When to Give up the Nighttime Bottle

im going through the same issus, but he is two now. It is almost like it has become his safety ( balnket-bear) for night time......
sorry I need advice for this one too!!

I started weaning Gordon off the formula at 11 months. I started with 1/4 milk 3/4 formula for a couple days, then 1/2 and 1/2, 3/4 and 1/4. Then after that week of weaning him off the formula, I gave him milk in his bottle for a couple weeks. Then I got more strict with using only the sippy cup. I put milk in his sippy cup and water in his bottle. After a week of that he didn't want the bottle anymore. He couldn't sit and drink from his sippy cup without leaning back on something or someone until he was 18 months.

We gave up the bottle around 12 months, but we really liked the cuddle time before bed, so we still do a sippy cup of milk before we do our bedtime stories. My son is 2.5 years old, and he still likes to climb up on my lap for that cup!

At age one, she should start getting milk and she should also start getting weaned off of the bottle. Since you waited a little longer, I would not suggest cold turkey. Start by giving her sippy cups during the day. When she gets this down (or if she is already there), then start taking away the bottle at night. If you want that quiet time still, you can have her suck on a sippy cup of water while you read.

I too like my quiet time with my little ones. So I have not given up the milk before bed with my 22 months old. I have replaced it with a sippy cup and regular whole milk...but I still get my along time with him and we chat about silly things, it helps both of us relax. I think I need it as much as he does! I will do the same for my daughter (10 months) because it has worked out well with my son! Don't worry about what you are "supposed" to do, just let your kids be the guide. Oh...make sure to brush her teeth after the milk!

I would finish the formula you have and then not buy anymore. You could starting by gradually decreasing the amount of formula you give her. Once the formula is gone you could switch to milk in a cup and brush her teeth after or water would be another option. Usually it's best to have kids weaned from the bottle by 18 months. After that they seem to get more attached to it and it's harder to get rid of it.

I would start introducing the sippy cup more just to start weaning her off the bottle. Since she's 1 you could switch her to whole milk about any time. Once she's off that last bottle at bedtime maybe you can read a book together for your few minutes of quiet time =)

C.,

Don't stress. My daughter told me she was a "big girl" at 16 months and didn't want a bottle any more. I took it as an opportunity to bond -- we washed her bottles and packed them away together. She wanted the bottle about a month later and we went to "visit them" (she remembered where we had put them). I told her "oh, no, those things? You're a big girl now remember?" We went back upstairs and enjoyed milk out of sippy cups together. You'll know when the time is right -- sometime before a year and a half is generally about the time she (and you) will be ready.

Our doctor recommended 1yrs old as well. We switched our daughter to whole milk in a sippy cup at 12.5 months. She had no problem with that at all.

The reason our doctor said 1yr is the magic number is because of tooth decay. Apparently studies show that milk or formula from a bottle causes children's teeth to decay faster than if it comes from a sippy cup. I think it has to do with the nipple, and the amount of time they spend sucking.

I think that taking her bottles away was MUCH harder on my husband and I. It felt like our baby was gone--but honestly, now that they are gone, it is REALLY nice not having to wash them!!!

You can still have your snuggle time before bed--just switch the bottle to a sippy cup!

Good Luck!

Our situation was a little odd because my daughter didn't even start taking a bottle until she was 10 months old. She was into nursing and that's it! We didn't give up the nighttime bottle until she was about 20 months old. She refused to drink milk from a cup so we continued with the Net Stage Enfamil until she was about 17 months. She started drinking milk from a cup then, but we still kept up with the bottle before bed. It was not hard at all to give up at that time. We went out of town for a weekend and I forgot to bring a bottle. I warmed up milk and put it in a sippy and she wouldn't drink it. When we got home, she asked for it a couple of night but never cried about it. She jsut forgot about it. I think you should do what feels right for you and your daughter. I know people that keep the nighttime bottle until well past 2 years of age.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

we had the same routine with our son. Bath, bottle bed. But giving kids milk before bed is very bad for their teeth, so our doctor told us to start diluting his bottle by an ounce each week so in the end he was only drinking water and didn't even know it. Since then the routine is bath, book, bed.

