Ending Bedtime Bottle

She's 13 months old and only takes a bottle at night and then only about 4 ounces? Take it away. If she asks for milk, give it to her in a cup. It may take a few times, but if that's all she's taking out of the bottle, she's not all that hungry, it's just habit.

From the sounds of things it is not so much a hunger thing, but a ritual of comfort. A good way to tell is to switch to just water in the bottle at bed time. It is a smaller change than taking away the bottle totally. As she gets used to that, start a new ritual. I used to sing a lullaby to my kids as they were dozing off. Now it is bedtime stories or songs.
That bottle time is often just about some special time with mom if you still hold her while she eats. It won't be easy, but disappointment is a part of childhood and you will eventually find something that she likes just as much.
Good luck!

Is there some reason why you have to get rid of the bottle? I never can understand why Mothers rush to cut everything off in a "set" amount of time advised by "experts." My DD weened herself at about 17 months. I have never pushed my kiddo with food or drink. Some will probably disagree. If I were in your shoes I would give the bottle until she doesnt want it anymore. Which, to me, sounds like it is not too far in the distant future. Its not as if you taking a warmed bottle to her kindergarten class!!! LOL
Much luck to you and your family,
She'll be over that bottle before you know it.....

Margaret :)

Maybe have filling snacks like cheese and crackers and some milk in a cup. The snack should hold her over. I would feed my daughter at 5-5:30, then nurse to sleep. When I stopped nursing, I introduced a book, and took away nursing. She was so excited about the book, she forgot about the nursing. I also had my husband read the book, just for a change. Hope that helps!

Bed time bottles are very bad for any teeth that they have and will be getting while on the bottle. Milk turn's to sugar and you know what that means to teeth. Change to water let her have a cup of milk with meals if she wants more then ok but stop the bottle unless you want to spend more time at the dentist. True they are just baby teeth but they have teeth under them they can also get cavities. Stopping the bottle is a lot harder that is sounds there will be temper trantrum's and tears for both of you it will take more than a week and you will have to stick with your guns once started. This has come from a mother and I hope that you have good luck.

My grandson never went to sleep with his bottle, however, when feeding time came, daughter added cereal or other baby food with the milk and used a larger hole in the nipple of the bottle. This kept him from having bad teeth from the bottle at bed time plus he was full and did not have to eat as often. I don't know if you use baby food or not but it certainly helps. They get so hungry and need the extra food. Worked well for us. Good luck.

I never gave a bedtime bottle to my kids after one year (although I did nurse a few, so, kinda the same thing!) but you could either go gradually by giving her the bottle but with water in it for a week or so, or just go cold turkey and no more bottle. After her bath & brushing her teeth she can go to the kitchen for a drink of water from her sippy cup, then it's off to the bedroom for books, or whatever you do in her routine...good night!
She doesn't need it as a meal if it's only 4 oz., so if you continue the night routine as is or even add some nice new cuddle time (or book or special song, etc.) getting rid of the bottle for good should not be a problem.

If she is down to only 4 oz, then she is probably ready to go without. We took our twins off of their nighttime bottle at 18mos, when they were down to just about that same amount. They didn't miss it a bit!

I understand the woes of getting rid of the bottle. My son is 16 mos & still a bottle boy. We had kicked it & then moved & he started nuresery school. His teacher wanted him to have a comfort item as he adjusted. So we sent 1 to school & started giving it back at bedtime until he gets use to his new home. What we did before was give him a milk bottle after dinner. Then at bedtime a bottle with water (b/c it's bad for their teeth to have milk at bedtime). But not in his bed, we would let him have it right before. Eventually, milk after dinner was in a Sippy & we stopped the bedtime bottle & did bath, story & bed. He was full from dinner & his milk Sippy so he was fine. A little fussing at 1st, but not bad. Now we have to start over, but I'm not going to worry. Every child is different & she may not be ready yet & that's ok. If you try it for a few days & she's not receptive, try again later. But don't stress too much, she's still a baby. As long as it isn't milk in the bedtime bottle, I wouldn't worry.

I nursed, and so we never had an evening bottle. But as I ended the bedtime nursings I started giving a small (4 oz.) sippy cup of milk right before bed. Our 3 1/2 year old still has a half cup of milk before nap and bedtime, we just brush his teeth after. I would reccommend switching first to a cup of formula at bedtime then mixing milk into it in increasing amounts until she is off formula and on milk. No need to discontinue, you can just alter. Oh, but don't let her have the cup with her in bed, just let her have it while you are rocking or reading to her.

