I'd love some help:)

Jackie - posted on 11/02/2010

This happened to my son who is now 16 y/o...it was food allergies! He allergy to milk would cause leg cramps so that he'd wake in the middle of the night. He was also allergic to corn which caused him to be extremely grumpy, irritable and just down right mean by the time he was 3 y/o, lots of foods have corn. Talk to his doctor first, but we tried an easy three day experiment to determine each allergy. Just remove the suspected food for three days and then give it to him on the fourth day, if there is a change then note that if not you'll know for sure that isn't the cause. He lived on a strict diet for 8 years and is fine now with no reactions to foods...hope this helps!

Annie - posted on 11/02/2010

I would recommend a book: Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. It is written a pediatrician who specialized in children's sleep and it was very helpful for me with my 8 month old when he was waking up a lot at night. There is also an approach called Dr. Jay Gordon's sleep technique that helps to phase out night feedings in a gentle way. It will still involve some crying but it is gentle and firm at the same time. Some of it might not apply (there is stuff about co-sleeping, etc) but the technique of gradually phasing out how much you respond to him at the different times could be helpful. Good luck!

Jennifer - posted on 11/02/2010

It sounds like he got into the habit of waking for a bottle, and you will just have to break it. As he's old enough for cups, you could send him to bed with a leak proof sports bottle, or have one by the bed. Eventually, you'll have to break him of that habit too.

Erica - posted on 11/02/2010

You definitely need to get rid of that bottle. It's bad for his teeth at this point. I'm with the other moms in that you should try giving him a late snack - something like wheat toast may help because it has alot of fiber and will keep him full longer. Go ahead and give him milk in a sippy cup then too and that will fill him up even more. If you're having trouble transitioning to a sippy cup then maybe make a big deal out of him drinking out of an "adult" cup. That could get him excited and he'll forget about the bottle - then you can introduce a sippy cup too once he's forgotten about the bottle.

Kelly - posted on 11/02/2010

Mine was doing that too and we asked his dr about it. He said there was need for him to have a bottle at night and to just let him cry hisself back to sleep. The first night he cried for an hour and a half before going back to sleep. The next two night it was only about 30 minutes. By the 4th night he stopped. If he does wake up he now knows how to out himself to sleep again. It's bard to just let em cry but they go thru those stages like we do of not sleeping well like adults do. They need to learn how to put themselves back to sleep. Good luck!

Angela - posted on 11/02/2010

It could mean that he is needing something more than milk ... I would try feeding him something before bed to fill his belly. Oatmeal or cereal of some sort, might be a good idea.
My son used to wake up throughout the night, I later discovered that he had a slight intolerance to milk and would cramp up so he would not drink enough to fill him ... good luck, I know how this can put parents on edge.

Marlene - posted on 11/02/2010

What have you been putting in his bottle? A baby should never go to sleep with anything but a pacifier or bottle of water. Anything else could contribute to cavities. No harm in giving him either of these though.

Jennifer - posted on 11/02/2010

Water. Feed him something before bed. Is he hungry/thirsty or just looking for comfort? IF it's comfort, then get him attached to a blankie or stuffed animal.

Linda - posted on 11/01/2010

Does he get enough to eat at suppertime? Maybe he is hungry at night if he isn't getting enough for his evening meal. If he's gaining appropriately and doesn't want to eat any more at suppertime than you are offering him, I would go along with the rest of the moms and leave him a bottle of water in or near his crib/bed so he can get it himself. He will likely still be grumpy because his sleep has been interrupted, but at least you won't be!

Mary Ann - posted on 11/01/2010

Try just giving him water in the bottle. After a few nights, he will realize its not worth waking for water!

Treena - posted on 11/01/2010

I have a question for you do you stay with your son when he goes to sleep at bed time? if you do then he is waking up to see you. Do you have a routine does he have a bed time, a nap time and a wake up time? unless he can fall to sleep on his own no help from you or a bottle or a dummy then he is waking up just because the conditions have changed since he went to be. Its like you falling to sleep in your room then waking up in a strange place. Good luck.

Catherine - posted on 11/01/2010

Sounds like you are doing the right thing. He probably does not need a bottle in the middle of the night and will come to rely on it - making it a hard habit to break later on. I would recomend just checking on him when he wakes up, but don't lift or cuddle him, then walk away and let him cry. I know its hard but eventually he will stop and sleep through the night. My daughters are now 11 and 13 years, and I made the mistake of giving a bottle to my eldest at the same age as your son - it took me 2 weeks of her crying to get her off it and sleeping back through the night again. Good luck!

