My son just turned 2 in December, and is still attached to his nighttime bottle. I'm at a loss for ideas on how to get rid of it. His pediatrician wasn't concerned because we have always brushed his teeth after the bottle before putting him to bed, so the milk isn't sitting in his mouth overnight...but I really don't like the idea of still giving a 28 month old a bottle every night. We've tried putting just water in the bottle, to maybe make it where he doesn't want it (he screamed and cried wanting warm milk), and we've tried just going without, but then he takes 2 hours to get him to sleep, and not before we finally give in and just give him his bottle of warmed milk. Any ideas or suggestions???
I am reading all of your responses because I am RIGHT THERE WITH YOU!!! My son will be two next month, and I feel so guilty!! It's hard!!!! Good luck to both of us!!! LOL
Hello, we don't give my son any bottles, ever since he started drinking from a sippy cup during the day. I would try giving him only a cup during the day, and the daily recommendation for milk is not more than 24 oz. So, maybe have him eat dinner not too long before bedtime, and include some fattier food like cheese at this meal, so he'll be fuller. Then maybe he won't need as much milk. I think it would be good to do the cup only, though.
Maybe then he'll not want it as much? Truthfully, our son gets a sippy cup of milk at night, and gets his teeth brushed after. It's just become a part of our nightly routine.
It's really hard not to give in when you know just what your kid wants, but it's good for them to not always get their way in life, too.
I hope this gives you some reassurance, if you just want to keep the bottle, or some confidence, if you absolutely have made up your mind no more bottles.
I went through the same thing with my oldest Daughter. We gave in with her too until next thing we knew, she was 4. I felt like the worst mom in the world when it came to making her scream for her bottle. I felt even worse when I would get the comments from everyone one else about her still having one. All I can give you is encouragement to get through this. I dont know any tricks but I can tell you that one day we just decided that enough was enough and 4 days of crying passed without any perminate damage to anyone. (well, maybe our ears) Eventually it has to happen. The question you have to ask yourself is how long is going to be too long? I hope this helps. Good Luck - Y.
Hi M.! I am also an Eastside mom. My boys are now 6 and 8. Whenever I weaned my boys I did it slowly. I would recommend that you make the milk more and more to room temperature each night and then start watering it down over the course of a month or two. Eventually it will be just water in the bottle. Once you have gotten to that stage, I would decrease the amount of water until you feel you can stop giving the bottle at night. I would also start some new rituals at bedtime during this process: cuddle time, story time etc. Make sure when you start these new activities that you let him know that he is getting big enough so he can do these activities. And if you haven't already, switch to sippy cups. Email me if you have any other questions. Good luck! ____@____.com
PS I use to work in Infertility, who did you have your IUI's through?
