Weaning a 28 Month old off milk during the night (bottle feeding) HELP!

[OaktreeandMe]

Hi there!

My 2.4 DS feeds by bottle to get to sleep at night (in bed not cot) but will wake anywhere from 2-6 times at night for another (and another and another) full bottle.

He eats well during the day. 3 main meals and 2-3 snacks. And usually eats a substantial dinner before bed (so he's not hungry!). Rather, he is using the bottle as a comfort measure.

He has a teddy and a comfort blanket. So why is he waking up for so much damn milk? He used to sleep through the night from 9mo up until he turned2 yo. Do I need to somehow wean bottle feeding at night to get him to sleep through? And how do I do this without him getting absolutely distraught. He asks for his milk and wont settle until he gets it!

He is waking out of habit and this is being reinforced by you giving him a bottle of milk each time. Apparently, everyone wakes up lightly several times a night but we go back to sleep without realising we have woken. He is properly waking up as he knows he will get some milk, which he obviously likes.

As you say, he can't be hungry.

What I would do is gradually water the milk down. You will need to do this over many nights. In the end, he may feel that it is just not worth it for a bottle of water.

Hope that helps a little, you must be exhausted.

My DD was like this. We did a combination of watering the bottles down and finding other ways to settle her (rocking/patting mainly but perhaps he's too old for that - she was a bit younger) and putting up with some very sleepless nights. We did give in and give her a bottle here and there when she was awake for hours and really wound up but over time once we'd made the decision to end the bottles they gradually stopped and I'm so glad we stuck to it because I don't think she would have given then up voluntarily for a LONG time. The bedtime bottle was the last to go (this week!) and as she is older now we discussed it with her, explained that she's a big girl and bottles are for babies and let her choose a special breaker for her milk. She's been fine and I am so glad those damn bottles are finally in the bin.

Have a read here It is aimed at weaning off the breast but as someone who done it, it would make no odds if it was bottle or breast.

I found it a gentle method and one that still meant that I could comfort dd but remain firm that I wasn't giving milk during the night.

I saw instant results. It was hard the first night but I thought it'd be harder - I'd built it up to be harder!

Don't under estimate the power of talking to him before bedtime and throughout the day about not having any milk at night. Even at 15 months old, dd understood me saying "milky all gone, you can have water instead".

Hope you resolve soon