What do you think about propping bottles?

Question

I have been working in childcare for a long time, and also watching my baby sister when she was born and I was 14. I never thought there was anything wrong with bottle propping as long as the baby is in the room with you, and their head is up so they won't choke, but lately I have been hearing a lot of people getting pissed off because their childcare providors prop a bottle, or they see a parent prop a bottle while they're doing laundry or something. If you prop bottles, why do you do it? If you don't, why not? I always thought it was a good way to get other things done instead of sitting still for half an hour while the baby is sleeping.

Answer 1

When my son at least maybe 6 months old, I would prop it up on a blanket while he had his head on a pillow, occasionally. As long as he wasn't getting any air, it was fine. it worked for me if I had to grab the phone or go to the bathroom. I never left him completely alone while propping it and I didn't do it all the time. I enjoyed holding him & watching him while he was drinking his bottle. He's 3 1/2 years old now & is a perfectly healthy little boy!

That is my opinion...I think it is a personal choice.

Answer 2

Good lordy, some mothers will blast you for this. There was someone on here once who posted a question, equating propping bottles to something as horrific as child abuse. "Blah blah blah, you're not bonding with your baby when you do that." "Blah blah blah, stop shopping in the grocery store, sit down somewhere and just hold the bottle." Propping bottles is a choking hazard, which is why it is not recommended, but I can understand a mother having to do it when she has a busy schedule or when it's very inconvenient. It really is up to you, as long as you are aware of the choking hazard and don't do it too often or for too long. That's my opinion on the matter. I'm just curious though, why you don't nurse him directly while doing chores? You could have your baby in a sling or a wrap and nurse efficiently. It might take a few tries to get it right, but it will make your life a bit easier, as well as helping your supply. If you're only running around for a few seconds and the baby is only slightly hungry, you might consider a pacifier to avoid the choking hazard altogether.

Answer 3

I do not prop bottles because my baby likes to have eye contact when she eats, its a wonderful moment to give her some one to one and I can certainly take a few moments out of my day to do that. Especially when she smiles at me from around her nipple and leaks milk out haha. Once she dozes off I'll take the bottle away and put her down for a nap and than do what I want, if i need to get stuff down around the house. I leave my baby in a daycare and this is one of the things I dislike about it, I know there are alot of children there (5 to two caretakers in a room) but until she's holding her own bottle I'd rather they feed her while holding it. just a little human contact.

Answer 4

Babies are meant to be cuddled and nurtured with lots of close eye-contact while they are being fed, be it by breast or bottle. If you want to be able to get something done, put the baby in a sling whe he is done eating.

If I had an infant who was in child care, I would be pretty po'd if the bottle was propped. The baby should be fed in a position that simulates breastfeeding to encourage proper cranio-facial development. As with just about anything, occasional bottle-propping is not the end of the world. However, it easilly becomes a crutch that is overused. Baby is starving and you HAVE TO use the bathroom? Prop the bottle. Laundry needs to be done? Wait until the baby is done eating.

That being said, I think many mothers have unreasonable expectations of their nannies. If the nanny has a baby and a toddler to care for, she should not be responsible for all of the housework, too. Cleaning up after the kids, making their food, washing their clothes (NOT the parents') and nurturing the children is a full-time job. I know mothers who have their nannies also do all of the chores. Guess what? Many of them wind up propping bottles and letting the kids watch too much tv so they can get the other stuff done. I would never expect a nanny to provide me with an immaculate home. I am a stay-at-home mom, and I would have to ignore my kids a ton to keep my house perfect. It's uncluttered and reasonably clean (bathrooms and kitchen are cleaned daily, other rooms are dusted and floors are cleaned about once or twice a week), but that's all I have time for, unless I plan to ignore my children. I would not expect more from a nanny. In fact, I would not expect her to do any housework other than tidying up after herself and the kids. I would rather she spend 5 hours a day reading to my kids and playing with them and couple of hours feeding them and helping them tidy their messes than spend a few hours a day cleaning the house while the kids were ignored.

With higher-order multiples (one only has 2 arms, after all!), it's a different situation. Stiil, I have several friends with twins, and they did not bottle prop. They simply made nurturing their children a priority.

Answer 5

I worked in childcare for 2 years and we were strictly forbidden to prop a bottle. I personally enjoyed being able to sit with the babies and relax while they were feeding. I don't think theres anything wrong with propping as long as you're supervising the baby. I wouldnt leave them alone that way. Its too easy for them to get choked or for the bottle to leak out onto stuff. Some people just get uptight about it, especially first time moms. I had alot of those in my class.

Answer 6

Feeding time is a special bonding time between parent and child........so I don't understand why people prop bottles. To me it's just being lazy and not wanting to take the time to feed your baby.

Now IF you are on a long car ride and baby is very hungry then I think there's an exception, it's not always convenient to pull over and feed baby especially if you will be late getting to where you need to be. I breastfeed so have no choice but to pull over if needed. But as far as propping a bottle so you can do dishes or something like that........those things can wait.

Answer 7

i breastfeed and bottle feed my kids i loved the bonding of holding them. and who cant agree a baby is so precious when they taking a bottle or sleeping. having gotten that out of the way....you dont always have enough hands and time in a day to do that especially with babies with a strong apetite or when you have other children.

so, if you're in the room where you can tell if they're choking and the child is proped up SAFELY so they can try and avoid ear infections i see no problem with it. i did it. my parents did. everyone is alive and safe. besides if they start to choke on the liquid they will probably stop sucking on it which will reduce the flow to a minimal drip, its not going to pour down their throat as they're gasping for air.

and if you've ever propped up a bottle you know if rarely stays in place for long and most babies are perfectly capable of knocking it out of their mouth when they dont want it.

so yea holding it is better and i prefer to do it, but proping it is ok and i definately wouldnt be mad at my daycare for doing it. after all they have other children to tend to also.

Answer 8

I'm all for letting a parent decide what's best for their baby, but when you NEVER hold your child to bottle feed them, that's sad. I honestly didn't know this was such a phenomenon until after my son was born. I didn't bottle prop because I breastfed my son, so I'm still new to the concept.

This disturbs me. They're promoting parents propping bottles with this product:
http://www.greatbabyproducts.com/Baby_Bottle_Holder_p/prod-mm220.htm

Answer 9

Feeding time is never a waste of time. You need to be bonding with your child, not propping the bottle. If the baby is sleeping, then they shouldn't have a bottle in their mouth anyway. I would get pissed off if I was paying someone to watch my baby and they just propped the bottle and went off and did laundry. Propping the bottle is bad for the baby. It is bad for their ears, and their teeth. It is also bad for their socialization. I never propped bottles. If I couldn't take the time to feed my own child, then I would have my husband or someone else do it. I breastfed both of my children, but my oldest had to go to a bottle because of some feeding issues. I would never have given up the bonding that we had to prop her bottle. It was bad enough that I had to stop breastfeeding.

Answer 10

As a mom I have only propped a bottle while in the car. I love feeding my baby. It is a great way to bond with a child. I guess if the baby is upright and the bottle is propped it should not be a big deal. I always heard that it can cause ear infections, but only if the child is laying flat while drinking. Who knows---I guess it is the preference of the parent.

Answer 11

I would not prop a child's bottle. I personally like feeding a baby. It's a nice quiet time to spend with your child. For me it would be too risky to prop, there is a chance the child could choke, and it just doesn't seem very nice. Can you imagine having a drink or food always tilted down your throat?