Please will someone help me stop my 14month old acting like a newborn.

[GColdtimer]

Honestly, would really appreciate any advice. My 14 month old is up half the night, is up at about 5 most days and just seems to want milk, milk, milk. Will try to be brief, this has been a typical 24 hours:

5.30 - Awake (leave her until 6)
6.30 - weetabix, toast, fruit (picks at it, all the time signing milk).
9.00 - give in on milk, 6oz from a bottle, sleeps until 11AM. Has a snack
12 - lunch, fish, pots, veg, fruit (picks at it, allthe time signing milk)
2PM - 6oz milk, sleeps until 3PM. Has a snack
4.30 - scrambled eggs, toast, yoghurt, eats most of it
6PM - bath
7.00 90z milk in a bottle, sleep
10.30 - awake, signing milk, give her water out of a bottle
3.30 - awake, signing milk, give her 2oz milk/2oz water
4.30 - awake, leave her
5.00 - give her 2oz milk, 2oz water, put her back to bed where she cries on and off until 6

She is now happily playing, occasionally signing milk at me (wish I had never taught her that sign!)

For those of you who are still with me, I basically think the problem is she is too milk reliant, gets comfort from milk and a bottle. I try not to give in too much but sometimes I think if I gave her a really big bottle when she woke up, at least I would get a good nights sleep. This has been going on like this for months and I don't feel like it is changing. I am so tired.

Can anyone offer any advice?

Oh and forgot to say. She isn't teething. When she is, this gets worse but she isn't at the moment.

could you try I might get shouted at for this

6.30 bit of milk

8.30 breakfast

lunch about 12.00

one sleep before 2

tea a little later

keep awake

milk before bed

so she gets the milk first so she will eat her breakfast because she had a bit of milk
but in a beaker not a bottle
I dont let my 13 month old go to sleep past 2-2.30 then she tends to sleep all night unless she is exhuasted I just distract her with other things
and I would give her milk out of a beaker in the night not a bottle incase its the sucking action she likes

its hard with waking children some just do wake in the night exhausting I know my first one was always up

A bit long but I have been looking into the snacking/milk dependence thing myself....

I am still bfing and DD is younger (10m)but have seen this in friends los. I am also about to start weaning DD onto a cup in the day for when I return to work so have been doing some research which might help (Ithink it is relevant whether they are FF or BF) The problem may well be the bottle, just as bf babies cling onto the breast as a comfort bottle fed babies do the same with their bottles.

I agree that milk first is a good idea then breakfast.

Try using a beaker during the day for mid morning and afternoon milk. Then once she has the hang of that you can start to use it in the morning too. Keep the bottle at bedtime for a while as you might find she refuses to sleep without it at first! Go slowly and check the volumes you are giving to make sure she still gets enough but not so much that she is too full for solids. As you know at her age (and my DDs for that matter!) the theory is that they should not need Milk at night if they are eating solids. I don't know many babies in reality that go all night without milk mine is 10m and often wakes several times. Maybe some Mums with older los can help us both with that one!!

If you have a good HV in your area it may be worth having a chat. Unfortunately mine just said that on 3 meals she should not need milk at night and I should give water (caused hysterics I could not deal with!).

Let us know how you get on.

my little girl does she has jut finished BF at 12.5 months she stopped herself she now goes all night she didn want milk in the night she wanted comfort

thats why i suggested weaning to a cup

In your situation BF though I just kept on feeding her when she wanted it sorry not much help there

Thanks ruth and sniff, I do agree that it is probably the bottle rather than milk that is the problem but because she loves her bottles for comfort, she is getting a lot of milk and so not eating and the circle continues. I may try watering down her milk....

However, I just need to be brave and try to wean her off her daytime bottles first and see how it goes. I just know she is going to create like billy-oh.

Has anyone any tips for how to do this with the minimum of fuss? I am sure when she is signing milk at me, she is really signing "I am tired, but I need a bottle to help me calm down and go to sleep" (she is quite a hyper toddler and needs a lot of wind down!)

Thanks

is she drinking formula or cows milk

give her a cup with her dinner but a tippy one that she can tip up not a no spills one you have to suck hard to get the milk out

and let her have access to it all day

3 days and she will love it because she can have a drink whenever she wants
I hOpe !!

when you next give her a bottle and want her to sleep do something else to eg stroke face pat bum then that becomes the sleep signal rather than sucking

took me 4 nights of hell a fortnight ago with DD 13 months but she is sleeping through now "touch wood"

Cows milk. And thanks for the advice. I really have been thinking of weaning her off bottles but haven't really known how.

I will start after the weekend.

Wish me luck!