Milk bottle for sleep

[sarah0106]

my 2yo has a bottle of milk (not full) at nap time and bed time, he doesn’t use a comforter or dummy, I think he’s using the milk as a comfort as he doesn’t drink it all, we’ve tried watering it down, not giving him it and he will refuse sleep and cry for hours! He doesn’t have them at any other time apart from nap and bed time, he eats well and drinks lots of water/milk out of cups during the day, I feel terrible because lots of children his age don’t need any and I feel like I’m being judged on this

If you brush his teeth afterwards then it isn't a problem.

I do this for bedtime and sometimes naps if needed with my DD who’s 2 next week! My mum friends do the same with their same aged children so don’t worry you’re not alone. It won’t be forever

Just so long as you're not letting him fall asleep on the bottle or suck it on and off.
Ideally there should be 30 minutes between having the milk and brushing teeth I think, but the important thing is brushing teeth before bed.

Mine were still having a bottle of milk at bedtime until they were 4. I tried giving them it in a cup or mug but they wanted a cuddle and a bottle. I was worried it would never end but it did. They’d brush their teeth before bed though and only have water after that.

I know of someone whose child is 3 now and has a bottle at bed as far as I know. The thing is though as most I assumed were giving it when they get in to bed, then it’s that and off to sleep. So they wouldn’t be brushing then. I should think there are few who give it, then wait around another half hr or so, which you should, to then brush teeth.

That’s what he’s like he wants his “botbot” cuddles and will fall asleep, I’ve tried watering it down but he still drinks it so makes me think it’s a comfort thing

Is he sleeping with the bottle in his mouth?
If he is google ‘baby bottle mouth’.

Are you brushing his teeth afterwards?

He’s using the teet as a comfort

You need to stop that. The damage to his teeth will be really bad.

One way to make an already guilt ridden parent feel ten times worse

She will feel 100 times worse if he has to have milk teeth extracted when he is 4 or 5.
She absolutely at the very least needs to brush his teeth after the bottle.

It’s not about your feelings. It’s about your child’s health. You are rotting his teeth. You haven’t directly answered the question so I’m assuming that he is falling asleep without his teeth being brushed after.

Take the bottle away from him. If he cries, he cries. He can get comfort from you in other ways. If you’ve started watering it down then keep doing that until it’s just water. He’ll have crooked teeth if he carries it on for too long but it’s better than rotting teeth.

Make a plan now to get rid of the bottle. He is not a baby anymore. Sometimes we have to do the painful things now to save our children far worse pain in the future.

How gradually are you watering down? We had to do it very gradually or DD noticed! But this was for night wakes, not going to sleep...I think in your situation I would go cold turkey with a 'bottle fairy' type situation. If not then these nuk bottles are great, and perhaps without the comfort of the teat the milk will be less appealing and then easier to get rid. Good luck, it's not easy when they're reliant on something and can be very stubborn.

To be honest you just have to take it away.

One of my children was a very committed thumb sucker at night. It started to affect her teeth and palate and so I bought a thumb guard which prevented her from sucking properly. We had two nights of tears when I comforted her, and yes it was tiring and really hard to see her distressed but then she learned to go to sleep without it.
It would have been cruel to start upsetting her and not follow through, so we did need to be determined. I think you have to as well.

I'd definitely avoid that - bottle is fine but drink it in one go at the beginning of the bedtime routine and then do pjs, stories, brush teeth etc.