Giving up the bottle

[amc80]

Hi all! Now that B is a year old we are working on getting rid of the bottle. He is fine during the day and has no problem drinking from a sippy. At daycare he goes down for his nap just fine without a bottle. The problem is the night time bottle. Until now, I've been giving him a bottle of formula when I put him down for the night. We will be switching to milk soon and I definitely don't want him having that after we brush his teeth. How did any of you manage to get rid of the night time bottle? I'm thinking of just switching his routine a bit so after the bath he gets a book and sippy of milk, then we brush his teeth, then put him down. Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[SB621]

With both kids I would feed them at dinnertime solid food/ finger food and then give them a little milk around 7pm. That would usually top them off so they had no interest in a night time bottle. It was actually much easier to quit then I thought.

 

[lliang_chi]

We weaned Ethan by giving him more water in his formula. We stepped down to 25% formula then switched to just plain water. He wouldn't drink the water very much. Just a few drags then he realized it wasn't giving him anything. This was when he was just about 1 yr old.

Now we do dinner with milk @ 6:30, bath, PJs, books then bed. I think it took him only 3 wks to kick the bed-time bottle habit. At first it was water in a bottle. Then water in a sippy cup. Now he doesn't take any liquids at bedtime.

 

[amc80]

Thank you both for your responses! We've been waiting to switch him to milk until the antibiotics were out of his system (since we wouldn't be able to tell if digestive issues were due to one or the other). Seeing how we ran out of formula last night I think we will switch to milk now. I'm going to combine the suggestions- top him off with milk at dinner and then give him water (or very watered down formula) in a bottle at bed time.

 

[lliang_chi]

AMC how'd it go last night?

 

[amc80]

AMC how'd it go last night?

Ugh. Well, B hadn't pooped since Monday (and usually he goes twice a day) so he was super cranky...so we decided not to try anything last night. He was up 4-5 times (yawn) and wasn't a happy camper. Thank goodness he pooped this morning so hopefully tonight will be better. I'm going to do a sippy of milk after bath time but before teeth brushing and see if that's enough. He's been so tired due to his new daycare nap schedule that I think he will be able to fall asleep without it.

 

[jfo]

Good luck, amc! I've been following this thread to see how it goes with B in anticipation for what likely we'll have to do in a couple of short months.

 

[amc80]

Good luck, amc! I've been following this thread to see how it goes with B in anticipation for what likely we'll have to do in a couple of short months.

Thanks! We are lucky that he has no problem with a sippy, so he doesn't need a bottle at all during the day. I think mission #1 is sleep training (again) to get him sleeping all night, then we will just have to deal with the bedtime bottle, and I've already got a plan for that. Really looking forward to not having to wash bottles. I HATE washing bottles.

 

[JGator]

Me too. K needs a bottle to fall asleep at night now. I have challenges ahead.

 

[lliang_chi]

It gets better over time, and when you're in the middle of it, it seems like this is IMPOSSIBLE. But it gets better. I used to go in his room with a bottle AND a sippy. Try the sippy first then swap to the bottle. Eventually we just dropped everytihng. He still needs *something* in the morning when he wakes up,so I give him some snuggles and he asks for a book.

 

[ponder]

We just gradually decrease the amount of milk/formula in the bottle until we are down to an ounce is so and they realize its really not a big deal any more.

 

[Munchkin]

We also eliminated daytime bottles first and then we focused on a deadline for night time bottles to be gone.

DH and I were both prepared for a tortorous battle as he was almost 2. With all his feeding problems he often ONLY consumed calories in a bottle for days, and both his dentist and GI told us to feed him however we could. I made up my mind we were getting him off because he was old enough to "get it" and I refused to have a two year old on a bottle when I spent my work days convincing other parents of the importance!

Do you brush teeth after the bottle? It may sound silly but many parents brush first and then do the bottle just before tuck in.

If not, I would introduce that step so that your child has a tangible break between bottle and bed. We also told B at a certain point that he was "too old for milk upstairs." Every time he asked either Dad or I would reply "No milk upstairs. you're a big boy."

That meant that any milk was consumed well enough ahead of actual tuck-in that the association was gone. He was welcome to drink water. (Honestly, water in a bottle does no more harm to teeth than water in another cup. The issue wth the bottle is the sugars of formula and *milk sitting in the mouth.

There was one night where he was angry/confused. The next night he seemed almost eager to show us he understood. The third night was almost like "wait...you people mean this whole thing is permanent?" He fought but not as bad as the first night. After that it went smoothly except for a febrile illness one week later when he kept waking and asking for a drink. He wanted the comfort of a bottle but we didn't cave.

Good luck!

Edited to change ilL (autocorrect?) to milk.

 

[megumic]

Weare working on kicking the bottle too. He does find lots of comfort in it though and doesn't like milk from a sippy so not sure how to proceed. Maybe he just isn't ready yet, which is okay too. He has four bottles of four ounces each per day. I think we could easily cut to three or even two. But wake p and bed time seem like it will be tough on him.

