Bottle Weaning: A Guide for Weaning from the Bottle

My kids weaned from the bottle with ease–during the day that is. As toddlers, all four still clung to that nippled-relic of babyhood at bedtime, and stories of baby bottle rot fueled my feeling that big kids didn’t need bottles. However, if you’ve made it to the toddler stage, you likely know that discovering your child shouldn’t have something is a lot easier than taking it away. Breast or bottle fed right from birth, babies are taught to associate milk with sleep.bottle weaning

Why should I wean my toddler from night and nap-time bottles?

That was a big question for me. A bottle at bedtime really comforted my toddlers. It also helped when they awoke from nightmares. Often they didn’t drink much of the milk, just held the bottle like a security blanket. I thought to myself, eventually they’ll give it up on their own so what does it hurt? Sadly, it does hurt.

Prolonged pacifier or bottle use can cause dental deformities including over, under, and cross bites. On top of that, the bacteria that like to cause cavities like to feed on the sugars present in milk, which just so happens to pool around the teeth while sleeping. As a result, children who sleep with bottles often develop what dentists call baby bottle tooth decay or rot. Between the two, a toddler who is allowed to bottle feed at night may be smiling at bedtime, but it likely won’t be a very pretty smile after a few years. Ideally, according to dentists, babies should cease nighttime feedings and be weaned from the bottle onto a sippy cup if bottle-fed by 6-12 months of age.

How do I wean my toddler from nap and nighttime bottles?

While there may be subtle variances in each, there are basically two ways to go about bottle weaning a toddler at nighttime or nap.

Crying Turkey:

This is pretty cut and dried. You take the bedtime bottle feeding away, suffer the drama, and eventually your toddler will get over it. Some parents are shocked to find their toddler isn’t that upset by it. Others have a long tantrum-blocked road ahead of them. It may help to exchange your child’s bottles for something, for instance, like a nighttime stuffed friend. You can even make up a bottle fairy, much like the tooth fairy, that will come and switch the bottles for the bedtime snuggly.

Like-a-Turtle:

Your other option is to take it slow and gradually remove the bottle from your toddler’s night or naptime routine. This is where the slight variances come into play. You could slowly decrease the amount of milk in your toddler’s bottle until it is no more than an empty plastic snuggly and then take it away, which makes it less heart-breaking.

You could also simply replace the milk in your toddler’s bottle with water, which eliminates the worry of baby bottle tooth decay, and then slowly decrease the water in the bottle, adding it to a sippy cup. Water is fine all night long and a sippy cup does not cause dental alignment issues as your child won’t be sleeping with it in his or her mouth. Some parents also add a stage on this one where they water down their child’s milk before switching to water. Personally, I find the idea of watered-down milk fairly unappetizing, so this may help deter desire for bottled comfort.

Fence-Sitting Turkey Turtle:

If you just can’t decide which way you want to go, you can take away the bottle cold turkey and introduce a milk-filled sippy cup which you then use one of the gradual techniques with. Alternately, you could offer an empty bottle and a full sippy cup, and let your toddler choose to ditch the bottle, because it’s empty. Also remember that if something just isn’t working and you’ve given it plenty of time (it will take time), there’s no shame in switching your game until you find something that works.

 

 

 

 

 

Kids, Cars, and Heat Stoke: What You Should Know

While leaving your child in the car for a moment is often a legal and moral conundrum in itself, the heat wave hitting the nation has added a new safety factor to the equation. Honestly, living in Alaska where typical weather does not top 70 degrees Fahrenheit or so, there have indeed been times that I have left a sleeping child in my car while stepping out to use a port-a-potty or run into a convenience store where I could see them through the glass. In areas such as mine that are now seeing record highs residents just aren’t used to, the dangers of leaving an child in a car even for a short time may be unknown.heat stroke cars kids

On average 37 children die of heat stroke or heat exhaustion in hot cars each year, with a total of 669 since 1998. The vast majority of those children– 97 percent–are under the age of 5 with 74 percent being younger than age 3.

How hot can a car get, and when does heat stroke become an concern?

A human being can suffer from heat stroke and die once the surrounding temperature reaches 104 degrees Fahrenheit. A child is more susceptible to heat stroke, because his/her central nervous system (which acts to cool the body in extreme heat) is not fully developed. A study from San Francisco State University found that in temperatures between 72 and 96 degrees a car will increase in heat by approximately 19 degrees in 10 minutes, 29 degrees in 20 minutes, 34 degrees in 30 minutes, and 43 degrees in an hour. That means on a sunny 80 degree day, it may take 20 minutes for a car’s interior to reach lethal temperatures, but in 100 degree heat, it would take mere minutes. The color of the vehicle’s interior may affect this rate. Numerous studies have shown cracking the windows to have little to no effect. In addition, interior temperatures don’t increase at a steady rate either, rather they vary with the external temperature and rate at which the surfaces of the car absorb radiation.

