Still Needing the Bottle to Go to Sleep

The best thing I found to do was move to a sippy cup and water down the milk a little bit more each night until they are on just water in a sippy cup at night. It would be best to move to a sippy cup at all times and try different ones. My daughters both did best with the playtex ones with handles on both sides and the top that they drink from is made with a slightly soft material. Good luck!

my Mom made a deal with my brother to sell his bottles to a baby that needed them and he could use the money to buy something that he loved (I can't remember what it was). It worked.
Jeni

Yes, do worry about his teeth. My nephew was very attached to his bottle and then to a sippy cup and he recently had to get put under anesia twice to get essentially all his teeth capped. I'm not trying to scare you but eventually you are just going to have to commit to breaking him of it even if it is really hard. I would first switch to deluted juice for a little while and each night dilute it more until its water only. Good luck! I know it's hard but he will adapt faster than you think.

L.,

There is nothing wrong with a bottle at night for an 18 month old other than it can be detrimental to his teeth. Will he take water in his bottle?

C. W. mother of 10 year old twin boys

My son was about 5 months younger than yours when we broke the habit, but here's what we did.

First, we bought him sippy cups (even let him help pick some really cool ones), then we ditched all the bottles. At bedtime, I handed him a sippy cup of milk, he'd throw a fit and run to the bottle drawer. He'd see that there were no bottles in there and accept the sippy cup. It is much less comforting to suck on a sippy cup, so he didn't finish it most of the time. Once he got used to the sippy cup, I stopped putting milk in it and put half apple juice, half water. He was thrilled with the treat, so he didn't protest. Every few nights, I'd decrease the amount of juice by one oz so it was more watered down. He eventually got to just a sippy cup of water with no fighting. He took that sippy cup of water to bed with him for about another month before he forgot about it altogether.

Since you have been letting him go to sleep with milk on his teeth, he needs to see a dentist to make sure he doesn't have bottle rot.

Hi L.,

What I did with my boys was I had them throw away their bottles. Then I helped them tie up the trash bag and take it out to the dumpster. Then when they asked for a bottle I just explained to them that they threw them away, and asked them if they remembered throwing them away. It was hard at first, but after the first week of them asking they realized that there were none in the house. If you want to save the bottles for later put a new trash bag in the trash can. Then after your child throws the bag in the dumpster and go in the house have someone else pull them out and hide the bag in a garage or storage unit. That way you have them for later, but your child knows that they threw them away. Don't feel embarressed. A lot of kids have a hard time giving up the bottle. I wish you the best of luck, and hope that my advice will help. Remember you are the Mom and you know what's best in your heart, and no one can tell you what to do.

I also have an 18month old son that i have the same problem he is glued to his bottle at night and will not go back to sleep without it, i transitioned him when he was younger from breastfeeding to a bottle which was very difficult but now he doesnt want to give up the bottle so if you get any responses let me know Thanks:)

My son had a bottle until he was 2. Just relax and throw the mommy handbook out the window every kid is different. My son is a freshman at WSU, did great in school, sports and art. He was relaxed and happy. Don't worry about it. I sucked my thumb until I was four and other than buck teeth I turned out ok myself. Have you seen Pirates of the Carribean where they finally say that the Pirate Code is really just a set of guidelines so is parenting. When you relax, he will and when he wants to be a big boy in a big boy bed, he might just hand you the bottle. I could never put my son in his crib awake, but when he had a big boy bed he put himself to bed. Go figure. He potty trained easy with a few glitches and my daughter was 3 and had to make the decision that she didn't want to be in the baby room at day care anymore. It is all trial and error with frusteration because someone elses child did the task faster than yours and fits into the text book. Let me tell you, I miss the days where I could hold my kids and rock them, they grow up so fast.

C.

We had this problem recently with my daughter. Just telling her she couldn't have it or trying to deflect her requests for the bottle didn't work. What worked: we ended up telling her that she was such a big girl that she didn't need them any more, but baby Liam (a friend's baby who she adores) is still little and needs bottles, so we gave them to him. She was a little whiny the first night, but we were really surprised that it worked so well. Good luck!

