Baby tooth care and nightime routine suggestions needed

[ccutshaw]

Hi,

My son is almost 11 months old and goes to sleep very easily with the following routine:dinner, bath, reading, then I sing to him while rocking him and giving him a bottle. He gets very sleepy and I put him in his crib while he is still a little bit awake and he rolls over and goes to sleep.

I have a couple of questions:

1) How do I handle the transition from formula to milk? Do I mix them, gradually changing the proportions until it tis totally whole milk? How long should this transition last? Do I warm the milk or does he just go from warm or room temp formula to cold milk?

2) How do I handle the transition from the nightime bottle? Now he drinks water from a sippy cup during the day and with his meals, and he still gets bottles when he wakes up in the am, around 10, around 3 and when he goes to sleep. Do I slowly start giving him sippy cups with milk at 10 am and 3 pm bottles, then the one he has when he wakes up and then the nighttime bottle last? Or - do I just quit having scheduled bottles and give him milk with his meals and at other times? Do they just give up the milk totally at night before bed or should I give him milk with dinner (usually I give water) and then a little milk before he goes to sleep?

2) Where does tooth care fit in the bedtime routine? DS has 2 bottom teeth. How should we care for them? After his bottle, should I be giving him water, or cleaning his teeth before putting him down? Will this get him all wound up again?

Sorry for the long post, but DS goes to bed so well, I am dreading :) the changes that are coming to his nightime routine. I know he will adjust to them over time, but it seems kind of strange to go from warm formula in a bottle to cold milk in a sippy cup all of a sudden.

Thanks as always!

Chris

Mom to Owen, 11.22.03

[Mayan]

Wow, I could have written that post!!!
DS is almost 11 months, and his sleeping and eating routine sound almost exactly like yours!!! and he also has 2 bottom teeth.
I am eagerly awaiting any answers that we can get.

If I can add a question - do youhave to switch to milk? what about that similac 2 formula for older babies? doesn't formula still have more nutrients (especially vitamins) than cow's milk?


Mayan
Mom to Adi (12/04/02)

[barbarhow]

I too am waiting for an answer-DS has 4 teeth at 6 1/2 mos. I know we shoudl have started brushing his teeth as soon as they appeared but I nurse him to sleep-I know I'm not going to wake him up to brush his little teeth before bed. And how often should they be brushed? Is this for practise and getting him used to brushing later or can they really get cavities of their baby teeth. Or can it lead to decay in their permanent teeth? So many questions....

Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03

[wendmatt]

I can't help out too much as I'm still nursing at bedtime, but I brush dd's teeth before bath time. I know you are not supposed to have anything after brushing but I thought it's better to do that than not at all. I try to brush in the morning after breakfast as well but I keep forgetting.
I don't think you have to change to cows milk immediately at 1 year but when you do, do it like you said, gradually mixing it. My nephew is 2 and still has a bottle at bedtime as his comfort but a sippy cup in the day. I don't know if I agree with this but it's not my child and he goes to sleep easily which is more than I can say!
I would def not just give cold at bedtime, warm milk would be much more comforting, whether in a bottle or sippy cup.
I would like all the answers to q 2 as well,as I want to know the same but with nursing!!
You are so lucky he goes to bed so easily!
Good luck

[vikivoly]

"Wow, I could have written that post!!!"

It sounds like a lot of us are in the same boat. DD turns 1 year on 11/23 and her sleeping and eating routine is exactly the same. Maybe we're actually doing something right!.

I brush DD's teeth at night after her bath, but before her bottle, soley because I don't want to wake her up too much before putting her down for the night. At this stage, I think a lot of the teeth brushing is more for developing a routine and getting them used to brushing.

Hope we get some responses soon.

[JElaineB]

DS is 12.5 months old and I am dealing with some of the same issues. I've got #1 down, but I'm still working on #2 and #3 myself! In fact I came here to ask about transitioning from bottle to sippy cup, so I am interested in those responses too!

Anyway, as for switching to whole milk, I waited until DS was 12 months to start. For 1 week I gave him 1/4 whole milk, 3/4 formula. The second week I gave him 1/2 and 1/2. This past week I gave him 3/4 whole milk and 1/4 formula. Starting today I am giving him only whole milk. This has worked well for us, no problems so far with the switch. I am giving him cold bottles now. We were barely heating them up for a while before, but if your son is used to warmer bottles now you might want to start giving them cooler and cooler so by the time you get to whole milk he will be used to pretty cold. He has adjusted to the different temperatures just fine.

As I said, I'm still working on the bottle/sippy cup thing myself. He loves to drink water out of sippy cups, but he isn't doing great at taking milk out of them. He does, but just not that much. Sometimes I can tell he wants a bottle and just doesn't want to drink out of the sippy cup. I am trying to just give him a bottle before his nap and at bedtime, but sometimes I give in and give him one later in the afternoon when he doesn't want the sippy cup but I can tell he wants a bottle. I've always tried to let him lead us into telling us when he is ready for things (such as sleep and feeding) and it has worked out well so far, but I am worried I am missing some "window of opportunity" if I keep letting him have bottles too much longer.

