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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Does anybody elses 2YO still have a bottle at bedtime?

42 replies

Fizog · 24/09/2004 09:54

...just wondering, I can't get her to give it up and wondering if it's really that much of a big deal...

OP posts:

hermykne · 24/09/2004 21:39

my dd, 2 in 10 days, still has hers and is addicted to it, but i am not worried about it. its her comfort thing so let her have it. my sis had hers til she was 6/7 and has perfectly straight teeth now!

Mosschops30 · 24/09/2004 21:41

Message withdrawn

TeriS · 24/09/2004 21:41

My DS still has a bottle at night, don't see it as a big problem.. although we know have to give him 2 bottles for bedtime - one when he goes to sleep, and 1 when we go to bed - otherwise he wakes up in the night... think he must be a 'hungry baby!'

clucker · 25/09/2004 06:06

my 9 monther is addicted to his too, still feel sad that i had to give up breast feeding so have decided not to force the issue and wait for him to give his bottle up when he decides to - i know of a four year old who told her mum she was fed up with bottles! - does anyone know the rationale for switching from formula to cows at one year what is the reason?

edam · 25/09/2004 08:21

I think it's just because you can give them cows milk at a year old... and it's cheaper and easier than formula. And I suppose formula is designed for babies, not older children ? presumably sweeter than cows?
No problem switching for ds but can't relinquish bedtime and morning bottles yet ? he just enjoys them so much! (He's 14 months).

Babblan · 25/09/2004 10:52

fizog, wonder if it will make you feel better to know that in the country I come from it is considered cruel not to give a small child a bottle if he/she wants one! It is a comfort thing and small children need to be allowed to feel small in order to grow up. My son is soon three and he loves his bottle before bedtime so much he comes running when we tell him it is time for bed! Not bad ey?

What is bad in one country is ok in another...realising that made me relax a bit when it comes to child care. Trust yourself is my advice. You know your child better than anybody else!

woodstock · 25/09/2004 12:44

DS is 13 months and still takes his bottle at bedtime and naptime. Sleep was such a big problem for him that I am all for whatever comforts him down.

Clucker, my understanding has always been that their little digestive systems aren't ready for cow's milk until one. We tried doing 1/2 formula and 1/2 milk with ds and he still had problems. now we use 1/2 soy milk and 1/2 formula, but we have switched to the older baby formula.

aloha · 25/09/2004 13:07

The rationale is the up to one-ish, a baby's main source of nutrition should be/is milk, and formula and breastmilk are more nutritious than cows milk. Formula is made to be closer to human milk. It's not 'dangerous' to give it younger, in fact, if a child eats a very varied diet then some people choose to give it earlier. It's not harmful in itself, the risk of 'harm' comes if cows milk is introduced too early to replace breast or formula and so the child may miss out on certain nutrients. I just swapped over and my ds didn't even notice, I don't think. I don't think bottles/dummies/comfort blankets/teddies etc etc etc are a big deal at all. I think some children hang on to these things longer than others because they need to, emotionally, or just enjoy them more than other children do. I just don't see the moral imperative to rush them out of babyhood.

aloha · 25/09/2004 13:10

On holiday in france a couple of years ago the owner's fourth child, an extremely confident, sociable, lively, articulate child of four still drank from bottle during the day from time to time. She liked it and certainly nobody in her family were the least bit concerned.

woodstock · 25/09/2004 13:12

Did a google on the cow's milk question also for you clucker and found informations here:

www.parentsplace.com/expert/nutritionist/qas/0,,166438_105544,00.html

Sorry, but you'll have to cut and paste. I still haven't learned to do links!

Ghosty · 26/09/2004 06:14

My DS drank formula until he was about 18months. I tried to change to cow's milk at 12 months but he chucked it all up the first few times so I went back to formula. I then tried again at 18 months and he was fine.
He drank milk from a bottle at bedtime until he was just over 3 years. The rest of his drinks were from a cup so I didn't see the harm. Went to cups for a couple of months then knocked bedtime milk on the head altogether when we wanted to get him dry at night ...

alamel · 26/09/2004 18:37

Can I ask how many bottles a day your children have? Ds (15 months) still has 4 bottles of formula a day adding up to 24 fl oz. It doesn't seem to affect his appetite - he eats loads at each meal! Should we be trying to a) move to beakers and b) cutting down the number of bottles or does it not matter so long as he is healthy?

cp3 · 26/09/2004 18:47

Alamel That does sound like an awful lot of milk to me. My ds is 12 months and ive cut his milk down to one bottle morning and one evening. 16oz. He was on three but our pead told us it was too much at his age. And yes to the beaker thing if thats what you prefer. I took my ds off bottles at 11 months and changed to a beaker (still make it up in bottles so i get amount right)

i did this because

my dd at 2 was still on bottles and was replacing her food intake with the milk i gave her. I was lucky enough to have Jo Frost round (the supernanny) and she told me to bin them straight away. Which i did under protest as thought she would really kick off. But i told her she was a big girl now and she now drinks out of a normal cup. Which is so much easier when visiting other people as she doesnt need a beaker

waffle waffle waffle

codswallop · 26/09/2004 19:12

yes definitlye cut it down ot two asap!

woodstock · 27/09/2004 00:56

alamel, we are in the same situation. He takes at least 3 - 4 8 oz. bottles per day. As long as he continues to also eat as well as he does now I have decided not to worry about it.

fisil · 27/09/2004 07:31

Agree with CD - I have never made any attempt to see if ds wants to drop his bedtime bottle of milk because DP & I would miss the milky cuddle too much! And DS (20 months) is obsessive about rememebering to clean his teeth, so no problems there!

spikeycat · 27/09/2004 08:31

Am going to go to cows milk today for ds1, as for ds2 (7months) will keep him on formula as he still can't eat cos of his tounge tie.
My ds1 will not ever let me clean his teeth, I have to hold him down a few times a week screaming his head off to give them a clean. He is given his tooth brush every night in the bath and has a go himself but won't let me???

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