My son was very attached to his bottle until he was about 2 1/2. He eventually would drink his bottle and not go right to sleep, at this point we did have to do some crying out. He wouldn't drink milk out of anything but the bottle, eventually I brought home some "new bottles", the nuby sippy cups with the rubber mouthpiece, and for some reason he was willing to take it. I made it seem like an exciting event and that might have helped. And we moved to regular sippy cups from there. He is now just over 3 yrs old and still has a sippy cup with milk before he goes to bed. As they get older they are more willing to try new things, I wouldn't worry about it to much.

Boy I am feeling your pain. I have twin boys that are 23mos. I was able to take the bottle away from them during the day and just use the sippy cups, but a nap time and bed time its a different story. I know its partly are fault but my boys don't seem to like the milk in a sippy cup, so I want to make sure they are drinking milk at some point of the day. We usually us the milk, in a bottle, as our wind down time before bed. I have another problem as well, my one son wakes up hungry in the middle of the night as well and won't take anything but a bottle of milk. I have tried the water thing and it just doesn't in our situation. I am going to try taking the bottles away when they turn two, so wish me luck. ...And good luck to you as well.

I have an almost 6 year old and I took her bottle away gradually at 1 1/2 years. I only would let her have a bottle at night time. I gave her a sippy cup during the day just before falling a sleep. I told her she could drink it for a few minutes but would have to put it beside her to fall asleep. She did cry and throw the sippy. But I would just tell her that was all she would get because she was growing up. I did remind her that she would get the baba at night time. It seemed to work gradually. Sometimes we had leaks and agruments, but in the end the bottle was replaced with a sippy cup before the age of two. I am very lucky we had no bed wetting(knock on wood). As her age progressed I explained drinking some before bed was o.k. and placing it beside her on a shelf or little table had to be done so it wouldn't spill. Now my daughter will drink a tiny amount in the kitchen. Sometimes not even ask for a drink of water or milk before bed. It wasn't easy by any means, but it did work for us.

What's wrong with that? At least he is getting nourished and his emotional needs are met. What is more important...his needs or your need to not be embarassed?

One of my daughters nursed until she was 15 months and then went to a bottle of goat's milk after that and she drank it at bedtime until she was 4 years old. And it was okay by me. I knew once she went to a cup she would not be getting as much nourishment because she would be drinking less from a cup.

We saw as the middle child she was more insecure and more sensitive than our other kids. We accepted that as who she was and didn't worry about it.

So...here's what we did...a few weeks before she turned 4...we started making a BIG deal out of how grown up she would be when she turned 4 and that grown ups don't need bottles anymore. So on her birthday night, we took her bottle away and she never said a word and she was done at that point on. But we prepared her ahead of time.

If the bottle is not a big deal to you then it will go away! Just let it go for now and don't worry about it. Then, you can try again in 6 months or a year and try letting him know ahead of time like we did with our Misty and make a big deal of it on a special occassion like a birthday. By the way...Misty has the best bone structure and teeth of all my girls and she took the boytle until 4 years and my other 2 girls quit at much younger ages! K.

With my son I also tried reducing the quantity of milk which also made him so angry that it eliminated the possibility of sleep for any of us. You might try water (the same temp as the milk, whether he likes it warm or chilled) in the amount he is expecting... it worked surprisingly well for my son... I would offer it to him after he had a bottle of milk downstairs or near is bed, but not in it. That way he felt satisfied and ready for sleep, had his bottle but not with milk in it - and after 2 nights he "decided" that the bottle with water wasn't worth the trouble and gave it up himself. I eventually moved his "bedtime" bottle to be earlier and more of an after dinner bottle and less associated with going to sleep in his bed/crib. Good luck to you.. And remember, this too shall pass

My 19 month old still drinks a bottle, too, to go to sleep at night. I don't think you need to be embarassed... I feel strongly that you (and I) will know when is a good time to eliminate it. My advice is to not worry or force the issue.

If you get rid of all of the bottles in the house then you won't be tempted to give him one when he crys. Show him the place where you keep them and say "See, no more bottles, they're all gone". It will probably be quite a few nights of crying but he will understand that you can't because they are gone. Remember that you are the parent, "breaking him of it",really means breaking you of it as he does not get the bottles himself right? Still not convinced that now is the time? You should talk to your dentist about Bottle Rot and crooked teeth. Good Luck!

