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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Too old to be on a bottle?

14 replies

flossythesheep · 09/04/2005 20:20

Well first message on here so here goes. My 16 month son will not give up his night time bottle. We recently stopped his mornign bottle and now he will have a few oz in a beaker. He has for months had milk throuht the day in a beaker and drinks it all down; however, when it comes to night he will go into a real tantrum and will jsut cry. I have tried to just not give in and let him go to bed with no milk, sometimes he wakes in the night other times he sleeps through. My main concern with this is that he is not getting enough milk or fluids as he is not the worlds best drinker. Am I expecting too much as all of my friends babies have given up bottes months ago and I must admit it is me that wants him off of it as obviously he is happy. Anybody out there with simular tales and/or solutions?

OP posts:
Louise1980 · 09/04/2005 20:26

IMO you should not worry. My DS 1 was 18mths wen my health visitor told me I was a bad mother because he had a bottle. Just weeks later he chose the have the cup rather than the bottle for bed one night.

My DS 2 was only about 1yr when he gave his up, yet my friend has children who are 4 and they still have them for bed.

I would not worry I spoke to my dentist about their teeth and he said its when their second teeth start coming in that you need to worry about bottles and dummies etc.

He is only having milk after all. Just remember he is you son and he will do things quicker than others and things slower than others.

Hope Ive helped a little.

ebbie22 · 09/04/2005 20:27

You could always give him more dairy products like cheese and yogurts,to see if that helps,and instead of a bottle try a sports cup...hth

Cristina7 · 09/04/2005 20:31

Our DS gave up the night bottle after he turned 4. I didn't see it as a problem, apart from it possibly delaying his getting dry at night.

kid · 09/04/2005 20:33

My DS stopped his night time bottle at 2. I remember telling him on his 2nd birthday that he was a big boy now and didn't need a bottle (or a dummy!)

bellababe · 09/04/2005 20:44

Mine all gave up easily at 12 mths - in fact #3 decided before then that he didn't want it any more, which worried me a bit in case he wasn't getting enough milk, but I just had to try to get it down him in other ways. I don't think you really need to worry either, but here are some thoughts of my own:

  1. At his age, they should be having about 1pt milk a day. If it's a bit less, I doubt it really matters - he will make it up on other occasions. Remember to count what you put into cereals and sauces, and as already mentioned, cheese and yoghurt counts too. I'm really saying this to reassure you as I'll bet he takes a lot more dairy than you think.
  2. When I wanted mine to give up their night time bottles, I made a direct substitution for a bedtime story. All my babies were very routine-based, and also only ever had bottles cuddled up on laps. This way, there was never any question for them that a bottle happened in any other situation. I'm not saying that this is the way everyone must do it, I'm just saying that it made it easier for me to cut it out as it was all very structured. And the story starting then, at 12 months, was the right timing for them too.
  3. Try just reducing the amount of milk by a certain amount (an ounce or whatever) every week. You may well find that he's on 2 oz before you know it and happy to quit altogether.
lucy5 · 09/04/2005 20:58

My dd is 4.4 and still has a bottle before bed. She is dry at night and has been for well over a year. If hes happy I wouldnt worry about it.

beansontoast · 09/04/2005 21:20

hi flossy,
my ds is coming up to 19 months and has only stopped having his night time bottle in the last month .for us it happened by accident,we were travelling back from somewhere and had left his bottle 100 miles away so didnt have much choice but to give him his milk in a beaker.
the next night once home i thought'just carry on'so we did,he didnt like it much and cried when he saw it ,pushing it away etc,and i felt a bit hard cos he loved to guzzle on his bottle!..he is fine with a beaker now,took about five days

i have found that he drinks less milk from a cup and always leaves an ounce or two.

Gwenick · 09/04/2005 21:23

DS2 is 16 1/2 months and still has 3 bottles a day. 1 after his breakfast, one mid afternoon and one before bed. He drinks juice from a #bottle' - but it's a sports type one like his big brothers - but won't touch milk in it.

Doesn't bother me one bit that he's still on 3 bottles a day for his milk, he's my son and I don't care what other people say/think

ionesmum · 09/04/2005 21:26

flossy, my dd1 had a bottle at bed time until she was well over two - in fcat she prefered to drink out of a bottle most of the time! I think in a little one it's as much about comfort as anything else. I'd carry on with the bottle for now, you can always give his teeth a quick scrub afterwards if that is what's worrying you.

Don't worry about what your friends' children are doing. My dd1 has only just potty trained at three. I'm pleased we waited, having heard the horror stories that my friends tell of poo being smeared up walls and goodness knows what. By waiting until dd1 was ready, she potty trained in less than a week. What I'm trying to say is, don't sweat the small stuff - he'll give his bottle up one day!

Nemo1977 · 09/04/2005 21:28

my ds is 18mths and still has 2 bottles of milk one at night and one in morning. He will however drink milk from a cup in the day and i know it is a habit so am trying to break it but wihtout it being too traumatic for him. So once establish with cup of a day i will start giving one of a morning then the night will prob be the last one to go.
My son does not eat a lot even if i completely stop his milk in day he just doesnt eat. So tbh i dont think of it as a problem...anyway its not juice u are fiving just milk and water so it cant be that much of a problem

Original poster
flossythesheep · 09/04/2005 22:30

thanks for all your messages, its that added reasurance thatI needed. He eats loads of dairy products anyway so I am not bothered about calcium etc.

So glad I found this site

OP posts:
Clementine · 09/04/2005 22:34

My DD gave up her bottle at 4. We took her to the dentist last week and she has perfect teeth. She loved her bottle and just decided one day that she was giving it up.

bobbybob · 10/04/2005 09:04

My ds is 25 months and breastfed 2 or 3 times a day. If it's okay for him to do that then it's perfectly okay for your ds to have a bottle at night. Please don't send him to bed with no milk - it's not a competition to give up a lovely comforting thing just before bed, and 16 months isn't old by anyone's standards.

Seona1973 · 10/04/2005 11:45

Just because you give up the bottle doesnt mean that your lo cant still have some bedtime milk. My dd has some bedtime milk from an avent magic cup instead as part of her night time routine. It still acts as a comfort for her - her intake went down at first but picked up again.

The minimum intake after 1 year is 350mls/about 12 ounces which includes milk used on cereal,in food,dairy products, etc so they dont actually have to drink as much any more anyway.

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