6-Month Old Will Only Fall Asleep After Given a Bottle. Is This Normal?

My 7 month old does the same thing a lot of the time. Some people say that you have to put the baby down while he/she's still awake to establish good sleep habits but I don't think that's necessarily true. My 4-year old was always rocked to sleep as a baby but as soon as she started sleeping in a big girl bed, she always went to bed when we told her it was bedtime with no problem. To this day, she is wonderful about going down at night, at 8pm on the dot. I never had the heart to let my kids "cry it out," its just not how I want to end the day with them. I'd much rather cuddle than listen to them scream!

J.,
This is totally normal for a 6 month old baby!!! When my kids hit one year I started weaning the bottle/breast away from them. The last feeding I took away was the one right before bed when they were about 13 - 14 months old. On that first night, and for a few after that, I gave my children a sippy cup with water. We already had them in a good bedtime routine which really does help. We would give them a bath, read a book, sing a song or two and then put them down.
Good luck!

Both of my sons wanted a bottle before bedtime up until they were about a year old. As they got closer to that first year, we started to move the bottle further away from bedtime... Bath, bottle, play quietly awhile, then bed. Then, when they turned a year old, they got to have milk about an hour before bedtime. I think it's still okay for your baby to want a bottle at this age... Especially because it may help her from getting hungry in the middle of the night. If you or your husband are really concerned, you can always ask your pediatrician what he/she thinks is best for babies this age. Best of luck!
S.

At 6 months my daughter still had a bottle of formula before naps and bed... otherwise she would not get a full nights sleep and wake up hungry.

I think around 9 months my daughter did not need the bottle before bed. My daughter did not like the baby food very much (homemade or store bought) so till 10 months formula was still her main source of nutrient and food. Finally around 10 months she started to eat the baby food at meals and the bottle was just her drink, it was no longer her main source of food. I know for sure by 12 months she was off the bottle all together.

I would try to put her down when she is still awake so she starts to learn how to sooth herself to sleep. If she is always put down while asleep or very close to sleeping she will want that for many months/years to come. My daughter got into that habit but at 9 months when she did not need the bottle at night she started to learn how to put her self to sleep.

Give her the bottle before the cereal at the last feeding. After she's done with her cereal have a little bit of quiet time. Rock her a little bit while you sing to her.

I would have to say that the only way it is good is if it water in that bottle you are giving her. It is not good to give a child at any age a bottle during sleeping times especially if it is any kind of juice that she is given.

I was told at one time that the only time you give a child a bottle/sippy is when they are eating. Having the sugars/milk sitting in their mouth all the time is not good for their teeth or even their gums if they don't have any teeth yet.

Try to break the habit now because I have a neighbor friend who is still giving her almost 2-year-old a bottle at night and during nap time because she refuses to use a sippy cup. They end up waking up in the morning when she does and their little girl is soaking wet because she pushes the nipples down into the bottle. I would just hate to see you be the mom of the 3-year-old in the store with a bottle cause she is tired and won't take a sippy cup either.

Good Luck, Just remember: Bad Habits Are Hard To Break!!

It just sounds like she is using the bottle as a sleep crutch. It happens. But I would start to steer away from that because the older she gets the harder it will be to break her of that. Try not to let her fall asleep from the bottle. And then try to soothe her a different way and put her down drowsy but awake so she can finish the job herself. A sleep book is a good idea. We use Good Night, Sleep Tight, by Kim West. It would answer all the questions you have.

You definately want to nix this habit now. I read a couple of sleep books(one was Healthy Sleep, Happy Baby...can't remember the other). Our first daughter slept in a room off of our room until she was 4. Of course we went to her more when she would fuss at bedtime and during the night. My younger daughter slept off of the living room in a very small apartment. So, we put her to bed every night awake and closed the door tight. We didn't have the energy to run to her time she made a noise. She is the BEST sleeper now, and my older daughter is still tough to get to bed. I think my older daughter always knew we were so close, so now she has trouble getting to sleep in her own, quiet room. My 4 year old alway went to sleep with the door closed...she never knew it any different. Good luck and stay strong!

I had a LOT of those same questions about creating "bad habits" with our son during the first year and in the end what I learned is that they'll grow out of it.

We always gave our son a bottle before naps and before bedtime until he was probably 10 months old. By that time we'd give him meals, but then still offer the bottle. We also started introducing a sippy cup when he was around 7 months old. We'd give it to him at meals and then leave a cup of water out on his "snack" table all day. It took a few months, but he started to use it.

At 11 months he gave up is bottle all on his own. He started not wanting it at nap time or only drinking a little so one day we just stopped offering the bottle and we have not gone back. Not even one tear was shed over it.

One thing we did do early was start reading a story as part of bedtime. We started this around the time we stopped the bottle. We also did a bath EVERY night right before bedtime from 6 weeks -- 18 months old so we had a longer bedtime routine so losing the bottle wasn't a big deal.

Now, at 22 months, bedtime consists of jammies/diaper change, hugs and kisses and then 3-4 stories (15-30 mins). We only do a bath 2-3 times a week. Nap time is lunch, diaper change & then stories.

Our son is however still VERY attached to his pacifier at nap and bedtimes -- so I guess that is our bad habit to break. But we aren't in a rush, I'm hoping it will be like the bottle and it will go when he is ready.

