Your 1 Year Old and Their Habits

Well, it's been 5 years since our daughter was one but, yes, at one years old she did drink water from a sippy cup. She was also still breastfeeding and on solids at that point, too. We kept our child in a rear-facing car seat until 2 years old (safer). We co-slept so at that age I was lying down with her until she went to sleep. Middle of the night wake-ups weren't an issue since we were right there w/ her. I personally never offered info on our sleeping arrangements or our attachment parenting methods and such to our pediatrician, because it's really none of her business. Her business is medicine :)

But by all means, if you don't click w/ this new doctor, move on and find someone else, even if it's just someone else from the practice.

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at 1 yr (was only 2 months ago lol) he was drinking 2 6oz bottles during day and 1 8 oz during night (sometimes 4oz at night).
he does formula/milk mix.
he had 1 - 3 hr nap and 12 hrs at night. still woke up 2x atleast to eat or drink. but went back to sleep after.
noooo, he is extended rear facing. i would never face foward. his legs are a bit cramped, but his safety is important :)
and water, god yes, he drinks probably 16-20oz...lol he loves water more than anything.

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a one year old is suppose to get 16oz (or two cups) of milk a day. My son is two and that is what he still gets. A baby past 6 mnths does not need milk in the middle of the night. He has drank water since he was about 10mnths. he was rear facing intill he turned two. My son slept through the night since he was 4mnths old (when we started letting him self soothe) occasionally he wakes up if he is teething or had a nightmare. We go in comfort him and tuck him back in and he goes right back to sleep. For a nap I just lay him down and he gets himself to sleep.

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In my opinion, doctors are there to detect or prevent illness and to treat when necessary. Doctors are not child CARE experts and moms are a lot more equipped to make the right choices for their children.

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Totally disagree with the 2% milk thing. They should be on whole milk. In fact, a lot of my "natural" friends think the best is RAW whole milk. I didn't go that far, but I might if I could find it fresh!

My oldest wasn't waking up in the night anymore at one, and my baby is only 4months... BUT, please be careful with sugar in the milk. I have a dear friend whose 2 year old had to have major oral surgery because of rotting teeth from this issue. Could you do a bottle of water, since it's probably comfort sucking?

Car seat - they are now recommending 2 years for rear facing, but it isn't the law yet, so it's up to you. I do understand why that's recommended, but it is hard when your kiddos are tall.

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There are things that I completely agree with, like the rearfacing carseat. The American Academy of Pediatrics has officially recommended keeping children rearfacing until 2 years of age, or the maximum weight allowed for rearfacing for the carseat, which in most cases is now 40 lbs. My 3 yr old is very big and we kept him facing backwrds until he was about 19 months,which is when he reached the max weight for our Britax, 35lbs. Multiple studies have shown it is the safest way to transport children. In Scandiavian countries they have special carseats that allow kids to face towards the rear until age FOUR, and they have the lowest mortality related to car accidents in the world. People argue about the cramped legs, and the risk of leg fractures, but one, the kids don't know better, and 2, there were no actual cases of increased risk of leg fractures. At any rate, better a broken leg than a broken neck! There are multiple videos online comparing test crashes with dummies rear vs forward facing, and after watching them, you will understand the huge difference it makes.
Your baby, if he is 12 months old now, is above the 95% for height and depending on the weights you gave, at the 90-93% for weight, so he is big, and might be slightly chubby, but not fat. So he should NOT be put on 2% milk until he turns 2. He should be introduced, at the pace you feel you are comfortable with, to whole milk. Since it tastes different, and there may be issues with constipation, gas, etc, especially if he was on a special formula, like lactose free, gentlease, alimentum/nutrmigen, etc. I recommend slowly starting by substituting 1 oz of formula with the regular milk every few days, and see how it goes. The sleeping with the bottle is also not recommended, your child will have and need his teeth until 4-6 years old, when his permanent teeth will come in, so you have to help with his oral health, just give him water at night, or make sure you clean his teeth after he falls asleep...at that age there is no nutritional need for food overnight. Once there are teeth, you should be brushing them with toddler toothpaste (no kids' toothpaste until 2) and he should have his first visit to the dentist at around 18 months, just for a check up and getting to know him, they usually don't do cleaning and fluoride varnish until age 2, and every 6 months for the rest of his life after that.
As for the amount of formula, at that age it should be around 18 oz per day, and no more that 4oz of juice a day, since it's a lot of sugar and the acid of apple juice is bad for their teeth, better to give them water and have them eat actual fruit. And the idea is to try to be completely done with bottles by the time they are 15-18 months, again because it's best for their teeth.
Regardless, it seems like you definitely didn't click with the pediatrician, and since this is the person who will be taking care of your kid's health needs for many years to come, it's best to have someone you feel comfortable with and who you can trust, so get recommendations for a local pediatrician that people seem to like. Good luck!