What do you need to know about vehicular heat stroke?

To put it frankly, never leave your child alone in the car. If you absolutely must, leave the car and air-conditioning running and be as quick as possible. That being said, the majority of heat stroke deaths in children are not a result of parents intentionally leaving them in the car. In fact, only 17% are, while 54% are a result of children that were simply forgotten in the car, another 29% were playing in an unattended vehicle, and the remaining 1% are unknown. It’s easy to say, “Oh, I’d never forget my child,” but parenthood can be hectic. It can and does happen– even to parents who said, “I’d never..”  It may help to always bring your child in first before groceries, your purse, etc (even if they are napping), refrain from answering calls or texts until you and your child are inside, and talk to your child often while driving.

To keep your child from sneaking into your car unattended, always keep your doors locked and your keys out of reach. You might also try some efforts to prevent toddler escapes.

Next, know the symptoms of heat stroke. These include dizziness, confusion, agitation, an overall sluggish appearance, dry, flushed skin without sweat that is hot to the touch, rapid heartbeat, hallucinations, seizure, and finally unconsciousness. In younger children, such as infants, some of these signs may be hard to spot.

If you suspect your child may be suffering from heat stroke, seek medical help immediately and make efforts to cool their body temperature. This may include removing clothing, applying cool water to the skin, offering cold drinks, cranking the AC, and so on.

Of course, heat stroke can happen outside of cars too. Remember to dress your child accordingly, use sunscreen, stay hydrated, and when not in the car, find cool places to escape the heat as often as possible. Avoiding strenuous activity in peak-heat hours is also recommended.

It’s hot outside, be safe.

Dry Drowning and Secondary Drowning: Symptoms to Know for Bath Safety

I was right there in the bathroom with her. With my daughter that is. She was, for once, actually playing in the tub rather than screaming like she was being dipped in acid while I cleaned her as quickly as humanly possible. She splashed excitedly, slipped, slid, and went under the water. She was under for less than 5 seconds, but came up coughing. She seemed fine after a moment and didn’t appear to have inhaled water, but my mind immediately went to an article I’d read a few years prior about a baby who’d died after slipping underwater in the tub.dry drowning second dary drowning bath

I couldn’t remember the right term, secondary drowning? Dry drowning? Delayed drowning? You can bet as soon as she was dry, clothed, and happily playing I went to researching the possible risks of a baby falling in the tub. If you find yourself in a similar situation, here’s what I learned.

The terms I was looking for were indeed dry drowning and secondary drowning (sometimes called delayed drowning). The two occur in a similar manner, but are not actually the same thing and have different timelines. Many mass hysteria click-bait pages have confused the two, and further confused realistic concerns for parents.

What is dry drowning?

Dry drowning, as far as timelines go, usually occurs just after your child has left the water. Dry drowning doesn’t actually affect the lungs directly by filling them with water. Water in the throat causes spasms which block the airway, as a result, your child can’t breathe. This is something you’re going to know about right away. Dry drowning is fairly common, but not often caused by things like bath tub slips. Swimmers, who say, cannon ball with their mouth open are the more likely victims.

What is secondary drowning?

Secondary drowning, on the other hand, usually occurs within 24 hours, but not immediately after water exposure, and is quite rare. In secondary drowning water has entered the lungs, just not so much as to cause immediate reaction. As the body attempts to remove said water, it actually creates more fluid leading to pulmonary edema (literally “lung fluid”) which then drowns the victim from the inside.

What are the symptoms secondary drowning?

Secondary drowning symptoms include:

-Cough
-Labored breathing or trouble breathing
-Feeling tired
-Chest pain
-Poor color
-Irritability

You’re basically looking for any sign that the body is not getting adequate oxygen. Obviously, if your child is showing immediate symptoms from dry drowning, you want to call 911 and get immediate care, but likewise, if your child shows signs of secondary drowning, even if not severe, you want to head to the emergency room.

Now, all that being said, I want to throw in that my baby was just fine, and I want to reiterate that secondary drowning is rare. In my opinion, it’s just a good idea to know the symptoms and keep them in mind if an accident happens and your child may have inhaled water. Rare or not though, bath tub accidents in general are very common in babies and toddlers. It’s estimated 60% of all bathtub injuries are children under 4, and in 50% of those children, injuries are to the head.

How can you prevent bathtub injuries?

-Always stay in the bathroom with kids under 4 while bathing.
-Install a non-slip mat and spout cover.
-Try to discourage standing in the tub until your child is an experienced walker (I know, easier said then done.)

Granted, you can’t bubble wrap your whole tub, and slips are bound to happen, some safety measures just, hopefully, will prevent serious injuries. If your child does fall in the tub, don’t beat yourself up, it happens, and you did what you could.