20 month old regarding milk

[rmaliki99]

Hi all,
im in real need of some advice over here
my 20 month old has become very dependant drinking milk before bed which is fine but after 1 bottle she will wakeup crying again for a second. I’ve done everything you can imagine to put her back to sleep even stayed up multiple hours trying to lull her back to sleep and try help her forget but no shes quite happy to scream down the house until she gets her milk. Its the only way to get her back to sleep unfortunately. Additionally she has a nap during the day in which i give her a bottle to help settle her down. Now as for nightime I’ve tried to replace the bottle with water especially as it is very hot nowadays but she will be reluctant and still be cranky. I’ve tried exhausting every avenue to limit milk intake as shes having 3 bottles a day which is around 800ml i understand is way above the limit. She loves her food and water but milk has become a comfort must. Too much milk can also cause constipation. How do i ween her off so she only has 1 bottle at night and is satisfied?
thanks in advanced

My little boy is 21 months old and he also still has a bottle before his nap and a bottle before bed. Most times he sleeps through but every so often he'll wake in the night but won't go back to sleep without a bottle. The way I look at it is that he obviously needs it for whatever reason so I'll just keep giving it until I see that he doesn't need it. Maybe try giving your little one some porridge or Weetabix before bedtime as it may be that she's still a bit hungry and that's why she having the extra bottle on the night. Hope you manage to find a solution 😊

When my daughter is like this it is nearly always down to silent reflux. The milk soothes the reflux but then causes more reflux that can be uncomfortable when lying down to sleep so she wakes up for more milk which starts the cycle again

I'd agree with trying a simple supper (porridge, weetabix, banana) before bed to make sure she's full.

Any history of reflux or silent reflux as a baby? (I also have a child with persistent reflux, and she'll also wake and want to breastfeed when it's flaring up. @Superscientist and I see each other quite a lot on reflux threads!) It's not that common by this age though, and I think very unlikely if there weren't noticeable difficulties in babyhood.

Can you gradually reduce the volume, an ounce, or even half an ounce less, then another, then another, so she's not having so much milk in total? Other people keep the volume but gradually mix it with water.

Can you try to separate the bottle from bedtime? So if bedtime is 7pm, give a bottle at 6.45, then 6.30, then 6.15, then 6pm so that eventually the association is with having a dink of milk downstairs before bedtime even starts?

Or switch from a bottle to sippy cup? Mine loved a bottle but we gradually tried to get him onto a sippy cup and I don't think it hits the same for them lol. So mine is 25 months and has a cup of milk in the morning and a cup when he gets home from nursery, but not before sleeping.

The other thing I'd mention is that if your baby has teeth then teeth should ideally be brushed between the last bottle and going to sleep, so that milk doesn't sit on the teeth all night - this could be hard to do if she's having a bottle when already in bed.