Anyone else got a toddler addicted to bottles?

[GordonTheGopher]

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.

[herbgarden]

Yep, I know but they aren't hard like that plastic hard - they really are quite soft, honest !!

[nappyaddict]

herbgarden - it says they have hard spouts.

[TheGreatScootini]

My DD 2.8 has two bottles a day.Some of this is because she likes them, some of it is because she sees her sister, 1.2 having them and thus automatically wants them.
She wont drink alot anyway and is a problem eater so Id rather she had the milk and if its got to be in a bottle so be it.She drinks out of a normal glass perfectly well the rest of the time when she does drink,so I dont see an issue with it really.I expect I will leave it till DD2 is a wee bit bigger then wean them both off them at the same time..

[herbgarden]

it's a sort of cross between bottle and beaker with a softish spout (rather than plastic hard) and a pretty fast flow.I think the thing with the bottle is the time it takes to drink it ? Is that right??

www.babybornfree.co.uk/Catalog.aspx?categoryid=19621 copy this URL in if you can and this is what I got - it says the spout is hard but it's still flexible.

You can buy one cup and then a few teats...

[sugarpeas]

what's a hybrid bottle?

[herbgarden]

if you want to get your lo off them I tried a bfree sort of hybrid bottle first and now an anyway up cup. Whatever he gets he gets used to and then doesn't want to change. At nursery they give them milk at snack times not in a bottle so I suppose he's got used to that. I cut down the milk intake so that ds doesn't lose his appetite for solid foods during the day. He often asks for milk in the day but I just tell him no and that that's what we have at bedtime and in the morning. I'm not sure we'll drop that morning milk easily - he loves it - as he does his nighttime milk. My nephews had milk til they were about 4 at bedtime - can'tsee what's wrong with it......

[halia]

thank god!
DS is 3 and 4m and STILl has bottles! I've been thinking for ages that I should wean him off them but just can't face it. He has some other issues which I was just about to post about actually to do with development and speech, his language is still only really that of a 2yr old and he certianyl couldn't grasp something like bottle fairies.

He has one at bedtime, and one if he wakes in the night. He will also ask for one if he is tired and its the ONLY thing that calms him down - as we are getting fairly desperate about his general development and behaviuor part of me thinks that if he has something which stops the bouncing off the walls injuring himself or the huge screaming fits then I'd be a fool to take it away.

He wouldn't ask for a bottle at nursery or in public - he does seem to see it as a comfort thing.

He's on soya milk due to lactose intolerance so its exactly what would go in a drink. I have also had his teeth checked and they are fine so that put that worry to rest.

[sugarpeas]

ds has 3 8oz bottles a day. 1 morning, 1 either before or after his nap and 1 before bed. If he wants anymore than this or wakes up in the night he gets a watered down one.

[2sugars]

DD1 was 5 before she gave up her morning bop-bop. To my shame. She just wanted nothing else in the morning, it was more of a quick-fix comfort thing.

[Shannaratiger]

I've got a friend with 6 boys ( I think). She still lets them have a bottle before bed until they decide they don't want it. She says if they like it why stop it's not hurting them. I agree and will be letting DS have his milk in bottles as long as he wants.

[lizinthesticks]

So it doesn't interfere with their appetite for solid food. That's why I do it - no idea if this is best nor even good practice.

[sugarpeas]

why would you dilute milk in the day time?

[thefortbuilder]

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...

[lizinthesticks]

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.

[GColdtimer]

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.

[thefortbuilder]

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.

[cleversprout]

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.

[tweeni]

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?

[LittleMissTickles]

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...

[thefortbuilder]

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!

[tweeni]

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?

[lazaroulovespastries]

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.

[thefortbuilder]

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

[GordonTheGopher]

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!

[Missytrouble]

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!