What my doctor told me to do with my daughter is to make it 75% milk and 25% water then a few nights later make it half and half then 75% water 25% milk until you get it to just be water. If you want to do it a week at a time thats fine too. When I did this with my daughter I took the bottle away and started the cup with her first. Then I started diluting the milk with water. I give my daughter a cup of water at night so if she gets thirsty then she has something to drink! She doesn't use it like she did the bottle to help her go to sleep but I think she snuggles with it when she falls asleep. It's kinda cute :)~ Hope this helps! Just know that he might fight it alittle but it will be WELL worth it when his teeth stay in good shape :) ~Jenn~

Does he actually sleep in his crib with the bottle? If so, try giving him the bottle while sitting in your lap before you put him to bed. Let him fall asleep in your lap. Sleeping with the bottle can be an issue (tooth decay etc) but at 18 months I don't think it's unreasonable to let him continue the habit a bit longer if he's just drinking the bottle and falling asleep before you put him in the crib.

My 2nd son (18 mos) is still taking a bottle at bedtime, but I am not worried about it. My 1st son was the same way, and then I bought a sippie cup that is a transitional cup -- the sippie part is softer like a bottle is. He got used to that and pretty soon didn't even need it since it didn't give him the same comfort as the bottle did. We worry about so much stuff as moms - relax and just know that he won't have the bottle forever. You don't need to feel guilty about it at all!

I would let him have his bottle until he himself does not want it. He is not going to take a bottle to school or overnight visits with his friends.

L.,

I have a great book, with tons of info about sleep. Many, many situations, and many, many different ideas to try....with actual stories about particular situations from real families. I like that the book/Dr. writing the book, has opinions, but is willing to offer a spectrum of advice...in other words, he has options for "crying it out", where you can taper down your response time, or totally just let them cry.

The book is called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. I love it. It has some info that seems sort of medical, but the advice part is less technical. (in other words, don't get intimidated by the introduction part!!)

I wouldn't be embarassed. I think we get lucky having this forum, just because we get another perspective, and a chance to learn other people's experiences....because we only ever HAVE our own experiences, so there is so much great stuff we can learn and share. It sounds like you know what the "right" thing to do is, and I feel like we all get a sense of that, knowing what we feel we need, what our kids need, etc. Sometimes, though, it's very hard to make all those things happen. Don't feel badly. We're doing our best, I think.

With changing a sleep habit, I did let my son cry. It can be excruciating, and every minute seems like an hour. When I actually gave in and tried that, though, it didn't take as long as I expected for him to "learn" or catch on that he needed to soothe himself to sleep in a new way. We hardly ever had trouble again (of course, there are "off days"), and being able to soothe yourself to sleep is such an amazing skill for a baby to have. You are doing THEM a favor in so many ways by letting them learn this skill, and it is a skill.

My son is at the age where he talks and sings, and kind of re-hashes and "processes" his day before he goes to sleep. It's DARLING to listen to him on the monitor (he's 2 and a half, and the sweetest little singer!!). My husband is SOOOO let down if our son goes right to sleep, because he loves listening to him, plus, he worries if our son doesn't "talk" enough, and thinks something is wrong. He's a cute daddy, but I wish he didn't worry so much sometimes....of course it's precious that he's so attentive, but I think he stresses himself out.

Anyway, I've rambled on. I hope this helps!! Good Luck!!

I totally stressed about this when my son was young too. What I started doing was to put his milk in a non-spill sippy cup instead of the bottle. It seemed to soothe him just fine and then it was really easy to wean him off of the cup. It was much easier than I thought it would be and I wished I had done it sooner.

My oldest is almost three and still takes one before bedtime and nap time. Its a fight that i have sort of put on the back burner for now because he has a one year old brother and i am prego with the third. I dont mind it but thats just me i figure when he starts preschool is when i will work him off it. But I suggest what the other lady said just water it down or even just give water in the bottle. Anyways good luck and stay strong! It will most likely be harder on you then the tot!!

don't feel bad, my son was almost 3yrs when we finally said "no more bah bah". We were in mexico at the time and i finally had it, the whole water thing and making sure the nipple stayed clean...yikes the whole thing was a disaster!!
one day during a nap (which he always needed the bottle to nap and go to bed) i took the bottle from him when he was sleeping and put it in the trash. when he got up he was looking for it to fall back to sleep and noticed it wasn 't there, we just told him the bah bah fairy had come and picked it up (i know corny but we were trying everything) the fairly had decided that he was old enough and she took it to another baby who needed it. i thought he was going to freak ;o) and he did. a few days of crying and wandering around for bah bah...but like all things if you keep your patience and don't give in to the cries and sadness before you know it they have forgotten. but you do have to remember if they are crying and upset that you don't feed into it all and say things like "do you miss bottle" you get it, you just stay the course of bottle had to move on.
i know you guys can do it ;o) don't wait like i did.
good luck and have fun with all the many stages to come.