For brushing the teeth, DS has 5 teeth with a sixth coming in. We brush his teeth (or usually he does it himself, not very well!!) when we get his pajamas on, before his last bottle. I haven't figured out any other way to do it. There is no way I could brush when he is about to fall asleep. I am interested in what other people do with this as well.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[smilequeen]

OK, the toothbrushing part...this is the dentist perspective... Yes, they do really ideally need to be brushed as soon as they get a tooth. I urge parents to start wiping the gums daily before tooth appear, just to get the baby used to it. You can either use a baby toothbrush or a wet washcloth as they don't need toothpaste yet. If they nurse or take a bottle to get to sleep, you can go in and wipe those teeth off after they have gone to sleep. It's perfectly OK that you haven't started yet, just start easing the baby into it now.

Baby teeth absolutely can get cavities which would require treatment...I see little kids with toothaches and abscesses weekly. It's best to avoid them. Anything other than water should be brushed/wiped off the teeth, especially before sleeping...the salivary glands relax while sleeping, the mouth gets more dry, and the environment for tooth decay to develop is really at it's best while sleeping, so you don't want to leave anything on the teeth at that point if at all possible.

I know it's tough. Some babies hate having their teeth brushed. But it's kind of in that, it's in their best interest, so it has to be done no matter what realm. Try and make it fun, or do it gently while they are sleeping. They can be laying down or sitting on your lap, sometimes coming from behind them helps. Sometimes it takes both parents. Sometimes you might make them laugh and sneak in. Unfortunately, sometimes you just have to go in and do it despite protests. A few little teeth, babies don't require a "2 minutes" of brushing thing...just get in there, wipe them off and you are done. It might also help to just get them used to the brush or clothe by just letting them play with it on their own. But keep in mind that a child less than 7 or so does not have the manual dexterity to adequately brush their own teeth, and you need to be there to finish the job.

[barbarhow]

Thank you! That really helps. We will start on a smile maintenance plan today.
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03

[etwahl]

karen, we don't have teeth here yet, but i do have a question for when they do come in. lauren nurses all night - every 2 hours. when she has teeth, i can't imagine brushing them every 2 hours at night (or around the clock). how would i deal with this instance?

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[smilequeen]

Tammy, what I would probably do is just keep a wet washcloth nearby and after she's done just sneak in a quick wipe. You don't have to get in and really brush. I'd probably start testing it out now...wiping her gums or brushing them with a baby brush, so she's used to it when the teeth come in :)

[LucyG]

Should you just use water and a baby toothbrush? I can't imagine trying to get them to spit and not swallow at this age! When should you start with toothpaste?

[COElizabeth]

I think water is fine, but there are also non-fluoride toothpastes made for toddlers, and they may help your baby be more cooperative (because they taste good). We're using a Gerber fruit-flavored one right now. It seems to be making James a *little* more cooperative with brushing. You definitely shouldn't use a fluoride paste until your child understands to spit it out.

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02

[Karenn]

We just finished the transition off of a night time bottle a few weeks ago and I have to say it went much more smoothly than I thought it would. (However, it was the only bottle we ever had so that might account for it.)

I first got him used to taking cold formula from a sippy during the day by offering it at meal time. Then, I picked a night when he was reasonably tired, but not too tired and simply gave him a sippy cup of formula instead of a bottle. I knew that he would take formula from a sippy and it was my plan to simply start watering down the formula after he got used to the cup. He decided that he wasn't interested enough in the formula to get it from the cup, so after a couple of sips, he pushed the cup away. I offered it a few more nights and he continued to push it away. After that, it was over. He continued to fall asleep and stay asleep all night. I was SO relieved. :)

The last milk he has is at dinner and we brush his teeth after he's dressed from his bath, but before the story and songs. (Same routine here too. :) )

In terms of introducing whole milk, if I had to do it over, I think I would mix it gradually like you suggested (maybe over the course of a week or two?). Colin had a reaction to the milk and I sometimes wonder if I might have avoided it if I had introduced it more slowly.

I think you're right about making all the changes gradually. Good luck with the transistions!

[kaitlinsmommy]

I started cleaning dd's teeth with wet gauze around 5 months. She now has an Oral B baby toothbrush and baby toothpaste that I got from Target. The toothpaste is flouride-free so it is okay to swallow. I don't think regular kids toothpaste is needed til much later, maybe around 2.

[smilequeen]

Water is really adequate for babies, but non-fluoride baby or toddler toothpaste works too. It just really isn't neccessary until babies are on solids most of the time.

[Mayan]

I went to the Peds yesterday and she said she had talked to a pediatric dentist, who suggested taking a tiny (really tiny) bit of regular toothpaste, and wiping it on the teeth, then wiping it off with a cloth. The little amount swallowed by the baby is not harmful. In fact, it replaces the fluoride you give in drops.
That's what she had been doing with her son (I guess peds learn more about kids when they have kids of their own :)).
Mayan
mom to Adi (12.04.02)