Sarah-I will admit that my son had a bottle of milk before bed up until he was 18 months old (he is now 25 months). I really wanted to get rid of the bottle and I, like other posters, just gave him the milk in a cup. I told him that it was time to get rid of the bottle because "they are for babies and you are getting to be such a big boy!". I thought it was gonna be torture....he was fine with it.
I sit him down about 30 minutes before bed and give him one small cookie (low sugar) and a cup of milk. He sits until his cookie is gone-by then his milk is about gone. Then I just ask him to finish up his milk to fill his tummy. Then we get jammies on, brush his teeth, read some books and off to bed he goes.
I was REALLY suprised that it went as well as it did-and it showed me that he really was ready to give up the bottle.
Good Luck!

Use the same nipple til it breaks. Then she can throw it away and knows its broken, That is her sleep security for nighttime. So, let her end it, or the nipple!!

We simply tossed the bottle and switched to sippy cups. The boys get dinner around 5:30, but they don't go to bed until 7pm, so I give them 4 oz of milk as the beginning of our bedtime ritual. We drink our milk, brush our teeth, get our diapers changed and into PJs, read stories and then off to bed. I find that last little bit of milk helps tide them over at night. They are still growing like weeds, so any extra calories are welcome!

Hi Sarah,
HAve you tried changing the going to bed routine a bit? For Instance after my son's bath I give him half a sippy cup of milk and then half a sippy cup of water while reading our books. After about 5 books we turn of the lights and I rock him for less than a minute and put him to bed. I bet she will take the sippy cup at night since she uses one during the day. Once she get's into a new bedtime ritual then she won't care whether she has a bottle in bed.
good luck.

I was trying to get my son to stop the bottle at about the same age. He didn't need it to fall asleep, but if I didn't give it to him he would wake up at about 5:00 am hungry. My pedi. suggested I give him a small amount of baby cereal or something right before bed. It worked like a charm! I only had to do it for about a week, and then he would eat enough at dinner to last him through the night. We are early eaters too (about 5:30 or so). Good Luck!

You might try water in the bottle instead of the milk. That way the milk is not sitting there rotting her teeth all night. Try giving it to her in a sippy cup after a few nights.

My 17 month old son still gets a bottle of milk before nap and before bed while he watches a baby Einstein video(I usually put puffies or cheerios out too). Before nap I just say time for nite-nite and put him down. At bed time after his video and milk, he gets a bath and I just clean his teeth with a wash cloth, then its story time, and he goes right down, and sleeps a good 11-12 hours. I think it helps him sleep longer, I have tried just giving him a sippy cup, he doesn't cry for a bottle but doesn't really drink the milk. If she wants a bottle I don't see the big deal, the extra milk won't hurt her and you can clean her teeth after wards if your worried. If she drinks from a sippy even better, I say do what works, their little bodies need the extra food. You'll see they will go through stages where it seems they went the whole day on two bites of food, so when my son will eat something I usually give him as much and often as he wants, he isn't overweight so I figure he needs it.

Hi there-

Our son is 18 months. I am not sure if it's the right theing but he gets a bedtime snack and cup of milk before bed. SOmetimes it is the biggest cup he drinks!

I agree with the others...follow your child's lead...not the experts'. With my daughter I did stop the bottle at about 18 months...but she STILL (and she will be 3 in less than a month) gets a sippy cup full of milk before bed. We then brush our teeth...read a story...and then it is bedtime. You have to find what works for you guys. Good luck!

I don't know what other people do, but my 19 month old still gets a night time bottle most nights and I don't worry about it at all. The only reason to not do it is for purposes of keeping her teeth clean but we keep up with teeth brushing and her teeth are white and shiny so I'd rather stick with the bottle. She doesn't always drink it, sometimes just holding it is enough, but other nights she drinks the whole thing. It gaurantees she goes to sleep on a full stomach because she is not a good eater and usually goes to bed about 3-4 hrs after dinner anyway (around 9 usually). I have concluded that whatever the experts reccomend (no bottles after 12 mos) is not necessarily for everyone. Try skipping the bottle and see how it goes, just do what works best for your child :)

4 oz is nothing. I wouldn't worry about it. Do what works best.

Hi Sarah,

I am in your same situation- only in reverse. I only give the morning time bottle. I started by removing the lunch time bottle - for a couple of weeks- then removed the dinner time bottle- After his dr visit next week once the dr. ok's it I plan to go ahead and stop the morning bottle as well. I would give her a sippie cup with milk before bedtime- just see if she will take it without any issues. This is my first - but I think if you don't make a big deal and make the change she may surprise you! I think it is easier to do this while they are younger - so they won't become so attached down the road.

Good Luck!

Keep me posted!