Hi L., I know how hard it is to get rid of something that calms them. My daughter, 22 months has the binky attachment. And we have made her cut off for her 2 year b-day. I'm not sure what method we are going to try whether it be cutting off part of the nipple so that the suck is different or telling her that there are baby's that need your binky and since you are a big girl now we are going to send it to them.
But anyways, I work in the dental field and it's really important for the health of you baby's teeth to try and get the habit broken asap. The younger the easier to brake a habit. If you wait until they are older they become more attached and have more understanding, so it's alot harder. I think you should try using a sippy cup and just take the bottle away but always offer the sippy cup and adventually he will make that transition. It will be hard, but your the mother,you are in charge, not him. It sounds harsh, but very true. Your baby doesn't know what's the best thing for him, you do. Your also going to have to try giving him water instead of milk. Because when he drinks milk at night it sits on his primary teeth which than can cause problems down the road with decay which than in some cases also affect permanent teeth. If it is hard to get rid of the milk than try to delute it with water and making sure that you are brushing his teeth morning and at night. Even after he eats try to either brush or just drink some water. I hope that some of this will help

Ah, the ever differing opinion of the cry method and bottles in the Mommyhood industry...you have probably already determined that you will get an absolutely different answer from everyone. I personally am not a believer in having the bottle so long because it affects teeth. But it's much the same as giving up a pacifier - which I made my daughter do at 19 months. One because I think it's important for her to self-sooth and teach herself to go to sleep, but also because her doctor didn't suggest pacifiers after the age of 2. So I wanted it to be done with before she got too much of a stubborn two year old streak. I slowly weaned from day, to only in bed, to only at night (which sounds where you're at right now). For the last stage, I finally just had to take it away. It took forever for her to go to sleep, she cried a lot for a couple of nights and I pretty much spend those two nights on very little sleep going into her room after she'd cried for 15 minutes to sooth her. It was awful. I felt awful. I was tired and cranky. But after two nights or so she learned to teach herself to go to sleep again and she doesn't have her "binky" at the age of 22 months. In fact, she's never asked for it again. Think of it as giving up a vice like cigarettes.

Anyway - that's my take on it. Your kid, your situation - that's just my own story. Good luck!

Sorry - forgot to add one more thing - my daughter chose her own binky replacement. She now loves her blankie and bunny and likes to snuggle with those when she needs a little help calming down.

I personally think 18 months is a bit early to be worrying about stopping the bottle. There is nothing inherently harmful about having a bottle. The milk is good for them and helps them sleep. The sucking is comforting. Why do parents have a problem with that? My son took a bottle until he was nearly 4 and I was okay with that. We never let him sleep with a bottle in his mouth, though, as that is not good for their teeth. I would make sure you are brushing his teeth at least once a day.

I have found with my son that he will hit those big milestones when he is good and ready. When he did give up his bah-bah it was his own idea and he stopped cold turkey. I had a philosophical attitude about it - we adults need our coffee or wine or late night TV or whatever helps us unwind and kids are no different. I say allow them their small comforts and they will eventually stop on their own when they're ready. And believe me - he won't want to take his bah-bah with him to kindergarten!

My kids had the same problem. My oldest gave up her bottle just after she turned 2. We watered the bottle down to 7 ozs water and 1 oz milk. She just wanted it to be white. We tortured her by telling her to throw it away or give it to us. She would run and hide it and then cry when we got near. We decided to just let it be. We tried to give her cups during the day. One day she left her bottle at my parents. I told her she forgot it and she was ok with it. That was the end. My 2nd was the same way. He gave it up just after 2. My 3rd was older, but I had my 4th when she was only 13 months. She lost her bottle somewhere and that was it. My youngest was the easiest. He lost it at 18 months, I bought him a sippy cup with a soft spout. He switched and never looked back. He did take the cup to bed with him for a long time though. So, hang in there. He may just give it up at 2. If you are embarrassed by it, you can leave the bottle in the car during doctor visits (that's what I did) or at home when you are out. He will get over it. And in the long run it's just a small period of his life. Good luck!

