Struggling with transition away from bottle

[Wataniya]

For various reasons, I have been totally irresponsible with getting my toddler to stop having his milk from a bottle. The feed to sleep attachment is so strong and he won't drink milk out of anything but his bottle. Any other liquid he's fine so it's not because he can't.

He drinks his milk in bed and falls asleep (again awful).

I would like to first transition away from a bottle and then tackle the milk.

I need something close to a bottle teat and totally spill free/ water tight as he drinks it lying down. Any recommendations? He doesn't like the MAM rubbery spout but willing to try anything else.

Also if anyone has experience with this transition then please feel free to impart some advice!

Would you consider trying it the other way around and have him drink water out of the bottle he likes? You could ease it in slowly then by diluting the milk a bit more each night, and it might kill two birds with one stone as eventually a bottle of plain water becomes less appealing.

Also it sounds like you're being very hard on yourself here, give yourself a break - you've done whatever you needed to do to get both of you through this far.

Thanks for your reply @wfcats - I would consider doing it the other way round, my only concern is that I'm not sure whether the milk is actually helping him be full and sleep - I have another young baby so I'm nervous to do anything that might impact his sleep!

He is very skinny (just his body type) and loses weight easily if we don't really keep on top of his food.

How old is he? My 3 year old is slight and has milk in a water bottle in the bath before toothbrushing. I'm afraid when he was 18 months old we just went cold turkey removing the bottle - went in to soothe him, picked him up and put him back in the cot. Eventually he went to sleep. It was honestly 2 really difficult bedtimes and then I don't think he ever mentioned it again. I threw the bottles away to stop myself offering one when he was unwell etc.

By a water bottle I mean a sort of toddler bottle with a straw.

Thanks @Sandpitnotmoshpit. He's nearly two, and I also have a 7mo so you can see why I'm panicked about not rocking the sleep boat!

Was your DS resistant to having milk from the straw bottle at first?

You are not 'totally irresponsible' nor 'awful' so stop berating yourself. You sound like a good mum of 2 very young children. No need to rock the boat and lose precious sleep.

In my view, a bottle is no big deal in the grand scheme of things. Parents are pressured to wean off them by 12 months but that doesn't suit everyone. He'll lose interest naturally by himself. I could never fathom how young babies take in enough liquid by sipping and spilling from a cup.

Have you tried a NUK toddler bottle? It's like a bottle but has a sippy cup teat thing and doesn't leak. We had a seamless transition recently

Try this.
https://groceries.asda.com/product/baby-toddler-cups/tommee-tippee-transition-cup-4-7-m/910002455056?&cmpid=ppc--ghs----google---_-dskwid-_dm&s_kwcid=AL!11432!3!!!!x!!&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA0bWvBhBjEiwAtEsoW8dLsyiNEbTx8ZmePBH0l7hLxHdieEiZzrRPJ4PEbuzbrfdBFvlBQBoCcWQQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

you can fit the spout on a regular bottle so it’s the same feel in his hand

Thanks, I am a good Mum! I'm just terribly worried about his teeth and feel I've let him down a bit. I thought it wasn't a big deal at first but now he's two in a few weeks and if anything he likes the bottle more!

Ask the dentist to take a look for reassurance.
My 3yr old still has a bottle before bed. Teeth are cleaned then she has a dummy overnight. I was worried about her teeth too but the dentist says they're healthy.

I don't think so. We started with a cup with a straw, similar to the one linked above and then transitioned to something slightly bigger as he was asking for more (I think my DS still drinks about 500 ml cows milk a day, I'm reluctant to cut it down as he's not brilliant at drinking water and is really slim).

I completely understand that the cold turkey approach is much more difficult when you have two children and don't want them waking each other up. I think DS had a bedtime bottle until about 18 months. Could you try as a first step trying to gradually move the bottle backwards in his routine each day? So if he usually has it in bed, give it whilst you read story. Then in bath before toothbrushing etc, then switch to a cup. You might then need to sit with him whilst he falls asleep though which is a whole other story!

My DS only drinks from an open cup at nursery and at meal times. Other drinks are in a toddler cup or bottle. All other parents I know are the same.

Also just to say, you absolutely have not let your child down and I know lots of people who have still given a bottle at bedtime at this age. Why not also go to the dentist with him? It might reassure you when they tell you everything is ok and it's a good time to start appointments if you haven't already.

Does he have the bottle at any other time? We started filling DS bottle with half milk and half water, sippy cups were always just milk. In the end he learnt sippy cup milk was much nicer so asked for that over his bottle. He was still having a morning bottle then though so we started with that one.

Yes he does! That's a good idea, I will try that thank you!

Yes that's a good idea, it will either stop me worrying or give me the motivation to make a change.

Thanks!

Hey @Wataniya - how did this go for you? I am in the exact same position as you were and feel the same way you did. What did you do in the end?

Is this a battle you need to fight, tbh? Maybe go to the dentist to get him a check up for peace of mind

It wasn't a battle worth fighting 😂 the dentist said his teeth were fine and we now have milk while reading a book and then I brush his teeth after.

I've told him I'm not buying anymore teats so when he eventually chews through the ones he has then I think we will go cold turkey. He now has milk in a cup with a straw in the day so we can always move to that.