No more bottles at bedtime?

amother

Sun, Dec 22 2019, 7:26 pm

My 20 month old has been falling asleep with a bottle for the last year or so. He never really liked pacifiers so he used a bottle instead. It's a comfort object for him and whenever he gets upset or hurt he asks for it with his blankie. I was thinking to wait til he's more verbal to wean him since he uses it to calm down and it'll be really hard to calm him down if he can't express himself.
But in the last few weeks he's been drinking tons to fall asleep and waking up soaked, it's taking him much longer to settle and he's not sleeping so we'll anymore. I'd like to wean him off the bottle for sleeping which will probably take some sleep training again Confused

So looking for some experienced mother's help.
Does this mean he shouldn't have it during the day either? He tantrums often and the bottle is the only thing that will calm him down so I'm nervous to stop with it. What's the best way to sleep train at this point?

amother

Orchid

Sun, Dec 22 2019, 7:59 pm

Switch to water only in the bottle! He will only drink it if he's thirsty.
Eventually he will stop on his own! It's not so exciting to drink water bottles.

amother

Navy

Sun, Dec 22 2019, 8:04 pm

The water only rule doesnt work for me. My almost 3 year old daughter wont fall asleep without a bottle of water. And wont go back to sleep in middle of the night without more water if she wakes up.. which is always.
She is already toilet trained and cant be trained at night only because of the bottles soaking her.

amother

Chartreuse

Sun, Dec 22 2019, 8:11 pm

Switch from a bottle to a sippy cup, and out in water only. He needs to stop drinking from a bottle nipples. 20 months is big already. Sippy cup with water will make him drink when he's thirsty. Yes, you'll have a few couple of rough nights, but at that age, bottle in a crib is a bad habit and terrible for their teeth.

amother

Sun, Dec 22 2019, 8:14 pm

amother [ Navy ] wrote:

Yes that's exactly what is happening with us. He actually likes water and will drink it all night

I suppose we'll start with the sippy cup. Which type is best for this?

essie14

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 7:54 am

amother [ Navy ] wrote:

Yup. Same with mine. Same age. She drinks from a regular cup during the day, but at bedtime she only wants a bottle.

banana123

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 8:02 am

It's better to have him drinking water from the bottle than formula or milk. Water doesn't cause cavities.
He's little, not even 2 years old. He won't go to first grade drinking from a bottle at night, he won't go to the army drinking from a baby bottle at night, and he won't get married drinking from a baby bottle in bed. Promise. Right now he needs the comfort. Switch the contents for water to protect his teeth in the here and now. The rest, you'll worry about later.

banana123

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 8:03 am

You can also start diluting the formula slowly until it's almost all water, and then skip it entirely. That might be a little less traumatic and easier for you both.

watergirl

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 8:09 am

To the amother who's child cries for juice in a sippy every night - this is what happens. https://www.healthline.com/hea.....tures

Tooth rot is a thing. Please avoid it by stopping the milk and juice at bed.

OP, its time to wean your child of the bottle/sippy at night. At 20 months, they are able to learn to self sooth and its important that they do learn. I know its hard! It will take about a week of everyone being miserable and then you will be so glad you did it!!

pause

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 8:19 am

I tried everything above. First switched to water only. Then to a sippy cup. The kid was still guzzling water each night, so I let it go. At age 3, when the kid was old enough to understand, I said "no more water in bed, you can come to the kitchen for water in a cup" and then a couple of weeks later proceeded with the night-training .

essie14

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 8:45 am

pause wrote:

I'll try this, thanks.

amother

Burgundy

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:01 am

watergirl wrote:

When you have a stubborn child it can take much longer. We had almost 3 weeks of waking up the family and then had to stop it for other reasons.

Ema of 5

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:06 am

banana123 wrote:

My kids all go to sleep with water bottles next to their beds. Granted it’s not a bottle, but they all have water with them when going to sleep.

pause

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:08 am

Ema of 4 wrote:

My kids all go to sleep with water bottles next to their beds. Granted it’s not a bottle, but they all have water with them when going to sleep.

Some kids drink it even when they're not thirsty, just because it's there, and then don't stay dry at night. My experience was that they need at least 6 months of no liquid near/in their bed for them to learn how to self-regulate their drinking before bedtime.

amother

Tangerine

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:20 am

watergirl wrote:

I don’t to be told off by others- trust me I know. He drinks 90% water plus 10% apple juice- still bad but a vast improvement from the 3+ bottles he was drinking beforehand. My son has major oral sensory issues. He needs to suck all day- do t even get me started on the paci. Without these things he goes crazy. We’ve tried a few times to put only water but he cried for hours and wouldn’t fall asleep. Anyone have any constructive advice?- I will gladly take it!

ectomorph

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:21 am

amother [ Tangerine ] wrote:

I hope he's in OT

banana123

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 12:04 pm

amother [ Tangerine ] wrote:

Occupational therapy.
Honestly I would let the paci go, it's a relatively benign way for him to satisfy his oral needs for now. Better than sucking a bottle, better than putting toys in his mouth, better than biting....
(I also have a kid with oral sensory issues...)

Last edited by banana123 on Mon, Dec 23 2019, 12:09 pm; edited 1 time in total