"Bedtime Ba-ba" :-)

Mu two cents -- thank the friend and then ignore her.

You might try giving him some solid food before bed if you aren't already.

And we are about to try the super-absorbent diapers with a baby who visits here to see if that helps him sleep through. Sometimes he wakes up wet and we think that's what might be waking him.

Best of luck.

FWIW, you will get to sleep through the night eventually. :)

N.

I think the bottle right before putting him to bed is OK, to make sure he isn't hungry.Although pediatricians advise on feeding them while holding their heads high to avoid ear aches. The other night bottles should be water only. This way he will get the message "Why bother to wake up if they're only going to feed me water" and start sleeping through the night. Some will tell you milk at the last feeding will cause cavities--I raised three and never had this problem. Good luck

Habits are hard to break...but they can be broken with patience and consistency. Babies should not be put to bed with a bottle. Period. At 13 months, your baby should be sleeping through the night and not waking up for a bottle so you must instill a new bed time routine and hopefully, he will adjust sooner than later.

The first thing to do, you should not give him milk before bedtime. Milk causes cavities because of the sugar and that is something you want to avoid. So, give him water. In a sippy cup. He should not be drinking from a bottle past 12 months. If he protests, then let him protest but stand your ground. To make this bottle to sippy cup transition easier, begin introducing a sippy cup during the day. Put water in it...NOT MILK. ONLY water. Make it fun, like a special treat. Offer the sippy cup at lunch time or snack time or after dinner time. Heck, offer it all the time. He has to get used to drinking from it eventually. When bedtime comes along and he asks for a bottle, tell him bottles went bye -bye (make sure to hide them so he can't see them) and offer him water in the sippy cup. If he refuses, let him refuse but put the cup where he can reach for it easily. If he's thirsty enough, he'll know where to find it. The first few nights may not go well. I understand you are working full time and this must be difficult but you must stand your ground. You need your sleep too! If he gets up crying, go to him, rub his back, belly, whatever works but tell him to go back to sleep. He may cry. You may have to let him cry for his bottle. I wouldn't offer him anything during the night...unless he's sick. Just a back rub and that's it. He needs to understand that night night is for sleeping...not waking mommy up for a bottle.

You have to be consistent. And you need to let your little one know who is in charge. Good luck and many blessings.

I agree with the advice to give solid food shortly before bedtime-full tummies aren't as likely to need a botttle at night. I would also suggest if he has a blankie or other lovie to make sure he has it at night. Giving him extra lovies (read a favorite story,sing some favorite songs or pat his back) as he tries to fall asleep with out the bottle ofen helps too.

Hi,

I raised 3 girls and now helping with a grand-daughter, its not hard, during the day start showing him an BIG BOY sippi cup and tell him as he gets bigger thats what BIG BOYS use, it will take a little time, not much, I even used the cup when the girls would wake up and they caught on real quick, and eventually they moved on, never needing the bottle. The trick is to take him to the store and let him pick it out, at bedtime don't fuss about it, and mom YOU have a drink in his sippi cup and while he has the bottle you're holding HIS cup, they get very possessive, and he will start wanting it, but it takes a little bit of time, get rid of all bottles but the one he is using. Get the cups that are spill proof,once they are done drinking, I always kept an eye out and take the cup out of the crib.

hope that helps

P.

you put him into" the bed with his bottle? Not a good idea....feed him before he goes into his crib.
My son had a bedtime bottle too, but he doesn't always drink it all, and i put him into bed after the bottle, after a few stories, and while he is awake.
I know you know he isn't hungry, so why do you go into his room to feed him in the middle of the night?
Sadly, you just have to bite the bullet & let him scream his head off for a few days, b/c you cannot keep feeding him in the middle of the nite-that's just silly, right??
How much does he weigh? Was he a preemie and that was why you fed him through the night his entire first year?

I did a bottle with water only, and tried to make sure she had eaten well before bedtime. It worked after a while.

Good luck!

M.

I wish i asked this question a year ago, my son is now 2 and only has a ba ba for naps and bedtime now but still gets up in the middle of the night crying for one. I am going to watch all the responses to help me too, Sorry i couldn't be any help since i need help too lol, My girls were easy!!!!

R.:
I started giving my daughter water in her bottle at night and nap time. She transitioned well. Soon enough she didn't wake at all in the night. If she wants milk she gets it before brushing teeth...after teeth brushed ONLY water.
Milk bottles are not good for sleeping for two reasons: 1. They may have dental problems very young. (My friend's son had 2 root canals by the age of 4 and has MANY cavities)& 2. They get accustomed to a mid-night meal...which is unnecessary after a year old...it may teach unhealthy eating habits too. It is not worth the trade off...better to catch them young before feeding a bad habit.
Good Luck
L.

Ask your pediatrician!! My son was born small, even though he was not preemie, and has been at the 20th percentile since birth. He needed to eat in the middle of the night until he was about 20 months! Our pediatrician told us to go ahead and feed him so that he wouldn't loose any weight. So, until he was 20 months, we gave him one bottle of milk mixed with cereal at 3am, when he woke up. He would take the bottle, (in my arms, in the rocking chair) then immediately go back to bed. At 20 months, he stopped waking up during the night and has been sleeping from 8pm until 6am since (he is now 26 months old).

My niece is 15 months old and she gets a bottle of milk and a bowl of cheerios (no milk) as a snack right before bed, then brush teeth, then bed. Her mom says that that bowl of cheerios is the difference between sleeping through the night and waking up asking for food.

Good luck!