My Daughter had twins her first go around. This may help...it worked for us. I watched them alot as their mom worked. She did not have the patient or the time to deal with pacifier and bottle breaking (potty training as well.) So the way I dealt with it-as with my own 4 kids is that these favorite things just dissapeared.They'd fall asleep and when they were sound asleep -I'd remove the item from their beds and when they awake they looked for it and well it was gone. Then I'd ask them- where did it go? It's all gone! At first they'd look and we'd all look and well it just was no where to be found. So in very little time they adjusted to it being gone....they do know they had it last so they feel they lost it. You as a parent have to be strong and not give it back to them. Especially if you are serious about REALLY BREAKING THEM. As your son being this age-he will understand...and if he were alot younger-this would not work. Good Luck! Peggy M

we also had that same issue with our son, he was fine not using his bottle during the day but at nap/bed time he had to have the bottle-it would help him go to sleep. anyway, when we tried to take the bottle away he would scream and cry, it was very hard. finally we just had him throw away all his bottles and told him the bottle ferry was going to come and get the bottles and give the bottles to baby's who needed them, still he screamed and cried but he eventually got over it. it was so tempting to give him the bottle but we just had to be tuff and not giving one. so you could try that and see if it works. good luck (-:

Hi L.,

I complete understand about not wanting to let your child cry it. My husband and I were very much against that in the beginning as well. But I must say that after we decided to let our daughter (who is now 7 months old) cry it out; we ALL sleep better at night.

Granted after 10 minutes of her crying we go in and check on her - but every night we extend the time. Eventually, she does fall asleep (doesn't take more than 1/2 hour) and is asleep for about 10 -12 hours!

As for transitioning out of the bottle, have you tried putting water in it instead of milk? This might help with the need to feed (so to speak) and you might be able to transition him onto a pacifier.

All the best - and good luck!

Hi L.,

Our oldest son was the same way and we put water in his bottle to try to wean him off that way. He spent the whole night crying and throwing the bottle across the room, but after one night of horrible sleep for all of us, it worked. We had two small stuffed toys that he then turned his attention to. He didn't even want the bottle after he realized there was only water in it, and we made sure he had a snack at bedtime so he wasn't hungry. Within two nights, he was fine, but the first night was not fun.
C.

Good luck!

What my sister had to do was give her son a bottle of water. She told him that it was water or nothing. My brother is a dentist and he explained that drinking milk while going to sleep once a child has teeth can cause decay and lead to more cavities later on.
Good Luck!

Have you tried an Advent sippy cup in place of the bottle? This is how we switched Emma from a bottle at night of milk. We gave her a sippy cup called it a big girl bottle and she was ok with it. They have the ones that have a soft sucking part and ones that have a hard sucking part we started with the soft sucking part and then to the hard and she had no problems with it. She we went from the bottle of milk right before bed to the advent sippy cup to a regular sippy cup and then she told us when she was done with drinking before bed. I think she was 2 at that point. Also maybe try giving them a few crackers or something right before bed so they fill up a little and also maybe let them drink out of a big kid glass at the table before bed they might be less likely to drink from the bottle. Don't worry it will all work out.

I don't think it's a problem at 18 months to use a bottle (our son did until he was 3). In Europe they use them (or nurse) until they are more like 4. However, when we did decide it was time to give it up, we simply put more water in it than milk until it was only water (over a few days). In his sippy cups, however, it was whole milk, so cups became more desirable. If his "need" is to suckle, then he has the bottle. Of course it's not good for their teeth to have anything (in bed) more than water.

