Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I mean AJ is over a year old and she can easily fed herself but just chooses not to some times so she props the bottle up on her towel or I prop it up on a towel until she grabs it or pushes it away.

This isnt everyday or all the time. Just happens. I never thought twice about it. She's old enough and more than capable enough to hold up her own bottle and I marked it down to laziness.

Then the thread started about how propping is so bad. So question is, if its so bad, how do children learn to hold the bottle themselves without Mommy/Daddy there to 'save the day' and catch their bottle?

I should add when AJ is sleepy i know that bottle is taking a nose dive off the chair and onto the floor .... I will try to keep a 'bracing' hand near to catch it, but AJ HATES HATES HATES us to hold her bottle sometimes.

So what is the right answer if one is out there?

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I propped the bottle multiple times with Tyler if he got hungry when I was in the middle of cooking dinner or something like that. I do the same thing now with Derek. I only have two hands and when you are trying to do a million things at once, sometimes I dont have a choice.

I dont think Tyler suffered any permanent damage

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I said this in the other thread in regards to day care it is against regulations to prop bottles EVER!

ETA: If you want to prop your own bottles go for it. I just wanted to clear up the day care thing

Message edited 10/30/2009 5:54:42 PM.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

Um, I was the MASTER of bottle propping. DD never took a pacifier and would use the bottle to comfort herself, so had I not propped I would have been holding that bottle 24/7! I bought a bottle proper and it saved my sanity!!!! AND it guided DD in how to hold the bottle because at about 5 months she was holding her own.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

Ugh Sadie will not hold her own bottle OR drink it propped. It is so annoying. LOL.

She totally is ABLE to hold it, but just wont.

I used to prop her bottles when she was little because she would take over an hour to drink 4 ozs sometimes.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

do whatever works for you. that's my philosophy.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I propped too. DS never held his own bottle, even though he could.

Sometimes, I had to get dinner started or whatever and I would prop.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

As Stacey said its against the LAW. What you do in your own home is your business. I personally am not comfortable. My DS is 3 months old and grips the sides of the bottle when I feed him - that's how they learn. Its different if you as the parent are sitting next to them while they are propped - not ok in a center where there are multiple other kids...JMO.

Message edited 10/30/2009 5:56:47 PM.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I never propped the bottle with DD#1. Now that I have 2, it is almost a necessity. I don't do it every day, but there are times when I HAVE to do something for DD#1 when DD#2 needs to eat.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

Posted by Stacey1403

Posted by KateDevine

Posted by CaseyGirl

As Stacey said its against the LAW. What you do in your own home is your business. I personally am not comfortable. My DS is 3 months old and grips the sides of the bottle when I feed him - that's how they learn. Its different if you as the parent are sitting next to them while they are propped - not ok in a center where there are multiple other kids...JMO.

I never did it, and my DS did this at that age too, he never held his own bottle and was off them at 1.

In the other post, one of the babies was 12 months, does this apply to them as well? I mean, most peds recommend babies being off bottles by that age.....just curious. I honestly don't know since my DS was...

If you are asking about day care Kate we are never allowed to prop no matter what their age.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I propped Chelsea's bottle sometimes. I didn't see what the big deal was. She was usually in her bouncer so she wasn't lying flat.

She started holding her bottle around 6-7 months and then I didn't have to prop it anymore.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I don't even know how to prop a bottle, can someone school me?

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I found this article that says that bottle propping can cause tooth decay, choking, and ear infections.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/126247/the_dangers_of_bottlepropping.html

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

To each its own. With that said I do not believe in propping a bottle because I believe feeding my baby is my #1 priority over anything that is going on in my house at that given moment. Screw dinner, laundry, the phone or anything else. When its feeding time, Nothing else matters, My full attention is spent on that baby. Part of the reason I think "G*d gave us boobs so we can hold our baby close when we feed them" (now don't take this literally, this is just figure of speech) so if we're bottle feeding the baby we should be holding that baby up close to our body and make eye contact and give that baby our undivided attention. Do you know what I mean? Also, I think propping a bottle can be dangerous. A baby can choke or the bottle might not be propped correctly and drop and so on.....My philosophy is fedding time is a special time for a parent to bond and give attention to their baby. So those are my reasons. But if it works for you, then it really doesn't matter what anyone thinks.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I personally don't see a big deal if parents choose to prop bottles.

But, from a EBFing mom, you can't prop a b00b so why prop a bottle? I think all babies deserve the 1 on 1 time with their caregiver. Feeding times are so nurturing, why not take advantage of it? I know you could be pulled in a million other directions. But take and appreciate the neediness of your DC. It doesn't last forever.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

Is it strange that I never even thought to prop it? And Lily never held her own bottle....i thought that was normal!

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

My kids were able to hold their own bottle by 4 1/2 months old bc I was a "proper" lol
To each his own, but with my kids being so close in age it was a neccesity.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I have twins so my choice was feed them and prop, or hold one and let the other scream. We started propping once they turned around 4 months. Before that my DH and I would fee dthem together, or at night I would feed one after the other. I also EBF in the beginning until I realized that i would never sleep again and I started exclusively pumping.

They never choked, just had their first ear infection at 11 months and I don't believe they have any tooth decay(not sure what the difference is of bottle feeding or holding a btl when it comes to this unless the baby is just holding milk in their mouth and not drinking-which my kids never did) They knew how to spit out the nipple.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I always hold DS bottle. he didn't start holding it till he was 10 months. now he is 13 months, totally capable and I still hold it every time (even tho he holds it too hee hee) Time goes so fast so, I'll hold his bottle till it's time to take it away


I can see if you are shopping or something like that and propping it in the stroller, but that's about it

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

Then I am a really bad Mommy because I prop the bottles alot of the time.... Hey when you have triplets you have to do this sometimes otherwise you have to listen to somebody screaming their head off and I am not into hearing that

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?

I am guilty of propping the bottle once in awhile. Maybe once a day. I am always nearby, but sometimes I need that time to clean up the room or start getting dinner ready. I don't know what the difference is between holding the bottle or propping it in terms of choking and tooth decay. I guess because I always have my eye on her when it's propped so if she starts coughing or spits it out I am there in a second to fix it.

Re: Spinoff: Propping the bottle.. when is it ok? if ever?