I Need Sleep!!!!

i have read through allof your preveious responses and i am kind of scared. i have heard and read so mnay things from experts about getting rid of the bottle as soon as possible for morethan one reason, and all of these women are teliing you it won't hurt himto have it a few months more. it will because when those fewmonths are up, he will just love his bottle more and it will be harder to take it away. we stopped middleof the night feedings with our twins when they were about 7 months. they slept wonderfully and rarely woke up.now that they have there legs under them and they are moving, they started to wakeup and want to and move. recently,ethan has started to wake up and only fall asleep in my husbands arms. he hated sleeping in his crib, and would wake up assoon as weput himback.so a coupleof days ago, we decided to let them cry it out because i am newly pregnant and very tired lately. they cry for about 1/2hour and slowly lull themselves to sleep. they sleep so peacefully through the night it is unbeleivable.
so i would really suggest slowly taking the bottle away during the day and completely at night. give him a small pillow or a lovey or even a special blanket. he will get used to not having the bottle quickly if you are firm with your actions and follow through on your plan. i know it is hard,but it gets easier...especially when you get sleep!!! good luck and keepme posted
T.

My daughter's only security item was the bottle.. She didn't sleep through the night until 2.5yrs.old.... I only gave her water but she would moan and ask for more at all hours of the night and I would just do it.. It was so hard on me to deny my child... I finally woke up and realized this can't go on. I took the bottle away and she was upset for a few days and it was really really hard on me to be firm and not give in. I am so glad I finally did it though.

My advise is TAKE IT AWAY NOW... for your own sanity!

After age one they just get more and more and more attached...

He will cry and beg and you just have to ignore it. Trust me do it now....

I've already decided if I have more children were not getting in the habit of a bottle in the crib and were not doing the bottle after age 1.

Hi J.,

I went through something similar, however my daughter didn't start sleeping through the night until she turned 3, by that time I was pregnant with the second. He has just turned 3 at the beginning of September and still doesn't not consistently sleep through the night. They both went to bed with bottles, and would wake up looking for it. To break that I started giving them sippy cups filled with water and gave tough love....nothing but water for bed. Tried talking to them about the milk being bad for the teeth at bed time, telling them it would give them "bugs" in their mouths. That worked. After that, I noticed they weren't drinking the water any longer, so I broke the sippy cup as well.

I'm curious where your husband is while the child is waking....does he take his turn? Help him to understand how you are feeling being pregnant and having to get up and be deprived of even more sleep. My now ex-husband worked 3rd shift, so he was never there to take his turn and allow me to get sleep, even on the weekends. Plus I was attempting to finish my bachloer's degree online until the wee hours of the night/morning, and having to get up for the other full-time job I hold. It's been a struggle, I've made it through, and you can to! Talk with your hubby for starters and work on the bottle thing. Good luck!!

My son was like that until almost 2. He was even on just a sippy cup. WIC suggested we only give him water when he wakes up in the middle of the night because that is not exactly what he wants so he will eventually just keep sleeping. It sounds kinda funny but it worked for us. He doesn't get up anymore. When our 9 month old was about 3 months I started going in and giving him is pacifier and just putting my hand on his back or belly which ever way he was sleeping and holding it there. He was never totaly awake and if he was then I would get him a bottle or try the pacifier then the bottle if it didn't work. Sometimes they just need to know you are there. He would fall back asleep right away. He also sleeps longer if he falls asleep in my arms if I lay him on his tummy. He rolls that way any way.

J., my salvation was a book called "Good Night, Sleep Tight" by Kim West. It was fantastic. We started using the method when my daughter was just 1 - within a couple of weeks she was falling asleep on her own and sleeping through the night. Prior to that it would take 30 to 45 minutes of rocking and then at least four times up each night - sometimes for four hours at a stretch. The book really works, and there is no crying involved! Good Luck. B..

I weaned my son from the breast at about 13 months old. However, we had the same problem with him waking up and needing his "comfort". At about 10 months old, we started letthing him cry for a bit when he woke up at night ... just a few minutes, increasing every night. He's been sleeping through the night since 11 months old. Your little guy is definately old enough to sleep through the night. The other thing that we did was introduced a "lovey" to him. He has a stuffed horse that he sleeps with, it started in his crib and he takes it everywhere now. It's his comfort object and it's much healthier than a bottle!

My son was the same at 1 year. He was a breast fed baby, so rather than bottle, he wanted mom in the middle of the night. I am now 30 weeks pregnant, and he is 18 months and sleeps through the night. He didn't EVER sleep through the night completely until I weaned him when I was 20 weeks pregnant.

So - I guess my suggestion is to try to wean him off the night time bottle. He should be able to go all night without eating. As soon as I weaned my son off the middle of the night nursing, he started sleeping through the night. It was heaven!

The worst part was that he would wake up repeatedly after the typical nursing time. He ususally woke at around 4:00 for nursing, so from 4 till "wake up time" at 6:30 or 7:00 he would be up every 1/2 hour, but it only lasted about 4 or 5 days and then - magically - sleeping from 8 till 7! I couldn't let him cry it out, so it was more than a little exhausting for the week that it took to wean him at night, but it was well worth it.

The other suggestion would be to have your husband give him a bottle, instead of you, or have your husband go in and calm him with no bottle - you need your sleep!

Let us know how it turns out - I feel your pain!!!

J.

I had the same sleep issue with my bottle fed son. Daycare said that he didn't need a bottle or cup or nuk to sleep so I tried and went and bought him a "special" cup. Its a gerber sippy with jumping green frogs on it....and since he LOVES to jump...he could relate and it was exciting for him. So he gets milk in a cup with a snack before bed about 1/2 hour and then we snuggle for a bit and I tell him its bed time and it works! Its been a week and he's 21 months old without the bottle!!! The first few nights were tough and we had to let him whine (not cry) it out. But its good for him too because he also gets a better nights sleep!

give yourself a break and give him the bottle. if you want to, try eliminating the bottle during the day and then slowly wean him off it at night. what you need is a good night sleep, him having a bottle for a few more months is not going to hurt him.

My daughter didn't give up her bottle until she was almost 2 years old. What I did was give her her favorite bottle at night when she went to bed. I put ONLY water in it. If she woke in the middle of the night, she would have her bottle and the water doesn't hurt their teeth. Try to wean him as soon as you can, but don't push it. It won't hurt anyone to give him the bottle at night with water.
I hope that works. Good luck!
M.