It really is vital, in regards to the health of your son's teeth, to get him off falling asleep with a bottle of milk. Milk or juice can rot his teeth & create dental issues for years. Start by switching his bottle to pure water & explain to him that if he wants a bottle in bed (after brushing his teeth) then it has to be water. Our daughter was resistant to this at first, crying for milk & throwing the water out of her crib, but we were gently firm in telling her over & over: NO milk in bed anymore. We also started offering her a bottle of milk before bedtime & made sure to brush her teeth when she finished it. She adjusted by the 3rd night, which was surprising due to the vehemence of her frustration the previous 2 nights. Sometimes you do have to let them cry, because at 18 months they can no longer always get their own way. It's the hard part of being the parent that I don't think any parent likes. No matter if it doesn't seem he understands what you are saying, don't give up on explaining to him why this is important. You'll get more comfortable standing firm for what is necessary & eventually he'll understand that there are rules to follow & reasons for them.

Hey,
just thought you should know that my 21month daughter stillu uses a bottle to go to bed and my son had one until he was 2. We got rid of my sons really easily after a visit to the dentist. We just talked it over with her and she said no more bottle. We got to blame her and he knew she had said no more bottle because it was bad for his teeth. He asked for it for several nights and took longer to go to sleep but didnt cry too much. He had binkis as well though which helped, and he was old enough to talk it out and understand it. Both my kids drink the bottle and then put a binki in so they arent going to sleep with the bottle in, just calming down and getting sleepy with it then popping the bink in so I dont worry too much. I cant stand the cry it out thing either although we did have to do a verson of it with my son when he was 6 months because he stopped sleeping if you were in the room to play with. We let him cry for 5-10 minutes at a time, went in and rubbed his back, talked to him, layed him down and told him night night. It took a long time for him to learn to sleep on his own but now he is a great sleeper. I dont plan on taking away my daughters bottle until she is talking enough to communicate her needs. Thats just me though. Thought you might feel better knowing your not alone.

my first daughter never took a bottle just went from the breast to a sippy cup with the soft spout. my second daughter took the bottle ok when she was about 11months and at 1 year when we tried to give her whole milk in a sippy cup we mixed it with a little flavored yogurt to entise her. we did not take the night cup or bottle away from the bedtime routine we still sat with them and read books while they drank it and then when they were done we put it in the refrigerator together and off to bed. that way they get to do something independent and they should have stayed awake. remember not to do this in bed or laying down but relaxing in a chair or something so they don't fall asleep. hope this helps.

We just broke our 19 month old.. She actually did it herself... with lots of crying. We stopped giving her formula (she's allergic to milk) and just giving her water. It took 5 nights of her just ahving water and she wanted nothing to do with the bottle. It was a hard transition because she did have to cry for a 35 min the first night and by the 3rd night it was only 5 min. I also want to say, which may be different, that our girl would not have the bottle in her mouth for more than 10 min. When she was done, she would not cry for more, so it may be different. So with that said... My advice it to only give him water in his bottle at bedtime.. it is harder than it sounds because it easier just to give hime the milk because you are frusterated. Hold strong, go outside when he is crying.... You dont want to deal with hospitalization for mouth surgery when his teeth rot... Thats how I looked at it.

Have you read "No cry sleep solution" It has lots of helpful insights to help your son transition away from the bottle. Well actually it's to help your child sleep at night without you but I'm thinking it may help.
My daughter used to nurse to go to sleep. What I did was shorten her nursing time. So lets say her nursing time was 20 minutes, I would cut it down by 5 minutes each week. She didn't have a snuggly at that time that she had to have, but I'm thinking maybe incorportate spending time with the snuggly as part of your bedtime routine. Start with a smaller bottle, and then have your son share the bottle with the snuggly. These are mear suggestions hope might spark an idea that you can use.
I hope this was helpful.

dont worry do you see any 10 yrd old with bottles no, so he will let it go when he is ready.

I'm a mom of 4 and my youngest who is 20 months still takes a bottle at bedtime as well. What worked with my other 3 and we will do with him is have a bye-bye bottle party right around his 2nd birthday and let him throw the bottle away. the key is to have a "gift" to replace it. Our pediatrician suggested this with my oldest daughter's pacifier obsession and it worked like a charm. Just don't be too hard on your self and as for his teeth, make sure that you brush his teeth in the morning and at night and he'll be okay!

