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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

Anyone else got a toddler addicted to bottles?

36 replies

GordonTheGopher · 05/08/2008 20:30

Was close to namechanging for this post.

DS was 2 in April and still has a bottle at night. Its effect is magic - instant calm and ready-for-bed-ness.

I'm not too worried about the bedtime bottle, but he also has one if he wakes in the night, or if he's awake early in the morning. These are diluted a bit but bottles all the same.

I've tried stopping the bottles in the night but I have full blown child-from-the-exorcist tantrums and at 3 in the morning I'd rather give him a quick bottle and get back to bed. This happens perhaps once every 3 or 4 nights. He has one if he wakes before 6 (which is often) as I'm not going to give him breakfast at 5.30 in the morning.

He also has them when he's ill- I find it's a good way of getting fluids into him.

He has a hypoallegenic formula rather than cow's milk, and as his diet isn't brilliant I figure they are still 'good for him'.

I just have no idea when or how I'm going to get him off the bottle.

And yes I know I'm a wimp.

Any advice or success stories gratefully received.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

noonki · 05/08/2008 20:36

I am with you !!!

my 2.10 year old has only just given up his bottles. I had to tell him that the bottle fairy had magicked away all of his bottles...the bottle fairy has rung him a couple of times to tell him how wonderful he is and he got a few prizes,

I think priming them is really important

it has been so mych better he eats loads more...

my friend did it by cutting off the tops of the teats, she had spent two weeks saying 'now you are a big boy the bottles will change' and then got him a special cup instead

good luck I sympathise

MissisBoot · 05/08/2008 20:37

DD is three and still has a bottle at bedtime and I'm not too worried about it - she doesn't rely on it to go to sleep and doesn't bothered about having it - I tried cutting it out a few months ago but she got upset - and tbh I'd rather know that she got a good amount of the neocate and some calcium etc into her diet.

She also has a bottle when she's ill. I guess your main concern is around the bottles in the night - you may have to go cold turkey - is 2 old enough to understand that he isn't going to have it? Depends on how much you want him to stop. Maybe wait 6 months or so then you can use 'big boy' tactics!

divastrop · 05/08/2008 20:45

my ds1 still had a bottle of milk at night untill he was about 3.he would not drink from a cup,despite me trying every one on the market back then,so he also had juice in a bottle untill 2.6 when he started drinking from a normal cup(and yes he has had problems with his teeth).

from what i remember i just told him he wasnt having a bottle anymore and that was that.it was probably a nightmare but i think i did everything in one go(like making him sleep in his own bed,no getting up in the night etc)and had a week of crap and then all was fine.

i wouldnt worry about it,i dont see that its any different to a toddler still having a BF before bed to settle them.

Original poster

GordonTheGopher · 05/08/2008 20:48

Thanks. I'll bide my time on this one and wait til he fully understands that he's too big for one.

OP posts:

lizandlulu · 05/08/2008 20:55

gordon, that could have been me writing the op.
my dd is 2.9 and still has a bottle before bed. she was having a bottle in the night too till i changed her into a single bed, then a whole other lot of problems occured and she seemed to forget about the bottle.
but the bedtime bottle is comforting, she has no other comforters, i am leaving her to it till she decides otherwise.

(incidentally i was talking to a friend last wek who has a 2.3 ds, i said dd was still having bottle and she was very at me. yet she is perfectly happy for her ds to have juice out of a bottle all day long)

blueskythinker · 05/08/2008 21:15

My 3.2DD still has bottles, and not just at night either - although I dilute them massively (2 scoops to a full bottle).

I'm starting to think we will need to stop, as she is starting nursery school this Sept. I have started using this cup. It is great

seeker · 05/08/2008 21:18

Why do you want to get him off bottles? [puzzled emoticon]

tweeni · 05/08/2008 21:18

I'm not sure why you are worried tbh? Ds is 2 and has 3 sometimes more bottles a day if he wakes up in the night or asks for one.

lizandlulu · 05/08/2008 21:26

i have just got my dd on to cows milk which i thought was more important than getting her off bottles, but she likes to help me make the formula ones up! i used 5 scoops to 7 ounces of water. i put in the first 4 and she does tha last one. so now i have to get dh to put the cows milk into a bottle while she is having a bath so she can see it is already made up.

thefortbuilder · 05/08/2008 22:08

ds has just turned 2 and has milk in a bottle at 630 after his dinner and whatever he doesn't finish from that bottle he has before bed, generally no more. if he wakes in the night he has a bottle then to settle him (i know a cop out), but he went straight from bottle i nthe day to open cup / glass, bypassing straws (which he can use)etc..

i'm not sure how we're going to get him off the waking in the night as it's already diluted, it jsut seems to settle him so easily.

cowardly me

tweeni · 05/08/2008 22:26

flick - how much is it diluted? ds has 1 oz milk to 8 oz water.

Missytrouble · 05/08/2008 22:32

My dd was waking every night for a bottle. She was about 2.6 when I said one morning that the sleep fairies needed her bottles for the babies. She could have a thank you present from them in return.

