Almost 2 Year Old Son Still Tkaes a Bottle to Go to Bed

I can't believe how many 1.5+ kids are still taking a bottle. And taking it to bed with them! If a child can hold his/her own bottle, it's time to get rid of it. I never let my dd hold her own bottle. On her 1st birthday all bottles went into the trash. She was excited to use a "big girl cup". She will be 4 in August and uses adult cups now.

My dd was over two when we took her bottle away. I did at her nap time instead of when she went to bed. I just told her it was time to take a nap. When she asked for the bottle I told her she wasnt going to get it anymore. She cried a little and asked for one a few more times and than forgot about it. I say just take it away. Good luck!

well, since only one of mine was bottle-fed til a year (other 2 breastfed), and then he switched to sippy cups at around 13 months with no trouble, i don't have a lot of "practical experience" with this - but as a preschool teacher, i have seen the results of kids drinking anything other than water at night. the term is usually "baby bottle mouth" or something similar and it rots their teeth, even when diluted! they should have their teeth brushed when going to bed, and then have only water after that, unless they wake up to be fed in the middle of the night and even then, it's a good idea to brush again after that. i have seen 4 year olds with BRIDGES for front teeth or some with all their top teeth pulled way too early and they have to go years with no front teeth! but even though they are "only" baby teeth, cavities can deteriorate teeth and cause infection that can get into the bloodstream.

i am amazed at how many people (even someone like my sis-in-law who has a bachelor's degree in early childhood development!) keep their kids dependent on bottles even until the ages of 3 and 4, but i guess it all boils down to whatever is easiest sometimes. i know i let my sons have their paci's until they were ready to give them up (around age 2.5 for both), and even though it was alot less detrimental to their teeth/mouths than their thumbs would've been (and alot easier to get rid of!), it was still a struggle for me and my husband to go without sleep for a while, listening to them cry it out b/c they were so dependent on the pacifier to soothe them.

this is all alot easier to say 8 years later, but you know what they say about hindsight being 20/20! if i had to do it all over again, i never would've given them pacifiers and would have tried harder to teach them to self-soothe - i would have just gotten even less sleep, i guess!

please don't take this as overly-critical, as i know it probably sounds, but as one mom already mentioned, losing a little more sleep now will be easier on the pocketbook than paying for expensive dental work when they are still in preschool or early grades, and then braces when they are a few years older, too! some of it is hereditary and unavoidable, but we should all do what we can as parents to prevent any future health problems for our children. nip it in the bud NOW while he is still 2 - it gets harder with every year! most children at his age are very capable of hearing your reasoning and will understand the concept of getting to be a "big" boy or girl, but as with anything that anyone of any age is addicted to - it is easier until you feel the need, and then you just don't care! you will have to guide him past the separation of his comfort item in any way you feel will work best for HIM, not for you or his daddy or his daycare workers, if applicable. either wean him slowly or quit cold turkey, but do it now rather than waiting!

best of luck to you! :D

HI,

I stop giving my daughter a bottle at 17 months. I agonized over this because she was a good sleeper. I started a routine with reading in her room at the same time and that seemed to help - I think. She did great - she doesn't miss her bottle at all - in fact when we had guest and she wouldn't go to sleep I tried to give her a bottle but she wouldn't take it. I think if you give you son the time together at bed time - that might be all he needs. good luck.

L.
mother of Nate(4) and Lila(19mnths)

I know exactly how you feel about his sleep pattern..i hated taking the chance too. My son took a bottle of milk until he was 2 yrs old also..you can do the water to milk process, but the milk is bad for his teeth..just switching to water is hard but they do get used to it..just tell him the truth "the milk will hurt your teeth" let him drink some milk before bed but then have him brush his teeth(or do it for him)...then a bottle or even a sippy cup for a "big boy" sleeper...hope this helps..

