Bottle before Bed?

[jenny]

DD is turning 1 in a month and currently we put her to bed by giving her a bottle. If she's really tired, she passes out as soon as she's through drinking.

Is this a bad habit? Am I not supposed to do this? Do you just put them in the crib when they're half sleepy?

[BeccaB.]

Dentists don't like you to feed to sleep because the formula can cause cavities in the children's teeth. I have read in baby books though that is fine to do. I guess maybe you could give a little water in place of formula if your uncomfortable with it.

[LRSnark]

My husband is a pediatrician and he always recommends that parents brush their babies' teeth right before bed. A dentist should be able to provide you with an infant toothbrush--they have silicone models with a double-sided curved "brush" that babies love to chew (providing the friction to "brush" the teeth) and little terry finger mitts that you simply rub over the baby's teeth. I'm always amazed at what I get off my son's teeth with the mitt... He's 15 mo. and we still put him to bed with a bottle. At his age, when he's done he just pushes it away and grabs his pacifier--the signal for us to brush his teeth (which he actually really enjoys).

I think we started putting him to bed awake before 12 months, but after nine months. It's a great relief not to have to worry about making sure he's asleep before you leave the room.