Advice for Weaning off Bedtime Bottle?

Hello C.,
Judging from your past posts I'm guessing your son is 14ish months? Our pedi said all they need is 12 oz of milk/yogurt. If he doesn't like milk you can give him yogurt or smoothies while still offering milk. My daughter couldn't drink a lot of milk because of stomach issues so we did a huge smoothie every morning.
What I would do, if I were you is move the schedule around. There is really no point in brushing his teeth if you are going to give him a bottle of milk after. The sugars in the milk will break down the teeth. I would move the bottle up to before book, then to before brush, then before bath, then switch to a smoothie about 45 minutes before bed as a snack. What we did at that age was 45 minutes before bed we did a snack (usually cheese, yogurt, something with protein to fill our daughter up) and then go on to bath, brush, book and bed. It may be loud for a week or so, but know it's for the best. Does he have a stuffed animal he sleeps with or a blankey? Lastly, I know this may sound silly, but have a talk with him about it before you do it. I do this all the time and I guess my daughter understands a lot more then I give her credit for because she tends to accept whatever change I'm telling her about.
Best of luck!
C.

We had the same issue with my youngest after we switched to a sippy cup during the day. I finally did away with the bottle and offered her a sippy cup at night with the usual bedtime routine. She still refused it, so I continued on with her routine. I offered it to her a couple more times during the routine and she still refused. I then put her to bed saying "It's okay if you're not hungry." She would fuss a bit, then go to sleep. It only took a couple of nights before we were able to skip the milk routine all together.

C.,
You are brushing his teeth, then giving him a bottle? Milk has naturally occurring sugar that sits in his mouth all night long and will cause his teeth to decay. If you choose to continue the milk in the bottle, then change your routine to brush his teeth after the bottle or cup of warm milk.

A.

Why do you want to wean him off? Is it the bottle he likes or will a sippy cup of warm milk work? I have a friend who bought cheap plastic sippy cups that are for warm milk only. It may take a little getting used to, but that might work for him. But there really isn't any reason to get rid of the warm milk before bed. And to be honest (after reading the other post) I would not worry about weaning him off the bottle just yet. My daughter had a milk bottle before bed until she was two. It was really pretty easy to get her to let go of it by that time. If the bottle helps comfort him, let him have it.

My son will be 23 months next week and I finally "bit the bullet" and took away his night time bottle. I sympathize with you! I tried offering him a sippy cup instead but he wanted nothing to do with it. Now he refuses to sleep in his crib and has been falling asleep in his pack-n-play in the living room while we watch tv. Unfortunately I can't let him cry it out because he shares a room with his brother who goes to sleep about the same time as him. I guess he has substituted John Stewart for milk! He is not a big milk drinker during the day so we offer him lots of yogurt, cottage cheese, and cheese so he can get his calcium that way. Hope your transition goes smoother than mine....I'm sure after a few nights of CIO your son will adjust and do just fine.

What about taking him to a store and letting him pick out his own special cup for milk at night? It may not change overnight, but if you get rid of the bottles, eventually he will "get it."

Another thing- I'd HIGHLY recommend switching brushing teeth to AFTER milk, to avoid the milk sugars staying on his teeth overnight.

Good luck!

S., mama to 19-month-old twins

Hi C.

I remember I went through this with my daughter. What finally did it was that the nipples from her bottles broke (she actually chewed on them). we had to through them away, and I just did not buy new ones. She does not like milk all that much so the sippy cup was not a replacement. After a couple of days she was fine with it. We have now an extended reading section in our bed time routine. ( I try to pick really boring books (more text less pictures and no action thins like flaps)).
You just have to find a good excuse for the bottles to go.

Good luck.