My friend (mom of 3 kids) gave me the advice to never put milk in a bottle...so once they are off of formula (12+ months), they are off the bottle. I hated formula, but loved giving a bottle at bedtime. I stuck with that "rule" and it forced me to stop giving a bottle at night once my daughter was completely on whole milk.

We start by putting only water in the bottle and putting milk in the sippy cup. After a couple of weeks, we take the bottles away all together. It was an easier adjustment for my second, but by 1 year they should be ready to give up the bottle.

We just switched to a sippy cup and whole milk. We still give it to our son like a bottle so we can have those last few minutes of the day together. He didn't mind the change at all, he was already using a sippy cup. I don't know if this is the recommended practice, but we sure enjoy it. Good luck!

Hi C.-
I know they say to stop the bottle at one year, but I think you should do what feels right. I agree that it is probably easier to do at 12 months and to do cold turkey, but my daughter loved her nightime bottle and cuddle time.....we actually didn't stop giving her a nighttime bottle until about 18 months or so. We would give her the bottle and then brush her teeth. It might have been nice to stop the bottle earlier, but she was very attached. At around 18 months with a small amount of our encouragement, she gave up the bottle all on her own. Good Luck- If you really want to stop at 12 months I would guess cold turkey would be easiest.

Hi C......with both my boys (now 5 & 3) we held onto the night time bottle as our last one. When we were ready to give up that one also, we started moving the last bottle away from bedtime so we could learn a bedtime routine that didn't involved the bottle. Eventually (over 2-3 weeks) we had gotten the bottle a couple of hours away from bedtime (closer to dinner) and then we started giving whole mild in a cup with dinner. We had to convince my middle (3 now) that milk was for big boys and actually went and let him pick up a cool sippy cup (to replace the bottle) that he only got at dinner and bedtime snack. Then, before bed...we had a bedtime snack (milk in his cool new cup) and some cheerios or something little. Good luck...I think it truly is harder on the parents then it is on them :)

With our son, once he was good with a sippy cup we took the bottle away completely at a year old, cold turkey. It worked well for us because we gave him a sippy and you can still have that cuddle time with a story and a sippy.

Hi C. :)
I just went through this same thing. My daughter turned 1 September 30th and was still having her nighttime bottle. We started off by giving her half of what we were giving her (4oz) then after about a week of that we just gave her a sippy cup of water instead. She took a few sips of her water and then that was that and she was sleeping. Now she is 14 months and she just holds her sippy cup while we put her to bed and then she goes right to sleep.

Good luck!
J.

I'd wean her off the bottle all together. Age 1 is the magical age that anything past their 1st birthday because a habit and habits get that much harder to break the longer you go. She doesn't need formula or a bedtime bottle.

Hi C.,

Every child is different, but I will tell you how things have gone for my son. (He is 11 months old right now.) At 9 months, we introduced a sippy cup. He took to it really well, and we completely phased out the bottle in a matter of a week. I think we did it young enough so that he really didn't even notice. My son now gets a sippy cup and a snack about 30 minutes before bed.

So, my advice to you would be to wean her from the bottle now, so you're not struggling with a 2 year old. Give her a sippy cup at bedtime--she may not even notice the difference.

At 10 months, we tried giving him cow's milk, and discovered he has a dairy sensitivity. We switched over to goat's milk, and some soy milk, and he's doing fine.

To make the switch from formula to milk, go slowly. Do 1 ounce of cow's milk mixed in with the formula, and slowly increase the ratio over a week or two, until you're at 100% milk.

I know it's hard to give up that cuddle time, but maybe if you sing some songs before bed? In my experience it is pretty easy to give up the bottle at 12 months and it gets harder if you wait.

Our son is turning one in 3 weeks so we are somewhat in this predicament as well. Our son loves to have his NT bottle about an hour before actually going to bed-he cruises around playing and drinks it as he goes. Once he is a year will switch from formula to milk, but I don't think we will wean him altogether just yet. Like you said-its part of your routine and the time is so fleeting-enjoy it while it lasts. Plus, I tend to think it helps fortify them for sleeping through the night. I truly don't think a few months will make a difference in making a child dependant or hard to wean. I have read that when you are ready try making the bottle less milk more water, then gradually just phase it out night by night over a week or so. I'm guessing after a few days most children don't realize it's gone and something else replaces that quiet time, like a book or soft music, or holding a soft animal while you cuddle.