My know-it-all younger sister (God, love her) came for a visit this last weekend; she told me more than once that it was not a good thing for my 10.5 month old daughter to hold her bottle...is there truth to this?
~mb
Spoke to my sis; she said it was beacuse you do not want them to get attached to the bottle! I do not agree! and I do not put my child into bed with a bottle; she is either on my lap and/or I am sitting with her when she is in her highchair!
No offense, but that is ridiculous. Children need to learn to be independant and at 10 mo. she should be able to roll over or sit up if she gets to big of a mouthful. My son has held his since 5 mo. and he just drops it when he is full or has to big of a drink.
Holding her own bottle while you hold her is great. What's not appropriate is for a newborn to be set in a carseat(or other type of seat, or propped with pillows on the couch) and a bottle propped up or, god forbid, one of those recent inventions that actually holds the bottle for the mom so the newborn can eat without "bothering" the mom. Feeding time is bonding time. By 10.5 months, there are lots of other bonding activities, like reading stories at bedtime. She should be drinking out of a sippy cup for mealtimes, and having a bottle at bedtime or naptime while you hold her is just fine.
I have never heard that there are any problems with a child holding their own bottle for any physical/medical reason (except maybe gas if they're getting air with the bottle). Feeding time is a great way for children to bond with their caregiver...so if your daughter is holding her own bottle try to hold them. If you are having your child feed themself then just make sure you are making up for that bonding time in other ways. You want your child to know that you provide for their basic needs.
Hope this helps!
I haven't heard that before either.
I have heard that when they are very small that you should hold their bottle. But, I am not exactly sure the reasoning for that.
Hi M.,
I don't know why your sister would say this, unless maybe you are not holding your daughter while she eats? Another person mentioned that they had heard that a young baby is not supposed to hold their own bottle,but she wasn't sure why. The only reason is...bonding. Feeding a child is a special time for a mother and baby to bond, but even so, as long as you are holding that baby, it doesn't really matter if the baby is holding it's own bottle or not!!! And at 10.5 months old...that's almost a toddler right there, and I know my own son used to hold his own bottles by then too (I think a lot of babies do it younger than that as well.) While I did hold my son while he was eating (and holding his own bottle), I was a stay at home mom with nothing better to do than to just take care of HIM. Now I have a 5-month old baby girl and my son just turned 2. I tell ya, I am SO crazy busy these days, when my daughter starts holding her own bottle, I regret saying that I may just let her drink her own bottle w/out me holding her! I will try to because I do love holding her and this precious time passes too quickly, but I doubt she will love me any less if I do not get to hold her every time...
Don't worry about what your sister said!
What she probably meant was that it is important for a baby you daughters age to have close contact with you while she's eating. She should still be in your arms, and you should be concentrating on her during feedings. You both need the opportunity for frequent physical and emotional bonding time, and feeding her is the perfect time for that - you can both take a break from the rest of your schedules and concentrate on each other. However, if you daughter is in your arms and holding the bottle herself, or if you're providing that bonding opportunity at other times, it's perfectly fine for her to hold her own bottle. It will not damage her physically or anything.
M.,
I agree with the other ladies who said it's fine for the baby to hold her own bottle as long as you're holding her.
I saw my sister-in-law "propping" up a bottle for her young daughter and I never said anything...this was over a year ago and I still regret not mentioning it to her. I'm sure your sister gave you this advice out of love for you and her niece!
Best wishes,
K.
young babies should not hold their own bottle because of the chance they could aspirate. Also it is not recommended to put a baby to bed with a bottle for the same reasom above and that it leads to tooth decay, but my daughter holds her bottle of water or juice all the time. She is 7 months, but I never put her to bed with it. Allowing them to hold the bottle also helps so that they can hold and use a cup.
What was her reasoning for this? I have not heard that one before! I have heard that they SHOULD be holding their own bottle!
L.
Tell your sister, its your child not hers and her holding a bottle @ 10.5 is awesome ! That means she is strong and has good control.
Sorry to sound harsh did not mean to come off that way
C.
I kind've agree. When my 3.5 yr old was around 6 months-8 months I asked the doctor about that because I thought she should be "able" to hold the bottle.. He told me if I could, NOT to let her hold it especially never let her walk around with it.. He said that holding it would make it more of a possession and taking it away would be harder. I always held my daughter and held her bottle for her.. ya, once she got older she'd hold it but I would always be sitting with her.. I took the bottle away at 16 months (4 months later than the doctor told me to-haha) and there was no fight at all.. Good Luck, A.
I have heard that they shouldn't hold their own bottle and I believe that the reason is yes the bonding. Also, at this age your child should be drinking out of a cup whenever possible. It is easier to remove the bottle, pacifier, etc, when they are young like this, rather than when they are older and can ask for it by name. It is better for their teeth and jaw growth development not to have bottles, etc for longer than necessary. I would start her drinking from sippy cups with meals and snacks. Kids should never take bottles to bed, it causes tooth decay. I wouldn't remove the bottles all together but at 10.5 months, it should not be the main drink delivery system.
On the other side, remember that you are your child's parent, it is your choice, no matter what you decide, it will be right for your child. Maybe when sister says something, you could respond with "Thanks for the advice, I will keep that in mind." If she keeps it up then next time try, "You always have good ideas and advice, but I don't think that I want to change anything right now. I will look into it another time." Anyway, good luck.
Wow - this is a new one to me!! My daughter is 9 mos and for the past 2 mos she has been holding her own bottle. She does NOT want to be held! She also drinks out of a sippy cup. Part of this, I'm sure, has to do with that she sees her 3yr old brother doing things, and she wants to do what he does! There are other ways you can bond with your baby though. We cuddle together, play, tickle, etc. I do give her night time bottle to her though, but the others throughout the day, Miss. Independent wants to do it HERSELF!! ; ) I wouldn't worry about it - just take advantage of other ways to bond.
Well I guess this is one instance where your "know-it-all" younger sister doesn't. Why would it not be good for your daughter to hold her own bottle? It has been my understanding that holding their own bottle is a milestone that shows muscle development. The only thing I would suggest is not letting her go to bed with a bottle of milk, it is not good for their teeth. Mine had a bottle of milk(or formula) about an hour before bedtime. Then when I layed them down for the night they were given a bottle with water if they wanted to suckle themselves to sleep.