 

[lliang_chi]

Wake up and bed time were the last ones Ethan gave up too. I think he dropped wake up first. I gave him a sippy of milk first, then if he doesn't like it, the bottle of milk. Then made the bottle water, and sippy milk. Eventually both were water and he just gave up asking for something to drink in the morning. Bed time was pretty much the same.

 

[amc80]

Do you brush teeth after the bottle? It may sound silly but many parents brush first and then do the bottle just before tuck in.

If not, I would introduce that step so that your child has a tangible break between bottle and bed. We also told B at a certain point that he was "too old for milk upstairs." Every time he asked either Dad or I would reply "No milk upstairs. you're a big boy."

That is my thinking. I want him to have his bottle, then brush the teeth, then go to bed without a bottle.

We are still giving him the night time bottle, but the good news is I haven't given him a bottle in the MOTN for the past two nights. He's woken up and cried. I let him cry for 5 minutes or so, go in, pat him, and offer him a bottle of water. He drinks that for a few seconds before realizing what it is, throws it down, and screams. This is when I leave. He only cries for a couple of minutes and then goes back to sleep. Now I just need to wait longer before going in and it should get him sleeping through the night. Once that is tackled I will work on the night time bottle.

 

[amc80]

UPDATE!

I decided enough was enough and changed the routine last night. After his bath, I sat down with him and read a story while he had his bottle (should have been a sippy but couldn't find any....and he doesn't really care if it'sa bottle or a sippy as long as there is milk involved). After the story I brushed his teeth and put him down. He went right to sleep. This was at 7:15ish. He woke up once around 9. I went in and held him for a minute, then put him back and offered him a bottle filled with water. He didn't appreciate that and screamed, but only for a minute or so and then slept until 6. Here I did give him some milk and he drank it and went back to sleep until I woke him at 7:30. Now I know he can go to sleep without a bottle just fine.

 

[jfo]

Awesome, amc! Progress after only trying it once! I bet he will be off the bottle in no time...

I'm wondering if I should start changing up L's routine very soon. Bottle is the last thing before bed. We brush teeth and have a bath, read a couple books and then she gets her bedtime bottle. She drinks it, gets drowsy, but is still awake. I then try to stick a wet washcloth in her mouth to wipe her teeth before putting her in her crib while she's still awake, but drowsy. Most of the time putting the washcloth in works fine, but if she's overtired (or just being obstinate), she refuses to open her mouth. She won't even cry--just purse her lips.

Maybe I'll try this after we get settled into our new house since i know that will be likely a disruption in sleep anyway...

 

[amc80]

Another successful night! The new routine is working well. Last night he even slept ALL night So he is pretty much off the bottle. The only time he has one is when I can't find a sippy (must buy more!). But I know he doesn't need a bottle and he would gladly take a sippy.

Now, mamas, how do you teach them to drink from a straw?

 

[ponder]

Another successful night! The new routine is working well. Last night he even slept ALL night So he is pretty much off the bottle. The only time he has one is when I can't find a sippy (must buy more!). But I know he doesn't need a bottle and he would gladly take a sippy.

Now, mamas, how do you teach them to drink from a straw?

Super easy. Take a straw and put it in the drink of your choice. Place your finger over the top and remove it from the cup. Your finger will hold some liquid in the straw. Offer the bottom of the straw to your LO, they will instinctively suck on it like a bottle. After a few tries sucking against the resistance your finger creates, place the straw back in the cup and offer them the top of the straw. They usually pick up on this really quickly.

 

[amc80]

Super easy. Take a straw and put it in the drink of your choice. Place your finger over the top and remove it from the cup. Your finger will hold some liquid in the straw. Offer the bottom of the straw to your LO, they will instinctively suck on it like a bottle. After a few tries sucking against the resistance your finger creates, place the straw back in the cup and offer them the top of the straw. They usually pick up on this really quickly.

Thanks! I already give him liquids that way if we are at a restaurant. I will try it!

 

[ponder]

Super easy. Take a straw and put it in the drink of your choice. Place your finger over the top and remove it from the cup. Your finger will hold some liquid in the straw. Offer the bottom of the straw to your LO, they will instinctively suck on it like a bottle. After a few tries sucking against the resistance your finger creates, place the straw back in the cup and offer them the top of the straw. They usually pick up on this really quickly.

Thanks! I already give him liquids that way if we are at a restaurant. I will try it!

No problem. I didn't even think to teach my oldest to drink through a straw until her sitter mentioned it. Oops! She picked it up quickly and my younger ones learned wayyyy earlier by watching the older kids. Even as fairly young babies they would think "there has got to be something good in there if that kid is sucking on it." The hard part is teaching them to keep the cup down while using the straw since they are used to inverting bottles and sippys.