11 Mo Old Still Takes a Bottle at Night

Hi G.!
At this point I think the nighttime bottle is more of a habit than a nutritional need. The villian isn't the bottle itself, it's the milk that's sitting on her teeth all night. That can be very harmful in the long run. I would switch to water, either in bottle or cup. Here's the one thing you have to consider though-you're replacing one habit with another habit that you will eventually have to break. One of these days you will want her sleeping in underpants at night, and having water with her won't help! :) Good luck!

My 14 mo still drinks a couple of bottles a day and one is through the night. She has been drinking from water bottles, cups, sippy cups since she has been 6 mo but she is a "peanut" therefore I still give her formula (b/c she doesn't like whole milk) in her bottle. My ped says its completely fine and there is no RULE that says the child needs to be off the bottle at one. I believe its like everything else with kids - they know when its time. Good luck on whatever you choose to do.

Think of it this way, if you were breastfeeding instead of the bottle (nothing against the bottle), you would not feel guilty at all about continuing those feedings. A lot of people are even still breast feeding at 2 years old. If it is ok for a little one to be on the breast until they are 2, then why not the bottle? There is nothing wrong with putting cows milk in a bottle instead of formula if you are wanting to get rid of the formula. If you still really want to get her off the bottle, then just give her the sippy cup. I know that in the dental world that is a HUGE no no but I have always heard that this is because if they fall asleep with the cup (or bottle for that matter) in their mouth, the cup will continue to drip and then the milk just sits on their teeth. I agree that this is a bad thing. However, if they do not fall asleep with the cup in their mouth, there is no issue. So give her the sippy cup so that she gets the milk that she needs like you do the bottle and then take it away when she goes back to sleep. This is what I did with my first one and we never had any problems.

Hi G.,

I'm not sure why you have to stop giving her the bottle when she turns one. She's probably not going to like that birthday present very much! :) If you and she are both getting sleep, then just continue to give it to her if you both are okay with it. I don't see the harm. I'm not sure who convinced you that it would be such a terrible thing to continue giving her the bottle, but in my personal opinion, if it's working for the both of you, I don't see why you need to stop.

Why can't she have a bottle or formula after that? A baby doesn't know the day the turn one. People breastfeed until their kids are well old enough to drink out of a cup, so why can't your little one have a bottle or formula a little longer if it doesn't bother you? Doctors don't know everything (I promise, I could go into detail about how I've proved some of their theories wrong)They're only babies once & they don't understand time frames. I wouldn't stress on it. If you're really persistent about breaking her at exactly one year try to give her an ounce less for week, and continue to decrease her intake by an ounce a week so her body slowly gets used to not having that nourishment. She will probably be ready for an early breakfast. If you're both sleeping good, what's it hurting? Sleep is a godsend with when you have children LOL. Good luck, I hope you find what works for you and your little one. As far as rotting her teeth, make sure you brush them in the morning. I know several kids who have taken a bottle at night well past the recommended age and had perfect teeth & ones who gave up the bottle, but had horrible teeth. In society today we don't believe things just happen we're always looking for what or who to blame. Teeth can be fixed, you don't want to have to, but they can be fixed.

G., The bottle police will not come knocking at your door if you give her a bottle after her 1st birthday. My 14 month old still takes a night bottle and a morning wake-up bottle. She uses the sippy cup at all other times. I know the pediatricians want them off of the bottle, but I don't think she's ready, and I'm totally aware that it's her security thing. We'll get there, but on my daughter's timeline, not a clinical one.

I think it's fine. If she needs it, then she needs it. If you are worried about the formula itself, there is a step 2 formula for kiddos 9-18mo(?). Most formula brands have one like this. My second son is really underweight and I will transition to the step 2 once he turns a year to keep up on calories and vitamins. Good luck. My baby turns 1 next mo and my other baby turns 3 then as well. Yuk!

I wouldn't make her give it up if it is still working for you. Even if she just gets the one per day that gives you both enough sleep, that is okay. When you think she might be more ready (like she isn't drinking all of it when you give it to her or something), then try switching to the sippy cup. My daughter still takes her nighttime one and she just turned two. A child nutrition educator said to me, "as long as they aren't taking it to Kindergarten, you've got plenty of time to work on it!"

I don't think you have to get rid of the bottle the day she turns one. If you really want her to not have it, you could phase it out by giving her less and less formula in the bottle at night until she is down to just an ounce or two. But, make sure she is getting plenty of liquids, formula or milk during the day to replace the amount she is no longer getting at night. But again, I don't personally think it's crucial to get rid of it on her first birthday. Many babies still take a bottle when they are one.

