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Is it ok to give cow's milk which is kept by the bedside to a baby?

Dr Satish Saluja
Consultant Neonatologist,
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital,
New Delhi

Q: My daughter is 11 months old. I have a query related to her feeding in the night. I usually give her dinner at 7:30 pm and she goes to sleep at 8:30 pm. At 10:30 pm I will give her (cow's) milk. Then she sleeps without problem. At 1:00 am she wakes up, and I give her (cow's) milk which is kept beside me. The milk is not warm, but I cannot leave her and go to the kitchen to warm the milk. So I use hot water which is kept in a flask, so that the milk becomes warm. My query is that is it safe to give the milk in this way? Before I used to keep the milk itself in the flask. But she used to refuse to drink that milk. Now I am following this routine. Is it safe? Any risk of a cold attack or an infection?

A:It is not a good idea to keep giving milk all through the night to a baby who is 11 months old, that too which is kept by the bedside at night. Try giving dinner a little later than 7.30 pm so that she is fuller for a longer time and may be you could give one fresh feed after that. See if this works. Is she drinking lot of milk at night or is it that she has just got into the habit of having something. If she is not drinking good amount try giving some bit of water and putting her to sleep.