New Teeth, Sippy Cups & Bottle Questions

Don't worry about her not holding her bottle too much! At 8 months my son would not hold his bottle either. We would prop it up and watch him closly. When he would drop it we would help him a little bit, but we stopped helping him a little bit at a time. He is 10 months now and holding his bottle just fine. We use the playtex bottles with the liners, so all he has to do is suck the rest of the air out and he doesn't even have to hold the bottle upright, which is hard for us to get him to drink from sippy cups, but he is slowly getting the hang of it. Put water into a sippy and offer it to her while she is eating a snack, if she has started on the little stars they are great for first time snacks, they dissolve quickly. Just remember, if they wont hold the bottle they wont drink from sippy's, or at least that is what I have heard.
You can also try this: Does she gets upset when you don't give her the bottle fast enough? If yes, then you can hold it in front of her. She will realize after a while that she is the only one keeping her from getting that bottle. Try this aswell for a couple of weeks and she should start holding her bottle

Good Luck!!

I don't really know what to say about the toothbrush thing, as I'm not sure that I do it right. But at that age, I used one of the brushes that fit over your finger and baby toothepaste. And I brushed last thing before the last bottle, so that my son wouldn't wake up too much. As for the bottle and sippy cups, my son wouldn't hold his bottle or drink out of a sippy cup until he was after one, and now he does both just fine.

My daughter only has two teeth also. Her Dr. told us to give her a wet washcloth to chew on or just wipe them with a washcloth to clean them.

If your daughter hates sippy cups, you could try getting her one with a straw. It was the only way my daughter would take one.

Good luck!

I always made brushing teeth part of the night/bath routine. With first teeth I just wiped them off a little, no brush. You want it to be a quick thing that she does not mind. ;-)

As for the drinking there are a few kids that just don't care for sippy cups for some reason. I know some people have just let them sip at mealtimes from a cup and then at 1- 1.5 yr they just go to totally a cup with mom's help and lid. I think that would be fine. No reason she has to hold a bottle or cup. But see if she is willing to hold other toys/objects of that size. Is the size/grip issue or just a perference. There are bottles, cups with handles, small centers (hourglass), and other designs that some kids do better with.

btw it is really reccommended that we hold them and 'give' them a bottle to make sure they are slightly upright and to give them the nurturing they need from mommy. ;-)

ts

With both of our babies, when they turned one,we let them have their last sippy of milk right before bed and then we brushed their teeth with the finger-glove toothbrush and babypaste they sell at WM, Target, etc. (safe to swallow) Then they were only allowed to have water until morning. Once you brush their teeth at night, they should only have water. Even milk and juice sugars damage the teeth. She probably just wants you to hold the bottle because she likes that time with you. Just try to encourage her, and if she does it even for a second, give her some praise to show her that you are proud.
Have you tried a Nuby cup with a soft spout? WE LOVE THOSE! They are great for transitioning from a bottle. We introduced them around 10 months, and they had some water with their meals. At one year, we dropped the bottles our kids didn't even notice since they were used to the Nuby's by then.

Hey there K...I brush my 11 month olds teeth after every meal but that is because she has some serious bad breath and I just use a childs toothbrush and paste. She doesn't really like it too much, but she does like just sucking on a wet toothbrush which helps too with some of the bad breath. About the not holding her bottle thing...that is not in the same category as her crawling and cruising. My daugher has Down Syndrome and goes to therapy twice a week and that is an occupational thing rather than a physical thing. You might want to talk to your doctor to see what he/she thinks about that...your child could have sensory issues which can be easily alliviated. In the mean time..have you tried the Nuby sippy cups that have a softer nipple. Those seem to be working for us. Hope this helped. I too am a single mother and full time student so I know how frustrating things can get. Just go along with your little one..they will let you know when they are ready for different thing. Take care of yourself and your little one!!

Brushing those 2 teeth with a soft wet brush is fine. If you want you can buy the training toothpaste by oral b.

You are right it is not a developmental issue. As for the bottle and sippy cup, it will all come with time. Don't rush it.

Think of back in the old days when none of these fancy things such as toothpaste and sippy cups were available!

I am a child development specialist for the past 10 years with 3 kids of my own. I do think a few guidelines or milestones are very important. There are more benefits to getting your child off the bottle by 15 months than not. The sugars in the cow's milk will rot their teeth no doubt about that. Also as long as they are having to use sucking muscles, speech muscles in the mouth and tongue will be slower to develop. I am not a big fan of sippy cups for this reason but we all use them for convenience. I used to give it to mine without the stopper and my children simply do not run all over the house with drinks in hand. Food and drinks stay at the table. It is much less traumatic to wean a younger child off the bottle than an older one. As they get older with the bottle they are controlling you and the fits and emotions are much harder to deal with.

Hi K.,
My daughter who is now 16 mths got her first teeth at about 5 mths,at the time we were attending a great peds Dr in NC (you see we just moved down to TX) she told me to just dampen/wet a white face cloth put it in the fridge for a little while and just try to rub it along her teeth front and back she may like the cold feeling and it may sooth her gums when she is teething.It worked for me my daughter loved it and she loved to suck on it,I also gave her a very soft brissle toothbrush in her hand when she was playing which she would just chew on,I learned that trick from another Mom!!!
As regards the sippy cup the Dr also told me just to give it to her 1/2 full of water or whatever she likes to drink when she is sitting, playing or going for a walk in the stroller she may throw it around or bang it off the stroller but hopefully she will eventually put it to her mouth,also allow her to see you drink from it.
As for the bottle my Daughter did not hold hers until she was about 9 mths.So don't worry,hang in there every child is different,I'm sure she will get it.Hope this is of help to you.Good Luck .
A.

Ok..first..I am not from this country..I don't have anything against american doctors. My doctor is wonderful and I love this country. However, these pediatric guidelines about feeding solids at 4 mo, loosing the bottle by 12 mo, potty trained by 18 mo. PLEASE!! Whoever invented these guidelines does not have any children at all. This country is just obsessed with following guidelines when it comes to children and their development. K...don't fight it..your daughter is not ready for the sippy cup..i know you are busy, and you are trying to speed things up just like we speed through everthing else in our lives..immediate gratification..is called..it does not work with babies..well not this one. if you want to brush her teeth..go ahead...there is a a special tooth paste from Oral B that is sold at your local Drug store that is for babies and it can be swallowed. my child did not hold his bottle until he was about 13 months..he just did not want to because mommy was holding it..i tried, but the more i tried he refused..you don't have to follow every little thing the DR. tells you..they do it for precaution, but babies are babies..what is the hurry to be a grown up? they are only babies once!!! maybe this is one way she has to spend some time with you..take advantage of this..i think if you just managed to brush her teeth before bed..that will just be fine..girl..don't fret..i hope i wasn't too harsh..