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yes, it's bad - babies can choke on the liquid or inhale it.

thanks but i just don't know... i mean she doesn't choke when i'm feeding her and i'm always in the room if i prop.. i am on the fence about this.

I was a propper, especially when my son was in his stroller and was hungry. When they are teething, don't do it. The holes in their gums can fill with the milk and rot the teeth. The milk pools and seeps into the holes. The holes then close and the milk becomes the enemy.

All I have hearrd about this is that it can promote tooth decay (see Narcissus's comment.)

I also prop bottles when I am doing things. I have heard that when they are very young and the milk goes too fast it can cause ear infections by settling in the ears and throat w/o swallowing. Now that Amaya is in a highchair I prop her bottles all the time when she is too lazy to hold them herself. I would just say becareful when doing it and make sure you are always in the room. Oh yeah one other thing, I do know first hand it wastes more formula/breasmilk because they dont rotate the bottle and take it out when they cough so it spills out.

I am not going to lie...I use to do it too. But my son refuses to have it propped. He got smart...he wont drink it unless I am giving it to him. I even bought the special pillow for it. I think once in while especially if you have more than one kid...its OK to do. Sometimes you just have to do it.....but I would only do it if it is an emergency. Such as your other kids need help....etc.

I have to admit that I do it every now and again. I usually do it when I am trying to get dressed or if I have to use the bathroom (and I am usually coming right back). I don't understand the choking thing. You really can not "choke" on liquid. Choking is when there is something stuck in the throat. Liquid cannot get stuck.

You know, I just do whatever it takes to get through the day. If it involes propping a bottle (which it doesn't yet since i'm b___stfeeding) then so be it. Sometimes we just need that 15 minutes to take care of ourselves, or our other children. :o)

Amen, tiffani! If propping means me time and the baby does not get yelled at, voila, we have a solution:) I can't count the times I needed to sit down and relax while my son had his bottle propped up, in his bouncer, with me next to him.

hey I posted a few months ago about the PODEE its the neatest bottle around. that is not really propping a bottle but you dont need to hold it plus it eliminates gas and I think ear infections.

It's not prefered for several reasons, but most importantly it robs the baby of time with you. I would at least severely limit how often it's done and make up for it with more play time. It might not sound like a big deal, but down the road it makes a difference. You wouldn't believe how much of what we do/don't do this early affects them. It's not once they have a memory as many think, it starts as birth.

"at birth", not "as birth".

As a healthcare professional, I feel the need to clarify something here. (And for the record, I am not trying to pick on anyone here, just give some information.) Choking is when a foreign substance gets caught in your airway. The technical term is aspiration. This can happen with liquids and solids. In some cases, the foriegn substance can get lodged in the lung and cause a type of pneumonia called aspiration pneumonia. Babies can definitiely choke on a bottle of formula or b___stmilk. Hell, they can choke on b___stmilk while nursing from their mother's b___st. Anyway, I thought I have heard that propping increases the risk of choking. My guess it is because there is no one actually administering the bottle and watching the baby for signs of choking, but as I said, it is just my guess. I thought it also increased the chance of ear infections and tooth decay. I don't imagine doing it once in a while is that big of deal- just make sure you are near by to make sure baby is doing okay with it and not choking or anything.

I am not trying to start a debate. However, aspiration pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs caused by inhaling foreign material, such as food, liquid, vomit, mucus or in the case we are talking about, milk. This is not choking at all. Choking is only when something is lodged or stuck in the windpipe. Liquid CANNOT get lodged or stuck anywhere that has open valve. Our windpipes have an open valve. A person cannot talk, cough or breathe when they are choking. When someone is "choking" on a liquid they are coughing. Hence, there is no way that that can be considered choking. Also, if something was inhaled and inserted into the lungs that meant that there was air in the windpipe. This is the information that I have been taught, what my textbook says and what I have found on the web. If anybody can link me to some different info negating this info I would really want to see it. Thanx

ok TC if you can't choke on liquids then why when you are drinking something and you choke on you and cough? or when your done coughing you say "it went down the wrong pipe" ? you choke on it. if your drinking something that is being held up to your mouth by someone else and it goes down wrong and you start to cough but the liquid is still going down your throat you would choke right?

means anything that partially or completely obstructs the airway, so yes, you can choke (though temporarily) on liquid. if liquid is in your airway, it is obstructed till you cough it out.