Basically this was my long-winded version of don't worry about it :)

In my experience, giving a bottle or nursing before napping or bedtime is a normal thing so the baby won't get hungry while they're sleeping. What worked for us with our first child, and is currently working with our 9 month old is to make sure they're at least somewhat awake when we lay them down. By doing this, they have both learned to settle themselves to go to sleep. If you're still concerned about the bottle/sleep connection, you could extend the amount of time between the two events and see what happens. Good luck!

well, the first thing i noticed is the comment about water: where did you do your research on that?

according to dr william sears in his "the baby book" he says that babies who are fed formula NEED a bottle of water every day - the concentration of formula is way higher than that of breastmilk, and although this may sound like a good thing, it actually causes constipation among other misc digestion problems.

remember constipation isnt necessarily the abscence of stool, but difficulty passing stool... or extremely hard stool. everyone, adults included, should have stool that is moist and soft - almost like what most adults consider the runs... except not watery. it should almost always appear wet. anything else is a constipation issue.
the key is fiber...if your child is on solid foods you could certainly add milled flax to the cereal. baby wont care, and it will help baby poo!

OTHERWISE, back to your question, as long as you arent leaving the bottle in the crib with baby (causing ear infections along with tooth decay) there is nothing wrong with falling asleep while drinking. theres nothing wrong with it unless the bottle continues to sit in baby's mouth ... you know? im sure that it will be just fine.

do you use a nuk? that might help, giving that instead of a bottle.. babies NEED to suck. an unfulfilled need turns into an undesireable habit later. EX: a baby in my day care was not allowed a nuk, and so he grinds his teeth. all day. every day. its so annoying and painful for me ....
but thumb sucking is among another habit of not allowing a nuk.... however, again, its your choice. obviously, there are problems with extended nuk use too. my son is 20 months and only uses it at nap and bed time... and usually has it spit out an hour after falling asleep. i just bought the last set of nuks yesterday... im not buying more after this. im sure just like breastfeeding, he will wean himself when hes ready. but i do have limits. :D

I would recommend that you try to put some time between the bottle and bed, by 6 months your baby should be able to sooth herself to sleep. Try offering the bottle a little earlier before she is really sleepy and talk to her and even tickle her if you have to to keep her awake through the bottle and then try to keep her awake for a few minutes after the bottle. And then just set her down in her bed awake, if she fusses try rubbing her back talking softly. As she gets older the time between bottle and bed should increase. If she has problems just laying down to go to sleep try music or a crib soother. My kids all had the fischer price lights and sounds aquarium that we played every time they laid down. my one year loves hers still, it plays for 10 minutes and then shuts off, she is normally asleep before it is done.

In my experience this is totally normal. I nursed all 3 of my older children the first year and am doing the same with #4. They all nursed before going to sleep. It was just part of their routine. The part I would be concerned about is putting her to bed fully asleep. If at all possible it is best to put her to bed slightly awake so she will learn to put herself to sleep. That way, when she wakes at night she will have an easier time lulling herself back to sleep. I say this having had a daughter who I could NOT get to sleep on her own. We always had to have her TOTALLY out before laying her down. (She is still our worst sleeper.) So, I know it isn't always possible, but if it is I would work on that and not worry that she takes a bottle before bed.

This is normal. At about 6 months, their appetite really takes off, and alot of babies look to that "before bed" bottle as they tend to be more hungry now..and need those bottles to get through the night.

If you haven't started solids yet, check with your pediatrician to see if your baby is ready. Some readiness signs include the baby is able to sit up on his/her own, and at least 6 months of age.

You will find the baby will look to the bottle less and less as more solids are introduced. They will want that bottle up until they've been introduced to a sippy cup, or regular cup. But those bottles won't be as important as they get accustomed to more foods like rice cereal and fruit etc.

Until the baby gets away from sleepy time bottles, be sure as his/her teeth come in that you only give them water in a bottle before bed to prevent tooth decay.

My kids doctor told me to always put my kids to sleep when they were awake. It helps establish good long term sleep habits.

I breastfeed both girls to sleep. It was not my intention to have them fall asleep but they were hungry so I fed them and they ended up falling alseep in the process and I'd put them to bed asleep gently like what you do. I didn't follow the doctors suggetsion until they started to wake when I put them to bed and I'd let them cry it out. They do have toys in their beds and by 10 months they had sippy cups of water with them.

I think it's fine at this point but it would be best if she's slightly awake and aware she's going to bed. Between now and 8 months I'd try to work with her on a better bedtime routine. I rocked my kids too and that was time consuming and became a habit. I now just say prayers, give kisses and lay them in bed and if they cry they cry until they fall asleep. Like my doctor said kids are not dumb and they will play the game. If they cry and you eventually come in to "save" them then they will do that and they learn that if they cry long enough they'll get you in there.

Again - totally normal. I wouldn't worry about doing a bad habit. My son did the same thing and eventually they just grow out of it. I would never send my son to bed with a bottle due to the risk of dental carries (which I'm not saying you're doing, but I'm saying that was where I would absolutely draw the line). Even now he's 20 mths old, we still give him a sippy cup before bed (it's just part of the routine) and he hardly wants any. But I think it's another cue that he's getting closer to bedtime and we put him to bed awake and he does great! You'll be fine.