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Original poster

Getting rid of the last bottle...

21 replies

greenlizard · 17/10/2016 16:17

My DS is 20 months old and still has a bottle of cows milk before bed. He sleeps a full 11-12 hours and I am due to have another baby in a weeks time.

We haven't tackled the issue yet because I was loathe to mess with a happy baby and the routine clearly works for him...I think in my naivety I thought he would just stop wanting the bottle like he did with the other ones but on the odd occasion I have not offered it to him - he gets really upset and starts crying and took hours to settle. He doesn't drink milk out of cup during the day only has it in his serial and a 9oz bottle before bed so I worry about him getting enough milk.

He hasn't ever had a dummy but does have a teddy bear which he is very attached to. How do I go about removing the bottle without causing a drama? And how can I get him to drink more milk during the day - he drinks plenty of water.

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BitOutOfPractice · 17/10/2016 16:18

Why do you want to get rid of it?

Original poster

greenlizard · 17/10/2016 16:30

Well HV advice is that no bottles after one and he has it after brushing his teeth and I don't think you are supposed to leave milk on their teeth overnight?

OP posts:

Dixiechick17 · 17/10/2016 19:35

I thought the main concern was leaving a bottle in the cot with them to drink if they needed it overnight and some babies chewing on the teat? Sure I read that somewhere on here... Could be crap though. Can you do bottle then teeth? I do teeth and bottle as the other way round didn't work for us, but it does with some.

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Tfoot75 · 17/10/2016 19:42

With dd1 we did it when she could understand as part of a growing up thing between age 2 and 3 so first no more bottles, then no more nappies then no more dummy. Can't remember exact age but made having a drink of milk in a cup before going up to bed and brushing teeth a big girl thing so she wasn't bothered (but still had dummy at that stage). As it happened she got rid of all 3 before she was 2.5, but has always been in a hurry to grow up! Before age 2 she had a bottle of cows milk in bed after brushing teeth - don't think it's a great issue in the scheme of things.

HeyMicky · 17/10/2016 19:44

DD is 17 months and we dropped the pre-bed bottle last month. We did it on holiday so she was already in a disrupted routine and she didn't ask when we got home. What about waiting until Xmas when there's lots of other stuff going on?

CurtainsforRonnie · 17/10/2016 19:46

Seeing as he gets upset without & you are having another baby soon, I wouldnt dream of taking it off him at the moment.

My DD is a lot older & still likes a bottle sometimes & a sippy cup. I just go with the flow.

Mybeardeddragonjustdied2016 · 17/10/2016 19:49

My ds was 2 in September and still has folllw on milk in a bottle before bed and before teeth brushed. And a dummy! (shocking parent!) He asks to go to bed before 730 every night and sleeps at least 12 hours every night. No way on earth am I in a hurry to upset this routine!!Your hv isn't the one dealing with an upset toddler and a new baby imminent!! Do your own thing
Simply because you can!!
They are your kids!!

Rhythmsticks · 17/10/2016 19:50

I would just let him grow out of it. Most children I know had a bottle at bedtime until about 3yo. After that I didn't buy any more teats!

Teds77 · 17/10/2016 19:58

If it's one bottle and if he's 20 months I wouldn't stress. DS was still having a bottle at bedtime at 2yr and I think it was formula. By 2.5 is was a cup of cow's milk and I can't really remember the transition.

chloechloe · 17/10/2016 20:43

I wouldn't worry about dropping it, especially not with another little one on the way. DD had a bottle before bed and after brushing teeth, as brushing was always such a drama with her and I couldn't be doing with the upset just before bed.

She used to adore her milk then all of a sudden she failed to drink it 3 nights in a row so we dropped it entirely. I'm sure he'll give up when he's ready.

Veggiesupremeextracheese · 17/10/2016 20:44

My 3 year old still has one!

Caterina99 · 18/10/2016 00:48

We weaned 16 month old DS off his bedtime bottle a few weeks ago. He was already happily drinking milk from a cup during the day though and after 2 nights he didn't seem to miss it and just has a cup of warmed milk before bed and before teeth.

I wouldn't make any big changes if you've got a new baby due next week though. I doubt one bottle a day makes much difference and I'd want to keep his routine as consistent as possible when big change is coming!

ninjapants · 18/10/2016 01:00

I wouldn't take it away from him if he still wants it, especially with a big change in your lives coming up.
My DS stopped having bedtime milk just after he turned 3, by his own choice. People said we should stop allowing him to have bedtime milk but I didn't see their issue. He now has very diluted sugar free juice in a sippy cup style bottle at bedtime because he asks for it. It's definitely a comfort thing for him, sometimes he hardly touches it. I just think if it helps him settle and sleep well then it's fine. He has excellent teeth btw so don't worry too much about that

CurtainsforRonnie · 18/10/2016 07:08

My DD has one in the morning & before bed, with me, whilst I have a tea, its lovely.

CurtainsforRonnie · 18/10/2016 07:10

A warm milk that is.

GoofyTheHero · 18/10/2016 07:14

DD1 we got rid of hers at 20 months for the reasons you've described, and we were also due a new baby. We made a big deal of the fact that she was a 'big girl' now, so had a cup. She grumbled the first 2 nights then was completely unbothered.
DD2 we chucked them out at 11 months and she's had her milk out of a cup since. We decided to do it before she grew too attached to them this time round! She'd been BF until 8 months anyway so wasn't overly attached to the bottle.

itlypocerka · 18/10/2016 07:24

No harm at all in keeping bedtime milk indefinitely but insist that it must be before teeth brushing not after.

Once that has been accepted and has been normal for a few weeks it should be easier to switch to a cup rather than a bottle.

eurochick · 18/10/2016 07:26

We had the same concern and tried to move on from it from around 18 months, but my toddler was very attached to it. She's now 2.3 and about a month ago she was struggling to drink it because she had a cold. I asked her if she would like her milk in her big girl cup, she said yes and that was that. Her grandad is a dentist and wasn't in the least concerned about her having a bottle for as long as she did.

Original poster

greenlizard · 18/10/2016 11:03

Thanks so much for your comments - you have made me feel much better!!

I think having a new baby will be change enough for him at the minute so might look again in a few months and start by doing bottle then teeth (he isn't so keen on teeth brushing )

OP posts:

BitOutOfPractice · 18/10/2016 13:03

I think that's a great idea. I don't think now is a good time to be introducing unnecessary stress or change to either of you

Good luck with the new baby

liquidrevolution · 20/10/2016 15:07

My DD 2.3 was happily handing her empty bottle to me after drinking it and before going to sleep until January this year when she was ill and we were in a hotel and the only way to stop her crying was to let her fall asleep on it.

She still does this. A dentist friend says its not great but she does not eat sweets and brushes her teeth well so its not a huge problem. I know we have to go cold turkey on it soon but something is always coming up. at the moment she has just come out of a period of unsettled sleep to sleeping through and now she wants to use a potty so stopping the bottle gets pushed back. She has formula still as she hasa days when she does not eat much and I want to make sure she has her vitamins without flaffing around with vitamin drops. She drinks milk and water during the day.

There are worse things we could be doing as parents so I try not to worry about the bottle too much.

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