Help me change 18 mo bedtime routine - where to start?

[Lilactown]

DD is 18 months and every night I cradle her to sleep. I also feed her milk from a bottle before bed (abs brush teeth after). The milk and cradling makes her sleepy. She has always been bottle fed since birth as I had to express breast feed due to problems with latch, so she never had boob and the bottle brings great comfort still. I tried switching to a cup at bedtime but she was really distressed.

I also tried putting her down awake but she screamed and screamed. After I cradle her and let her fall asleep in my arms she sleeps through the night. So I have been reluctant to change. But now she's 18 months I feel I need to teach her to settle herself to sleep at night.

I'd also like to switch from bottle to cup. I think the two issues are interlinked so I'm not sure where to start with this.

My mum says I've made a rod for my own back with the cradling. This might be true but it just sort of panned out this way. The first 10 months of her life were in lockdown so I got into a really strong routine and as I had nowhere to go I was happily to cradle her.

She's a generally good sleeper so I don't want to sabotage that. But we are planning to get pregnant in 2022 and so I would like her to be self settling by the time a new baby comes.

Can anyone advise on the best steps to take?

Thank you!

I honestly wouldn't change it if she sleeps through the night! If you do have another baby you may find by then she's naturally self settling anyway as she'll be that much older? And if not & is struggling with a new sibling you may have to give extra support at bedtime anyway... However, to answer your question, have you tried just putting her in her cot at bedtime & sitting close by soothing/singing, slowly making your way nearer to the door every night til you can leave her to fall asleep by herself? I did this with my DD & she's now 2 & can mostly fall asleep by herself (my 4 year old who always fell asleep by herself now needs me to sit by her til she falls asleep though!) Good luck x

Ds2 is also 18 months - his bedtime looks like this:
Milk (in sippy cup) downstairs around 6:30
Upstairs bath if having one otherwise into bedroom
Into pjs and we close curtains etc together
Sit together on rocking chair in his room readying a story where he gets quite drowsy
Into cot where I sit next to him for a few minutes
Then leave when he’s struggling to keep his eyes open.

I’d tackle one thing at a time rather than the whole routine, so maybe start with the bottle downstairs for now and keep the rocking

In a week or 2 reduce the rocking until almost asleep but then put down and pat Tummy /bum still until asleep

I do the same and he’s 3!!!!!!!