We had a similar experience with our daughter, and honestly, I was skeptical at first. It seemed a bit exaggerated to me—how much harm could a nighttime bottle really do? But after doing some research and talking to another dentist for a second opinion (I tend to overanalyze things, haha), turns out it's legit. The sugars—even natural ones from milk—really do sit there overnight and speed up decay. We switched to water at night pretty quickly after that... wasn't easy, but definitely worth it in the long run.
"We switched to water at night pretty quickly after that... wasn't easy, but definitely worth it in the long run."
Glad to hear this worked out for you... we're trying the same now and it's been rough so far. Good to know it gets easier eventually, makes me feel slightly less anxious about it all.
We went through the same thing with our grandkids a few years back. I remember those first few nights were pretty rough—lots of tears and sleepless hours—but it really did get easier quicker than we expected. Funny enough, now they actually prefer water at bedtime.
"Good to know it gets easier eventually, makes me feel slightly less anxious about it all."
Totally understandable...it's tough seeing them upset. Have you tried using a special cup or bottle just for water? That seemed to help ours adjust faster.
"Have you tried using a special cup or bottle just for water? That seemed to help ours adjust faster."
That's a great tip! We did something similar—picked out a fun cup with their favorite cartoon characters, and suddenly water became the cool thing to drink at bedtime. Kids are funny like that...they'll surprise you. Hang in there, you're doing great. The sleepless nights pass quicker than you think, and their teeth will thank you later.
Kids are funny like that...they'll surprise you. Hang in there, you're doing great.
That's a neat idea, but honestly, cartoon cups didn't do much for us. My kiddo just wanted milk no matter what character was on the cup...we ended up slowly diluting it with water instead. Took patience, but it worked eventually.