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There are many docs out there so if you don't click I definitely suggest you find one that is on the same page as you and you can trust. Even if the baby is on the higher end of weight, you still should give him whole milk as well as other whole milk products. They need the fat for brain growth. At 2 you can switch him to 2%. This is a good time to start weaning him from the bottle. A straw cup is best. If he still needs the bottle before bed just wiped his teeth after with a clean wet wash cloth. If he needs a bottle in the middle of the night make sure you don't give it to him lying down in bed and wipe his teeth and gums again. "Bottle Rot" happens when babies are given bottle in bed and they fall asleep with the bottle in there mouth and/or milk still in their mouth they haven't swallowed yet. I am too not a fan of crying it out! Plus, if it happens every so often I wouldn't be too concerned. My now almost 3 year old is very tiny and never drank milk because she refused but she would get up in the middle of the night and ask to eat. We would feed her and just make sure she washed everything down with water and that her mouth was clear before we put her back to bed.
And as for rear facing, you have to follow your car seat guidelines for rear facing. Many of them have height restrictions for rear facing and can be just as dangerous if in an accident.

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Can't answer re: formula/bottle feeding but I did let my kids fall asleep breastfeeding till they were both 2 and they didn't get cavities, although I realize some kids just do.

Car seat - check with your local CHP. To quote the one I visited, "legs bend, spines do not" Both kids were rear facing till 2ish and that was years ago. Since my kids are older, I'm not up on that recommendation 100%, you'd have to look in to it as far as what it means for tall kids.

Diet? no. You should however look in to coconut milk - so much better for you then cows milk. (next time you're at the store, put the labels side to side and compare (coconut milk is very good for you) - plus it's usually cheaper).

Water - sure. Both kids had it at a year. We also did cups with straws.

Not clicking with your ped? Switch. But I wouldn't judge her because she doesn't have kids. I came across a Ped. once that didn't have kids (was trying and trying) and she was amazing! I do understand what you mean but it doesn't apply to everyone.

Hope this helps!
M.

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At one year my son (he's the most recent so we'll go with him;) was drinking 3-4 cups of milk/day. He drank one at each meal and one before bed. He was on whole milk at 12 months, we started about a month before his birthday.

As far as sleep, we snuggled him, gave him his milk and put him in bed. He fell asleep on his own within about 10-20 minutes. He did not wake up in the middle of the night unless he was sick and even that was/is rare. For naps, he was still napping 2x/day and we just put him in his crib and he fell asleep quickly.

My one year old drank water from a sports bottle or sippy cup throughout the day. He was dinking water from a sippy from about 6-7 months on.

His car seat was switched pretty quickly to front facing which I know isn't recommended, but we did do it.

All that being said, I just have to add that just because the doctor doesn't have kids does not make her unequipped to give advice. After having kids, yes my opinion has changed and I have a new perspective on some things, but I was a teacher for a long time and didn't have kids of my own and it really irked me when people would say that to me. She is a trained professional and her experience and education make her a valuable resource regardless of whether or not she has kids. Doctors see a lot of kids and have a good handle on not only medical stuff but behavioral stuff as well...just my 2 cents!

ETA...I hear you! I agree with you too and wasn't offended just trying to stand up for the other side a little bit! ;)

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Hi Betsy, My son is 14months next week we started whole milk prolly at 11months old my son might drink 4 bottles of milk a day 8oz bottle and ususally 2 sippys of juice and one water sometimes if he will drink it , only time i can get him to drink water good is if he drinking it outta mommys cup lol .
I still rock my son to sleep most nights he will go to sleep on his own but falls out so much faster if i just hold him for 15mins and hes gone. He still wakes often at night so i stick him in bed with me and hes out like a light.
He is now rear facing and loves it he can see us and everything else now.

