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Well Child Center

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Weaning from the Baby Bottle

When it comes time to offer the cup, what’s the best way to help your baby say good-bye to the bottle? The transition away from bottle can be emotional and slightly terrifying as a parent. Weaning can mark the end of babyhood in many ways. However, many more milestones are yet to come! Just remember that the weaning process is…a process. And starting when a child turns 1 year old will be easier than beginning when he or she is older. 

When should you wean baby off the bottle?  

Pediatricians and Pediatric Dentists say that babies should begin weaning at 12 months – and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends to complete weaning from the bottle by 15 months old. Babies rarely give up their bottles easily – which is why so many toddlers continue use it long past the recommended 12 months of age. 

Why should I wean baby off the bottle? 

There are plenty of good reasons to kick the habit by age 1. Toddlers who continue to drink from the bottle may be filling up on liquids and skipping solids – essentially hindering their appetite for foods and important nutrients. Also, bottles boost tooth decay. Milk contains lactose, a type of sugar, creating an environment for bacteria to grow. And if you’re giving your child juice in the bottle, that’s even worse. Furthermore, because the bottle significantly increases the risk of cavities, the likelihood that your child will have a dental issue also increases. 

How do I wean baby off the bottle? 

Introduce the cup at 6 months old. In the beginning, most of what you serve in a cup will end up on the floor or on your baby, ultimately creating a mess. But by 12 months old, most babies have the hand coordination needed to hold a cup and to drink from it properly. 

Quitting the bottle cold turkey may work for a few babies, but for most, a gradual transition is best. That means phasing out one feeding session at a time. Morning and midday bottles are easier to eliminate than the evening bottle (because most children are attached to the nighttime bottle as an evening ritual before bed). Therefore, as you encourage baby to drink from a sippy cup, begin to drop the morning or midday bottle first then wait a few days (or a week) before you replace the next bottle. Gradually offer more of a sippy cup and less of the bottle. For the nighttime bottle, many parents find it useful to switch up bedtime routines. Do something different, and stress that it is only for “big” boys and girls, while bottles are for babies.  

At age one, doctors also recommend switching from formula to cow’s milk. This can also serve as a natural transition to offer milk in a cup rather than a bottle. 

Most importantly, be patient! No baby will readily hand over the bottle, and weaning is usually the first time your actions as a parent will make your child unhappy. It is normal to struggle, but think of this as your first of many parenting challenges and try to be consistent. If your child continues to cry for the bottle after a few times of doing without and you give them a bottle once again; you have sent baby the message that crying gets them what they want. Weaning your child from the bottle will not happen overnight. Be persistent, working on weaning day to day. 

Fill Up on Extra Fruits and Veggies This Summer with WIC

The fruit and vegetable cash-value benefit (CVB) was first introduced to the WIC Program in 2007. It allows participants to purchase vegetables and fruit with their WIC food package as part of a healthful diet. Under normal circumstances, the monthly CVB is $9 per child and $11 for pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) allows WIC agencies to temporarily increase the fruit and vegetable CVB dollar amount to $35 for all women and child participants. The 4-month period will begin June 1, 2021 and expire on September 30, 2021. This change in benefits will be automatic for all WIC participants.

Well Child Center’s WIC Program is delighted to continue to help parents navigate the COVID-19 crisis by allowing participants to buy and consume even more healthy fruit and veggies! Increased access to vegetables and fruit is a critical step toward ensuring that children have access to vital nutrients and a genuine attempt to curb childhood obesity rates.

For Recipes Featuring Fruit and Vegetables:
WIC Health E Kitchen – wichealth.org
MyPlate – myplate.gov
Kids Eat Right – eatright.org
Illinois Nutrition Education Program – inep.extension.illinois.edu

To learn more about the WIC Program: signupwic.com

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 is the first edition to include recommendations for infant and toddlers! From birth to 2 years old is a critically important time for parents to feed their children properly to promote optimal growth and development. It is also an important time to establish healthy dietary patterns that can influence food preferences and eating behaviors later in life. The theme “Make Every Bite Count” is highlighted throughout this edition and is all the more fitting for children 2 years and younger, as they tend to consume small quantities of food frequently throughout the day.

Notable Guidelines for Children Birth to 2 Years Old:

· Recommendation to exclusively breastfeed up to 1 year of age, and longer if desired. Offer iron-fortified formula during the first year of life when human milk is not available.

· Provide infants with a vitamin D supplement beginning at birth.

· At about 6 months, introduce infant to nutrient-dense complementary foods.

· Introduce baby to potentially allergenic foods with other complementary foods, for example: peanuts, eggs, cow milk products, nuts, wheat, shellfish, fish, and soy. The guidelines state that there is no evidence that delaying potentially allergenic foods help to prevent food allergies. However, we encouraged all parents and caregivers to discuss this topic with their doctors before proceeding.