L.,
We were in the same boat. As a matter of fact, we still have the last bottle tucked away in our tupperware lid drawer.
We purchased some sippy bottles by Gerber that have that straw type of design on the lid (Purple bottle w/green lid. They also make red). They also make non-spill inserts for the lid. It took about a week, but we weaned him from the bottle to the sippy. We simply told him that we couldn't find the bottle. It was hard to deal with his tears, but we forged ahead. He would drink the sippy in bed and when he was done we would go in and get it. Then he would go to sleep. He will be five this March and up until about three months ago he was still having a sippy every night. Now that he is older, I tell him if he's thirsty he can get some water. We keep clean cups in the bathroom so that he can fill his own cup and drink at his leasure. Yes, sometimes the counter is soaking wet, but they all have to learn somehow. Now he rarely asks for a sippy at night, but his morning routine won't start without one full of hot chocolate.
Best of luck to you.
A.

Hey L., don't be embarrased girl your baby is 18 months with a bottle not 3 (now that I hate seeing that). Anyway, I don't know if this is an option for you but I had a time limit when I took my kids off the bottle and it was at 9 months. Yes, girl I politely took all the bottles out of my house and tossed them and handed them a sippy cup. The idea of my children having jacked up teeth (and believe me the bottle and giving them milk can mess their teeth up, my dentist had awful teeth and he told me it was because of drinking milk out of a bottle at night and the milk sitting on his teeth) lead me to believe that the bottle was not my babies friend after 9 months. Keep doing what your doing as far as reducing the milk. Eventually he will be down to nothing but water at night and put it in a sippy cup. He'll be mad, but the great things about kids, they get over it. Stand firm, if he decides that he doesn't want the water he'll cry and go to sleep. If thats the case then potty training at night should be a breeze if he's not drinking anything during the night!!! Stand strong mom...it'll pay off in the end!

I know how you feel I have been trying to do the same with my 16mth old. In the last week she has only gone to bed with her bottle only 2times. I took her out and let her pick out one of those new sippy cups with the soft tip top. At first we would fill it up and that's what I would give her but now we fill it up and set it next to her bed that way if she needs a drink she can have one.

Try putting the milk in a sippy cup instead of the bottle.

We tried switching to a sippy cup of milk in the evenings. That only sometimes worked in the beginning, but very well as he was making the transition. Now at 22 months we are entirely off of the nighttime beverage. Also, we used the medela bottles that have a sippy nipple attachment and that worked pretty good. The pediatrician also suggested thinning the milk out with water as to have it be less worth it for him. However, this didn't really work for my son.

L.,

I can hear the frustration and embarrassment in your voice, and I'm here to tell you that a bottle at night is still OK. I know others will disagree, but honestly, all the things I worried about when my first child was growing, all the things that I read or that my doctor told me weren't "right" eventually ironed themselves out. My first son had a pacifier until he was almost 4. He used it at naptime and at night. Eventually, we found something that worked for him to replace it. Anyway, the bottle is similar. I have a friend with a son that used a bottle for comfort once a day or so up until he was 3 and he's OK! Different kids and families need different things. And as far as cry it out, we did that with my first son only when it seemed right for him and us (he was so grumpy in the morning from lack of sleep!). The doctor told us to do it way before we (and our son) were ready. The only recommendation I might have is to try and move from milk to water. Slowly. Water down the milk, perhaps, very slowly. Hopefully I am of some help. I know that feeling of inadequacy and it's tough. It's OK to trust your instincts as a mother and find a balance from what the books say and what you feel is best for your child and family. We are all on different timelines, despite what the books may say. Good luck! You are doing great!

My son still had a bottle until age 3. He is 7 now and it did not hurt him. So much pressure on us moms. Give yourself a break and give him what he needs. Best wishes.

As you probably already know that it is really bad for childrens teeth more than anything. But one time on tv I saw a family dealing with the same thing you are going through and they slowly started to water down the milk/formula and eventually by the end of 2 weeks it was just water so their children no longer wanted the bottles and that is when they urged them to comfort with a blanket or stuffed animal instead since they had not interest in their bottle anymore. They did fuss a little bit but after a couple nights the kids no longer seemed to notice. Good luck.

It's been years since my daughter was little but her pediatrition put her on a diet because she was gaining weight to quickly. I watered her fomula down (each week increasing the water by 50%). Eventually, it was so watered down. I couldn't get her to take a bottle. She was less than a year old but eating well and drinking out of a cup.