Quote:
Originally Posted by aikigypsy  Yup, totally bat***t insane.
I cut my DD back to 3x/day sometime between 2 and 2.5, and even then it was a struggle, but I was pregnant and her dentist (and pediatrician) said that it was bad for her teeth. I'm not sure I totally buy that, but I did feel that for me, it was time to cut back. At 10 months, there's no way we could have done 3x/day.
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This is also crazy - there's nothing about breastmilk that's any worse than regular food - in fact it has some antibacterial factors that reduce the risk of tooth decay. Bottles, for sure - they can permit milk to pool in the mouth, especially when they're self-administered (same goes for sippies, especially if they've got juice in them), but breastmilk for the most part goes straight down the hatch. It is far, far better to give a snack of breastmilk from the tap than raisins and crackers, for instance.
Night-nursing CAN be problematic, if tooth decay is already present from other sources, but it doesn't CAUSE tooth decay in and of itself. But during the day, go ahead, nurse as much as you like. It won't harm her teeth at all, and the continuing sucking is actually very good for oral-facial muscular and structural development. (See
Brian Palmer's website for more info)
ETA: sorry missed the bit where you were pregnant and ready to cut down. That's fine - but your dentist & ped were wrong about the teeth stuff! If you tandem after your new baby is born there's no reason your older child can't enjoy the bounty as much as she likes!
