my 21 month old won

Talia - posted on 03/14/2011

maybe water down the milk until its just water to avoid the big ordeal or just go with the flow she will get there she seems a capable child who will understand given time that the bottle isnt great for her teeth

Stephanie - posted on 03/13/2011

does she have something you could replace the bottle with like a blankie or a teddy? Maybe it's a security thing, something she doesnt need but is familiar and soothing. I broke my daughter of the binky and when she started whining for it i told her it was broken because i dropped it on the floor (i cut the tip off of it to have "proof" it was broken) but told her she still had her blankie and she would always have it. she seemed to like that and I liked the idea of her having something i wouldnt have to eventually take.

Cocheiska - posted on 03/13/2011

Im with the other moms who said "Change the routine" and go "cold turkey"

When we transitioned from bottles, I knew it would be hard to not give in, so I literally threw away every bottle we had. She was mad in the morning when she was expecting to have her bottle, but after some coaxing, she accepted the sippy and we havent looked back.

Here is our night time routine, in case it helps: After dinner, she (23 mos) gets a sippy of milk and watches one Dora episode. As soon as its over, she puts her empty sippy in the kitchen and its bath time (I brush her teeth in the bath). Then its PJs, story, bed. From Dora/milk to laying in her bed, its about an hour. She doesnt fuss at all, but shes always been a good sleeper...

Good luck to you!!

Allison - posted on 02/23/2011

create a routine and stick to it i dont give my kids bottles or sippy cups they have some water before bed thats it if they are really thirsty they will wake up and ask for something you shouldnt give milk or juice its bad for teeth and gums at night for her it seems like a comfort thing try changing to a toy she can cuddle instead

Nicole - posted on 02/22/2011

Hi Crystal,

I live in Europe, and here the popular belief is that after a child turns two then start thinking about the bottle situation. I know parents that have 4 year olds and still give their kid a bottle before bed, obviously I think this is absurd! My daughter is almost 22 months and still gets a bottle before bed sometimes, when she is cranky I will give it to her to sooth her, but never in bed. She still uses the pacifier to sleep as well. I have been starting to take the pacifier away explaining to her that by two she will have a big girl bed so no more baby bottles and pacifiers and she has been good about it and will actually give me the pacifier turn and fall asleep. I don't think it is good to stress a kid out before they go to bed, maybe you can substitute the bottle for something else for now, like a sippy cup (my daughter never went for these, she started using a normal cup at 1yr), or to have a before bed snack like a yogurt or cereal. Another thing I have read is to create a new bedtime habit like brushing your teeth. Hope this helps, but don't stress every kid is different and they will give in when they are ready.

Abby - posted on 02/07/2011

My son is 21 months and, only a few weeks ago, I had the same dilemma: how to get him off the bottle at bedtime and nap time. I didn't know what to do; I even posted it on here. A couple days later, my son started getting out of his crib, liberally. I decided that if he's a big enough boy that he can get out of his crib, he's a big enough boy that he doesn't need the bottle...plus, I didn't want to fight both battles separately. Looking back, he didn't even notice that the bottle was gone because he was so excited about the crib situation. If you can create a diversion to the routine, or are going on vacation like someone said, that can help. My solution just fell in my lap! My son is very strong-willed and stubborn so I knew it would be a fight but this "distraction" technique worked perfectly for us. Now we're just trying to get him to stay in bed...but we'd be doing that anyway! Good luck!

Katie - posted on 02/06/2011

My son is the same way. I once waited 2 hours for him to stop and he didnt. The only problem is if your putting milk of anything but water. they can get bottle rot.

Enid - posted on 02/06/2011

Hey forget about other say what is wright or wrong, do what you heart say is ok for you and your baby. I'm raising two lil boys, one is 21 and the other is 3. My 21 drink on sippy cup since he was 1yr, but my 3yr didn't do it until he was almost 3. My point in hear is don't make her suffer, let her be. She would let you know when is the wright time. Every kid is different, they all reach the milestone in different time, don't stress your baby like that, for a silly thing. She will eventually drink in her sippy cup, for now remember she is only 1. :( Let her have her good nite sleep. We all are grown ups and yet still have thinks that we get attache that it could be bad, but no one came and a take it away. Their is adults that have worst habit than a baby, like for example smoke, drink, eat junk food, etc. Stop let her be at nite, forget about others and do it at you time, but slowly. Have a nice day.

