16MO waking in the night for a bottle - need help to break the habit

[whilewildeisonmine]

I don't know what to do anymore!

DS has slept through the night about 5-6 times since he was born. We're now at a a stage where we've just accepted that he will wake anywhere between 2:30am and 4am and scream for milk. He's also recently started refusing a bedtime bottle and wakes at about 10/11pm for it. Once he's had the milk (sometimes it is only a few oz) he settles straight away.

He goes to bed at 6:30-7pm and settles himself to sleep as long as he's got is dummy and he's been read to. He wakes up at about 6:30. During the day he naps for 1.5-2 hours from about midday.

We're at a point now where DC2 is due in a few weeks and all these months we've been telling ourselves he'll grow out of it I think I've now come to the realisation that its a habit we've all got ourselves into and he needs our help to break it. Only the thing is I just don't know how.

Does anyone have any suggestions to help me persuade him to give up his nightly bottle? I am reluctant to leave him to CIO.

Thank you

as soon as my daughter didn't need a bottle at night but chose to wake up because she is used to it I exchanged the bottle for a dummy I had to keep giving her the dummy to realise its time to sleep through the night now not a bottle time it took me about a week to get her out of that routine try it give it a go anything worth a try:)

Thank you. I think it's going to take a few difficult nights of dummy offering to get him to learn but hopefully it will be worth it and he'll realise a night time bottle is no longer an option.

That's it just when you start don't give up you get there:)

Hi there
I was in exactly the same position as you and still am , of sorts ... My dd is 18 months and was having about 6oz of milk at bed time then another 4 at 1030 then up again for another 5 or 6 oz anytime between 4-5. Over the last month or so we ve had occasions ( more of these) where she only has a bed time bottle which she now holds herself and sleeps through without anymore or , she ll wake up at 10 and not settle till she has as a couple of oz then not wake again till 7 or, sleeps till 4 then cries for milk then sleeps till 7. It seems as though the 2 bottles have now reduced to 1 but I can't figure out what's different on the nights where she sleeps through entirely .... My point is that hopefully like mine yours may just stop one day by herself and gradually improve .... I was like u dreading stopping them . I still don't think I'm through to the other side yet but it does , dare I say it , feel great to have undisturbed sleep again (she says hiding behind the sofa !)

Can you try doing what you're doing but swap the bottle for half milk half water, then after a few nights all water? It may not be so exciting.