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When do you stop night time milk feeds

Annabel is 15 months old now, She drinks water, occasionally juice and milk during the day from a feeder cup. At bed time Annabel likes to have a bottle of milk in bed, she has about 200mls. We give it to her as she lies down, she now feeds hers self then falls a sleep, it is ingrained in her night time routine! I understand that giving milk via a bottle to toddlers can be bad for their teeth, but she really enjoys it and it helps her go off to sleep. I don't really want to stop this routine but am worried that we will need to wean her off the bottle soon?

When did you wean your LO off the night time bottle? And how on earth did you do it?

Replies

  • Hey hun my lo had a bottle of milk or tea every night till she was about 2 or 3, then had a beaker till about 3.5-4. She loved it and I didn't feel right taking it off her. Now she has her last drink with tea as trying to get her completely dry at night time (almost there!) but it didn't do her any harm X

  • I can't remember with my daughter exactly but I know my son was born when she was 15 months and I stopped her bottle then to try and distinguish between baby and toddler. 

    at a year we gave a beaker for her afternoon milk and we must have stopped her morning milk at some point. Then probably around 14 months we changed it to a beaker for bedtime. We used to give a bottle whilst she was on her change mat to keep her still then just put her to bed after doing teeth. Once my son was born we gave her a beaker, sat on her bed then had a couple of stories before teeth then bed. 

    So I guess you can keep with it (just don't tell your dentist!)  or perhaps change the bedtime routine around a little? Add some stories etc and just relax in a slightly different way. Might take a while whilst she learns to send herself off to sleep. I guess from knowing how my older nephews behaved at bedtime that the younger they learn to do it themselves the easier x

  • Emma is 2 and still had a bottle at bed. I feel I missed the window/opportunity with getting rid of it before her little sister was born . When I stopped breastfeeding her little sister Emma wanted to go back up to 4/5 bottles a day like the baby. I was firm though and only allowed her with the night time bottle. Now though its part of their bed time routine and the lie together both having a bottle. I'm now at a loss really as how to get rid of it. I have tried often to give it to her in special beakers, cups, glasses etc but to no avail. She may still be having a bottle when she moves out and goes to college!!!image

  • Perhaps both girls could move on at the same time Emlowe?  These toddlers, certainly know their own minds don't they about what they want!!  But if she sees the younger one having a beaker then she might want to copy?

    Although my nephew was still having a bottle (with an older teat on) at age 4 or 5 they kept it as he was happy and so were they and it was the only one he had.  Once he started school and had sleepovers etc he decided he wanted to drop it and be a bit more grown up.

  • Thanks. My friend's little one is 5 and he still has a bottle every night before bed as do her other two (younger) children. She thinks it soothing for them, which I do agree with. I just worry about the dental hygiene an Annabel getting rotten teeth. Confession I actually haven't taken her to the dentist yet, but it is on my 'too do list'.

    We also have a similar problem with the dummy! We try to only give it Annabel at sleep times but if she sees it during the day she goes wild and wants it. She sometimes even crawls to her bedroom to her cot to point to it and then demands it!

  • I don't think that night bottle can do any harm, if the dentist says otherwise, than you should consider to cut back the bottle

  • although it can be bad for their teeth on the plus side it is their milk teeth so they will fall out anyway!

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