Sleep and a Milk Sippy Cup

Hi, My son went to bed with a sippy cup with milk, until 2 1/2 years old. He now goes to bed with a sippy cup of water. It wasn't as bad a s I thought it was going to be. He cried every night but only for a couple of nights and only for about 30 minutes. once he realized we weren't going to give in he just accepted the water. Now he doesn't even drink the water he just wants it with him. The milk is really bad and can cause bottle rot of their teeth.

Try each night to dilute it a tiny bit. After a few weeks it will be water she is drinking.

You need to take that cup away as soon as possible - and you've made your job twice as hard by letting it go until she's two, the most DIFFICULT age to take something like that away. She is going to fight tooth and nail and pull out all the stops, including gagging herself to the point of throwing up, to test your will.
Two year olds want what they want and they want it NOW - and I have to say, you have done a grave disservice to her developing teeth, which may already have decay due to the amount of sugars left to sit on her teeth overnight for two. I suggest you have her taken to the dentist to be evaluated also.
Take the milk and rice cereal OUT OF THE CUP. She does not need it: a two year old should not need that to get them through the night as far as nutrition go. If she needs a sippy cup of something to help her go to sleep, fill it with water (you might want to make the water warm just for the comfort of the sensation). She will cry and scream, but under no circumstances do you give her back the milk and cereal in that cup. It is cold turkey or not at all: so you either make the commitment to do this now and deal with a few nights to a week of screaming, or give it to her and allow all her teeth to rot out of her mouth before she is 3. Those milk and cereal sugars can also decay the developing adult teeth beneath her gums, so you may have already done serious damage.
If her sippy cup is her "lovey", you need to find something else to give to her that she loves for comfort, be it a blanket, a stuffed animal or a cloth diaper just SOMETHING to cuddle.
This is a very VERY bad habit that you have allowed to go on for far too long, so if you are serious about getting her over this, then you do it NOW or she will want a sippy cup for years and years. It will be a hard transition for everyone, but really, think about it: do YOU remember having to go off the bottle/sippy cup? No, of course not. She will fight it because she is two - YOU are the adult, and what you say goes. If it is time for the cup to go, then you make that step and firm decision and not go back on it or else your child will know that her will is stronger than yours

I wouldn't worry too much, at least she's not falling asleep with a bottle in her mouth. She will grow out of it you know, is your four year old sleeping with a sippy cup? :) OMG some of the responses were a little harsh! What's so bad about making your baby happy, I know I wouldn't want to cry myself to sleep for 5 days!

V....

I know the sleep deprivation and it kills! Hang in there!

I don't know if your'e familiar with "The Baby Whisperer" books written by Tracy Hogg. I think her strategies could really help you in dealing with this difficult habit. Tracy says in her book that as far as how we set up routine with our kids, "Don't start anything you aren't willing/able to continue for the long haul." (paraphrase)

I know what it's like when a child works herself up into such a state that she would throw up...been there, done that.
You are the parent. I would suggest a plan of several nights (you and your hubby can trade off) committment to helping her make this transition (just like getting a child off of a pacifier). Explain that she needs to go to bed without the sippy cup and that you will help her. Try a different nighttime routine, i.e. instead of the sippy cup, you'll read or sing songs or make up a story together. Does she have a favorite blanket or stuffed animal she can sleep with? You may have to start by letting her have the sippy cup for a certain amount of time and then take it away, and gradually reduce the amount of time she has it until the night when you tell her "You're a big girl now, and big girls sleep without a sippy cup"...whatever you think she would respond to. It's important, though, to establish the fact that you are the parents and that a 2-yr old does not dictate how things are done in your home. Anytime you find yourself saying, "She WON'T LET ME......." you know that somewhere along the line you've abdicated your parental authority.

This too shall pass...and you'll get through it with flying colors. Hang in there and good luck!

T.

Don't be too hard on yourself-- we do the best we can and sometimes habits form... All you can do is go on from here. I would probably go cold turkey on the sippy cup at night, but maybe come up with a great reward in the morning if she goes to bed without it. Like her favorite favorite breakfast, or raspberries in her cereal, etc. You could try to ween her by diluting the milk to water over a month or so, but honestly, I'd suffer through the 2-3 nights she'll fight for her milk rather than a lengthy withdrawl process. It's hard to quit these things we become accostomed to-- even for adults, so be compassionate and patient.

