Ditching bottles whilst on holiday - shall I go for it or is this a stupid idea?

[Tinkjon]

DS is a few weeks away from being 2 years old and still has a bottle of milk to get him to sleep at night (I know it's ridiculously old, just humour me ) The trouble is, he has always been a nightmare of a sleeper and a bottle of milk is the only thing that got him to sleep at night. He really does need to give it up now though - I told myself I'd stop as soon as he was 1 and here we are coming up to his 2nd birthday and I still haven't done it, eeek! Anyway, he has been a lot better at going to sleep at night lately so I'm thinking now might be a good time to ditch the bedtime bottle. We are on holiday soon and as everything will be different there and his whole routine out of whack (and hopefully he'll be exhausted from playing on the beach all day) I'm thinking that he might not miss them whilst we're there and that this is an ideal time to stop. Also I really can't be arsed with faffing about washing bottles on holiday.

The only problem is that just in the last few days he has suddenly developed a 'thing' about not having bottles. In the morning he is suddenly asking for a bottle even though he hasn't one for ages, he always has a cup during the day. I told him "no, bottles in the daytime are for little babies and you're a big boy now" and he went nuts and now gets upset every morning. Typical, he couldn't care less about bottles in the daytime and the one time I decide to ditch them he suddenly cares!! I haven't yet tried taking it away at night but if he gets upset in the mornings when he never had one anyway then it's probably going to be even harder at night when he always had one.

So, oh wise MNers, do you think not taking bottles on holiday is:

(a) a good idea because everything else will be different so it's a natural break.

or

(b) a bad idea because he'll undoubtedly be very tired and will want the comfort of his bottle even more and we could just have a screaming, hsyterical child on our hands for a week.

[stealthsquiggle]

It's not particularly old, but if you do want rid of it then I have used a holiday to get rid of bottles with both my DC - each at ~2.5yo - we "forgot" the bottle (I had packed one, well hidden, in case it was an absolute disaster) - each time we had a few tears and extra huggles on first night, a quick whinge on second night, and by the time we came home they had pretty much forgotten about bottles.

[PrettyCandles]

He himself is a dad, and he has a very pragmatic attitude. For example, dd loathes the taste of toothpaste - we've tried at least 7 or 8 different flavours. Dentist feels it is better, given her decent diet, that she brush willingly and effectively with a plain toothbrush than we have a struggle over brushing. Better to set up a good habit of ental hygiene, then make it a problem. So far, about 2 years since this began, and she still has perfect teeth.

[Tinkjon]

That's interesting that your dentist said that, Candles. There is sugar in milk so I'm very surprised he said it was ok. But pleasantly surprised Some stuff on Google backs up what you say (milk is protective for teeth) but others say that only water past teeth brushing is acceptable,. Ho hum, so hard to know who to believe... Thanks for your thoughts, everyone!

[PrettyCandles]

One bottle as a drink before bedtime is not going to do any harm whatsoever to the child's mouth or teeth. It is prolonged sucking that does the harm.

As for the toothbrushing, we, too, have drinks and then straight into bed. Toothbrushing comes earlier, during bathtime. None of our children have any cavities whatsoever. I double-checked with the dentist, and his opinion is that good good mouth-hygiene during the day, the right foods and drinks etc, is far more important than brushing after a drink of milk. Especially if that disrupts bedtime. He himself is a dad! He says that if they were to have any drink other than pure milk or water at bedtime, then they would need to brush after the drink.

From what you say, I really don't think it's worth the risk of disruption to your holiday.

[Tinkjon]

Prettycandles, he doesn't actually fall asleep on it but it makes him very drowsy and then happy to go into bed.

The milk itself isn't a problem at all, it's just the bottle that bothers me. It's not good for their teeth and they should really be having milk in a cup by this age and have their teeth brushed afterwards, before bed. Tbh, I don't understand why a spout is better for their teeth than a teat but I'm just trusting that 'they' are right when they say that!

Grapefruit, that was my thinking exactly - that if we don't take one then we can't give in

[MrsBadger]

we got a cup with a soft spout and a valve

feels the same but looks better

[GrapefruitMoon]

Well ds2 was over 3 and still having a bottle at bedtime - and waking up for one during the night! We went away and genuinely forgot to bring his bottles - couldn't get any where we were so he had to go cold turkey - was a bit unsettled the first couple of nights (but obv I was used to getting up during the night anyway ) but then he was ok and best of all started sleeping through!

I would be tempted to go for it - if you don't have them with you you can't give in!

[JiminyCricket]

oh and i don't think its really old. loads of people have a milky drink at bedtime, but I would give it in a cup. a special new cup?

[JiminyCricket]

At least the first night, prob the first three will be very stressful for him and you so it depends on your idea of holiday fun...I would wait for a better time and also prepare him by telling him when it will be happening and telling him what his new routine will be instead. Have a good hol

[PrettyCandles]

Is he falling asleep with the bottle in his mouth, or is it just a wind-down thing?

If the latter, then what's the problem? Let him have it as long as he wants. My eldest only stopped having his bedtime drink in a sippy cup at the begining of this year, and even now, coming up for 9y, he sometimes asks for a sippy cup if he's feeling particularly tired.

If the former, then I htink you should take the bottle with you, hidden, and decide night-by-night.