· Offer a variety of foods from all food groups beginning at 6 months and beyond, including protein, fruit and vegetables, dairy, and grains. At this time, taste preferences begin to develop therefore it is important to expose children to a variety of foods. It may take up to 8 to 10 times for a young child to be exposed to a new food to like it due to new textures and flavors. Repeated offerings increase the likelihood of an infant accepting new foods.

· Parents, caregivers and guardians play an important role in a young child’s nutrition because infants and toddlers are fully reliant on them for their every need. The edition also introduced the term, Responsive Feeding. Response Feeding emphasizes recognizing and the responding to hunger and fullness cues of your child. This will help allow the child to self-regulate their dietary intake.

· Avoid added sugars and foods higher in sodium. Taste preferences are formed at a young age and children may develop preferences for sweet and salty foods.

It’s safe to say that recommendations for baby and young children are always changing. However, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 can currently help parents navigate the eating behaviors of their young children. It’s never too early or too late to begin eating well!

Information regarding this blog and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 can be found at:

https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf

WIC Updates Program to EBT Card

New to WIC! Well Child Center and IL WIC has transitioned to the EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) card. No more paper vouchers! WIC participants will now receive benefits on an eWIC card, which is similar to a debit card.  

After attending a WIC appointment or completing a WIC class, food benefits are added onto the eWIC card. The family’s WIC food benefits will last until the next WIC visit. To complete transactions, participants will need to enter the PIN that they have created. 

There are many ways to find your WIC Food Balance: 

  • Look at your store receipt from your last shopping trip.  
  • Ask a cashier or customer service person at the store to print your WIC Food Balance.  
  • Call the toll-free number on the back of your WIC card, 1-844-4MY-FAMILY or 1-844-469-3264. 

Well Child Center hopes that participants will find the new eWIC card easier to use at grocery stores. We ask that WIC clients please be patient during this transition! 

Pediatric Dental Clinic Reopens!

Well Child Center Pediatric Dental

For our Pediatric Dental Clinic patients,

We are excited to announce that we are now open for appointments. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.

Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.

Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:

  • Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office. Temperatures will be taken upon entrance to our clinic.
  • We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
  • You may choose to wait in your car. Our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
  • Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
  • We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.

We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at 847-930-6721  

Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

Well Child Center’s Response to COVID-19

Well Child Center considers the health, safety and well-being of you and your family – our WIC clients and young dental patients – to be our highest priority.

Father kissing small child

We want to assure you and our community neighbors that Well Child Center (WCC) is taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in our community. While we are open during regular business hours during this Coronavirus outbreak, we are also screening all clients using a survey recommended by the Kane County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to keep our clients and community safe.

For our WIC families, the following exceptions for in-person appointments may be available during this Coronavirus outbreak:

  1. You and your child(ren) may not be required to meet in-person temporarily to maintain services.
  2. Nutrition Education will be completed via phone or internet. All WIC/Advocate Sherman classes are canceled until further notice.
  3. Food Instruments may be provided via curbside pick-up or in extreme cases via US certified mail.

Please call your family’s WIC office for additional information about these temporary exceptions and to ensure your family’s services continue without disruption.

For our Pediatric Dental Clinic patients, we have and always will protect our young patients and dental team from infections and diseases by strict adherence to CDC’s standard precautions.
*** NOTE: Dental Clinic reopens June 16, 2020***

For our breastfeeding clients, this is an important reminder based on CDC guidelines:

  • Breast milk provides protection against many illnesses. WIC and the CDC recommends that any mother with the flu continue breastfeeding or feeding expressed (pumped) breast milk to your infant while taking precautions to avoid spreading the virus to your infant.
  • For mothers with flu symptoms and well enough to breastfeed, please wear a mask when near your child (including during feeding), wash your hands before and after contacting your child (including feeding), and clean/disinfect all contaminated surfaces afterwards – as should be done in every case where anyone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 interacts with others, including children.

For moms who are too ill to breastfeed, ideally you should try to express (pump) milk and feed it to your child with a clean bottle, cup and/or spoon.

Here’s how you can help prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses, including the Coronavirus Flu:

PLEASE CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IF YOU OR YOUR FAMILY HAVE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS:

  • Fever
  • Cough (especially a dry cough)
  • Shortness of Breath (if you have more than a little change in your breathing, please call 911)

If you are sick, to keep from spreading respiratory illness to others, you should:

  • Stay home when you are sick.
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

If you have a life-threatening emergency, please call 911.

For more information please visit: 

Well Child Center remains committed to providing high quality services our clients have come to trust for nearly 50 years. We encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have at  (847) 741-7370.

*WCC will provide regular updates as new information becomes available.