When Should I Stop Putting My Baby Down With a Bottle?
Posted on 5/1/2024 by Weo Admin
If your baby is peacefully sleeping with a bottle in their mouth, it makes an adorable picture. There will come a time, however, when you need to remove the bottle from your baby when you put them to bed for a nap or for bedtime.
The Danger of Bottles at Bedtime
Putting your baby down with a bottle when they do not have any teeth is not an issue. However, as your baby begins to get their first teeth, leaving them in the crib with a bottle could potentially be a problem. If you have milk or juice in a bottle or a sippy cup with your baby when you put them to sleep, you are allowing sugars to remain in the mouth for hours.
Bacteria love sugar, so giving your baby a bottle at naptime or bedtime encourages the bacteria to multiply. Over time, your baby can develop cavities from the sugar in the milk or juice. Babies can even get gum disease, which is an infection in their gums.
Also, if your baby leaves the bottle in its mouth as it sleeps, its teeth will begin to shift, causing bite issues. These bite issues could include crossbites and open bites, which usually require an orthodontist to treat with braces or aligners a few years later.
What Should I Do?
If your baby has begun to get teeth, it is time to start weaning them off the bottle in their crib. Most pediatricians and pediatric dentists recommend you stop giving them a bottle when you put them down for naptime or bedtime when they are past their first birthday. Usually, your baby will begin to have teeth erupt around their first birthday, if not before.
To wean your baby from the bedtime bottle, allow them to have a bottle, but gradually reduce the amount of liquid in it so that, eventually, the bottle is empty, and you can remove it. You can also switch the liquid to water rather than milk or juice. If you are unsure how to help your baby give up their bottle, we can help. Contact us today to set up an appointment with our dentist.
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If your baby is peacefully sleeping with a bottle in their mouth, it makes an adorable picture. There will come a time, however, when you need to remove the bottle from your baby when you put them to bed for a nap or for bedtime.