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Parenting

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Original poster

How old was your baby when they stopped having a bottle before bed

61 replies

MillyStar · 15/04/2013 16:47

One of my friends has told me how her boys both stopped having bottles at about 10 months

My dd is nearly one and she still likes her bottles, i'm going to put her just onto cups/beakers in the day times soon but i think she will want her bedtime bottle for a bit longer

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BellyChancer · 15/04/2013 22:22

ha! about four and a half.

Lexie1970 · 15/04/2013 22:27

My DS had to be nearly 4 - he drank out of cups, lidded beakers and sipped straws but still wanted bed-time milk out of a bottle. I refused to buy new teats and the two i had split within a couple of months of each other so that was the end of the bottles

I really wouldn't stress to get rid of night time bottle - as others have said it will probably be a comfort thing....

Gorjuss · 15/04/2013 22:28

About 4-5 years old she used to hide it and wouldn't have it if we had visitors. Youngest was about 3. X

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lifesobeautiful · 15/04/2013 22:48

I only just stopped the night-time and morning bottle - at 2.6 years. I liked knowing he was getting lots of calcium. I always made sure I brushed his teeth afterwards though.

matana · 16/04/2013 13:49

I'm not a crap mummy after all! DS is 2.5 and still loves his bedtime bottle. Tried a cup several times and he's just not interested in having milk from anything other than a bottle. HV told us we should have stopped it by now as apparently it interferes with speech development. I had to stifle a laugh when she told us because DS is very articulate and most people can understand his speech 90% of the time. He doesn't have a dummy either, though the HV didn't offer an opinion on whether that might interfere with speech development. DS has one bottle of milk as part of his routine, he snuggles up and we read a bedtime story together while he drinks. He is never left with it in his bed and he brushes his teeth. I just don't see what harm it can possibly be doing.

TheOneAndOnlyAlpha · 16/04/2013 13:53

Hurrah! I love this thread! Was thinking about this too. My DS is 19m. Asked my mum when I stopped the bedtime bottle, she said I was 'about 4 or something'. She said I loved it and it was my comfort. She likened taking it away to taking away a favourite teddy. I asked what did she do to stop it and said nothing, one day I just went to bed without it.

Lovely reassuring thread!!

valiumredhead · 16/04/2013 15:57

I'm not even going to say, but it was the least of our bedtime problems so I let it slide and didn't sweat the small stuff. He stopped by himself eventually.

SunshineandShandy · 18/04/2013 05:57

This thread makes me feel better! Dd1 is just 3 and still has a bottle at nights. She is tiny and a rubbish eater and I'm glad of the calories. When I swooped her morning bottle for a sippy cup she stopped drinking it, so will leave the bottle until she is ready. She drinks it in about 3 mins, we clean teeth after, so I'm not really worried about her teeth.

rumbelina · 18/04/2013 06:02

Phew!

Ledkr · 18/04/2013 06:33

We are currently snuggled on the sofa, me with my tea dd aged 2 with her bot bot, it's lovely and I'm certainly not making porridge at 6am.
I bf my others and they still had early morn and bedtime feeds so why worry about bottles?
Dd had 2 crumpets and a yogurt ALL DAY. Yesterday so I too am just glad of the extra calories for her.

vvviola · 18/04/2013 08:17

DD1: we stopped morning bottle at about 20 months, mainly because she used to snuggle in bed with us and drink it... and the promptly throw it all up again. No idea what caused it didn't happen any other time.
We stopped nighttime bottle at about 2.5. We were visiting my parents and I had to out for a work thing the first night I was there - Mum couldn't find where I put the bottle so told DD that she's have to have a cup instead. The power of granny was such that a bottle was never asked for again, but she still takes a glass of water to bed every night "like at granny's" (she's now 5.5)

DD2 is still breastfed at 20 months - bedtime & naptime only. Unfortunately we can't rely on the power of granny this time as she's on the other side of the world

AmazingBouncingFerret · 18/04/2013 08:19

2 and a half.

She stopped on her own though.

Now if only she did the same with her precious fucking dummies.

MrsPennyapple · 18/04/2013 08:34

We just dropped the bedtime bottle this week, DD is 20 months. I got a cup with a hard spout and told her it's her new big girl bottle. She's had it two nights now and hasn't complained.

Mehrida · 18/04/2013 09:05

Oh thank you all for this thread! DS is only 11m but I've had SIL going on at me that there's no reason for a baby 12m+ to have a night time bottle so was starting to wonder how on earth we'd get him off it.

Bumpsadaisie · 18/04/2013 10:19

I've just got my DS (17 mths) off bottles at bedtime and in the night. He has his bedtime milk in a sippy cup now, and no milk till morning.