He definitely needs to be off the bottle! He can get dental caries. I am a cold turkey kind of girl but you have to do what works for you. From now on though, no more bottles-throw them ALL away or give them away. No more drink except water after teeth are brushed! Only big boy sippy cups! You should try weaning him but do it over a couple of nights, not a couple of weeks. He'll get there and so will you !! Do the hardwork now as oppose to 2-4 years from now in the Dentist office every 2 weeks! Good Luck Mommy!!!

he needs to stop taking a bottle all together. i would take a week when your husband or someone else could take some time off, and help you a little. just take the bottle away and give him a week to get used to it. if he cries or wont sleep, then you may be up all night with him, but if your husband is home, you can sleep while he takes care of your son and then you can switch. that way you are not so tired that you give in and just give him another bottle. taking a bottle could rot his teeth, or cause them to be very crooked, like sucking a thumb.

Well, I would say try to switch to a sippy cup of water for bedtime if he needs something to drink. But, if you think it's strictly a comfort thing, maybe you can make a trip to Toys-R-Us one day and make a really big deal about letting him pick out a special stuffed animal or toy car/truck that he can take to bed with him because the bottles need to go to all the little babies who need them. =0) Heck.....just whatever he can wrap his little mind around, ya know. Maybe if he got to buy a special night-night toy, he'd forget all about the bottle..... Good luck to you!

My son took a bottle of milk until after 2 as well. As long as it's not interfearing with with his day to day routine then I don't see why there is such an issue with sooooo many people. But as all good thing come to an end the bottle must also. The way we got my son to give his up was to just forget to give it to him. After a few days he forgot about it. But then a few months later he started asking for his milk again so I gave it to him in a sipy cup.

When I was taking my son off the bottle, I rocked him to sleep. As I rocked him, I also sang songs to him. I did't have any problems. Of course, he loved for me to sing to him and the rocking simply knicked him out. Remember, it's very bad for his teeth to be putting your child to bed with anything but water. Good luck!!

Hi! My son switched at 1 to a cup of milk, but a friend of mine just got her son off the bottle before naps and bed (he's 22 months) by doing just what you said- slowly adding more water until it was only water. For about a week after that he still wanted the water, but then he just stopped wanting anything. Good luck!

You really need to get him off the bottle and soon. It's going to change his teeth and lead to braces (about a $4500 or more investment in the not so far future.) Losing a little sleep for the time being is worth saving your money and his comfort later. You could begin by giving him a no drip sippy cup at bedtime and ease into the transition. His sleep patterns will eventually return, and maybe quicker than you think.
good luck!
L.

I agree with others on it's time to get rid of the bottle, but you don't have to get rid of the milk. I like to eat yogurt before bed. Just make a deal with him...he can keep the milk before bed, but he has to brush his teeth right after. My son still drinks milk before bed, but he brushes his teeth right after. Just make it part of the routine. Hope this helps.

Is he drinking the entire bottle or is it left partially or mostly full? My 4yr old still takes a sippy cup to bed most nights. It has plain water and usually he doesn't drink it he just cuddles it. He was totally off the bottle by 2yrs though and on to sippy cups. We made the switch from bottle to sippy with the soft top Nuby cups from Walmart as an transition cup. Besides tooth decay, I worried about the milk spoiling if left in the bed with him. What if he woke back up and drank some before I retreived the bottle? Ugh! If he drinks most of the milk before falling asleep he may need the filling effect of it to keep him through the night. Try letting him have a glass of milk before getting in the bed and if he needs a bottle or sippy for comfort make sure it's water.

take it away... the first few nights will be rough but it will pass. my daughter had hers until she was over age 2 and we are paying for it in dental worries already. save yourself the money. giving a bottle before or in bed can cause their teeth to rot.. not good!! if you are worried about the comfort part for him (like i was) give him a nuby sippy with water. good luck!

Your plan sounds like a good one. My son is 3.5 years and still likes his bottles. If you're worried about the milk on his teeth, try and switch to water. If he's sleeping well, I'd be hesitant to mess with his routine.