Is he walking yet? once he does the first thing my son did was started throwing everything in the trashcan lol i found keys, purse flip flop, wallet, binkies, mail everything he got his hands on lol now the trashcan is in the pantry. Have fun with your lil one

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Maybe three. Amounts vary depending upon how much he wants. How to
get to sleep; put in crib and walk out. For the middle of the night, just give
water. Eventually they get tired of waking up for that. Carseat front facing,
but new guidelines came out saying rear for two years. Yes he does drink
water.

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If you are not happy with this doctor you need to find a new one. Some of what you asked about is just parenting style and not medical advice. But if you feel you will always be questioning her judgement and/or advice in the future it is time to move on. You need to trust your doctor and feel comfortable seeking his/her advice. But to give you an idea of what baby #4 was doing two months ago (he is 14mos now):
1. He was just weaning from nursing, so taking whole milk from a straw cup at meals, water from a straw cup between meals. We never used formula, so can't really answer exactly what you asked. I do think it is often recommended to wean from formula at one year, but again, I have no real experience in this area.
2. I give him his pacifier, sway with him for a minute or two next to his crib, lay him down and leave. I know I am lucky on this one though. I am not in favor of cry-it-out or "sleep training", this is just how he is. I wanted to continue co-sleeping when he was younger, but he would just fidget and toss and turn, we both slept poorly, so we did this and it worked for us. He still occasionally wakes at night, if he fusses for more then a minute or so I go in and give him his pacifier again (if he can find it himself he will go back to sleep on his own, if he has lost it, that is when I have to go in). Once he has the paci back he immediately lays down and goes back to sleep.
3. He is rear facing. He was not quite 20 lbs at one year (19.6), so we continued rear facing. But with the newest recommendations of rear facing for 2+yrs, I think we will stay that way for awhile.
4. As mentioned in #1, yes he drinks water between meals with a straw cup.
Hope this helps. But again, some of this is parenting style and you do not need to agree with your doctor on parenting style (although I think it makes for a better dr-pt relationship if you do). If you are rocking your baby to sleep because that is how you want to do it, and she is insisting you make him cry-it-out, she may not be a good fit for you. She should only give parenting advice if asked and she should only recommend you do something differently if what you are doing is potentially harmful to your child.

ETA: After reading your edit I just wanted to add that putting a bottle in bed with the baby is a bad idea. It can cause cavities, your doctor was right on that. You can still give a bottle before bed, then brush his teeth, or wipe them down with a washcloth, or at the very least give him a bit of water to wash away some of the milk. If he wakes in the night and you want to give him something I would stick to water mostly to avoid having brush his teeth again. http://www.babycenter.com/0_sleep-concerns-bottles-as-sle...

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I still nurse my 17 month old at night. My first, who was bottle fed, had a sippy once in the middle of the night until she was about 2. If you brush their teeth and don't let them have it "hanging in their mouth" all night, you are fine. Some people choose not to do it, but I did, and my children are fine.

Babies need whole milk, and the fat content, for brain development. It has nothing to do with whether or not they're chubby. Both my girls were right on line with your son...and I didn't switch to 2% until two for the first. LIke I said, the young one is still nursing...plenty of fat there. Your babies weight matches his height...he's not in danger of becoming obese.

I chose to switch both of my children to forward facing at one year, because like your son, they are tall. I have heard all these answers about parents leaving their children rear facing until they are three, four, etc...and I think wow, your children HAVE to be uncomfortable, bored, cramped, and short. To each his own, I guess...

...but look at it this way. When we were children, we weren't even buckled in, let alone in a car seat facing the rear of the car. I see the primary purpose of the car seat as to keep a child pinned down until they know better than to not move around in a car. Yes, I will ALWAYS have them buckled in, but I think people are taking things too far. I don't know the statistics, and I suppose if you have the 1 in a million child who was saved at age 4 because they were rear facing, then you would disagree with me. HOWEVER, my point is, don't feel like you're putting your child in danger because you've faced him forward. It's okay. You still have him in a car seat.

