Tried Everything and embarrassed

8 replies

FTworkingmumof2 · 08/02/2019 07:47

Hi, my two year old will not sleep through the night! He goes to bed with a bottle of milk, which I'm embarrassed to admit and we are looking to get rid of it completely. I have a week off in a few weeks and we'll do it then because I am so tired and having to work full time, it has just been easier to give him a bottle. And, yes, he does get up in the night for one.
He has a set routine. Dinner, bath, pyjamas, reading, bed. He has a night light, we've tried soft music, I feel like I've tried everything! I will not co sleep because he's just too big to have in my bed.
Does anyone have any advice or tips for when we take the bottle away?! How can we help him sleep through?

OP posts:

Jackshouse · 08/02/2019 07:51

How often does he wake up? How do you resettle him? It’s developmental normal to need a parent durring the night up to the age of 7 so I won’t be embrassed. My nearly 3 year old still wakes sometimes. We deliberately bought her a big bed so one of us could hop in with her.

As for the bottle maybe it’s time for the bottle fairy to come and take the bottle for the baby fairies and leave a gift in place. Like a dummy it will be a rough few nights and then he’ll be fine. If your not brushing teeth after the bottle then it must go ASAP.

Jackshouse · 08/02/2019 07:53

For the bottle durring the night again just go cold turkey. It will be hard but eventually it will get better.

hannah1992 · 08/02/2019 07:57

He is waking in the night and wanting a bottle because that's the way he is used to settling so therefore when he wakes in the night he can't settle himself.

When you have your week off go cold turkey. Make it a game. We did dummy fairy with my oldest that worked well.

When he asks for it remind him that the fairy has taken them because he's a big boy and sooooooo grown up etc etc.

That week off work will not feel like a week off but it will help in the long run.

And I know how it feels to give in for the easy life I've done it myself but it really doesn't help long term

Marshmallowflump22 · 08/02/2019 08:02

From speaking to my friends about kids sleep patterns it seems the majority of them (aged 3 and 4) still wake up during the night for comfort. I think it’s normal, but i definitely understand why you want to stop the bottle. I hope it goes well.

SPR1107 · 08/02/2019 08:10

I was told that however they fall asleep, is what they again need in the middle of the night to get back to sleep... which is probably why he wants a bottle when he wakes (combined with habit).

I would give him the milk downstairs before bathtime, then he can have a bath and brush his teeth before bed.

We go to our DS room and read him two stories with a cuddle. He then gets in his bed and we read a third. We'll say to him 'it's time to go to sleep now' we say goodnight and we tell him we'll be back to check on him soon.

If he wakes in the night, we just go in put his
Covers back on, remind him it's night time and say goodnight again

Georgiemcgeorgeface · 08/02/2019 08:11

I wouldn't worry about the bottle too much I let my son have his bedtime bottle until he was 4. He had it downstairs as part of his ready for bed routine so I made sure his teeth were brushed afterwards when I took him up to bed. I think routine is the key but you mention you have a good routine. Is he napping too much during the day perhaps?

Original poster

FTworkingmumof2 · 08/02/2019 23:22

Thanks all. We did the bottle fairy with our eldest and it was fine but he was sleeping through the night at that point so it was only the initial bed time bottle. Will definitely try going cold Turkey on my week off.
When he does wake, we either settle him with a bottle or a cuddle. Sometimes getting in his bed helps so we'll continue with this! 😊

OP posts:

Aries456 · 12/02/2019 16:47

My son had a bottle before bed and once in night until he was 3! It was partly because he has huge tonsils and couldn't eat much so i let him have gallons of milk. Basically one night when my sister was watching him (I was in hospital in labour!) He bit through his bottle teat and she didn't know where the others were. So he had to go to bed without. When I got home I just didn't give him another and after 2 night of asking for it he just stopped. I just told him he couldn't have any more because they were broken and it was no problem. I hadn't had the courage until then but it wasn't bad at all actually. Now I need to muster the strength to do the same with the dummy for his sister!! Good luck x

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