2.5 year old night waking and wanting milk

[Friendtopia]

Hi. I’m a single parent and my son is 3 at the end of November. He’s started waking and wanting to come in my bed at night which I’ve allowed. I work full time and have health issues so just trying to do what gets me the most sleep. However he has started waking up multiple times asking for milk. Last night I was out of bed 4 times to get milk which hasn’t happened since he was a newborn.
Do I need to apply the same boundaries I do in the day, meaning I say no and stick to it and he just cries it out? It’s very hard to do this at night as impacts my sleep, mental health and then amplifies my s**dal tendencies . Or will he just get over it soon…..any similar experiences and help appreciated.

Is he eating enough in the day?

Usually no. He’s been eating very little so that’s why I started to allow it. Certainly on the first wake up. But he also does it when he’s been to nursery which is 2 days per week and he eats all meals there and sometimes seconds….and it’s still 2-3 times on those nights

Hi, big sympathy to you, everything is so much harder when it's night and you just need to sleep. My child is that age and I've been vaguely trying to wean her (BF and bottles) for a year+ because of the brutal night wakings. I can't night wean as I can't cope with her crying and being awake all night when I'm this tired, I just do what's easiest in the moment. No real advice beyond I just use one large bottle of initially fridge-cold milk for the night by their bed and as long as the night isn't really hot it seems fine through to the morning and they sometimes get it themselves and settle down. It's been hot, maybe they're just thirsty, do you leave water near their bed? I personally think that boundaries on this are only needed if they're beneficial for YOU, if they're not then why bother, do whatever works best for you. No one's judging. Again sorry you're going through a rough patch, it won't last forever x

@Mourningmorningsleep
Thanks so much for this reply. Yes water used to be fine by the bed but now it’s not. I didn’t actually link the warm weather to it so that’s a good point.
I might get some UHT so if it’s out all night it won’t go bad and maybe if he knows it’s by the bed he will be okay. I’m probably not helping myself by going down to the fridge each time….

I do think though if the bottle is full he then drinks all of it, but that may subside/make him sleep for longer.

Thanks for the empathy