Karla - posted on 02/05/2011

yeah that's how my son was, but with breastfeeding. try this: what she starts getting tired, carry her to her room and rock her for just a little bit, just till she gets quiet.( make sure the lights r off.) then put her in her crib or bed and turn off the lights, leave a night light on if u feel it necessary, say good night and leave her there. let her cry for 15 minutes. if she is still crying after that go in and comfort her and do it again. he will eventually fall asleep. my son is at the point where is only cries for 2-3 minutes and he just falls asleep. i hope that helps

Valerie - posted on 02/04/2011

I'm so happy we're not the only ones! My youngest is also 21 months, she is our 3rd child (all girls) and for some reason she is the only one who wanted to take a bottle to bed. It was weird - at about 1yr, she started pointing to her crib while drinking her bottle in our arms. So, not knowing what that would lead to, we let her. We know it's bad for her teeth, ears, etc. We do take the bottle out of her crib about 2 hrs after she's gone to sleep. She hasn't used a pacifier since she was a couple months old. But - we really need to transition her off it - she's down to 6oz. bottle. I plan to reduce the amount of milk little by little. (we started at 9oz but she was wetting through). I hope it goes as smoothly as some of you have shared. She's really very stubborn. :)

KRYSTL - posted on 02/04/2011

your going to get fed up anough and understand me when im about to say this: let her cry it out. i hate these words because i know how blood pressure rises and emotions flare when babies cry, but i had to break my 1st born from her pacifier when she was 2.5, and she was mad, but she forgave me after 2 days. bottles are a big no no, and possibly letting her fill up on a nice yoo-hoo, or some good milk in a sippy cup before bed, plus other relaxing methods, and you will see she wont cry forever. go to youtube,com and watch yourself some nanny911 episodes to get you motivated. good luck mommy

Crystal - posted on 02/04/2011

Amy Salazar,
There are a few reasons we want to stop it. One, its bad for her teeth to fall asleep with milk dripping out of the nipple and sitting in her mouth all night. Two, she's starting to finish the 1st bottle and then want another one, which she cant have because she'll wake up soakin wet. Which goes with three, we are starting to potty train her and we're thinking that she will probably wet the bed if she drinks herself to sleep. Plus im tired of washing bottles lol.

Amy - posted on 02/03/2011

Hi Crystal. I am curious as to why you want to take it away from her at bedtime?

Angela - posted on 02/03/2011

My 21 month old son will only drink milk if we give it to him from a bottle. We figure we'll work harder on transitioning him away from that when his sister is born in a few months. In the meantime, though, we've made sure that he doesn't actually go to sleep with it by letting him finish it while watching "The Goodnight Show" on Sprout. When Nina and Star go to sleep, we show him that they don't take bottles to bed, and asked if he wants any more milk. Once he's decided that he's finished with his milk, we take him back and put him in the crib. He cried a little at first, but he's gotten over it. I do like the idea of sending him to bed with the empty bottle, though, if your baby just can't get the hang of it - maybe the bottle is like your son's "security blanket" now?

Alternatively, when my niece was about this age, they travelled the 800 miles to visit us, and simply left the bottles at home! They told Madison that they "accidentally" left them there, and that she could have them when they returned in another week. By the time they actually got home, she'd forgotten all about them!

Tanya - posted on 02/03/2011

I had transitioned my son to a sippy cup for bedtime months ago, and now he's just about 22 months and I am trying to wean him off that.



What has worked so far the last few nights is that I give him his sippy cup of milk right before bed, while we're watching his favorite show (Caillou, on PBS Sprout). Immediately after he finishes, I hand him his toothbrush, and he brushes while we finish watching his show. When the show ends and it's time to put him to bed, I hand him one of his small stuffed animals so he doesn't go to bed "empty handed".



