loungeroom then we brush her teeth and then bed. But she is 2 now.
Have you tried it that way?

My 4 year old just gave up his final night time bottle because he is a big boy now (so he informed me). I left it up to him to decide when to stop the bottle for various reasons.

I let him drink it in bed then he would call out (or I would go in after 15 mins or so) and I would take it to the kitchen to be washed. He never slept with it.

My youngest is 2 years old and only has a night time bottle. He sleeps with his as a cuddle toy but does not keep it in his mouth. To make sure he can not suck the teat, after 15 mins I go into his room, he gives me his bottle and I put a lid on it. He likes the shape of it as it fits his body just right and he likes to cuddle hard things.

As a childcare worker, we are not allowed to let children fall to sleep with milk or anything other than water on their teeth. It is a reccomendation by dental associations. We give children their milk before bed and then they rinse their mouths with water then spit it out before laying down to sleep. It can be difficult to get children into this habbit after being in the habbit of drinking from a bottle and going to sleep with it in their mouth, but I have seen children with black teeth, decay and even teeth pulled out because they were so ridden with decay. My nephew is one. He had about 5 teeth pulled out when he was only 3yrs old (after having horrible decayse for 2ish yrs before that) because of having milk in a bottle to sleep with.

There are several reasons toddlers and young children shouldn't have milk before bed- milk is quite high in sugar, dental caries (tooth decay) can occur.
When a child drinks lying down, milk can flow through to the ear cavity, which can cause ear infections.
It has been proven that milk is bad for teeth when a child sleeps through the night with it on their teeth and formula is also not good. Usually milk caries can result from bottle-feeding children with formula, milk, cordial or fruit juice.
Once the first teeth begin to show, never allow your baby to fall asleep on the bottle. Gently extract them just as they begin to drift off and it is clear they are no longer feeding.

Helle,
Breastfeeding can protect teeth. Breast-feeding has only a very small risk of producing caries and that the benefits of extended breastfeeding (beyond 12 months) outweigh the low risk. But it is still a good idea not to let bubs fall asleep on the breast. While BM has healing properties, it also still has alot of sugar, and carries risks of damaging teeth.


This info is coming from a professional place. From a mummy place, I know how hard it is to not let children fall asleep on breast or bottle. Both of my children have gone to sleep on breast or bottle until they were about 18mths. Luckily for me they then weaned themselves from falling asleep that way naturally.
Good luck.

Thanks everyone for your helpful information and suggestions. Here's what we're doing now ... worked last night and tonight. I have given her the bottle back (is this ok??) and she drinks it while she has her stories. When her stories are finished, she lies down and finishes it off while I sit quietly beside her bed. Then when she is finished she hands over the bottle, I brush her teeth, she has a drink of water out of her sippy cup (that stays in her room overnight), I kiss her and cuddle her and then out I go. She has winge for a few minutes and that's it!! YAY!! So let's hope this continues to work. Thanks again for all your help. Is it ok for her to be sucking on a bottle still or will that affect how her teeth grow?

Also, how much milk should she be drinking in a 24 hour period?

Also, does it have to be normal milk or can it be low fat/trim (as that is what the rest of the family drinks).

THANKS!!

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Also, does it have to be normal milk or can it be low fat/trim (as that is what the rest of the family drinks).

THANKS!!

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Can only really answer this one as I remember reading somewhere that under 2s should be having full fat milk. (I currently just buy the full fat one for all of us - DS hasn't really gotten into cows milk yet. - can't be bothered having two different sorts of milk in the fridge just in case DS decides he likes milk)