You have admitted to making a mistake, but you can solve it, but it is going to be hard, and trying on you and your husband. When my son was 2 my late husband and I move from Washington State, as he could not find work there, so my parents offered to help us. We had to move in with them. They both worked full time. Are son would cry when we put him down for the night, if we let him cry, he would cry til he throw up. So we had to get him up, to clean the crib and him and the floor. Our baby Doctor told us that he had us wrapped are his finger. If he didn't get to get up, he throw up, and he got his way. The Doctor said that we needed to just clean up everything up and put him right back to bed, it was hard, as a first time mom, and living in my parents home and they worked, but they were a great help, and said let him cry. It is very hard to have your child cry and throw up, it took about 5 days and he finally learn he was going to have to stay in bed, as we would clean him up and put him back in bed.
I'm not saying this is easy it is not. However we did not put him to bed with a sippy cup. So yours is going to be a little harder to change her habit of needed milk and cerel in bed.
I hope this helps. IT IS GOING TO BE HARD, AND A LOT OF LACK OF SLEEP ON YOUR PART. But it does work. GOOD LUCK

Sorry I don't have an answer for you V., but I want to know your solution when you get one. My goddaughter is the same way. Her mother started giving her food bottles again because she is so finicky. If she doesn't like something she will try to gag and throw up as well. I think they continue to do this because they know how to push your buttons and get away with it. (spoiled!!!!) I don't think my mother would have let me get away with it.

have you tried books that have a no cry approach? the no cry sleep solution for toddlers and kids has lots of options and suggestions because i think the author realizes not all parents are willing to try every method and not each method will work on every child. i have some friends who also have an almost three year old who still needs a bottle for bedtime - you may just have to let your little one outgrow it if you don't want cry to sleep methods. my son always nursed to sleep and lately he's been self weaning at bedtime so i think they will let go when they are ready and it will be more gradual and more peaceful.

in the case of the sippy though you have to worry about brushing teeth, cavaties and such. maybe your dentist would have some suggestions?

Actually I gave my daughter a sippie cup with milk and sometimes choco milk in it when she would go to sleep..Mainly for the comfort of just knowing that it was there was enough for her..She never drank it..I gave it to her from the time she turned 1 til she was like 3..So if your daughter isnt drinking it I dont see the problem..Also make it a half of a sippie cup thats what I did..Let me know what happens..Good luck..

~Connie

Hello,
We've given our 3 year old daughter a sippy cup of milk before bed always. Recently, we decided she needed to stop so we can work towards potty training at night. We happened to go to the doctor last week because she had a bad cold/ear infection. The doctor happened to mention that she shouldn't have any milk before bed (because it creates mucus). She didn't make the association with his comment being related to a cold though. Instead, she now thinks that the doctor says she shouldn't drink milk before bed because it will make her sick and she doesn't want it anymore! Problem solved inadvertantly. So, maybe next time you visit the doctor, he/she could mention the evils of milk/rice cereal before bed...

Put a little less milk in her cup every few days. She won't notice that there is less milk, so you can slowly ween her of the physical comfort. Start introducing a new security object so that when her body doesn't expect the milk anymore, her little heart will still have a lovie for bedtime. Also remember that she is looking for authority and clarity in adults, and you know what is best.

I know it sounds harsh... but I think if you don't give it to her and she throws up then let her... after a couple of days of that she will get over it.. :) Mom and wife...

You are giving your daughter all the power by letting her have the cup because she will "make herself throw up" if you don't. If she is falling asleep with milk in her mouth you are going to have some painful dental bills in the future. My 2 year-old goes to bed with a sippie cup of water every night. I think the advice from another member to begin diluting the milk is a good idea. Give her half milk, half water, then add more and more water over the next few nights until all she is getting is water. If she makes herself throw up, calmly clean it up and tuck her back into bed. DO NOT let her see that this behavior stresses you out! I have three children and, believe me, I have seen this many times over various bedtime routines that they wanted to rebel against! The best reaction is no reaction. You can also try offering her a reward if she goes to bed like a big girl with a cup of water. "In the morning we can play dolls together." or something along those lines. Stand firm. If this is partly a hunger issue, make sure she has a good snack before bed. My kids like to have a cup of yogurt at night. Good luck!