Breast Feeding vs Bottle feeding...stirring the Pot a Little

Because a toddler can't walk around with a boob hanging out of his/her mouth all day while a toddler with a bottle can increasing the risk for problems with teeth.

I just do not like to see a big kid walking around with a bottle hanging half way out of his mouth. I have never seen one kid walking around with a boob hanging half way out of their mouth.

The issue with bottles is the development and shaping of the oral cavity. As much as we try to make breast and bottle feeding equivalent, the mechanics of the two methods are quite different, and the effects are seen in the development of a child's muscles and palate. By moving on from a bottle to an open cup at a year old, the damage to the child's face is minimized.

http://www.brianpalmerdds.com/bfeed_oralcavity.htm

Personally, I don't want to see a three year old with a bottle, or a breast. Both are unnecessary!!

I am a bit disturbed by a toddler walking around with a bottle. Honestly, I'm more disturbed by a toddler walking up to his mother and lifting up her shirt. Oh lord, I'm sure I'm going to get hate mail now!

Bottle rot would be one reason.

Because one is natural(breast) and one isnt(bottle), the sooner we can remove an unnatural act the better.

Another would be the fact that at about a year a kid can learn to drink all possible liquids from a sippy cup, or straw cup for their intended beverage, that is ALL BUT THE BREAST MILK. Pumping it and serving it through another device is time consuming, unnecessary and messes up the supply and demand schedule of the breast milk. Breast milk is beneficial past the age of 1 and beyond.

I dont see the point really in this discussion other than to alienate extended breastfeeding mothers and try to devalue their parenting technique with semantics.

****yes i do feel the same way when the formula feeding moms are slandered, i stick up for them all the time.....but maybe i misjudged your intentions, although it looks like plenty of other people did as well.

I actually talked to my pediatrician about this, since I nursed and by age one my daughter got a bottle in daycare. He said that at this age it is not a problem sucking on a nipple (be it boob or bottle) per se. The problem is that by age one many kids are old enough to bottle feed themselves (holding the bottle, even walking around with the bottle in their mouths). The reason why they encourage getting rid of the bottle by that age is to avoid constant sucking that leads to tooth decay. Breastfed toddler tend to feed for short times, often only a few minutes, just like taking a drink - many parents who's toddlers still have bottles will let them decide how much and how long to drink from the bottle and many kids use it as a pacifier substitute.
If you are a responsible parent and make sure that your kids only drink from the bottle until he has had enough and then take it away, there is no reason to do away with it by age one.
On the other hand, if you are irresponsible parent and you let your child suck on a sippy cup for hours at a time, it is not any better than letting him suck on a bottle. The original advice, according to my ped, was NOT switching to sippies (which he thinks are worse than bottles), but to switch your child to an open cup to avoid constant sucking on sugary liquids.

A. you've titled this as "stirring the pot a little" so why be offended by Amanda G's comment? You knew this would be inflammatory before you posted it.
FYI to those that don't know: Most babies will lift their mom's shirt well before the toddler stage, they usually start that as soon as they can hold up their heads. The reason people find it "disturbing" to see toddlers lift their mom's shirt is because we live in a society that portrays breast as sexual so many people have been conditioned to see breast sucking as sexually intimate even when that's not the case. The issue is not the toddlers' action, it's your perception.

Breastfeeding promotes not only good nutrition - it makes baby WORK for the milk it gets rather than just flows into the mouth and overfeeds them as it does with bottles, but also promotes safety, love, comfort and bonding. Those are all very important factors for infants and children regardless of age.

Due to the very different ways muscles and jaw bones are used in breastfeeding vs bottle feeding - bottle feeding too long can cause a plethora of dental and orthodontic issues in children, including cavities and bottle mouth - - which may sometimes occur in breastfeeding children, but not at the rate in which is does in bottle fed children.

