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Sleep

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Original poster

How to stop a 18mo bottle feed before bed

20 replies

Peekabooooo · 12/07/2012 11:22

Hi everyone
My 18 month old DD will only settle for a sleep after having a bottle, as has been the case since she was born.
Can anyone give me some advice/tips for me to get her out of this habit?
Thank you in advance.

OP posts:

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Piemistress · 12/07/2012 12:03

My 2.6 year old has a cup of milk before bed, can you transition her from a bottle to a spouted beaker?

feetheart · 12/07/2012 12:05

I waited until both of mine were older then let them chose a special bedtime mug.

Boggler · 12/07/2012 12:08

You shouldn't be giving a bottle at 18months its way too old. Just bite the bullet and only give milk in a cup or beaker she'll soon realise that's all she's getting and in a day or so will be happily drinking. To be on safe side give a weetabix or something similarly filling to make sure she's not hungry.

GinPalace · 12/07/2012 12:09

Why do you need to? Are you thinking of her teeth? I only ask as my DS who just turned 2 still has one, so if you are thinking it is unusual I would have thought not.... my DS doesn't have any other bottles but he still likes this one, and my sisters kids 6 and 9 still have a drink of milk before bed, though not in a bottle anymore!

If it is the teeth thing, could you brush them after the bottle. 18 months is still young enough to benefit from a familiar comfort before sleep, and can be useful if a bedtime tiredness meltdown has occurred (as sometimes it does) and you have a tool to calm it all down.

Interestingly, my DS just 3 days ago started sipping his bottle like you would a beaker spout, previous to this he sucked it fully like a baby, so I think he maybe growing out of the bottle of his own accord. I have asked him if he would prefer it in a beaker but he says no for now. I think it won't be long before he says yes though. :)

MrsHelsBels74 · 12/07/2012 12:12

My son is 29 months old & still has a bottle at bed time. I asked on here a while back & the general opinion was that there is no set time to stop bottles. In my case we've just moved & i just want to ensure son is settled before introducing any more changes. I'm planning on just introducing a cup at some point & seeing how we go.

GinPalace · 12/07/2012 12:17

I can't see why on a practical level it matters whether she has it or not, and emotionally she is obviously getting something pleasant from it, so making the transition seems a pointless exercise to me, though I am sure it could be done just by presenting no choice.

Puzzled why Boggler sees it as way too old (not appalled at your view by the way just don't understand why it matters one way or the other)

bigboobsatlast · 12/07/2012 12:17

My DD had a bottle before bed until she was 2 - we then put her bottles in a box in the garden for the 'bottle fairy' (that old favourite!) and said they were needed for new babies. later we went back to the box bottles again and there were two new 'big girl' cups (magic!). She was very excited and never asked for a bottle again (honest!).
IMO there is no rush to drop the bottle and 2 is a good age as you can communicate with each other better. Or you can go 'cold turkey' now but would expect there to be some upset for a couple of nights. I would wait - but of course it is up to you.

Flisspaps · 12/07/2012 12:19

I offered DD her bedtime milk in a beaker at 14mo, the first night she had half, the second night she didn't bother at all at hasn't had bedtime milk since.

GinPalace · 12/07/2012 12:24

Bigboobsatlast that sounds like a good idea. I must confess I am not in a hurry to move from bottles as I have a couple of beakers and the spouts are a PITA to clean (while the bottle teat isn't), which would be tricky with a bacteria friendly thing like milk. I wouldn't trust DS with a no lid cup just yet, I do with water, but milk is horrible to clean up. So if anyone knows of a good beaker which has an easy to clean spout I'd love to know...

should probably start my own thread on that one... sorry OP! :)

Original poster

Peekabooooo · 12/07/2012 14:46

Thanks everyone.
I was worried that I should have stopped giving her a bottle by now, but glad to see that I am just been paranoid.
She only has a bottle before bed otherwise she drinks from a TT beaker during the day.

OP posts:

Flisspaps · 12/07/2012 15:17

GinPalace we just use TT lidded beakers and throw them in the dishwasher!

GinPalace · 12/07/2012 15:23

I'll check em out, not sure my dishwasher is as efficient as yours... it's me. :) it's getting right into the far nooks and crannies of the spout that seems to defy the tools at my disposal. I have a friend who spends about half an hour scraping at the end with a toothpick - I don't have the time patience for that!

Original poster

Peekabooooo · 15/07/2012 10:19

I don't have a dishwasher (apart from DP) either but with the TT beakers I use the end of a cotton bud. I need to pull most of the cotton off for it to fit but I find that it gets rid of any muck in the holes really well.

OP posts:

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 15/07/2012 10:25

Could you try bringing bottle forward and do it before say her bath then give her a bath read a story and put to bed? Once she stops associating milk with bedtime u can switch to a beaker ( if u want to that is ) :)

SugarBatty · 15/07/2012 10:32

I think bottles are only a problem if used as a dummy, ie have them to hand during the day and spend lots of time sucking on the teat. A bedtime bottle is only going to be in your childs mouth for around 15 mins at the most I'd guess so in the grand scheme of things I really don't see it as a problem.

A few months after my dds birthday I told her I'd left her bottle at my friends house (true) and she had a cup instead and that was the end of that.

Somethings are better to let them naturally wean themselves off rather that create a needless issue.

tootiredtothinkofanickname · 15/07/2012 11:15

DS (16 months) loves his bedtime bottle. I tried him with a beaker a month agp and he wouldn't have any of it, so I decided to carry on as we are until he is old enough to choose a beaker himself. It's the only bottle he has, he's fine with water from a beaker during the day, and I brush his teeth after, so I can't see why I should give it up. As a previous poster said, it's only a problem if they use the bottle as a dummy, and can't settle without one. It's so comforting for him that I can't see the harm.

cheapandchic · 17/07/2012 20:34

I was worried about this too. my daughter will not drink milk from anything but a bottle. if you put it in a beaker she vomits!

its strange...anyway when she turned two, she just stopped on her own. she only had 2 bottles per week and then she just said "no i don't want milk"

so maybe yours will just grow out of it? like mine did...

Makinglists · 17/07/2012 20:42

DS1 only stopped his nigh time bottle when the last teat broke (I refused to buy new ones for a 2.5 year old) and moved over to a cup easily at that age. DS2 is 20mths and still has a bottle - I'm not bothered as we clean his teeth after and it never goes to bed with him.

bessyboop · 17/07/2012 20:53

DD2 is 22 months and still has a bottle every morning and night. We stopped giving DD1 her nightly bottle just before she was 3. Will do the same with DD2 and DD3.

pmgkt · 17/07/2012 21:04

my DS1 was the same as cheap - milk in a bottle or nothing, although he will have it in cereal too, but never from a cup. the week before he was two i decided that was enough and stopped it. he isnt bothered at all, just has story and then bed. in the weeks prior he started playing with his bottle in his mouth and not focusing on drinking it so i figured he cant be taht bothered. That said i had previously posted on here as I felt he was too old but the common feeling is as sugar said. including a post from a dentist.

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