Yes, either 'cold turkey' or by gradual dilution, switch to water only in bed. Anything else has sugars that can decay the teeth (and we don't want THAT!) If he'll drink it BEFORE laying down, that's OK, too.

Or you might try some of the tactics others have suggested to get rid of a pacifier. Have him choose a toy and 'pay' for it with his bottle (just tell the clerk ahead of time), take it to the hospital and 'donate' it for the new babies that need it, leave it one night for the 'paci-fairy' (like the 'tooth fairy', but in this case a 'bottle-fairy') to take and she will leave a little something in its place, etc.

J.,
something that helped me get my daughter off the bottle was the sippy cup that has a soft top. It's like a bottle nipple but in the shape of a cup. once she got use to that, we went to the hard top sippy cup and now she doesn't even take one. she drinks out of a cup. something that you might also want to consider, is when it comes time to potty train, you will want him to stay dry at night. i haven't given my daughter a cup to drink at night since she was 1 1/2. she wakes up dry now and we have started a potty training chart, which has helped tremendously. i hope things work out for you.

Good Luck!!
J.

We took all the bottles one by one and slowly hid them in a drawer in the buffet that we never use. When it was bedtime I made a big production of looking for the bottle. "Is the bottle in the kitchen cabinet? No, it is not in the kitchen cabinet. Is the bottle in your bed? No it is not in your bed. Where could that bottle be?" We looked all over the house. When we could not find the bottle I told my son that we could not find the bottle. I said, "The bottle must be lost." Then I said, "It is time for bed and you are very sleepy. Do you want to have a cup of milk?" He knew that the bottle was no where to be found and he was happy for a cup of milk. The next time he asked for a bottle I reminded him that the bottle was lost and he never asked for it again.

I am not one to tell someone what they should or should not do but, since you asked, you really do not ever want to put a baby to bed with milk in a bottle. It is very bad for their teeth, even if they don't have any yet...they come in rotted. They rot and fall out or have to be pulled and won't come in until the adult teeth come in. Consult your doc/dentist so you know details but it happened to a friend's child and my neice. They go black and then fall out. She is two teeth short and is 9 yrs old! They had to be pulled. With that being said, it will disrupt his going to sleep pattern but it should only take a few days and then get back to normal if you stick to it. The baby sleeps b/c he is a good sleeper, the falling asleep is what will take a few days to get to a good pattern. It is worth it for the few nights- it will be hard. YOu can try a sippy cup with water that does not leak out. My daughter likes to have water in bed sometimes and I give her a sippy cup. She is 2 1/2. You don't want them to get used to drinking at night either b/c of potty training. Good luck!

W.

Hi J., I agree with all of your earlier responses. Watering down the milk at night is a great idea. When a child is sucking on a bottle the milk pools around the teeth and causes something called baby bottle decay. Also excesive sucking on a bottle may cause the teeth to become flared out requiring braces in the future. I know this because I am dental hygienist and have seen it happen. I transitioned my son off the bottle to a sippy at night by using a Nuby sippy cup that had a bottle-like top to eventually a reg sippy cup. Hope this helps! Good Luck!

When I had my second son less then a year after my first..my oldest decided he wanted/needed the bottle again for napping.So I would let him have it only for that.At first a full one the slowly started to give him less and less..of water.I noticed that he would suck back the water bottle and go right to sleep..no matter how much there was.Eventually he didnt even want that 2oz in the bottle.

So yes I would water down the milk until it is water only,then give him less and less of that until he either doesnt want it any more or can do without..good luck..
S. B

Hi, if he keeps it in his mouth while he sleeps he could potentially rot his teeth from it. Even teeth he doesn't have yet. Ive been told that for yrs from our doc. So its not a good idea. The milk or juice could sit on teeth and gums for a prolonged period if he doesnt swallow all the way. If he wants it for security I'd definately try the water.