[maxkinzie]

Went for DD's 15 month (actually 16) checkup this afternoon. Does anyone else find it ridiculous that in pediatrics there are no covers on the wall outlets, drawers all pulled open easily, the on/off button for their computers is sitting right there, and there was chalk and a wrapper from who knows what on the floor???!!! Then they wanted me to take 5 min after DD's shots to fill out some survey. I took it as a sign to not spend time on their survey when the first thing DD did when she quit crying was to completely shut down the computer! And yes I civilly told them why I wasn't going to fill out their survey.

Ok, done venting I think.

My first question is how do I go about weaning her off her nighttime bottle. We have a great routine right now, and I DON'T believe in just "throwing the bottles away" as doc suggested, and letting her cry it out, NO WAY!

2nd opinions on whether a morning bottle is really so bad? It's a great way to start the day, leads in to cuddle/snuggle time, and she eats regular food the rest of the day. (...and I guess I don't want my baby to grow up )

Last, finally is, am I actually doing her a "favor" avoiding sweets all together, at least while she's oblivious that she's missing anything. Doc said give her plenty of molasses, brown sugar type stuff if she gets constipated when I/if I would make her go cold turkey on bottles. I was under the belief that realistically avoiding sweet stuff would encourage her to like healthier stuff more. The idea of putting "plenty of brown sugar" on her oatmeal seems wrong to me. But, I could be wrong.

One more while I'm on the sweets topic, going with my original assumption that it's good to avoid sweet stuff, I'm guessing that using artificial sweetener instead of regular sugar defeats the purpose, that its the actual sweet taste that would develope a sweet tooth?

sorry to ask so many questions, but geez I feel like I don't know anything!!!

thanks for any suggestions!

maxi

[LisaCA]

omg I was about to post a vent on our docs.

Kaiser Permanente Southern CA seems to think it's fine to suggest that parents don't let their kids watch tv under the age of two, and that tv= obesity, but then they have tvs in all the waiting rooms, including pediatrics!!!! endless disney tapes on loop . dd and i sit outside on good days, on others we wait in the hall.

and is it too much to ask for a doc to keep up with cdc, fda and other announcements? a doc up north, not our regular doc, gave dd a phenergan suppository which is apparently contraindicated for toddlers under two!!! and dd was suffering from severe dehydration and what not, so yeah, a suppository of a drug that has been known to suppress breathing probably wasn't a good thing . At least in Northern CA the ped office had no tv, a chalk board, a fish tank and plenty of books, lol.

and i've had docs look at me, esp this past couple of weeks because dd wasn't eating anything due to vomiting and diarrhea and they suggested I take her to a fast food restaurant and feed her from the menu!???!!! Apparently I'm clearly depriving her of junk food and sweets and that's why she's not eating, not that she's vomited constantly and is afraid of eating.


*sigh* i'm feeling your pain.

have standards slipped for pediatricians or have they always been this low? Geez.

[nycfsa]

Do they want you to stop giving her a bottle (as opposed to a cup) or stop giving her milk at night? My son would not drink milk out of a cup so he had a bottle at night and in the morning until he was at least 2. I finally started giving him a cup with a straw instead of a sippy cup and that was fine. They sell inexpensive plastic cups with lids and plastic straws at Target in packages of 6.

[momofmykids]

If you're not ready to give up the bottles, then don't! It won't kill her to have a couple of bottles a day until you're ready!

When you do decide to take her off the bottles, fill them with water. You may want to have her a sippy cup ready with milk or formula or whatever is usually in her bottle and maybe she'd choose that over the bottle.

You're doing a great job...docs don't know everything!

[AdrienneG]

Doctors are not trained on nutrition and child development....they're trained in medicine.

I'm not surprised at all. I know of a doctor who kept telling this mom her 3 month old baby needs to be eating rice cereal in a bowl even though her baby was spitting it up and coughing after eating it.

I'd RUN from a doctor who says to give her fast food.