He has fussed a little, but I think having something in his hands helps, and his belly is full and thirst quenched already.



Good luck, I hope it all works out for you.

Natalie - posted on 02/02/2011

Hi Crystal,
My daughter is also 21 months old and we just broke her of the bottle. Also like you, I thought it was going to be a battle. I told my daughter that we are giving the bottles to the babie because she is no longer a baby and is a big girl now. I made sure that all the bottles were out of the cabinets so she did not see them. It has been 2 weeks so far and she has been doing great. She will cry sometimes but I leave her alone for at least 30 minutes. Try offering her the cup and tell her that its time to go to bed. Other friends of mine said it can be a rough couple of days but to stick it out because it will all be ok.

Rebecca - posted on 02/02/2011

I had to do this with a binky my son freaked out I just threw them away one morning and when it was time to go to bed I did not have them to give him so I did not give in I got him a new bed toy that sings music and that was it. He goes to bed at nine I think he stopped crying around eleven thirty the first night the second ten and third night he only asked for it and I said sorry it went bye bye he said bye bye yep night he says night and was out!

Lori - posted on 02/02/2011

What do you have in the bottle? Have you tried just giving it to her with just a little water in it? The slowly cut back on the amount of water inside until she's going to bed with an empty bottle. Maybe then she won't want it anymore! I have no idea if that would work, but anything is worth a try. Good Luck!

Donell - posted on 02/02/2011

the Japanese do a count down when the time is approaching to say good buy. That way the good buy is not unexpected. Say in 7 days there in no more bottle, try talking to them about it and letting her know that the bottle will have to go away for others who need it and have her say good by to it and tell her there are this many more days (count down) and then you get a drink of water from a big girl/boy cup because your a big girl/boy. you could even make a big deal about letting the bottle go.
O - we even set out how many more bottles were left and did the count down and talk about it then so my son could see less and less. the important thing is that once you take them away, they can not be seen or heard about anymore, at least for a little.

Megan - posted on 02/01/2011

Well, I didnt read the other requests, but I know for my little one we switched our nightly routine. Instead of rocking with a bottle, we switched to one of those sippy cups that has a nipple similar to a bottle so you still have to suck on it to get the milk out. We would have him hold it and drink his milk and then read him his story. The first night was a little rough but after 3 nights there was absolutely no problem! Hope that helps. Good luck! :)

Samantha - posted on 01/31/2011

i wouldn't prolong it, go cold turkey. tell her it's time for the bottle to go and tell her its because she is a big girl now. you may have to listen to her cry for a couple of nights but believe me it will be worse the longer you leave it.

Brenda - posted on 01/30/2011

My suggestion would be to change the routine, along with changing the bottle to sippy cup. She won't think it's so much punishment if there are other positive changes at the same time. My daughter tends to wind up at bedtime too sometimes. We get her ready for bed, brush her teeth and then we all go snuggle in the "big bed" (our bed) and put one of her TV shows on. Slows her down...snuggles and sometimes this is only for 5 minutes and it does the trick. Then we go to her room, with her sippy. Read a book..let her drink while I read. Snuggle one last time and then put her in the crib with no drink. I do put her favourite dolls in the crib with her to snuggle. I just remove them shortly after she has fallen asleep.

Rachel - posted on 01/29/2011

I would definitely switch to a sippy cup but first just go ahead and get rid of all the bottles so you won't be tempted to give in to her crying. Once you take it away you have to stick with it or else you are teaching her that if she screams she gets what she wants. Just offer a sippy cup and let her know that that is all she is getting. Be firm but loving and then if she's crying you can go in after a little while and offer the sippy cup again and try to calm her down but don't give in and give the bottle again. Good luck.

Mary - posted on 01/25/2011

For now i wouldn't worry about it, he is still under 2, and you dont want the situation to be tramatic for him.
you could try switching it to a sippy cup with water.
My son is also 21 months and my daughter is 4 1/2 and i send them both to bed with water, however we do live in a very dry climate and I figure if i get thirsty in the middle of the night so will they.