She chose some Dora roller skates, I made a big fuss all morning about it while we went to buy the skates, I wonder if the fairies have been for the bottles yet etc.

She was amazed when we got home and the bottles had gone and a thank you fairy card was left in there place!

It was tough the first couple of days but she soon settled. I kept reminding her what a big girl she was and showing her the skates.

If she wasn't waking at night then I probably wouldn't have stopped the bottles as at the time it was the only way she would drink milk.

She has since discovered Charlie and Lola and (diluted with plain milk) pink milk!

Original poster

GordonTheGopher · 06/08/2008 06:39

I think it's me feeling that everyone thinks a child of that age shouldn't have a bottle. But to me he's still my baby.

Thanks all!

OP posts:

thefortbuilder · 06/08/2008 17:03

tweeni it's a bit stronger than that, but i don't think it's the milk element of it that he needs - i think he'd do it with water. we're going through a bit of a phase with terrible waking at the moment, really screaming tears rolling down his cheeks, inconsolable. so much so that i'm thinking of seeing the doctor about it - he's never been a great sleeper but it is much worse now. we got to the point the other ngiht that he wouldn't go back upstairs to his own room, wouldn't stay in ours and eventually went to sleep on the sofa - he never sleeps on the sofa.

sorry, bit of a hijack

lazaroulovespastries · 06/08/2008 17:05

GTG, ds2 still has night bottles, including middle of the night sometimes, and one in the morning. Ds1 will have one at night sometimes too. They are 2 and 3.

tweeni · 06/08/2008 18:16

flick - could he be scared of something? does he have a night light? do you check in the cupboard/under the bed for monsters etc?

thefortbuilder · 06/08/2008 18:32

tweeni - he used to have a moonlight nightlight but a few weeks ago that became the source of much pointing and upset in the middle of the night, so we turned it off. actually was just saying to dh that we might try leaving the upstairs hall light on for him, as although he goes to sleep perfectly well on his own, it's the middle of the night that is new with the screaming. he's never been upset before and I don't know if introducing something like checking for monsters would work against me - introducing something new to be scared of? I have always and do religiously say when i put him into bed "I'll be just outside if you need me" and he has always seemed to be happy with this. we do the same goodnight routine - are you going to be a big boy and go to sleep - yes; i love you jacob - love you; night night - night night; i'll be just outside if you need me, and then leave the room after giving him a kiss

will see how tonight goes with the light on!

LittleMissTickles · 06/08/2008 18:41

Gordon, my DD1 stopped drinking milk altogether for 2 whole years when we took away her bottle at 14months. Sooooo, now DD2 at age 2.6 still has up to 2 bottles (whole milk) a day - she tends to ask for milk when she is tired.

She does also drink cold milk in a cup, but a warm bottle is her favourite! Personally, I just don't let others see it, so no comments to deal with! Was a bit awkward when we stayed with my parents recently tough...

tweeni · 06/08/2008 20:30

flick - sorry i meant only show him their are no monsters if he seems to be scared of such things. have you asked him why he is scared?

cleversprout · 06/08/2008 20:42

What's the problem? I can see why it's a pain for him to have bottles in the night, but during the day, so what? If he was drinking loads of milk and not eating food then yes it's a problem, but a bedtime bottle is fine imo. My ds moved spontaneously onto a lidded beaker of milk at bedtime around age 3, so I'm assuming my 2 year old dd will do the same. Relax! There is a lot of ridiculous stigma attached to bottles imo, same as dummies. It is not the case in other countries.

thefortbuilder · 07/08/2008 20:18

yes tweeni - he's only 2 so getting too much out of him is a bit difficult - he's fairly wordy but not that much iyswim...

we have bought one of those nightlights that shine stars on the walls and ceilings in the hope that it might help as we used to have stars o nthe ceiling (left over from previous owner) that faded once the light was turned out and he seemed to like those.

GColdtimer · 07/08/2008 20:34

gordon, a bottle addict here too (2.3). I came under loads of pressure from others to stop them and posted on here to ask how but it caused her so much trauma I couldn't face it. Its only milk out of them, everything else she has out of a proper cup.

But, for the waking in the night bottle, about a month ago I told her that we had run out of milk and that if she woke there wasn't any more intill the milkman came at 6. First night was awful, she cried for 45 mins, even sobbing in her sleep "want my milk". The second night, she slept through and she hasn't asked for it since. I thought exactly like you did but it has made night wakings easier.

lizinthesticks · 07/08/2008 20:57

DD 2.1 is still very much into bottles - or boppers as she calls them. I do dilute though - 1oz cows milk to say 3 or 4 water. She always has one for the cot at night, but will often have one in the day - wanders around with it willy-nilly. I sort of wish she wouldn't but as it's mostly water, I don't see much of a problem with it really.

thefortbuilder · 07/08/2008 21:05

ds1 has no milk at all in the day and everything else is out of an open cup. he's drinking less at night but there is still the howling waking though.

let's see how the nightlight thing works - it's a ladybird and he gave her lots of kisses before getting into bed and seemed to like the idea that the stars were going to be there all night and keep him safe...

sugarpeas · 07/08/2008 23:56

why would you dilute milk in the day time?

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