2monkeybums · 18/04/2013 11:08

Ds2 is 18 months and still has his milk in a bottle before bed and first thing in the morning. Has a beaker for his waster the rest of the time. Tried milk in a beaker and he flat refuses! Ds1 gave the bottle up long before this but in not overly worried, I think I secretly like keeping him a baby as his my last.

TeaMakesItAllPossible · 18/04/2013 11:21

I used a night time bottle to make sure of a good night's sleep and ensuring a good amount of milk each day. Their 'choice' to have one and to stop. Introduced at about 7 months, teats not replaced.

So .....
DS 1: 5Yo
DS 2: never wanted one
DS 3: 3YO
DS 4: still going strong at 3.3YO

I'm with 5 - don't sweat the small stuff

Thurlow · 18/04/2013 12:08

Every so slightly off topic, but at what age do you start dropping milk in the morning? I'm with ledkr, I have no desire to be making porridge at 6am So it's a breakfast bottle for us at 15mo, and then a solid breakfast an hour or an hour and a half later. With a big milk drink in the afternoon too and, as I said above, a bedtime bottle too. But when do you stop the breakfast milk and move on to a solid breakfast?

5madthings · 18/04/2013 12:28

thurlow my dd is 28mths and has just dropped her morning milk. In the holidays we had some lazy mornings and i realised she had had bfast and not asked for her milk so i just followed her lead and if she asked/mentionec 'milkies' she got it if she didnt then i didnt make it. And she just doesnt seem.bothered. Her bedtime one is important to her tho.

Seriously they grow out of it.

Having milk.in a bottle may be a problem.if they had a bottle on the go all day and were walkinh around with it in their mouth etc. But one/two bottles a day where they sit and have a quiet five mins as part of a morning or bedtime routine is fine. Clean teeth before bed etc and drink from cups the rest of the time and its not a problem.

From what i know in many other countries its normal to have a bottle/dummmy/bfeed through toddlerhoid. The uk is a bit odd with its get rid at 12mths advice, they are still babies at 12mths!

5madthings · 18/04/2013 12:31

Oh btw mine had an afternoon milk coinciding with naptime oftrn until well over 12mths as well. Over 18mrhs actually i think.

Meh my elder four are all bottle/boob/dummy free now and we got there with no tears when they were ready :)

FadBook · 18/04/2013 12:44

This is a good thread, for two reasons:

if you replace what the majority of what you are saying/doing with 'breastfeeding' (i.e "my 20 month old has a breastfeed when she wakes up and it's a comfort for her") it actually normalises breast or bottle past 12 months. So many people worry about bf'ing past 12 months, yet so many of you are worrying about you LO's having bottle past 12 months too when in fact, no one is judging at all.
which leads on to the fact that you as a parent should do whatever you feel is right. I love the fact dd gets a comfort from having her babydoll, her tigger cuddly bear, 3 dummies ) and a postman pat figurine when she goes to bed I don't care if that's weird or "she's too old" to have these things as I don't think you can put an age on when these things disappear. If they (plus a little milk feed either in a bottle or via breast) means she goes to bed without a fight and sleeps most of the night, I'm happy!

Continue with the bottles (or which ever method you are feeding)

MiaowTheCat · 18/04/2013 12:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Thurlow · 18/04/2013 12:58

Thanks mad! Funnily enough her afternoon bottle is related to the nap too - I think if she had an early afternoon nap (she still prefers to catnap morning and late afternoon) we'd be able to bypass the milk in favour of solid food, but she wants that bottle before sleeping.

I've not got a problem with it - like others are saying, do what feels right, pick your battles, don't sweat the small stuff etc - but we have history of overfeeding DD milk She kept taking her dreamfeed for quite a while after she actually needed it, we only realised when we got her weighed and she was literally whopping on the weight, not a surprise when she was having 2 big solid meals a day and nearly 30oz of milk! She adores her milk and I don't think she will voluntarily drop it for a while, so I think a vague idea of when she should be dropping certain feeds might help us.

elfycat · 18/04/2013 12:59

my 4.3 yo is still asking for milk in a bottle. She drinks water from sports bottles and a normal glass so I'm not too worried about ending it anytime soon. She developed a milk intolerance after an upset tummy that lasted over a year and although I did my best she could have cheese and yogurts I felt she was behind a bit.

Probably caught up now but she seems to want more comfort items, teddies, blankies, her sisters dummies grrr, but she tried out her thumb when I insisted she gave it back which might be because she's reacting to all the talk of school.

I had a comforter (soft cloth) until I was 39... I ran out of time for it with 2 small children and also didn't want them thinking it's what you have to do, though you can of course. I'm not in a position to say 'no comfort!'

Flisspaps · 18/04/2013 13:14

DD was 14mo.

DS turned 1 this week and has taken to messing about and taking an oz or two of milk, and that's it. I think tonight we'll probably just not bother with it.

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