NIGHTTIME BOTTLE SAFETY

Sending your baby to sleep with a bottle in his mouth may damage the teeth which is what doctors call bottle mouth. You should never do this. If you want to ease baby off the nighttime bottle, try watering the formula down, or better still give him water.

If you prefer to water down the formula, gradually dilute the bottle contents with increasing amounts of water until baby figures out it's not worth waking up and fussing for a bottle of water. Though it is tempting to leave a bottle in the crib with the baby when you have to feed him at 2:00 a.m. don't do this!

Not only does this really help to contribute to tooth decay, your baby can choke with no one there to help. Don't let your baby sleep with a bottle of milk or juice. Bottles are not good for your baby's teeth. Do not soak pacifiers with honey either.

When your baby falls asleep, saliva flow decreases, which lowers the baby’s natural rinsing action on the teeth. The honey will coat the teeth. Plaque and bacteria will use this to eat your baby’s teeth. If a baby is hooked on the nap or nighttime bottle, try watering down the juice or milk, each night diluting it a bit more until it's all water.