Bedtime bottle - Toddlers

Charlie'smum

20/08/2007 at 22:34

Hi, My little boy is 27 months and still gets a bedtime bottle of milk. Has anyone heard of what age they should come off this? He has done really well with potty training (he just decided himself a few months ago that he would start going) but I know he won't be able to go through the night as long as he still has the bedtime bottle and I don't know if he should be off it by now or if it doesn't really make a difference.

Lainey

21/08/2007 at 15:30

hi,

My son is also 27 months and stopped his bedtime bottle of cows milk at 17 months when his baby sister was born but he isn't toilet trained so I think they just decide themselves when they are ready. If he isn't asking for it I wouldn't give it and maybe see how it goes??? If your son is happy I would just leave things the way they are. With the toilet training at night I heard the best thing to do is lift your son when you are going to bed and sit him on the toilet then settle him back in bed. He shouldn't wake completely.

Good Luck

mummy

22/08/2007 at 17:06

Hi there, My daughter emily jade is only just 24 months and has a night time bottle too-i did take her off it and tried giving her some milk from a cup but she hated it so i ended up going out and buying her a new bottle. They will give up when they are ready themselves.

Lynsey x

rebecca obrien

22/08/2007 at 18:46

hiya all. I think that the child will decide when they dont want a bottle anymore. Its like a comfort for them before they go to bed. Belive it or not but my niece has only just stopped having a bottle of milk before bed and she is 4 years old. She just stopped wanting it when she started school. I know that is too old for a child to have a bottle but it must of been such a comfort to her and my sister tried everthing from when she was 2 to get her off it.

Charlie'smum

22/08/2007 at 22:05

Thank you for your replies. I know that they all develop at different stages but as a first time mum it is sometimes hard to know what is considered 'normal'. It is good to know that there are others still getting a bottle and not to bother too much about it, you have put my mind at ease!

karen willis 2

27/08/2007 at 15:13

hi - i think that at 27 months he is well old enough to come off a bottle!! my youngest is 17 months old and he has been having a beaker since he has been about 11 months old, all my children still have a bedtime drink however, they all have cup/beaker of warm milk i guess its a comfort thing, dont worry about him going thro the night, they all decide when they are ready my 4 yo was dry just after potty training during the day at 2 1/2 but my older boys were ages before they went thro the night, and my friends little girl has only been dry at night since she turned 5!!! so every child will be dirfferent, dont worry!!! xxx

Tinker2!

20/03/2008 at 19:44

We are the same, My daughter now 24 months stopped having a bottle at about 17 months, she now has about 140mls of warm milk in a beaker during her bed time story. 3 reasons for us, 1. comfort, 2. she has an early tea at nursery so by 7pm she's peckish and thirsty 3. a chance for a bit more or the white stuff...they can never have enough. As far as giving it in a bottle as soon as she was on cups during the day we just started using them at bedtime...I saw no difference really and neither did she.

nattyb, molly and chloe

22/03/2008 at 09:59

i have a similar problem. my daughter is 22 months old and she has beakers of juice throughout the day but she stil likes her bottle for milk. 1. when she wakes, one at lunch before her day snooze and one at 7 just before she goes to bed. Firstly i am not sure if i should be dropping her afternoon milk and just giving her water/juice and if i should do tough love and make her have a beaker instead. she really dosn't settle well with a beaker of milk and she is generally very good with most things. i am curently potty training and she is trying to give up her dummy too. dont want to shock her too much. any advice will be good

Tinker2!

27/03/2008 at 13:13

My guess would be one thing at a time. If your in the throws of potty training and it's going well, I might not change anything else yet. It could put her potty success back weeks.

I tend to give JT water through the day, the only milk she has is at bed time and it's unlimited. I'm lucky with her, shes far more interested in the milk than what it comes in! If she was bothered I might talk about how Big Girls have their milk in a cup...perhaps go out together and choose a new milk cup especially for bed time. I give JT her milk to drink whilst reading her bedtime story - this might distract you daughter enough not to care if she's having a cup instead. It could be that she enjoys the quiet cuddle she gets with her bottle and this helps her to settle better. Try giving her the cuddle time and sing or talk about what she's done that day.

Just some radom thoughts.

nattyb, molly and chloe

27/03/2008 at 21:35

hi tinker. thanks for the advice. well since i last wrote on here we seem to have cracked the dummy partly. she is a big girl now and has her dum dum in her pocket until she goes to bed. she has been falling asleep in the day without it. so she has come along really well. she wasn't having her dummy all the time but i found when she goyt tiered she would lol around on the floor with it. now she asks for "tea" when she is tired (milk!) and she sits on her beanbag and drinks her milk until she falls asleep.

i did try to drop the lunch milk but she really likes it so suppose thats good for her. and i tried her with milk in a cup but she really wasn't keen. will go look for a cup which feels like a bottle at the weekend and see if that helps. i do tend to read her a book or cuddle before bed but she seems to understand more now so am hoping if i try to encourage the cup more she will finally begin to understand. but at the end of the day its not harming her and she is such a happy child. as long as she is happy and healthy thats all i care about. xxx

Lindsey Crombie

04/06/2008 at 18:49

hi i have a 22 month old boy who takes a bottle at night and i have to keep topping it up through the night bout 3 pints of milk he would drink it all day too if i let him!! anyone got any tips?

Joeandhopesmummy+1

04/06/2008 at 22:21

eeeep thats alot of milk...have you tried not letting him have the bottle after his bedtime feed and only taking it in a beaker or even just giving him water? It may take a few of nights of tears and tantrums but if he's not getting the comfort it might stop him from drinking the milk.
My little boy still has his bedtime bottle at 16months but i dont have any intention of getting rid of it yet.It dosent worry me that he still wants it and we enjoy the cuddle so i will let him decide i think.

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