My 22 month old boy took a bottle until he was about 15-16 months old. He took it at night and that's when he wanted it. Don't push trying to take it away from her if she's not ready for it. Some people frown on the idea of a child having a bottle after they turn 1, but the child is the one who will decide when they are ready to give it up. If she is already taking a sippy cup during the day, the transition should go smooth. My kids like their routine during the day and night, and if it's interrupted, it makes it hard. That is what it sounds like, is she has her routine in the morning with her bottle and that's the way she likes it. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

why would you get rid of her bottle? My daughter still had her bottle at night until she was nearly two. It wasn't used to put her to sleep, she just sat down with her milk and snack at night (like big brother) and watched their evening show or listened to their stories. She drinks everything else out of a cup or straw cup but no milk, I have seen where it is suggested for the kids to get full fat milk until they turn two so I wasn't taking that away until she was ready. They know when they are ready to do just about everything, from binkys, to bottles to potty training, don't force it. I really wouldn't worry so much, just do what you think is best. To this day she is still not a milk drinker, but gets her dairy from lots of cheese, yogurt, vitamins and other areas.

G., I don't think it is that big of a deal that your daughter still takes a bottle at night. I think one bottle a day isn't bad when she is only a year old. I would just try to change to a sippy cup slowly and maybe try to get her drink water instead of milk to prevent tooth decay. I wouldn't worry about it too much though.

I had the same concern when mine was transitioning. I gradually moved the bottle to later and later in the morning and started giving it to her only downstairs. I would get her up and come right downstairs to a bottle, then do solids. Eventually, like I said, the bottle became the sippy with the meal.

My daughter just turned 1 and she still takes a bottle at bedtime and nap time. She still wakes up at night but for the past few days I have just let her cry and she usually falls back to sleep without having to have a bottle in the middle of the night. Since she hasn't had a bottle in the middle of the night I have let her have on when she first gets up. This is usually when I get ready for work and then we go eat breakfast. I think that after summer when things settle down I will start weaning her from it, but I'm not worried that she has on after she is a year old.

My boys are 18 months old and they still have a bottle at bedtime. I see no harm in this. We have taken all other bottles away and they take sippy cups and eat solids during the day. Don't push too hard to get rid of the night bottle. Your daughter will give it up.

Don't worry about it too much. My daughter is almost 13 months and takes a bottle of whole milk in the morning and at night. Over the next months (after we move), I will start giving her less and less in her morning bottle and eventually take that one away, and then start the same with her "night night" bottle. It's true, they are only young once. And I caught myself thinking when I was drinking out of a water bottle the other day, "if I can do this...she can do that for a while longer!"

Just enjoy your baby while she's still a baby!

I would stop attending to her when she wakes up in the middle of the night. She needs to know that she needs to sleep through the night and that will solve waking up. If you don't want to go cold turkey, I would start watering her bottle down 1/2 formula, 1/2 water until it is all water, she wont be wanting it and will therefore not wake up for one. I also put a book in bed with my little one. If she wakes up, she usually just looks at her book for a few minutes and then when she realizes everyone is asleep, she goes back to sleep. Good luck.

try giving her water instead of milk for that mid of night feeding. She probably won't wake up for that one anymore after a few nights. If that doesn't work then just start giving her a sippy cup instead of a bottle. If she is just waking up for that feeding and is really hungry then she will take it from a cup as well. The playtex cups seem to work the best for not leaking or those nuby silicone top cups are good too. She may fuss the first night or 2 but will get over it and will drink the cup when that is all that is offered.

I don't think there is anything wrong with breaking the 1 year guideline and letting your daughter still have that bottle for a while. I stuck to that with my son but have bent it with my daughter. Both turned out just fine!

I would not worry about it. Each child is different. Just turning one is not a HARD rule for giving up the bottle. OR if you just have to get rid of it at one...give her a special new sippy cup for night time only...for her birthday or something. My kids still have milk from time to time before bed...but from a cup and sitting at the table with some crackers if they are needing a little something to fill their tummy.

If she loves i so much, why take it away? Why does she have to lose it at 12 months? Many children still nurse after 1 year; why would bottles be any different? She'll be on whole milk then, which she could still have in her nighttime bottle. I realize it's an individual decision, but for reference, we transitioned my daughter to a sippy cup before her first birthday and let her keep her nighttime bottle of milk right before bed. We tried a couple of times to wean her off of it before realizing that it really did not do any harm. As long as your daughter doesn't sleep with a bottle of milk or juice, it won't hurt her teeth. Better yet if she drains the bottle before sleeping.

Hello,

I would just stop giving it to her. Really it is a comfort thing instead of I'm hungry. My own children get up and up right after I put them to bed to get a drink or "go to the bathroom". They really do not need to do any of that but it is comforting to them. I would get her a new stuffed animal or perhaps one of those cloth books and have that be her new comfort item. I would just totally stop and say no more. She will cry but don't give into her. Giving her a bottle at night is bad for her teeth anyway.
Good luck

I got my kids off the bottle at night by switching to water. They were always fine with water in the bottle, and took less and less. Another mom I know switched to just the nipple and lid after switching to water - that kind of scared me, but a pacifier would do the same thing.

Why do you feel you have to take the bottle away at one? I would try to gradually give her less in the bottle and see if she will start eating more during the day but i wouldn't worry about the one year old deadline.

just quit giving it to her, offer a sippy of water instead but don't let her keep it. no milk or juice at night, you'll rot her teeth. i have seen kids younger than her with a mouthful of silver caps from "baby bottle teeth." if she eats that much during the day it's a comfort thing anyway. we did that with my son and he did fine after 2 nights.