Find a new doctor, if you don't jive with this one...that's my best advice! :)

(Oh, I forgot about the water. Yes, my 17 month old has been drinking water since about six months. Started off slowly...now she drinks anywhere from 8-16 ounces a day on top of nursing. That's her only fluid intake. She doesn't like juice, and has issues with milk and milk substitutes.)

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You have to do what is right for you. I will tell you some things I do and know:

I believe strongly in sleep training and crying it out - it works. Both of my boys (1 and 3 have slept through the night since 5 months old) they CIO for 2-4 nights each in the beggining, then it stopped almost instantly and from then on they slept through the night. It is often a battle of wills with young children, if you "win" the battle they do what you want (ie - sleep when its time etc.)

I give my boys non fat milk - i hear about this all the time from random people, but with the obesity epidemic in this country and the prevelence of diabetes in children rising I have chosen to give non fat (pediatrician told me this was ok as my kids are 95% height and 50-70% weight), the only difference in whole milk and non fat - is the fat content. My kids are good eaters and are in excellent health.

And although i do allow my kids to have milk at night sometimes - I have a good friend whose 3 year old had to get a root canal and 3 silver teeth filings -- the dentist said it was from milk sitting on his teeth all night (milk has sugar in it (lactose) so it will rot teeth if constantly sits on them all night).

I studied in Sweden (where they make safe cars like Vovlo's and Saab's)where many children sit in rear facing seats, cramped up, until they are 5! yes, 5 years old- they just cross their legs and sit. Research indicates that it is safer, period. That being said I still moved my kids to forward facing at about 15 months... again it is a parents judgment call.

I tell you all this just to show you that you have to do what is right for you, plus it is good to be informed and see how other mommys do things. I wish you the best of luck with finding a new pediatrician.

My oldest son had a bottle at bed and throughout the night and has perfect teeth. My second son did not and has weak teeth...go figure. Its up to you. I prefer non fat milk because its about the nutrients and helps them keep their BM's nice and easy. All of my children, from 19 to 4 were forward facing by the time they were 1 and 20lbs. Now I hear that it is encouraged for new safety findings that they stay rear facing as long as possible..look that up on the web and you can see if it is important or informative enough to make a change...you are the mommy. This is your baby and your decisions. There will always be opinions and new information...go with your findings and your feelings and you seem to be a careful and loving mom..I'm certain you're doing great for him..

Post your city/state on here and ask for some great pediatricians in your area...I found that really helped me :)

Betsy - in ALL things to do with YOUR child trust YOUR instincts! I was one of those insufferable women who thought they knew it all BC (Before Children) cos I'd studied and worked in the child care field. Surprise, surprised EVERYTHING got turned upside-down after I actually had a baby! I only wish I'd known back then that there isn't a "one-rule-fits-all" when it comes to kids. As each is an individual, what works for one won't necessarily work for another one. For example, my son went to sleep with a milk bottle until he was about 3 years old. He is now 18 years old and still has no cavities! My daughter used a pacifier until she was about 2 years old and never slept with a bottle. I could write an entire book just on the difference between my OWN 2 children - never mind everybody else's! In South Africa, rear-facing car seats are only for babies until approx. 3 months (depending on size). Both my kids were in front facing car seats from the time they got too big for their first one. Again, they are both happy, healthy, well-adjusted teens now, so I really don't think you should worry about anything that person said! Find a new doctor and trust your Mama Instincts and you'll all be fine! :) Good luck!

It is safer for him to be rear facing longer. and a 1 yr old has NO idea what a cramped leg is. And, milk before bed is really bad. not only can it damage the teeth he has, it can damage the developing teeth. Let him have water before bed.

And, i don't think it matters if the Dr has kids. i know plenty of surgeons that have never had what ever ailment they are fixing. i wonder if you didn't click because she told you not to do things that you were doing. She is the Dr, she went to school, she does have a clue. and if she is young-ish, she has to continue with education classes to keep her medical license. But, if you don't get along, I would find a new Dr. Keep in mind, just becaue the Dr tells you what you want to hear doesn't make them a good dr.