Helping Baby Sleep Through the Nights/getting Rid of Bottles

i would definitely STOP the bottles. it's a very hard habit to break the longer you let it go on. also, the more you feed her at night, the more she will wake up for food. she's old enough to sleep through without food. i would try to tough it out. the first night will really be hard, but the next night after that a little easier, etc. lots and lots of luck to you. but i would definitely stop feeding her at night. you can get rid of the bottle one by one. drop the feeding that she loves the most, last. good luck!

if she's ok with water, then let her keep it. It's her version of thumb sucking, pacifier, or a lovey. You can try introducing a paci or a lovey to comfort. She will grow out of it eventually.

Since she doesn't care what is in it, she must not be hungry. Water is best since juice would be sitting on her teeth all night.
Maybe she still just needs the sucking and you need the sleep! I would just let her have the bottles....in fact, give her a spare so you dont't have to keep getting up. I never thought crying it out was a solution. Baby only learns you are ignoring her needs.
If she just still needs the sucking, if you take the bottle away cold turkey, she might start sucking her thumb which is a harder habit to break, since it is always available.

Hi C. - I would tell her there's no more bottle at night...even have her say "night night" to the bottle when you lay her down for bed. She'll have a hard time - but my advice is to go cold turkey. Just stop giving her a bottle at all. She doesn't need it anymore (our pediatrician had us do this at 12 months - just eliminate it completely and switch to a cup). It was hard for around a week but then both of our boys (2 and 4 now) just slept thru the night. YOU CAN DO IT! It's hard - I know! Hang in there. :-)

SHe is probably hungary...she is still a baby technically. I have a 3 yo and a 4 yo, and I went through this with both of them. I did give them their bottles and then they slept so much better, I hate to think of my little one laying in her bed hungary because she is growing. Also try giving a snack right before bed, like oatmeal or a banana. That did help with my two little ones. I think it helps make a more secure little girl also, knowing that you are not beign denied food and in their minds love.

Cold turkey.

If you answer to every call, you're asking for other parental control methods to keep you guys jumping to every beck and call.
And by doing this---running with a bottle---you're conditioning her to not only get a bottle and continue this nonsense, but to wake up all the time. Giving her something is setting her up for over-eating.
She'll settle down and fall asleep. But you're playing right into this.

C.,

Obviously every child is differnent, but my ped told me that generally by 4 mos children do not need to eat at night. So, my guess is that she is just used to the drinks and attention. I would go cold turkey-- it is better to have one bad week then to have 3 to 4 kind of bad weeks. Start on Friday (I work too...). She should also be weaning off the bottle by now. If she can drink from a sippy cup, I would just take the bottle away. I took my son's bottle cold turkey at 13 months and we were fine.

Cold turkey has really worked best for me, with bottles, pacifiers, ect. Good Luck!!

C., I have a 12 month old with the same issue. We actually got past it once but then caved in again when he started on solids - fearing he wasn't getting enough to eat. Now, we'll have to do it again...it was three very difficult nights but it worked. Before you go for it, you might want to check out "Baby Whisperer" by Tracey Hogg. She also has a follow up book for toddlers. I think you can get both of them through the public library. She addresses this issue (I can't remember which book) and gave me the confidence to make it through the transition despite my husband's doubts. I hope it helps!

P.S. Hey, clue me in if you ever get it "all figured out" ;)

It might be a little rough because she is so used to having a bottle in bed with her. She really should be off the bottle now if not soon according to most pediatricians because of their teeth. Did you know that you need to brush their teeth especially after juice or milk? I am too a first time mommy and my doc always told us that and she actually likes to do it. She might even like brushing her teeth. If that were me I would start taking the bottle away one nap at a time, then I would wait a few days and if she takes two naps a day then I would take the bottle out of the other nap for a few days. After I completed that, then I would do a few nights a week of taking the bottle away at night and then I would get rid of it and throw all bottles away in the house so YOU are not going to give it to her when she really wants it. That's what I did when I weaned my daughter at 13 months of the bottle, I bought a new "special cup" in place of the bottle and then she sort of loved that cup and got her mind off the bottle and it was the easiest thing to do. However, she did not go to sleep with it. Also you could maybe give her something else to go to bed with like a blanket or something.....that's only if she's having a very hard time but DO NOT give her the bottle once you start to wean. Your hard time will turn into a bad nightmare. Just remember "this too shall pass". Your doing great. Don't take anything I said the wrong way.....I'm not saying that I know all believe me......I just want to give you the advice that worked for me. But your doing great by inquiring about it. We new mom's don't really know anything and the best things to so is ask and when you succeed you will feel like your on top of the world.haha And YOU WILL do just that. Good luck. Give this some time b\c it will need it. Maybe a month or so. She might surprise you and adjust very well. Good luck

I think you've got a bad habit on your hands. It might take more than a night to get rid of it. I certainly would begin by only giving her water at night once her teeth are brushed. Perhaps you can lessen the amount in each bottle every night so it wouldn't be such an abrupt stop to something she's used to. Eventually, I'll bet she'll decide it's not really worth getting up for.

L.

How much do you give her in the bottle at night? If you don't want to go cold turkey, you could just gradually reduce the amount in the bottle until it was gone. We did this to get rid of the bottle before bed with our first and it worked great!Good luck!