.

i'm always a little taken aback by women who are Oh So Offended by other mothers' feeding choices. really, why the hell should it bother anyone if someone else's 3 year old is still nursing OR using a bottle? is anyone trying to force you into it?
:/ khairete
chronically puzzled S.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with having a bottle after a year, as long as the parents aren't putting juice and soda in it, which I have seen countless times.
My son was off bottles by about 14 months, but not because I pushed him to be done with them. Daycare switched him to cups at a year, and he eventually decided he didn't want the bottle at home either. My daughter on the other hand is 15 months old and still nursing. She drinks from a cup at daycare and with meals at home, but she still wants her "milkies" from mommy too. Especially when she's tired or hurting.
Now, Jennifer C, are you suggesting that when my baby girl is wanting her milkies that I should put her down, go pump, put the milk in a bottle or cup for her to feed herself, then go wash and sterilize all the pumping parts for later? Frankly, that's just moronic. Why go through all that trouble when I can just pick her up, comfort her in my arms and offer her my breast? Which one sounds more soothing and comforting to a baby? Not to mention that a pump only gets a fraction of the milk that a baby can get.

I'm with MK & SH... I believe the vast majority to be cultural or social perception.

A sippy cup is just a bottle with a hard nipple (actually, they tend to be *slightly* worse on the formation of teeth) but bottles are seen as 'babyish'. The same way it's okay to wear a bikini at the beach, but not bras and underwear. Um... same shape, covering up the same area. It's just that they each have symbolic meaning in our culture.

My son used a bottle until 3ish. At night only for the last year (because the double walled insulation was better for daytime use... it kept the milk fresh). He had great teeth. My husband's side of the family, however, can do *everything* "right" (no bottles at night, brushing all the time, etc.) and most toddlers pretty much have to have their teeth yanked as they come in... because otw they'll be abscessing in just a few months (weak/ mushy/ low dentin teeth are just a genetic trait in my husband's family).

In general... moms are just weird and judgey

I strongly suspect it's because the concept that "best" can be different for each family is hard for most of us to accept. If someone does something radically different from what WE do, many moms take it as an attack on what WE do and get defensive. There is no one 'best' way. But MANY best ways.

It's not a new concept (W.A.R. = We Are Right ;)
______________

We and They
______________

FATHER, Mother, and Me
Sister and Auntie say
All the people like us are We,
And every one else is They.
And They live over the sea,
While We live over the way,
But - would you believe it? - They look upon We
As only a sort of They !
We eat pork and beef
With cow-horn-handled knives.
They who gobble Their rice off a leaf,
Are horrified out of Their lives;
And They who live up a tree,
And feast on grubs and clay,
(Isn't it scandalous?) look upon We
As a simply disgusting They!

We shoot birds with a gun.
They stick lions with spears.
Their full-dress is un-.
We dress up to Our ears.
They like Their friends for tea.
We like Our friends to stay;
And, after all that, They look upon We
As an utterly ignorant They!

We eat kitcheny food.
We have doors that latch.
They drink milk or blood,
Under an open thatch.
We have Doctors to fee.
They have Wizards to pay.
And (impudent heathen!) They look upon We
As a quite impossible They!

All good people agree,
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And every one else is They:
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!) looking on We
As only a sort of They !

I think, it is also, per the culture and country.
Because, it does vary in outlook and attitudes.
Very much so.

But good question!

My youngest never took to a bottle. My oldest had both once she got off the tube feedings. She wasn't off the bottle completely though until almost 2 - For night feedings. So thank you for posting this question. It just made me completely look at me and how badly I've felt for failing at weaning my 20 month old from overnight nursing when actually this is exactly how her sister was at this age only difference was since she took a bottle I was able to easily get the breast away at a year and the bottle not so much. So now I have a completely different perspective of how we are doing and I do now see an end in sight.

Along w/ not getting bottle rot from the breast, when the child is nursing they are getting bonding time.

my older two were bottle babies...We let them have it until lthey were well over two...well over. Then it got to the point where I knew they could do the sippy cup or straw...so we switched.

