Have I made a rod for my own back?

[Kittykat93]

Hate that phrase but think it's what I've done and don't know how to stop!

My 14 month old is waking regularly in the night and not going back down without a bottle of milk. He's always been a good sleeper but whenever he has woken in the past I've always given him milk to settle him back down. I think that's why he's waking like three or four times a night now :(

He's eating solids really well, and always has milk before bed at about seven so I know he shouldn't be hungry.

Please help, how do I stop this cycle?? It's been so frustrating going from a baby who only wakes once to getting up and down multiple times every single night. I'm so tired.

I hate that phrase too, makes me feel quite sick; remember my mother using it and it was the way she said it. She was a great one for stock phrases.

However - will he take a non milk drink (milk is a food after all), like water? Mine used to drink water.

Let him cuddle up in bed with you.

Switch to water. Less inventive to wake up for! A friend of mine switched to goats milk which the kids didn't really like (but didn't make the connection that Mum had changed the milk) which soon meant the bottles of milk at bedtime were no longer wanted

I've tried water but he's not impressed so usually I give in and get milk (because I'm knackered and just want to go back to bed). But I admit that's me being lazy and I need to be consistent. I'll try water tonight

Milk contains lactose - a type of sugar. Giving children milk at bedtime/during the night without brushing their teeth afterwards will rot their teeth, you need to switch to water - unless you fancy brushing teeth at 2am

Tough it out for few days. Do you have a partner? Could they go in with the water instead? My DD definitely woke for my company as well as food/water.

At 14 months ds1 was still night feeding - I think he finally dropped his night feed at 18 months - so he was feeding at about 8pm then going through to about 5am by that point (plus normal food - but not normally milk in the day)

Every time he had a growth spurt that picked up again though - even when he was 3 he'd wake up in the night famished (you could hear his stomach, he was properly hungry) - we used to keep an emergency banana by the bed!

DS2 sleep through 8-6, and wasn't even interested in an evening/morning feed from 8 months - kids digestion just seems to be as individual as their personalities

In case of hunger I used to offer something really plain and boring, like a rice cake, so it was only worth the trouble of waking up for if she was really hungry.

I started watering down the milk, gradually increasing the amount of water until DS decided it wasn't worth waking up for.