Impossible to get 19 month old off of the bottle?

Question

I have my 19 month old on sippy cups during the day. He still naps where I give him a bottle to do so; and also at night I give him a bottle to fall asleep with. He wakes up twice in the night time looking for more of his bottle. I have tried changing it to water but he cries hysterically when it isn't his milk.

He also cries/refuses to go for a nap unless he has a milk bottle. I've tried giving him sippies at nap, (and at night) as well as water bottles, but he refuses, cries, and makes a big deal. So I just give in to it, and get him his bottle where he will go fast asleep with it. (He's otherwise a pretty good 19 month old.)

What do I do? How do I get him off of these nightime bottles? Is it so bad, to leave him on the bottle at his age? And hope he will give them up in time??? Thank you for any responses!

Answer 1

That bottle is his comfort tool. Replace the bottle with his favorite teddy or blanket. It will take awhile but he will eventually stop crying for the bottle.

Replacing the bottle with water doesn't change the behavior. At his age, he should be sleeping all night. Make sure he has a light snack before going to bed, maybe a fruit cup.

Answer 2

I would choose which trabsition to start with. If you're going to do the bed first or the bottle. Try not to do both at the same time. The difficult answer is simple yet hard for parents to do. You have to throw the bottles away and ignore the crying. As long as the child receives attention-negative or positive they will continue and they will continue for very long periods as long as they know eventually they will be rewarded. Patience is a virtue and so is knowing that crying isn't a sign of pain or suffering in this case, it's just a sign that the child is learning that they aren't allowed to have what they want. This is a good lesson really. I recomend you read a bit about extinction and extinction bursts to prepare yourself. To start, here is a link

Answer 3

One of the biggest concerns with having a bottle of anything but water at his age is the possible decay of his developing baby teeth. It is pretty normal for a parent to want to do whatever it takes to get a child to sleep as quickly as possible. I have 4 children. Their ages are 27, 24, 21, and 9. When our older 3 were little, we didn't have sippy cups. They were a pretty nifty thing, I thought, when I got some for a gift for a baby shower for our "little surprise". I nursed our youngest until she was 14 months old and self-weaned so she never had a bottle, but she became really attached to her sippy. We waited way too long to get her off it at night time. You must make the decision for yourself as his parent if it is time for him to come off the bottle. If you decide this is what is right, then you must be consistent, firm, and never give in, even once, or you'll have to start the process all over again. Some parents have the best success at going "cold turkey" - just throwing all the bottles and nipples in the trash or boxing them up to give to a new little baby. Others are better at going a little at a time. If this is what you choose, then I would start with working on giving up the nap time bottle. Everyone needs a good night sleep and I am all for doing whatever works to get everyone sleeping at night. At nap time, decrease the amount of milk in his bottle by just one ounce. Every few days or every week, decrease it another ounce. He is using the bottle for comfort now and not for nutrition, so see if he will hold a blanket, a stuffed animal, or a small toy along with his bottle. He may be able to transfer his comfort from the bottle to another object. Not all kids will do this, but some will. When you decide that he will not be given a bottle of anything at nap unless it is water, let him know ahead of time that is the plan. He WILL pitch a fit, scream, and othewise go into hysterics to get the milk. But, no matter what he does, you must not give in. If you give in even once, you will have taught him that I CAN get what I want from mom if I cry and scream and throw myself around enough. This will become a bad pattern and will soon move from screaming for milk to screaming for anything else he wants. If he won't take a nap without the bottle, let him go without a nap, and be prepared for him to crash at night. He may be so tired he falls asleep in his dinner without his milk bottle. At nap time, try to spend some extra time with him reading books or listening to soothing music. Toddlers have very strong wills and a lot of perseverance, the trick is to have a stronger will and more perseverance. It won't be easy, but yes, he will come off the bottle eventually.

