I am having trouble getting my 2 year old son to give up his bedtime bottle. We recently moved, now it is just the two of us, and he has taken the bottle issue to the extreme waking up through the night asking for it, and even going to the refrigerator and standing there crying about it and trying to take the milk out. Any suggestions?????
I believe he is have anxiety issues. Give him the bottle for another month or two and then slowly try to ween him. He just moved and now it is just the two of you. Big stuff for such a little boy.
N.
I have not tried it, but I know several people who stand behind the cold turkey method...just get rid of the bottles all together - let him know (of course it will be tough, especially with other recent transitions), but he will be able to handle it...perhaps you can find a suitable substitute (we put a sippy cup of water in/near both of our kids' beds)...let him pick a special stuffed animal to sleep with instead?
If you have just moved...and someone important in his life is no longer living with you...then he is feeling insecure and unsure of things in general. Now is not the time to be taking something ELSE away from him!!! You might consider switching to water only for the night time bottle...but if he wants MILK that may not work!! Do not let him sleep with a bottle of milk, I made that horrible mistake many years ago with our youngest daughter, and she paid the price with "bottle mouth" and had to have 4 baby teeth pulled because of cavity!!!
make the bedtime bottle water only. One it will quech his thrist and hydrate him, and two he will not get bottle rot from water.
Have him help you gather all the bottles during the day and throw them out. Explain to him that he only gets big boy cups now. Then maybe when he asks for one during the night (because he will), give him a sippy cup and then slowly phase that out also.
I'll probably be the only one that will say this, but my daughter is 2.5 and I still give her the bottle. We cut the tip of the nipple big so that she doesn't really suck on it. Our routine: we give her the bottle, she drinks it while we read to her before bedtime. Than we always brush her teeth afterwards. She's not attached to it, she doesn't ask for it everynight since we don't make an issue out of it, we just want her to have milk before bed to help her sleep. She is bright, energetic, has beautiful teeth, and sleeps 12hrs each night.
Here is the method I used for the bottle and the binky, and just about everything else. Just give less and less of whatever it is and gradually over two to four weeks time, viola it's gone! :) Worked like a charm even through problems and changes in our lives.
I would say in your case just gradually change from milk (im assuming that's what is in the bottle) to water, just keep changing the ratio so that eventually you end up with water in it and soon he will give it up. Here is a piece of advice my mom gave me when I had my kids, "He wont take it to prom with him." He wont need/want it forever. :) I hope this helps you I know how much I struggled with my daughter and her binky habit before I found this method.
Since you just moved and had a big change, I'd wait a couple weeks and then see if he'll take a sippy cup instead. We just started by first offering our son the sippy cup instead. We didn't make a big deal about it, we just stopped the bottles. If he was sick or asked for a bottle, we gave it to him, but always went back to the sippy cup. We then switched from milk to water, then decreased the amount of water. We're now down to no sippy cup and he uses a big boy cup in the bathroom now if he wants a bed time drink. If your son is waking up in the middle of the night wanting a bottle, could he be hungry? Does he eat a good dinner usually? I'd give him a small amount of water instead of milk in the middle of the night in a sippy cup and see how that goes.
Good luck!
How recently did you move? I would wait just a little while longer, too many changes at once can be traumatizing. Wait until the dust settles and have a 'big boy party' where you throw away all the bottles- give him notice of a few days of course.
Be firm and say no. Most kids will continue w/ do this (with whatever they want) as long as the parent caves to their wishes. It will be a LONG few nights, but he WILL get the message that the answer is no on the milk bottle. Put a plastic cup of water in the bathroom and tell him that is all he can have - your sleep will be worth it in the long run and his teeth will thank you when you go to the dentist.
If he is going through some big changes I would let him have it till he feels secure again. Change is huge for kids and love routine and stability. I would let him have it and give him more hugs and cuddles.
