Getting a 14 month old off the late-night bottle

[PhilB]

Hi. My 14 month old dd is still having her 10pm-ish milk feed and I can't get her off it. We did the 'dream feed' from six weeks and just forgot to get rid of it, and suddenly she was 10 months. We stopped giving it to her if she slept on, but now she just wakes up every night, some time between 9.30 and 12 and howls for the milk.

She is fully weaned, eats what we eat all day, has milk before bed and sleeps through after the late feed, so I don't think she really needs it. It's just a hassle now because often she wakes after we've been in bed half an hour and just drifting off to sleep. How can I get her off it? If I go in empty handed she becomes hysterical, likewise if we go in with smaller amounts of milk (although haven't really persevered with this because of the bellowing).

Any suggestions or similar experiences much appreciated.

Cheers,

Philippa

My DD had a late night feed for ages after she was fully weaned. We found that gradually she just took less and less of it until we could stop it altogether. Unless it is a real drain for you I would not worry too much about it.

My ds has a late-ish feed (between 8-9.30pm) still and he is very nearly 17 months old, its only milk and is good for him. There is no need to worry

Why do you want to stop? If it's no hassle to you and a comfort to her and she then sleeps through I wouldn't rock the boat!

Thanks for the advice, it's very reassuring. I suppose everyone else I know has stopped that feed and I feel we should do something about it. But you're right, she'll give it up when she's ready to. Thanks.

Philippa

My LO was dependent on being fed at 5.30am. Without fail, every morning he would scream for milk and I told myself it was okay because he was hungry ...until I was moaning about my early starts and a dear friend told me that at 11 months it was a habit.Deep down I knew she was right and I couldn't face the endless more months of early starts, because why would a baby self wean off nice, warm milk and a bit of Mummy time in the middle of the night!?!?

Anyway, my point is, as you have said, your LO is not hungry and doesn't need the milk (they only need 12oz a day and it might go on to cause problems later when potty training if she is still consuming large quantities at night?). So you may just have to go cold turkey.

The first morning, my LO screamed. I gave him water. He wasn't amused and the day began!

The second morning he screamed for a few minutes. We ignored him. He went back to sleep.

The third morning he didn't stir.

It is possible but you will need to be able to cope with your LO crying...and that is not nice!

Good luck with what you decide

Thanks sambo2. I think it is definitely habit with my dd, but it's just whether it's better to carry on with it and hope she grows out of it or try to get her off it soonish. Of course I always think of these things at the worst time - she's teething at the moment so not a good time to try to withdraw comfort.

But thanks for the advice, I think I'll monitor over the next few months and see if there seems to be any change.

Thanks,

Philippa