Answer 4

i have to say first that you will not believe that when my sister, now 22, was three she refused to give up her bottle. my mother put it in the kitchen trash several times, only to have her pull it out. we eventually had to throw it in the garbage can in the alley. ah, memories.

at this point the objective is to change his behavior. he does not want to change, hence, he cries and makes a big deal. and he is beginning to realize that he can control you, that he has a say. i know it's hard, i have been there myself, but you can do this. make sure you get plenty of sleep when you start this.

first start with the daytime nap change. if you can stand it, simply take the bottle away. you can give him a blankie or bunny or something to console him or lie down with him. talk to him calmly but firmly. but do not give him the bottle. he will cry each time, he will make a big deal. but once he realizes that you are not going to give him the bottle, he will simply take his nap. and you must not give in, not even once, if you take this approach.

now, if you absolutely can not stand the crying, i know how hard it is, start mixing the bottle 3/4 milk with 1/4 water. every week up the water content. do this for both the day naps and nighttime. after four weeks he will have only water. then you can work on taking the bottle away. you will still have to go through the crying but you may be more emotionally ready to deal with his loss. good luck!

Answer 5

The answer is simple, but putting it into action may not be: You need to just take the bottle away. Tell him during the day when he is in a good mood, "The bottles are going bye-bye." I told my kids the little babies being born at the hospital need them, and they seemed happy to put them in a bag so the "Bottle Fairy" could pick them up for the babies. (This also works with pacifiers)
Your son will scream and carry on probably for a few nights, but just give him a hug, say I love you and eventually he will stop crying and go to sleep on his own. I would stop giving him the bottle at night immediately, because his teeth will start to decay with the sugar from the milk sitting on them. Just be strong and don't give in!!
Good luck!

Answer 6

have u seen a 19 yr old on a bottle? ALL babies EVENTUALLY leave it. u need support. baby needs time. can a storytime wean him off? make the weaning a pleasant transition. make him look forward to the next big boy step. be creative! little ones like star stickers, but i find that making a big to-do about a subject makes the sich more than it began as. my son was 3yrs old on a pacifier. didnt bother him or myself..at that time. the dentist appt. said "no." i let the dentist be the informed respected decision-maker. i told my son the doctor doesnt think we should continue and he is VERY smart! we celebrated his milestone with a banana split sundae for the 2 of us. and i let the big boy toss out all his own pacifiers. he was in charge of his own decision. i would take it one day at a time and procede forward every day u can, and start over when u have 2. no parent or child is perfect, why make it difficult when it will eventually happen? ps. the 4th baby, i let nurse all night in my bed and we had to pull out her three teeth on top! so, just because u can do one kid right, doesn't mean u will be consistent! it's a job u gotta love!

Answer 7

There are sippies that have "nipple tops" instead of slotted. But even though it will be very hard, you will have to take them away. Start with the nap bottle, if he doesn't nap, that's OK. He will sleep at night. After awhile usually 3-4 weeks, take away the night bottle. It will be hard, but if you keep him on the bottle he can have problems with his teeth and gums.. Best of luck, and remember most moms & dad have to go through this.....your not alone..

Answer 8

We did the 'reduction method'. We decreased amount by 1 ounce every so often until we just took it away. Worked for one but others we just gave him a sippy cup, but not at bedtime. Bottles over night are very bad for teeth they could grow in wrong and cause decay. Whatever you try stick to it and don't give up. He will fight it for as long as you keep giving bottle back.

Good Luck!

Answer 9

Your giving him bottles to go to sleep with, he's not using them for hunger purposes but as security. Children should be able to part with their bottles by one. They are able to use the sippy cup, the natural need to suck has passed by then, and you are the parent, take the bottle he will adjust in a few days.

Answer 10

My grandson was the same way. We went to Wal-Mart and found a sippy cup called Nubey. there are 2 kinds. One with the hard spout then one with a soft spout. We gave him the hard one during the day and the soft at night. As time went by he would set the cup aside in bed then he started falling asleep with out it.