18 Month Old on Bottle Still

First I do not believe 18 months is too old for a
bottle. Only babies once. However, the waking up and
wanting one to go back to sleep is a PIA. So try
just giving her water only in these bottles. Good luck.

Hello H.,

I have twins that are a little bit older, 20mths. They still take a bottle to sleep but I was able to wean them down by uping the ozs. Instead of giving them 8oz, I give them 11oz of milk at bedtime. Avent makes an 11oz bottle. This way they don't wake as often. I change them right before I put them down & I put an overnight diaper. With the other bottles throughout the day I went cold turkey. When they wake up I give them milk or something in a sippy cup or straw cup. I put away the bottles so they don't see them. I taught them "All Done" or "No More". This way they know that what they want ie: the bottle, isn't an option. I hope this helps. =0)

Get rid of the bottles cold turkey. Throw them out and tell her they are all gone and she can use sippy cups now. It make take a few days or a few weeks for her to get used to the idea, but there is no reason to drag it out. If she wakes up in the middle of the night for milk, offer her a sippy cup of water. She should not be drinking milk in the middle of the night. It will rot her teeth. Or just don't go in at all. Leave her alone and she may go back to sleep on her own. She is old enough to fall asleep on her own anyway. By going in all the time when she wakes up you are encouraging her night wakings.

H.,
I did it cold turkey with my kids. For a few weeks I talked about bottles are for babies and not big boys and girls, then one day I took the bottles out of the cabinet and hid them. When my son asked for the bottle I said I didn't know where they were, we searched together and then I said I guess you will have to you a big boy/girl cup. It took a few days of crying and yes sleepless nights, but in the end the bottles were no more. It was tough with my last 2 because they were 2 years apart and I was on bed rest with the last one for the last half of my pregnancy so when Derek was born I gave it a month then Justin and I threw his last bottle away and that was that. Justin wanted to do everything like his big brothers and sister so that he could do big boy things with them which worked great. In your case I would do what I did with my older ones and pack the bottles away while she is sleeping. Hope I was of some help.
Hugs,
T.

I wouldn't be too worried about it. I threw my daughter's bottles out on her 2nd birthday and plan to do the same with my son (15 months). They are babies for such a short period of time, a few extra months on the bottle won't hurt them. GL!

Hi H.,

My second son was pretty attached to his bottle too. The irony was that he was breastfed for 10 months and became attached to the bottle once he weaned himself. I think he was almost 18 months when I finally just threw the bottles away and let him deal with it. He knew how to drink out of a cup, and did so at every meal, so what was the point of the bottle. I still held him at bedtime and even at naps, but just completely did away with the bottle. It is hard, but then again, cold turkey is also the less confusing way for the child in the long run. Imagine how confusing it would be to be allowed to have it some of the time, and other times be told no. You'll have a rough couple of days or even longer depending on your child's disposition, but she'll get used to it.

D.
35 year old mother of 5 with one more on the way

Hi There,
First of all, no child this age should be waking up for a bottle for nutrition or because she is hungry... this is just a habit that has been going on too long. It is her comfort zone. My daughter was completely weaned of her bottle by 13 months. (My daughter was sleeping through the night at 3 months and my son at 6 weeks and both were breastfed until 7 months- not that this is the norm, but by 6 months, children should be able to sleep through the night with no feedings if they are growing normally!)
Anyway, you will probably have to start by cutting out the night time and 5 am feeding- you might have to just go cold turkey. If you are not into letting her cry it out when she wakes, go in her room and pat her back periodically, but don't pick her up or put on the light, she needs to learn to soothe herself without the bottle etc. Also, like another person said, she may go on a drinking strike for a couple of days, but she will realize that she no longer gets the bottle and get used to the sippy cup and realize this is how she gets her milk. Don't worry about her not getting enough milk for those few days. Babies and Toddlers inately will not starve themselves... if she is thirsty enough, she will use the sippy cup. I was worried about my daughter when she did this because she was (and still is) tiny. The doctor said not to worry and that if she was also eating cheese and yogurt, she would be getting plenty of calcium etc.
Good Luck!

Hi H.,
I have twins that are the same age (7/10/07)and their doctor just suggested that I wean them from the bottle. I have not tried this yet, so I don't know how it works but here is what he suggested. He said for 3 days to ONLY give them milk in a sippy cup. NOTHING else to drink, only milk. He said they would not dehydrate and when they were thirsty enough they will drink the milk from the cup. You have a different situation though b/c your daughter still wakes up for a bottle. My twins sleep through the night and have a bottle at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Maybe you should try weaning her from the middle of the night waking. You can try giving her only water when she wakes up...she won't be interested in it. That worked for my son. After 3 days of giving him just water her slept through the night!!! He sleeps from 7pm to 7:30 am now. Hope this works. Good luck

H.,

My daughter is three and she just got off the bottle alittle she was after two. I started around 20 months with nothing but sippy cups at night and it was horrible. I talked with my pediatrician and he honestly told me not to force it on her so I stopped. I stopped nov 2007 and she cut herself off around 04/2008. I gave mostly nubby sippy cups and I told her that she had to give up her bottle to the kids that needs it. She actually did and it has been wonderful, I think what happened also is that her baby sister was born in feb and she seen that babies drink from bottles. Good Luck!! It was not easy, crying nights..etc

At 18 months she should still be taking 2 naps a day. You are probably going to have to just end the bottle cold turkey. She will be cranky for a few days until she gets to it, but so would any child. My oldest had a bottle till about 18 months as well. When I took away the bottle she also started sleeping through the night. It's going to be hard listening to her cry for the bottle, but be strong and soon it will pass. You will both be happier for it. Good luck!

It won't be fun, but I'd go cold turkey. Maybe try softer spout sippy cups at the traditional bottle time. (Born Free are similar to bottles, but help with the transition!)

She may go on a drinking strike for a day or two, but she'll figure it out! If you really do this, and just get rid of the bottles altogether (despite her tantrums), then she'll move on pretty quickly!

Hi H., I hope to be helpful. I have raised 5 and only my daughter (a thumb sucker) gave up her bottle easily. My oldest son was nearly 4 and still drinking a bottle. My children were all 1 year apart and it was almost impossible to take one bottle away when there were others around. I can say that my "kids" are now in their 40's and very well adjusted. Sucking is very important. Some cultures breast feed up to 5 years old. I would say if she wants it give it to her. These years go by so quickly, be happy and do not worry about what other mom's say about when their children gave up the bottle. To me, 18 months is still a baby. Have a Happy New Year, Grandma Mary