[jillned]

I was just at the Dr yesterday and notice the same thing with the outlets!! My son is also 16 months old and still drinks from a bottle. We have a morning routine also. To top it all off, he won't hold his own bottle all the time either. I;m sure this sends the Docs head into a tailspin, lol. I figure as long as I;m not holding his beer in 20 years, we'll be ok,

[lisa in venice]

We switched from milk to water at about 18 months (and 6 teeth) and he did't complain. For him it was the sucking not the substance. With the second we took the bottles away at about the same age because she was refusing ALL food and yes there was crying just not at bedtime. The other two we were breastfed so there were no bottles but they nursed at bedtime and in the morning until just over three years old and this one is two and a jhalf and still needs to nurse before bed. If you guys aren't readyn to give up the bottle I don't think you should worry about in such a young child. HOWEVER the sugar in milk should not sit on a baby's teeth all night.

lisa

[b4truth]

My only concern with the night time bottle would be "teeth". i honestly don't know if it's a proven medical fact that the milk pooling in the childs mouth during the night can lead to decay. there is a certain amount of sugar in it.

i started a bedtime routine when i had to wean my daughter. only took 2 weeks but i'd always let her know i was there when she would cry...and she did cry. sometimes, i'd rock her to sleep. it's hard... there are many versions to rock a bye baby that only a mother can make up! it was fun...she is 14 now and loves singing.
GOOD luck to you.

[StorkWatcher]

If my ped suggested the molasses thing, I'd be furious!

Our goddaughter has always had constipation. If you don't mind juice, drinking a little daily can make a big difference. I hope not to give much juice to our son but stay w/ formula then milk and water.

Although we don't keep sweet stuff around the house, we plan to feed our son much more veggies and cook more healthily than we have in the past (we're starting to change our own eating habits, but it's hard to do when you cook like Paula Dean!) to encourage him to eat better.

I won't be feeding much juice/sweets but will concentrate on veggies (and some meats/other protein sources) mostly. At 6 months, we haven't started baby foods yet and will plan to start only on veggies for a long while. I have also always thought it's a matter of what the child gets used to eating.

Regarding the bottle, the idea of switching to water sounds good, but you may need to start slowly lessening the amount of milk in the night bottle first until you're down to an ounce or less. You can not only wean from the milk itself, but wean from the bottle being a necessary part of the routine. You can always replace it with another snuggly bedtime routine of additional storybook reading, cuddling, singing, or talking and bedtime prayers and a last drink of water. That way you don't give up the special time you spend together.

[crick]

Find another pediatrician...

I had to go through 2 others before finding one that I like. I still don't like the office staff as much, but they aren't unbearable.

The t.v. is there but they play videos, not regular t.v., and have a ton of books with a reading area.

All the rooms are kid friendly with safety outlet covers etc. No suckers are given out and my pedi is very vocal about good eating habits.

The office does an email newsletter twice a month that states the common illnesses they are treating in the community and helpful tips to know if you need to come in or call about. They also include recalls of products and other helpful tips about things, like sunscreen, bug spray, etc.

They are out there....just like with anything else, you have to shop around.

[NJNative]

Originally Posted by crick

The t.v. is there but they play videos, not regular t.v., and have a ton of books with a reading area.

I would never let my son touch any of that stuff anyway, especially if we were there for a well visit. That stuff is a veritable petrie dish of bacteria and viruses. What caused me to find another ped was going in for a well visit and waiting for up to an hour and half -- 45 minutes of it in the examining room with an antsy toddler in a diaper and T shirt. Not once, but every time.

As for the bottle, yes, a night bottle is a very bad idea. It will rot the child's teeth. You can give them a bottle shortly before bedtime, but not one in the crib. If the child MUST have one in the crib, use water.

Our doc wasn't thrilled but my son had a bottle of water every night until he was 3. Didn't kill him.

Robin

[mom2justynsarah]

OMG, I just went with my 15 (almost 16) month old daughter to the Pediatrician today. It was for her "well baby" checkup.

While I was sitting in the waiting room, I happened to notice an electrical outlit. It had no covering whatsoever! In fact, when I started to look around, I realized there was NOTHING baby proof in the office. Talk about a future lawsuit one day!

Oh and this tops the cake. My daughter's Pediatrician (who has seen her since she was a newborn) walks into the room. Maybe he thought he was funney, but immediately looks at me and says "Nope, she doesn't look like you at all." (no kidding!) "She is from a Sweedish descent." (no she isn't). "You better make sure you lather her up with some serious sun tan lotion." (no kidding) "People will always be asking you who her real mother is." Then he proceeds to laugh. He looked a little awkward when I didn't laugh back.

WHAT THE .....??? He knows she is adopted.