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2 year old throwing bottle of water out of her cot - does she still need it?

10 replies

beabea81 · 24/06/2013 15:28

My 2 year old dd has always liked to have a bottle of water in her cot for naps & at night, we'd hear her drinking it in the night or early morning & it was always all gone in the morning so I figured she needed it. But all of a sudden she is saying she doesn't want it anymore & throwing it out of her cot if I do put it in!

The thing is I'm worried about her getting dehydrated in the night, especially in hot weather over the summer. I know how thirsty I sometimes wake up in the night & the first thing I do in the morning is reach for a glass of water, or is that just me?! She gets quite hot & sweaty in bed on hot days as her room is a south facing box room & she insists on having a fleece blanket over her as well as her grobag, even in warm weather.

Where she's still in a cot, it's not like I can just leave a bottle or sippy cup of water on a bed side table (which is what I'll do once she is in a bed). I tried popping the bottle on the top edge at the end of her cot, instead of in it, but she threw that on the floor too. She has taken a real dislike to this for some reason & got quite angry with me lol!

Would you worry about your toddler not having access to a drink of water in the night?? She drinks well during the day & has water with her tea & then an 8oz bottle of milk at bed time, she then sleeps 12-13 hours overnight. Am I worrying needlessly or do you think she does still need some water there at night??

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PaulInHolland · 24/06/2013 16:17

My DS (now 29 months) sleeps in a flat-roofed room that can get quite warm.He has never had water that he can access during the night and he sleeps solidly for up to 12 hours.If he is really gets thirsty he will wake up and let me know,but that has rarely happened.

Just keep her bed clothing as light as possible,make sure she drinks plenty during the day and keep.her bedroom as ventilated as best you can.

MummyPig24 · 24/06/2013 16:55

My children have never had drinks during the night after they stopped night milk feeds. I don't think they need it. Ds in particular is a hot child. If he needs a drink he wakes and asks for it. If your dd doesn't want it she may wake up and ask for a drink if she is thirsty.

CoolaSchmoola · 24/06/2013 17:09

My DD, 20 months, has never gone to bed with a drink, she slept through pretty early and now she has milk before bed and milk in the morning with water throughout the day and that's it.

fedupwithdeployment · 24/06/2013 17:13

I would think about what she is wearing. If I was in a grobag with a fleece I think I'd be sweaty and thirsty.

My DSs are a bit older, but never had access to water in their cot.

fififrog · 24/06/2013 20:13

My DD is 2.3 and sleeps with a non-spill cup of water - until last week in her cot but we just took the sides off. So no you're not alone! However, she has it because she went through a phase of waking up about 3am and screaming for water and I figured my nights would be quieter if she had a cup. I would go with what she wants - according to my experience if thirsty they will not hesitate to let you know! Of course if she won't tolerate the bottle AND wakes up shrieking for water then you have a problem (in terms of you're going to have to find another solutions or get up and give her a drink when she wants one)

Alexasmummy12 · 24/06/2013 20:30

iv tried giving her juice in her bottle instead of milk but she wont have any of it and just wanta her milk. the onky thing that worrys me about watering her milk down is that she may wake more for more milk :(.

fififrog · 24/06/2013 20:35

alexasmum think you just posted on the wrong thread ;)

beabea81 · 25/06/2013 11:07

Thanks all, well she's slept fine the last few nights without the water in her cot, so after all my worrying, I guess she'll be ok! I agree that a grobag & fleece blanket is making her hot in this weather, so I've been lightly draping it over her bottom half as she insists on having it on her,. Luckily she's getting to an age where you can explain things to her & she understands, so I have said ok you can have the blanket, but if you feel hot then push it off. Found her this morning with it pushed to the end of the cot & she was using it as a pillow lol, so she must have understood!

Sounds like it's not a big deal with your lo's who don't have water there to drink in the night, so I'm sure she'll be fine & will let me know if she really needs it - so far she doesn't seem to... x

OP posts:
frissonpink · 25/06/2013 11:10

Just remove the fleece - it's June!

You don't need to explain anything to a 2 yr old - you're the mum, just do it Hmm

and re the water, doubt she needs it either. She'd soon let you know if she was thirsty.

RobotBananas · 25/06/2013 11:15

Agree, get rid of the fleece! If its the feel of it she likes then get her a little comfort blanket.

Most children do not have a bottle of water in the cot at night... Its not really a good idea anyway, so just give her plenty of water in the day and stop worrying.

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