They had binkies until one was four and one was three...its the same kind of ''mind frame''...they wanted it for comfort..I liked them because they could self sooth.

Bootle mouth was a big big problem with my middle guy. He had to have either nine root canals done in 2009 because he had such bad decay from night time bottles...So there are problems that can develop with long standing bottle babies. My youngest nursed through the night up until he weaned(march of this year)...he didnt have any of the issues my middle guy has suffered because of bottles. Something to think about...

I'm with Bug!

I think at some point, the bottle needs to be taken away. Obviously. At the same time, there is NO REASON for a child past 2 to be breastfeeding. Yes it helps the bonding thing, of course, but when your kid can walk up to you and lift up your shirt, I think it is time to move on.

I think its mainly because of the teeth issue. I think that regardless of how you feel about breastfeeding or bottlefeeding, we should always respect another's opinion and choice. The main focus should be happy mommy and happy baby. Whatever it takes to get that result---even if that means having a bottle past a year or whatever.....it should be whatever works for the baby and family as a whole. We should let go of our own judgements and let each baby decide their course of action in stopping breastfeeding and or bottle feeding or the combination of the two!

M

I have nursed and bottle fed. My 2 older boys had their last bottles the night before they turned a year old. I didn't plan on nursing my 14 month old past 8-9 months but ended up nursing him until 13.5 months only because he was a bad eater and wouldn't drink out of a sippy cup. Some women are crazy about breastfeeding. I enjoyed it and am glad I did it but I feel no sadness now that we are done. I wonder the same thing why push for no bottle after a year but tell women to nurse for years and years?

As for the bottle rot angle--sorry--but BF babies can still get tooth rot from breast milk.

And if bottle feeding is considered an "unnatural act" and breastfeeding a toddler isn't, then I might as well be living on Mars! Sorry--creepy--on so many levels.

My daughter was BF until 11 months then she decided she was done with that. Then she drank milk from a bottle twice a day until she was three. Yes three. She has perfect teeth now at age 9. She NEVER "walked around with a bottle hanging from her mouth". She had a bottle before nap and before bed and that's all. She also never walked around with a sippy cup hanging from her mouth, because she never drank from a sippy cup. She drank from a regular open cup starting at 14 months at the table with meals. She also never sucked on a pacifier. I would have let her but she didn't like them. Babies need to suck.

It goes in the mouth and into the stomach no matter if it's in a bottle, tippy cup, or anything. If a child wants a bottle and needs to suck he should keep that bottle and give it up when he's ready.

Adults don't run brush their teeth after every cup of coffee or even after lunch. If the enamel is strong they will have very good teeth. If it's weak then they will get cavities no matter how often or when the bottle is taken away.

It really doesn't matter about the sucking on the bottle either. It is shaped to their mouth. Just don't let them keep it in their mouth after the bottle is finished.

My guess is that mothers who think that the bottle should be taken away after a year have vastly different opinions than mothers who think you should breastfeed as long as you want. I would be pretty surprised if there is much overlap between the two groups.

I breastfed my son until 20 months old. He never ever used a bottle or pacifier. Past a year old I very very rarely fed him outside my house. He wanted it at nap time and bed time to comfort him really.
I have seen kids way older than 20 months with a bottle and even older than that sucking their thumb or having a pacifier. These kids had access to their sucking comfort all the time. In the car seat, in the stroller, in the shopping cart. Maybe I should be offended that people allow those children to soothe themselves without a hard time and not a breastfed kid. Why can't bottle feeding moms just limit the availability like breastfeeding moms have to?

Technically speaking, Meredith C. seems to be the only one to get it right! That is my answer exactly...the oral cavity development is enhanced by nursing, even long past one year. The child's teeth are much less likley to become bucktoothed.

I'm a big nursing advocate but I love your question, lol!