To Bed with Bottle

Im having the same problem, if you get any good advice would you please pass it my way too?
Thanks,
--S.

i was putting my dd to bed with a bottle now its a sippy but she would always ALWAYS finish it before shoving it under her stuffed animals and going to sleep. now we give her a sippy with 2 oz of water in it and she's fine all night. the first few nites were rough but she just wants the sucking. she will drink the water and just hold the sippy near her mouth all night. for my dd its a comfort thing since she used to nurse herself to sleep a lot.

I don't have any suggestions for breaking the habit. However, doctors and child care books continually say not to give a bottle in bed because the milk can destroy his gums and cause cavities. The moisture from milk is not healthy for growing gums and overnight, the milk can go sour. So if you do give him a bottle in bed, try water. I wouldn't suggest juice because juice should be limited when given and it has natural sugars to keep babies awake. At 7 months, I think you're only suppose to give 2 oz of juice a day anywayz.

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Looks like you have got lots of advice about this. I went through the same thing with my first child and it was difficult. The increasing the water worked for a while, but he would throw his bottle out of the bed and cry. One night, my husband just said, "hey, let him cry for a few minutes." So I did. After about 5 minutes, he quieted down a little, and sounded like he was getting sleepy. he was 9 mo old at the time. We went through this for about 3 nights (water bottle, throwing the bottle out, crying) but each night the time got a little shorter and then he just quit.
I would recommend, rocking and feeding your baby plenty before bed time (if you do baby food, this is a good time). Getting a bed time routine, putting him to bed-no bottle (rock him to sleep if that is your routine). If he cries, let him cry for a few minutes (it will not hurt him) then try the pacifier. if that doesn't work, let him cry for a minute or two longer, and as a LAST RESORT, give him a bottle. The empty bottle first would be a good idea. REMEMBER, he is NOT hungry. He is in a routine and it is up to you to break the habit that you started. I know that is hard, but you can do it!!! Just hang in there and try to remember that all his basic needs are met and that he is not hurting. GOOD LUCK!! I know you can do it!!

My son goes to bed with a bottle of milk every night, too. He always drinks the whole thing before he falls asleep, though. I go in sometimes to get the bottle after he's asleep and it is always empty. I like it because I give him a bottle and say "time for bed" and he'll litterally run to his bed and wait for me to tuck him in. I don't know if this is bad, but it works for him. The only thing is that he is almost 19 months old now and still on a bottle for bed and naps. He uses a sippy cup during the day, but a bottle for bedtime. I'm afraid of him taking sippy cups to bed because they leak...even the "no leak" ones do for him because he bites them and they crack the holes open more. If you get some good advice that works for you, I would like to know if you have time.

Hi T., well i would say start giving him the bottle earlier but also when you do give him the bottle (to lay in bed with) add water to it and every night add a little more water and a little less milk to where he only has water in it. then even if he does take it to bed its only water and he may not want it at all. you could go with this option or you could give him his bottle like a half hour before bed and then when he is done lay him down in bed without it all together.

We did this with my middle boy and it took months to get him broken of wanting the calories so when our youngest wanted the same thing we opted for a heavier meal before bedtime then if a bottle was needed we gave it to him quickly and only a few ounces, sneaking in to place a pacifier in his mouth instead of the bottle.

I also learned the greatest trick the next year. A mother would put her baby to bed with a pacifier in his mouth and one in each hand. That way if he lost one he had another ready to pop in. She started this at only a few days old and it saved her a lot of sleepless times after he could make it through the night without feedings.

Fill the bottle with water, no milk. It will be trying for the first couple of days, but he'll get used to it. If you continue it when he has teeth there is a chance of cavities (bottle-mouth caries), and no one wants there infant/toddler to go through that.

Hi T.,

Having a bottle always available to him all night not only breaks down his little teeth, it also throws off his calorie consumption. At that age, babies' bodies know how many calories they need. So if they're getting too many overnight (when you DON'T want them to eat anyway) then it will effect their daytime calorie consumption.

I agree that you should either put water in the overnight bottle, or just give him an empty bottle and see if that's enough to pacify him. He might just want the comfort of the actual bottle and not necessarily what's in it.

Good luck!

J.