how can i get my one and a half year old son the sleep all night?

Question

he has been sleeping with us since he was born. he never would sleep in the crib. anyway he has a habbit of having to take a bottle to bed. this causes all kinds of trouble trough the night. we lose it. he decides he does not want it, yet he still cries for it. and the spilt milk is making me cry. it litterally draws flies and as a result we have to change bedding every day or two. i would love to get him into his own bed and do so without a good night bottle. what will this take?

Answer 1

You can give him the bottle before you put him to bed. This way his tummy will be full and he won't be hungry at night. Do not give him the bottle in bed. He probably needs it as a security object, but substitute a stuffed animal or blanket instead.

He may cry for the bottle, but you have to be strong and resist. Also tell him no more bottle in bed. Eventually he'll understand that he won't be getting the bottle and will quiet down. I know this is easier said than done, but you have to be tough.

If you get a chance, watch SuperNanny or Nanny911. Those shows give great advice on how to handle kids.

Answer 2

Here is some tough love. A 15 month old should not still be on the bottle. Sip cups only and none at bedtime. You have started some habits that will be tough to break. If your son has been sleeping with you since birth, it will be VERY difficult to get him out of your bed at this point. He has gotten used to having a warm body in bed with him and think about it, who would want to give that up? Your son should not be taking milk to bed with him as this is very bad for the teeth. The sugar in the milk will cause a very bad decay problem if not arrested. this is why you see very young children with crowns on their teeth, this was caused by decay from the bedtime/nightime bottle in the bed. I know you want to keep your son happy but you have got to get a GOOD routine established and STICK to it; if not, you will be in for many more restless nights. Start weaning him from the nighttime bottle now and put him down for the night at the same time each night. Put a nightlight in his room and maybe some soothing lullaby music without words and eventually he will associate all of the bedtime cues with time to go to bed.....

Answer 3

From experience I can tell you that you will have to do it gradually. First get your child to sleep in his own bed. To do that you will have to deny him naps during the day or make him take them early in the day. Then put him to bed in his own bed by telling him to lay there and not get up. He will cry for a while but you can not give in to this emotional blackmail. It would be best to start with his crib because he can't get out and/or get hurt. It will take you a couple nights of being awake so do it on the weekend or on nights that you can be tired with him during the day. Also you are going to want to go in and check on him. If you do that you may as well try again next week, so don't!! However, listen to his cries if they change or are the cries of a hurt baby definitely check on him. Once again to not give in to sleepiness and take a nap. Also remember to reassure him before bed time and reward him with praise after he meets the goal of sleeping in his own bed.

After the bedtime is situated then you take the bottle away. Do it the same way you had him sleep in his own bed. Tell him he can not have it and don't give in to emotional blackmail.

REMEMBER TO PRAISE THE GOOD BEHAVIOR AND IGNORE THE BAD!! DO NOT GIVE IN TO THE CRYING!

This sounds harsh and parents say they can't do it. But I have my bed back and my kids have healthy teeth because I did it.

Answer 4

A few sleepless nights on your part. DO NOT give him a bottle of milk for bed. It will literally rot his teeth ask your pediatrician. Give him water in the bottle not milk. As far as getting him to sleep he needs to do it on his own. First couple of times he wakes and cries give him about 5 min before going in the room, add about 5 to 10 min before going in each time, it wont hurt him to cry awhile. Eventually he will go back to sleep on his own. Good Luck.

Answer 5

first wean him, my daughter was weaned at 1 year. put water in his bottle and milk in a sippy cup, result- sippy cup appealing bottle not appealing. when he is totally weaned work on eliminating the night feeding, get him full before bed so that he won't want it. after he gets used to no night bottle, start a bedtime routine, such as bathtime, storytime while drinking milk from a cup, and then take the cup away turn the nightlight on and put him in his crib, tell him he is a big boy and he needs to sleep in his bed. He will cry and maybe scream, but you have to let him, every 10 minutes go to his doorway and tell him it is time for bed. eventually he WILL fall asleep. do this everynight, I know it is heart breaking, be consistant in making him sleep in his crib, not with you. He will cry about it every night. but if you are consistent, all of a sudden it will happen, you will do the bedtime routine, you will put him in the crib and he will lay down on his own with no crying and go to sleep. It takes time, it took me months of my daughter crying herself to sleep, I have been there, she is almost 3 and still asks to sleep with us but she only gets to if she is sick. It is worth it to have clean sheets and alone time with your hubby. feel free to contact me

Answer 6

Time out sister. Consider this a moment: How many children are suffocated and killed by parents rolling over them in the bed? What are the advantages of cosleeping toddlers and infants?

Parents naturally think of things to protect the child, but many children die each year due to ignorance and misinformation. Parents can not possibly think of everything that can happen in the home to protect the child. At issue are the needs of the child vs the numerous scenarios resulting in child cosleeping deaths.


Here are some internet resources:
None professional Cosleeping comments from a parent: http://www.naturalchild.com/peggy_omara/none_of_their_business.html

Child deaths in adult beds: http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000301/tips/19.html

Home Safety Council: http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/safety_guide/safetyguide.aspx

Answer 7

Get him on a schedule, that is the best thing to do and take the bottle away, introduce a sippy cup at night that is what I had to do, it was hard just it took me 3 days to take the bottle away. Good LucK

Answer 8

I empathize with you. My son is almost five, but still comes into our room around 2:30, every morning. We stopped letting him come into our bed. He lays down on the floor and sleeps... It's no use carrying him back to bed either. I've tried a few times for about 2 hours- every time he came into our room, I would carry him back to his room but lovingly (and firmly) tell him he was not to come back to mommy & daddy's room.

We have been actively pursuing a solution to this problem for the last 4 years... Hopefully you have better luck.

If you find an answer, please let me know... I recommend you prepare yourself for 5+ years of sharing your room...

Good luck.

Answer 9

feed him before going to bed its a bit difficult tho as he is use to the bottle be persistent make him finish his milk before going to bed n if he gets up at nite crying for the bottle trying giving to him wit warm water n he wud stop himself

my son too had the same habit i tried tis method n eventually he stoped waking up @ nite once or twice he might wake up but whn i pat him or lullaby he wud dooze off

good luck

Answer 10

i did this with my dog to get him from sleepin on my bed. put his bed close t yours then every night scoot it a little farther away (a foot maybe?) eventually you can move him down the hall and into his room. halfway on stairs is not advised. :P