Hi C. -

We had the same problem with our first and third babies (both girls). Both times, we tried all kinds of tricks, and they didn't work. The reason they didn't work is that the baby just wanted company and would take any bottle in order to get the company. Both times we ended having to make her cry it out. We didn't respond to her at all. (We tried the gradual timing - 5 minutes, then 10, then 15 - it only made them cry harder) This is a heart wrenching and exausting process for the first 2 nights - but by the 3rd night, it's not too bad. By the 4th night - no waking up at all. I recommend getting some sort of white noise maker (fan, air purifyer, white noise machine, etc.) to turn on and help you get through the crying. I promise, everyone will come out of this unscathed. The end result is worth the work. Your baby will learn how to sooth him/herself, and you will get real sleep for the first night in 18 months! Plus you'll be done with bottles! If your baby is 18 months old, the sooner the better - the older they get, the more stubborn. I would still give a bottle at nap and bed times if you want, - and continue to work on weaning those if you want, but we found cold turkey for the middle of the nights worked best. Do it on a weekend when you can maybe afford to loose some sleep, by monday you'll all feel much better! Good Luck!

You should really discuss this with her Doctor. At 18 months she shouldn't need two feedings in the night for nutrition. Ask your Doctor how much milk she should be drinking on a daily basis. Is she eating baby food and/or table food? It is probably out of habit that she still wakes up to eat. Are you putting her to bed with the bottle?

C., Please make sure there is only water in the bottle, better for her teeth. 2 things, start cutting down the amount in the bottle, until there is only an ounce.
Is her room dry? there must be a reason she is thirsty. For the next couple of weeks try using a cold vaporizer in her room, it will help her not be so thirsty, see if that helps. (thank heavens spring is coming!) Good luck, K.

My daughter is 17 months and at about 12 1/2 months we took the bottle completely away. She was doing better sleeping through there night until about a month ago so I decided to also take away the pacifier and now she is sleeping through the night not waking to find the pacifier. We did both cold turkey. Good Luck!

I have a 4 year old that just started to sleeping though the night with out a sippy cup of milk. It was not an issue wiht his older brother. Who cares what every one else thinks. I am sure they are not thinking of you in the middle of the night. Don't over think this. They need the sleep and so di you. We just had our first dental check up and no issues with decay from having the milk through the night. If your child finds comfort in the bottle so be it. My 4 year old still wants a pacifyier at night which blows me away. It does not leave the house and if he is not in bed he may not have it. It is truley no different than a beloved blanket or animal. We(society)just dont see it as acceptable at this age. One day your child will slowly stop asking for it or start sleeping bettter. As I say, they will not became a part of the disfunctioning part of society because of it. When they are ready to give it up, they will. If she is using a cup during the day you are bettter than half way. If she finds comfort in it and she is not hurting herself so be it. Go to sleep:)

For us, we don't offer the boys something to drink in the middle of the night unless they request it. That is how we stopped the cycle. I need my sleep and will be a better parent for it.

Good luck

Hi C.,
I am having the same problem with my daughter, however she is 2. I have been trying to find ways to wean her off the bottle without going cold turkey. Every time I hide them and tell her they are gone she cries and so I give in. I have recently been telling her that bottles are yucky and only babies use them. My plan is to stop them this weekend cold turkey again. However if you have heard of other ideas can you please pass them along in case I give in again. I will let you know if it worked for me.

Thank you so much
T.

I am a 43 first time mom with two teen age stepsons.

Hmm... I'd love to know as my three year old still loves to take a sippy cup to bed for a bit of milk! ;)

Hi C.,
I am no expert on this...my 10 month old is still waking in the night. One thing that I have done (and continue to do with my older two) is give them a sippy cup of water (ONLY water as anything else is bad for their teeth) in bed with them. If your daughter is truly thirsty, she will drink that. If it is attention she wants, I agree with the other moms...cold turkey worked best for my first two.
I hope that helps,
A.

Dear C. M.,

When we weaned our granddaughter off the bottle at 18 months (and the WIC people suggested 12 months and boy did I wish I had listened), we went totally to the sippy cup. She did not get anything when she went to bed and she cried and screamed for a solid three weeks. I would try to comfort her by rubbing her back and talking softly to her, but as soon as I would leave the bedroom she would begin to scream again. This was hard on my nerves but we finally got through and she got the message she was not getting any more bottles.
Others suggested taking ALL the baby bottles and putting them in the trash with your little one on your hip and take them out to the trash can and tell your daughter that ALL her bottles are going to the dump with the garbage truck and they will never come to your house again. Let her know you will not retrieve them because big girls don't suck on a bottle and that bed time means no more drinking. Give her a drink from the sippy cup just before bed and tell her that that is her last drink until morning. Maybe you could think of some little reward for her in the morning for not asking for a drink during the night. It is better for her teeth and she is old enough to drink well from a sippy. She won't thirst to death with no drink during the night. It is hard on mom to hear our little ones upset or miserable but you are doing what is best for her long term.

L. C.

I didn't stop drinking out of a bottle until I was in second grade, what's the rush about? Why do you want her to grow up so fast, just what is the point in that? Sounds more like when you are ready, than when she is ready.