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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Bottle feeding at 20 months

22 replies

ladders · 24/02/2008 23:01

My DS1 is 20 months and has a 8oz bottle at 7am on waking and again at 6.30pm as part of his bed time routine. He has always been bottle fed and he has no other milk drinks during the day. If he has it in a beaker he only managed to sip 2oz or so. Do I continue with the bottles? How long do I have to keep giving him milk for? What does anyone else do? Thanks

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Flibbertyjibbet · 24/02/2008 23:11

My 21m old still has 2oz on waking and about 8oz at night. Water with meals etc in the day.
Er, my 3.1yo still also has a (4oz) bottle at night, mainly because whenever we try to get him off it he goes bezerk as his brother still has one.
I can't really see the harm in it, its the only area we indulge them I think. We both work, the boys sleep though the night and if having a bottle helps them settle then thats a good enough reason for them having one!
We decided that we will get both of them off bottles at the same time - at xmas 08! and do the 'giving bottle to santa' bit.
If this seems old to have bottles, my friends daughter gave her bottles to my ds1 when he was born, she was nearly seven....

DontCallMeBaby · 25/02/2008 09:05

DD 'gave up' her bedtime bottle at gone 3 (for 'gave up' read 'parents took her to stay overnight at grandparents, forgot bottle, child did not seem to care, parents seized opportunity'). I figured that once we got past about 15 months with bottles still a part of life, it was just going to be easier to wait a year or more until it was possible to reason with her (or bribe her) rather than attempting to take a bottle off a stubborn 1 or 2yo.

She has milk when she fancies it in the day, and I do things with cheese or milk based sauces for meals - I hope I'm getting enough calcium into her, but I honestly haven't a clue.

williamsmummy · 25/02/2008 11:05

I dont think there is anything wrong with a bottle. comfort is important in a babies life.
other countries, e.g france have there babies on bottles well over a year.
the uk has a strange tendancy to whip them away quickly.
this is just enforced independance, and may not suit the child.

if they drink from a cup during the day , and brush teeth well, dont worry.

bottles replace breast milk, and breast feeding was done for years , so why not bottles as well?

katewilson13 · 25/02/2008 13:10

I am really reassured to read this thread. My DS is now almost 20 months old and still having at least 3 bottles a day. It as least cows milk and although I give milk first and last thing during the day, I only give it other times if he asks (and so far he always does). What do people do during the night? My DS has taken to waking once during the night and claiming to be hungry. I've tried cramming as much as possible in during the day but with no change. Can I leave a bottle in his cot and expect him to reach over and use if he wants? Or will milk go everywhere? Thanks for any ideas!

Flibbertyjibbet · 25/02/2008 14:07

(I leave a bottle in his cot for 22m old to find.... never gone anywhere but in his mouth!)

GillL · 25/02/2008 15:31

Dd had a bottle til she was 2.5. She only had it for comfort. We only made her give it up because she wasn't eating any food because she filled herself up with milk all day.

poodlepusher · 25/02/2008 15:42

This is really reassuring as my 17 mth old DS is still having a morning bottle and tries someimes to swipe his sisters (2 months old) so I let him have a small bottle in the day or evening if he feels the need to be included. I was worried as all I see are 15-18 month olds drinking from cups!

JoyS · 25/02/2008 19:28

But poodlepusher, you don't see them at their bed or nap times, do you? I bet they all have bottles or breast then.

My 22 month old DD has 'hot milk' as she calls it at nap and night, and sometimes in the afternoon if I'm having a tea. I don't see anything wrong with it, if I wasn't preggers I'd still be breastfeeding at those times so why shouldn't she have a nice bit of milk?

bubblagirl · 25/02/2008 19:30

my ds had bottle untill a yr and half then he has his in cup now 2.7 for bed

he doesnt drink milk in morning but loves his bedtime milk so i'll do it for as long as he wants it might have to change times when toilet training in night but he loves it so i'll stick to it

sannie · 25/02/2008 19:35

my 22 month old still has his bedtime bottle. I think it's better to wait a little when they can decide to give it up on their own or become interested in a big boys/girls cup rather than create a big fuss by taking it away from them.

