Bris Wine and Baby

I originally wrote about giving the baby wine at the bris here

A recent experience caused me to rethink not the concept, nor the method, but the source of the wine we give to the baby.

As discussed in the original posting on wine, the source for giving the baby wine most likely comes from the situations in which he is the ideal candidate for drinking it because everyone else is fasting, and no one else has had any of the wine. That the wine is soothing and may act as a kind of analgesic is an added benefit - but is frankly, irrelevant after the circumcision is over (which is the point in time when most of the wine is typically given to him). 

"What happened recently?" you ask.  I'll tell you.

I was about to give some wine to the baby, when the person who had just taken a sip said to me, "I'm sick! Don't give the baby any wine from that cup."

I readily complied and dipped my gauze directly into the bottle, to give the baby "untainted" wine  

After that day, it occurred to me that while the baby is highly unlikely to catch anything from the wine, especially if the drinker merely takes a sip (which is usually the case) and particularly if he does not backwash, but still... If we are trying to keep the baby safe, shouldn't the baby have a cup of wine designated for him, which is not touched by anyone?

Now, there are some rabbis who specifically do not drink from the cup.  While they say the blessings, some wine typically drips on their fingers, and they taste the wine on their fingers, leaving the cup alone.  In those cases, the cup and wine in it remains untainted, and the wine in the cup is as "safe" as the wine in the bottle. But in most cases the one reciting the blessing sips from the cup. Wouldn't it be better for baby if there were a cup of wine dedicated for his use only, so he need not share a cup with an adult who may possibly have some virus in his mouth that could possibly be transferred...?

May be extreme, but seems logical to me... especially in light of the second source quoted here!

The Wine

We use wine at the bris for the blessing over wine and to sanctify the ceremony. 

There is a custom to give some of the wine to the baby after the ceremony.

I don't know how this custom came to be, but it is clearly stated in Jewish law discussions that when a bris takes place on a fast day, when the mohel, sandak and/or person reciting the blessings are fasting, that the wine (over which the blessing for wine is recited) is tasted by the baby. [This goes into a different discussion about a bracha l'vatala – a wasted blessing – which we try to avoid saying. Once the blessing is recited over the wine as part of the ceremony, someone needs to drink it.]

On regular fast days, the baby's mother is usually not fasting on account of her recently giving birth, so she can be the one to drink if she is present or close by. But if the bris is on Yom Kippur or Tisha B'Av, the mother does participate in the fast – leaving the baby as the closest available candidate to drink the wine.

Some will say in shock, "You mean you actually give the baby wine?"

Yup. Not a lot. Very little, in fact. But the sweetness of the wine makes it easy for the baby to handle, and the low-alcohol content helps soothe the baby.

I have seen many a smile light up on the faces of those watching as the wine touches the lips, sometimes when baby is crying (in which case he stops), and he does the cutest lip-smacking you have ever seen in your life.

How is it given to the baby?