How do I get my 17mth. old son to sleep w/out giving him a bottle?

Question

I read to him at bedtime, I sing to him at naptime, I rock him, hold him, even tried ignoring his cries (for a short time) hoping he'd fall asleep w/out expecting a bottle. I was told he should be off a bottle by now and is except when it comes to sleeping. The only way to get him to sleep or back to sleep is by giving in. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

This sounds so mean But it worked with me as a baby Put a couple of drops of hot sauce in his bottle nothing else and have a sippy cup on hand to give him. I promise he will never look at a bottle again. Or tell him the baby animals need it because their mommy's can't feed them anymore, and let him throw it in the woods or something and you go back and get it later. Good luck sorry I couldn't be much of more help

Answer 2

Will he take a pacifier? You could try giving the baby a bottle with water in it and then taking it away once he's fast asleep. That way he's getting the comfort he wants without rotting his teeth or messing up his tooth alignment. If it's because he needs the comfort and not because he's hungry - he won't mind the water. You can also try giving him a snack before bedtime including some warm milk. If he still needs the bottle - even if he is supposed to be off of it by now - he may not be ready yet. All kids are different and not all follow the suggested guidelines from the doctor.

Answer 3

I struggled with this also. Around 1 year, I weaned my son off bottles during the day, but kept his nighttime bottle because it helped him fall asleep. At 16 months, I decided it was time to kick the nighttime bottle habit. We replaced the bottle with a sippy cup of warm milk, followed the normal bedtime routine (of course, brushing teeth after the cup of milk), and the first night it was a piece of cake -- he went right to sleep. However, the second night he was a little more fussy, and the third night, when he realized his bottle was never coming back, he cried and cried and cried. I just rubbed his back, sang to him, reassured him until he fell asleep -- he was crying all the while, it was absolutely AWFUL. However, that was it. After that one really bad night, he was fine and never needed his bottle at bed again. So it may be painful, but the pain will be short. Give it a try. I know it's SO hard to take these things away, and it's miserable to feel like you are the cause of their distress, but you have to remember that kids do not know what's best for them so you have to take the responsibility to do what's best. He will not be scarred for life by a couple of nights of crying.

Good luck.

Answer 4

There are several things you can try. You should NOT give him a bottle that has milk, formula, juice, etc. in it, as it will cause his baby teeth to rot. It can also give him an ear infection. You should stop giving him the bottle. He will cry, but let him know that if he is thirsty you will give him a drink. He should not have a bottle during the day either at this age. He should be drinking from a cup. Offer him a drink, then leave the room. Let him cry. If he is still crying in 15 minutes go back in, tell him that he is ok, and offer him another drink from his cup. If he takes a drink or does not, leave the room after you offer it. He will cry! This will NOT hurt him. He will eventually get the idea that if he wants a drink, it will be from a cup and not a bottle. He will either cry his self to sleep, or take a drink from the cup and realise that is all he is going to get! After a few days of doing this, he will stop. Trust me I know!

Good Luck!

Dee

Answer 5

Start watering down his bottles at bedtime until he is just on water because he nutritionally really doesn't need a bedtime bottle, it's just habit at this point. And it is bad for his teeth.

As for getting him to sleep without, I always rocked for a few minutes at least until he relaxed and then put him in crib awake. My son would cry for a few minutes and then zonk. The last time I timed it, my 10 month old cried 4 minutes and was asleep after a total of 9 minutes after I had put him down. Each night that you are consistent it will get easier and take less time. My son usually sleeps, 8p-8a...no waking up during the night.

Answer 6

I'm going through this now! I took him off the bottle completely cold turkey. It has been pretty good. at first, he cried bloody murder, and I just went into his crib, and reasured him, and within 1/2 hour he fell asleep. He would not give it up! But, he was used to sippies during the day. At nap, he stopped napping! So, if you want him to keep napping and he won't you might want to give him something during his nap. What we did was get rid of the bottle completely, but replaced it with the beginner sippers; from walmart, Nuby cups, it has a silicone top, which is much like a bottle. Our discovery of these bottles helped us tremendously. He uses that for his "bottle" now, and every once in a while, I put him down with it, but he doesn't treat it like the other "baby" bottles, he just sips at it, and it comes out of his mouth. So I am satisfied, and he is satisfied; as for the nap, he was coming off the nap anyway he is just 19 months, and has never been a huge napper.

Answer 7

i took the bottle away from my 17mth by letting him cry and holding him until he fell asleep. it was a very difficult task but i stuck with it until he realized that he was not going to get the bottle and he would fall asleep while i sung to him or rocked him. don't give in because by giving in he will think that he can always get his way. my son also started throwing his bottle out of the bed and that is when i was determined to get him off the bottle.

Answer 8

My daughter was off the bottle at 16 months. I started substituting a cup with milk for her normal bottle times. Just give him a drink before bed (this is part of our normal routine, but may have to change when potty training!), and my daughter had her pacifier still.

Answer 9

with my kids my wife and i took the bottle away by replacing it with a cuppie...just because you they say to take the bottle away doesn't mean you can't replace it with something else...but its true your son shouldn't want the bottle 24/7...with each of our kids it was a different situation...some took it easy and others well lets just say i wanted to pull my hair out...however their are those kids who just aren't ready...they have become dependent to the bottle..just like some and their pacifiers....just because people are telling you he should be off the bottle doesn't mean you have to take him off...your the mother so make your choice...but really you should pull away slowly give it to him for a few hours either during the day or night...switch it up with the cuppie...he is only 17 months...he isn't going to know why your doing this....only thing he knows is that something is getting taken away from him....dont make it seem that way..help him out more then make matters worse..i hope everything works out for you

Answer 10

PLEASE GIVE HIM HIS MILK!

Pardon me for asking, who actually told you to stop giving him milk?

Even though babies at this age don't drink as much milk before, they still need at least 600ml to 700ml of formula milk everyday before they reach 2 years old (as advised by doctors). If this amount is achieved, you can just offer bread or other snacks plus water.

Babies don't get tooth decay easily if you brush his teeth and gums regularly (with water), and if he doesn't take sweets often.

It is even better to feed him milk so that he can sleep throughout the night without waking up. Just remember don't continue feeding him when he falls asleep, finger off the bottle gently.

I'm a mother of a 20-mth-old daughter.