how do I get dd off a bedtime bottle?

[olivo]

i apologise as i wrote a similar thread a while ago but am getting quite stressed about this after reading some scary threads about teeth. my dd is nearly 13 months and at the moment, has two bottles, one in the mornign (sometimes 5 ish and then goes back to sleep) and one before bed. at the moment, she has a bath where we clean her teeth, then has her bottle and gets drowsy and goes to bed. i realise its the fact that she has the bottle after the teeth cleaning that is the issue but also keep reading that they should be off the bottle by 1.
if i swap the routine so she has the bottle then teeth cleaning, it'll no doubt ne better, but how do i get her off the bottle for milk and onto a cup or what ever? she drinks only water during the day, from a tommy tippee.

[Cathy10]

I'd put milk in the tommy tippee. be strong. if she doesn't want to drink it from that put her to bed and tell that's all there is. Then you will inevitably have to pick her up again and again and again until she accepts thats where its coming from. I did this and my 3 year old still drinks milk from her baby cup. Time to stop probably but we like the closeness and hey its not a bottle. They learn fast trust me it works, I had to do lots of encouraging and face stroking etc until she was calm enough to take a sup.

[gegs73]

I wouldn't get too worried. My DS1 is 3 and I was actually quite shocked to hear the other day some of my friends talking and I'd say over half of them still gave their 3yo a bottle before they went to bed!

DS2 stopped when he was just over 2. I tried to give him milk in a cup when he was 1, but he wouldn't drink it. I figured I would rather he had milk than worry he was drinking from a bottle so kept with it. Before he stopped he had a stomach upset so didn't have milk before he went to bed for about a week without any complaints and I took it as a good time to stop.

If you wanted to stop the bottle/milk at the same time, maybe reduce it by a small amount over a couple of weeks every time you give it her, which is what I did to stop DS1's morning bottle.

I wouldn't be overly worried about the teeth, maybe you could brush them in the morning too.

[Scootergrrrl]

She's still only a baby! Don't worry yourself over nothing. My DS is 17 months and still has a bedtime bottle.
We were told by a dental nurse that if they brush their teeth before their milk, and don't fall asleep with the milk still swilling round their mouth, it shouldn't be too bad. You could always give her a little drink of water after her milk if you're really worried.

[olivo]

thank you for your reassurances and advice. i do her teeth before her bottle and she finishes it and doesnt have anything during the night. when i get a more calm time, ithink i may try her with the cup instead of the bottle - will wait til my school inspection is over though!! i will step up the morning teeth cleaning too!
thanks again.

[NappiesGalore]

i dont know if it helps at all... but it may be comforting to you to know that if your dd having a bottle for bed is bad at 13m, then i take the crown for my 4yo, 3yo and almost 20mo all having bottles at night still... one to go to sleep and one in the night too (i make a spare and put it in the bed with them). and they even have them in the day too if they ask.

and if thats the worst thing i do as a mother i shall sleep easy from now on. (doubt it is tho)

[StrawberryMartini]

I have no intention of stopping ds's bottle - he's 17 months. It immediately calms him ready for bed, and yes he has it after I brush his teeth. My friend's a dentist and she told me not to worry - as the milk is going in behind the teeth. So don't stress!