'The cup-fairy is coming' - how to manage this?!

[feelinginthedark]

Almost 3 yr old DD had a great bedtime routine (milk in a cup in the living room before bath and teeth, no milk/drinks in bed, ever) up to the arrival of DD2 and an international move a few months ago. She now won't go to sleep without one, and more frequently two, sippy cups of warm milk in bed after her teeth and stories. She is pretty well toilet trained during the days but soaking through pull ups at night, not to mention the teeth issues .

Anyway we are going trick-or-treating on Saturday and with the disruption to routine and the fact that we'll try to keep her up a bit because of the clocks going back (we're in the US), I thought it would be a good opportunity to ditch the cups cold-turkey. We chatted yesterday about how the cup fairy comes at Halloween and takes all the cups away and gives sweets in return . This morning she woke up and asked excitedly 'is the cup fairy here yet'? All good. However, at bedtime tonight, when I emphasised the fact that the cup fairy does not, in fact, return the cups after she takes them away, DD got really, properly upset. Apparently she loves her cups more than sweets (which she never ever gets) .

I think this is going to be really hard! Any tips for success from those who did similar with dummies, bottles etc with this kind of an age group? Thanks in advance!!

I take a drink to bed with me every night part of my 'bedtime routine'- why can't your DD ?

Why do you want your dd to stop drinking milk at bedtime ?

If its the teeth-brushing ? could she have a drink of water to rinse her mouth. If its the quantity of fluid which you think maybe contributing to the soaked pull ups - well she's 2 so she's doing well to be dry during the day, so give her more time for night time dryness.

Any chance she could be hungry and is filling up on milk ? maybe try a pre-bed snack with protein and reduce the volume of milk gradually.

She's 2, she's got a new baby sister and an international move to contend with - let things settle down. There's no rule that says she has to stop bedtime milk at a certain age.

Agree with DPotter leave her with the milk I don't see what the problem is really

I would leave in a while longer personally. I tend to pick my battles though and this would be one of those times when i would leave it, given the number of changes she has experienced recently it doesn't surprise me she is clinging on to familiar routines.

I think the OP suggestion of a protein snack (before teeth) may help reduce the amount of milk as well.

Keep talking about the cup fairy every now and then and she may drop it when she is ready without much encouragement from you.

As far as I am aware wetting at night is a brain development thing and not related to bedtime drinks etc.

I found that reducing my dd's milk intake before bed made no difference at all to her weeing in the night. Look at it like learning to walk. You are either ready physically to do it or you aren't.

I wouldn't take her cups away. Certainly not with a convoluted cup fairy saga. she's still very little.

As the OP says though, it is really bad for her teeth.
Cups are not the problem though, surely she can have water still? Limiting liquids do not help with nighttime training anyway.

Just brush her teeth after she's had her last cup of milk. I do that with my twins (ie I bring their toothbrushes into their bedroom)

Agree with PPs that there is no need to stress about the night nappies at this age. She's still very little.

I do understand why the milk after teeth cleaning is worrying you a bit (though, as I'm sure you realise, it's not the end of the world.)

My dd continued to have a bottle of milk in bed for a long time ( I forget how old she was when it stopped, but over two and a half, I think). In the end Dh bribed her with something she really wanted (a microwaveable heat-up penguin) to give it up. Worked like a charm

Just updating this thread! Halloween was a riot so we didn't do the cup fairy thing that weekend, but did it two nights ago. She and I put her three cups into a special bag and left them outside the door. I then discovered that the cup fairy had come, and left some Frozen themed crap gifts for her. She was thrilled.

She got a little upset when we talked about her cups not coming back that afternoon. But she was well prepared, and enjoyed having her bedtime milk in a small glass with me in the sitting room, before teeth, wee, stories and bed. Asleep as usual. So much easier than I had thought it would be. Sometimes we underestimate their flexibility .