# giving honey and milk to dd before bed....bad idea?



## Enudely (Jul 2, 2005)

I'm pregnant and my milk is dried up and becomes uncomfortable if dd tries to comfort nurse to sleep. Lately, bedtime has been terrible because of this. She just won't go to sleep!
SO.... here's my solution that's working (but will it rot her teeth?)
Nurse her sitting up in MY bed (after book reading), then go lay down with her in her toddler bed and give her a sippy with cow's milk and a tiny bit of honey (after reading about the hibernation diet, I decided to add honey, also so that she would think it a big treat). She's into it.... it seemed to work last night, but I'm worried about her teeth. Does anyone know if this is a bad idea?
I'm using totally raw, never heated local honey but unfortunately the milk is not raw and dd does not like goats milk.


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## miss_sonja (Jun 15, 2003)

Yeah, not a good idea. Mama milk on clean teeth is safe for teeth. But honey mixed with cow's milk is a recipe for decay.

:-(


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## Enudely (Jul 2, 2005)

Are there any other options that you know of?


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## flowers (Apr 8, 2004)

This happened to us. Ds1 was 2 1/2 and I just couldn't stand the sensation of nursing. I started explaining it to him and letting him nurse just for a minute and telling him it gave me owies. Then when he was only nursing for a moment or two before bed we stopped altogether. This is when creating a regular bedtime routine REALLY became necessary and at first it was super long and there were some tears. It was all very sweet and precious now that I look back at us finding out way through a new life experience.


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## D_McG (Jun 12, 2006)

just brush her teeth afterwards.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

I would reverse the order of your nighttime routine. First give her the milk and honey (personally I recomend doing it in a cup at the table instead of in a sippy cup in bed), then brush her teeth, and then nurse her.

This maintains nursing as part of the nighttime routine, while giving her the nutrition she needs from the milk and honey.


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

How about water instead? According to my dentist, plain milk or juice are bad ideas at bedtime too. How about making the transition to falling asleep without anything? She's over two. Can she help you come up with a new plan for bedtime?


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## BathrobeGoddess (Nov 19, 2001)

Both my 4 yr old and 21 month old sleep with sippy cups of water with them in bed...they both like having them close and no teeth worries!


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## SweetPotato (Apr 29, 2006)

So I know next to nothing about this, but I've been reading about xylitol- a natural sweetener that helps PREVENT tooth decay. I understand that they use it to sweeten drinks and foods for diabetics, and you can also buy xylitol crystals alone and add to sweeneten things to taste. Maybe you could find or make a drink with this for her to have as a special nighttime treat that won't harm her clean teeth.


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## crunchymomofmany (May 24, 2007)

Hi! Look, I know how hard it is to put kids to bed...but I have to say, that if you are trying to wean at night (and I've been through this many times), perhaps the best way is not to supplant the nursing, but just get rid of it all together. I say this because the nursing has become a habit (for lack of a better word) and it needs to be broken. First off, milk and honey before bed is never a great idea - and stopping to brush teeth kind of "ruins the moment." Maybe just start changing the bedtime routine. Maybe a backrub and a drink of water. Your daughter isn't too young to be talked to about the issue either. You could just explain to her very simply that mommy's boobs hurt, or whatever, and so, please would you drink out of this cup and then we'll read a story and head to bed - or whatever. Kids are amazingly flexible when we give them a chance to be!


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