Tips on removing the night bottles from 2 ye old.

[Captainbarnacles1101]

Ok so I'm not looking for a flaming because my two yr old drinks bottles at night!

I just need some tips or ideas to stop the night bottles. He currently wakens 6-10 times a night and doesn't seem to be able to sleep if he hasn't got a bottle.
Please help I'm pooped.

6-10 times?! How much milk is he drinking at each waking?

Honestly, I think you need to go cold turkey. It might take a week, maybe more, but you rrally wont be losing more sleep and it will start you on the path to more sleep.

I went cold turkey, it was sorted in three nights.

Yes, cold turkey.... No bottle till a set time.... We do 6am....

Only takes a few days to be accepted and you can say hello to full sleeps

So when the wee one wakens up in the dead hours lookin a bottle do ur just put him back to bed and walk out? And did u change ur bed time routine? Am I thinking about this too much?

My 2 year old still has a bottle and I've no intention of taking it away. The dentist says his teeth are fine. Ds enjoys it. (Awaits flames)

Bob, does your 2 year old have 6-10 bottles a night then?

I would offer a cup of water and no milk but then I stopped giving milk in the night at around 8 months old (when they first slept through without a feed)

I would do bedtime bottle in a chair/sofa with a story and put them into bed without one at bedtime.

Then when he wakes through the night, try going in and shhhhh ing and saying "sleepy time now" and leaving. Repeat. seventy bazillion times

We swapped the milk out for water (this was when DS was 1 yr so a 2 yr old might be more switched on?) He just decided it wasn't worth the effort and stopped waking up!

Think I've been hacked, 70 Brazilian times. You have met my son then? He has a will of iron! He has broken me on more than one occasion lol. I'm going to put the bottles in the bin so I can't cave and give in.

Honestly OP, it is hard and I do not envy you. At all. However a few short weeks (maybe less) and you wont know yourself. Stay strong.

Lots of "you are a big boy now" and "big boy cup" instead of bottles in the daytime etc.

Dd was only waking for two milk feeds a night when we decided to stop and it was hard.

In a similar situation we were advised to dilute the milk gradually and also gradually reduce the amount offered. Worked a treat over about a month.

Middleaged I tried that but he just cried for more that's when he started weakening more and more. He's addicted! Tomo morning I'm putting them in bin. Today I'll go get a couple fancy cups for him and a reward chart from pound land. I have a body shop sleep spray and lots of bed time story books. Plan is to revamp bed time routine as I had become lazy about it. I'll sort this if it kills me.

TBH, I don't think you're going to succeed without at least some tears - his and yours :-)

Stick with it and be firm. Tell him night time is for sleeping, not drinking, now that he's a big boy. Offer a reward. It'll be all over and done with in a couple of weeks.

Good luck x

I'm expecting tears and I have got OH to take a day off work on Monday so we can get a good run at it from tonight.

My little boy was a nightmare for this and we did it by giving him warm water in a bottle when he woke up. He soon realised that milk was not going to happen in the middle of the night and started sleeping through.

I am day three NO BOTTlES. He has had none in the day and none at night. I tried giving him water in it over night but he threw it at me so I have just persevered with the crying.

Well done! Keep it up x

captain
How is it going? I am in a very similar situation with my 14 month old and trying to summon up bravery to stop the two bottles a night....

It's going surprisingly well. We took the bottles to the Donkey Sanctuary and left them for the babies. We r big boys now with no more bottles. Waking maybe once or twice at night but getting better.

That's great news! Well done. Maybe I should do the same with mine (doesn't wake for bottles but has 2 full bottles of milk at bedtime).