20 Month Old Still Drinking a Bottle (Milk) to Sleep

We were in the same situation, waited till 18 mo for that last bottle. We cut the milk with water, 2 oz or so a day, and were done with no tears in a week.

this might sound bad but take her completely off the bottle yes she will throw a fit for a few days but if you give into her now she will win the battle and continue to do things to get her way. Take control now

I had a similar problem. I also don't like binky due to teeth reasons. Anyways I just had to slowly dilute her bottle until it was pure water. Later I just went cold turkey with the no bottle but she is now 27 months old and bottle/milk free at bed time!

Hi S.! I teach the one year olds at my daycare so I can tell you how I support my children and their parents to wean them off the bottle- I simply try to break the connection that the child has with the bottle and sleep. One way is to reduce the amount of milk that they have in the bottle. The other way is to increase the time between the milk and sleep. The way that I am able to do this in the daycare is to have the child at least sit up while drinking their bottle or to have it completely done before I pull out mats. One other ways is to use a sippy cup. I wish you all the best!

if she won't sleep with just a binky, you need to wear her out more. take her for walks outside. go to the playground. Let her play with a neighbor for a couple of hours. Even dancing around with the radio on...but esp going outside and playing with kids will help her be tired enough to accept the binky.

sleeping with the bottle, watch for ear infections.

I went through the same thing and even let it go until after he was 2. It was really hard! I feel your pain! I had to finally admit to myself that I was using it as a crutch almost more than he was. I finally had to just throw all the bottles away so I wouldn't be tempted to give in. I replaced them with sippy cups I thought he would like and ONLY put water in them since I was also concerned about tooth decay if I kept letting him fall asleep with milk. It really only took a couple of days of me saying "there are no more bottles, you're a big boy now and you get a big boy cup". He wasn't quite as upset as I expected and it hasn't been an issue since. It helped a little that I let him pick out which cup he wanted his water in. I was a little nervous because he stopped drinking milk (and almost anything else) for a few days, but he just needed to kick the "bottle habit". Now he drinks milk throughout the day in a sippy cup, but is content to have water at bedtime and knows he can't have anything other than that after brushing his teeth. It's not easy, but if you just make the decision to quit you can do it! Good Luck!

I think that there are two ways to do this. A slow transitioning way, and cold turkey..up to you.
Cold turkey, is just that...you may have some bad days, but if you stick to your guns, you will get through it. Just don't give in.
For the transition, I would first try to give the bottle earlier, and not in the crib. Maybe before stories, then before jammies, etc. That way it isn't related to sleeping. Then you can transition the bottle to a sippy cup. The Gerber Nuk is a great transition cup, and she can even lay down with it.
I don't think that kids need to stop drinking milk, but they shouldn't be falling asleep with it against their teeth, and they shouldn't need the bottle to fall asleep.
Good luck.

I know it's sad but I didn't take my girls off of bottles till they were over 2 years old. We tried sippy cups and we tried them all. They were never interested or they wouldn't drink the quantity they they normally would. So, we just gave them more time and at two we tried again and for some reason it's not an issue now. We're down to 4-5 ounces of milk now only at nap time and bed time.

My doctor says that's fine. I'm not sure why so many people want you to get rid of milk completely. I agree they shouldn't be drinking it in the crib. But I give the girls lunch then milk and then brush teeth. And then nap.

My girls were taking really good naps and then all of sudden stopped so I went back to rocking them. (only at nap time) I need my own quiet time.

What time are you laying her down? I'm doing lunch closer to 1 and laying them down by 2. Maybe you're putting her down too soon? Good luck.

I feel your pain! I didn't end up weaning my son from the bottle at bedtime until he was 2 1/2 because he just wasn't ready. He wouldn't take water in the bottle, he wouldn't take a "lovey", no binky, nothing. I just couldn't take his only form of comfort away from him when he was about to have to deal with the arrival of a new baby in our house!
What worked for us was to dilute the milk 3/4 water and 1/4 milk. We tried this early on, and it didn't work because he just cried. But when he was older we tried it, and he looked at me and said "Mom, this is water milk. How about some REAL milk!" And I said, "Well, if you want real milk, you get it in a sippy cup, if you want a bottle, you get water milk." And after a couple of times, he just said, "Mom, how about a sippy cup with real milk?" It was magic. Just how I wanted it. He could understand, and he made the decision himself. No tears, no trauma. Lovely :-). I remember being worried and embarrassed that he was still using a bottle to get to sleep, but now looking back, I wouldn't have done it any other way.

I have a few suggestions. First, take the bottles and put them in a bag and take them to the birthing unit in the hospital. Tell your daughter she is too big for bottles and the new babies need them now. I always thought that was cute for pacifiers.

Have you ever 'received a phone call from the doctor?" Have a friend call you and pretend you're talking to your dd's doctor (or dentist if she know what that is). Say things like, "Sally is not supposed to drink milk when going to bed anymore? Her teeth could get cavities? She's big enough to go to sleep with water (or nothing, or snuggling with her stuffed elephant...) Okay, I'll tell her. Thanks, Dr."

This has worked for my dd for different things. My friend does it too and our kids have the same doc, so we talk about Dr. Parvin calling us in front of the kids and they think it is totally kosher.

BTW, when I weaned my dd from the breast, I gave her a Nuby sippy cup with milk for a few weeks to snuggle and go to bed. Once she was used to not nursing, I switched to water and told her it was bad for her teeth. I think it just takes time to get adjusted to new routines.

We changed our bedtime routine from just nursing to - brush teeth, put on pj's, read 5 (yes, 5) books, sing songs and rub back until she went to sleep. Over time, we whittled down the books so now we read 2 and she goes to sleep. Sometimes, she tosses and turns, but it is just her trying to wind down. She now sleeps through the night, unless she wakes up to potty.

It takes perseverance, but it is totally doable.

I agree with Shari in that you need to break the bottle and sleep connection. It sounds like the issue is not hunger (you gave her a snack and sippy cup before nap), but comfort and soothing. She needs to learn to go to sleep without the bottle to comfort her. I agree that reducing the milk over time could help. You might also try holding her before bed and giving her a sippy cup and then giving her something else in the crib to comfort her -- a favorite stuffed toy or blanket. No doubt it will take a few days, but she WILL learn to soothe herself in a different way and fall asleep. The bottle is merely habit and you are disrupting her routine.

My son (almost 21 months old) gave up his bottle at bed and naptime a couple of months ago and now even refuses a sippy cup before bed.

Good luck!