WowOoo · 25/02/2008 19:40

My 21 month has bottle before bed and will wake up at 11;30 -12:00 for another. Has no other bottles during day. Glad other dc's are having them too!

olivo · 25/02/2008 20:14

another one who is reassured by this! my dd is 18mo and has a bottle morning and night. she will not drink milk from anything lese, have tried swapping for spouts etc, but she refuses it. I would rather she had the milk than not, so a bottle it is. she only drinks water during the day and only from a cup. she'll give her bottles up one day....

bubblagirl · 25/02/2008 20:21

i put my ds was a yr and half when gave up bottle but we moved when he was 19 mths and still had bottle so he would have been around two

we went costco and he saw big boy cups he wanted although did drink from cup in day and that night anted milk in new cup

non spill so we leave it in his bed along with 1 wiith water so if thirsty he knows its there if wants it

GodzillasRockinRollinBumcheek · 25/02/2008 20:36

Oh thank goodness - DD3 only 14 months but absolutely point blank refuses to drink milk from a beaker. She is fine with water or juice from the beaker though

lizandlulu · 25/02/2008 20:38

my dd is 2.3 and has a bottle at night. still on formula as whenever i give her cows milk, she always seems unsettled. i dont know if it is coencidence, but i like a full nights sleep so carried on with formula.

we are only just getting her to sleep through the night without waking for a bottle, but even if she does wake, i give her a bottle and she is asleep within 10 mins, so its not really a hardship.

im going to carry on letting her have bottles for a good few months and going to presevere with the cows milk.

one step at a time

Flibbertyjibbet · 25/02/2008 21:25

See, if a child still has a breastfeed at bedtime at 2 or 3 or 5 yo, thats ok.
But a child on cows milk or formula must have it in a cup from 6m. I don't get it. If its so important for a child to drink from a cup then why aren't breastfeeding mums told to express it into a cup from 6mo and not give a feed at bedtime after about 12m

Well I breastfed both mine to 6m then switched to bottles with formula or cows milk in. Baby still gets a cuddle and a sucky comfort thing, I get a settled baby.

JoyS · 25/02/2008 22:19

Totally agree with flibbertyjibbet. WHO recommends breastfeeding until 2 years. Why wouldn't this apply to bottlefeeding as well?

LardyMardyDaisyBoo · 25/02/2008 22:31

I think it's to do with teeth, and BFing is ok because the nipple is right down their throat so less milk is in contact with the teeth, but I might be wrong.

I can't honestly remember when I stopped night time bottles with my DS but he got his milk in a cup in the morning from a year I think.

Original poster

ladders · 27/02/2008 14:24

Everyone - thank you so much for your comments ans insights.
I feel much happier about carrying on as we are - and its seems some of you do too!
+++++++

OP posts:

phlossie · 27/02/2008 14:39

I think LardyMardyDaisyBoo is right about the teeth. But you could just make sure you clean his teeth after his milk - we changed our ds's routine so teeth cleaning went last when he was about 18mo.
I breastfed until just under one year, so weaned straight on to a cup. But my ds has a toy rabbit whose face he sucks , and I don't see that a bottle is much different - it's a comforter and he'll give it up when he's ready.

plumb · 27/02/2008 16:49

Bottles over two? I might be wrong but I thought it was something to do with "bottle mouth" or something like that???!! That the teeth get pushed forward because of the suckling motion? I've seen children with it, their top lip curls upwards and looks very pouty? But of course I could be horribly wrong. And my DD2.3 has 9oz bottle at bedtime everynight so Im not that worried about it!

thefortbuilder · 27/02/2008 17:05

ds is 19 months and has a bottle at night and on waking - varies the amount on waking but it's generally a full 9oz on going to sleep.

stopping bottle drinking is mainly to do with tooth decay i am led to believe as apparently babies that are bottle fed are generally laying flatter than bf'd babies and the milk / formula swishes around their teeth a lot more.

saying that ds has only water during the day from a tumbler with a spout and happily drinks from an open cup whenever he can.

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