Mary - posted on 11/01/2010

At 20 months not sure why he is still even using a bottle as he should be using a sippy cup. Sounds like he has not learned to sleep through the night and may need a better snack at bedtime as well as a sippy cup of water at the bedside. Try a snack like cheese at bedtime to help keep his blood sugar more stable and to help induce sleep. You may want to try a sippy cup of warm milk at bedtime too.

Cj - posted on 11/01/2010

A baby should never be put to bed with a bottle in the first place, the milk stays in the mouth all night long and sets in for rotting the teeth, give him a bottle right before bed and then a small bottle of water to rinse his mouth before putting him into bed, you may have to put up with crying a few nights, but he will get use to going to bed without a bottle. Good luck!

Maureen - posted on 11/01/2010

I had this problem with my Daughter I would put a small bottle next to her bed with just a few ounces of water in it and showed her if she woke up and needed a drink she could just take it herself. after a week or two she was not using it anymore and we were able to stop altogether

Sabrina - posted on 11/01/2010

My daughter did the same thing, i chaged her milk to 3.25 to 2% so that she would eat more at night and not need her milk in the middle of the night...hope that helps

Christina - posted on 11/01/2010

i would put a sippy of water in his room so when he wakes, hold him and give him a cuddle or hug and then say here's a little drink and rub his back and then lay him back down and see how he reacts. Do you just give him the bottle and leave the room or do you tap his back for him to fall asleep?

Nisha - posted on 11/01/2010

My daughter used to do the same.....But then there was 1 very imp factor....she used to not eat properly thru the day cox she knew i will give her a bottle in the night for bedtime.....
And she used to drink one bottle while going to sleep and wake up in the middle of the night for another....I was not gettin anywhere with solids and so i decided to give up a few more nights of sleep and get things in order...Took us a week to adjust......but i stopped giveng her the bottle completely.....for milk,...only juice after brkfst was in feeder....In the night if she woke up i wud stay up with her...give her water to drink from a cup or glass but no milk....it took a week for her to realise there will b no milk at night.....and then took approx a couple of weeks more to get solids & semi-solids down properly....then she was ok....This was when she was 18months.......from then she has started to have her dinner properly so that she doesnt feel hungry at night atleast....i had to also make sure that during the day when she was in a mood to listen to me...i used to explain that she needs a full nights sleep as she is growing up and also she needs to eat proper food......she used to hardly respond in positives...bt then talkin might also help.....very imp u have to b very patient
best of luck

Shana - posted on 10/31/2010

the same thing was happening with my son when he was a little younger. i found out its because he was just plain hungry for real food. so i fed him bigger heartier meals during the day, especially dinner. then a bottle before bed. it worked! as long as his tummy is nice and full he sleeps through the night. some doctors discourage mothers from starting real food early, but truthfully your son will tell you when he's ready. and i think he's ready. mine is 12 months old and pretty well off the bottle. he eats what we eat at lunch and dinner and he's never slept better!

Nadine - posted on 10/31/2010

At that age they are only using the bottle or breast for comfort. Its unnecessary, and in fact it interferes with their sleep. My own did the same thing until I convinced my husband to get out of bed instead of me. After a couple of nights (and it will be noisy, but you have to be strong because it is better in the long run) he stopped waking for milk, and started sleeping beautifully. At his age he is old enough to understand if you prepare him before bed. If you say, "Now, your bottle of milk was for when you were a baby, you don't need that anymore. We'll have some milk when the sun comes up won't we?" Or some thing like that... I agree with Louise, no fuss, no talking, just tuck him in and he'll understand within a couple of nights...good luck : )

Pam - posted on 10/31/2010

I had the same problem with my son and to make matters even worse, mine has a hand problem that made it hard to eat. Because he was eating till he just had no more paitence rather than eating til he was full, this problrem occurred nightly at our house until he was 22 months old. Here what I learned about my litttle guy.
1) to sleep well you must be well fed.
we gave him cream in his milk before bed and made sure he had a good snack before bed! we also gave him a morning snack and funnily enough it seemed to help too!
2) you can't bottle break and work on sleeping through night at the same time and have it work at either end! We ended up bottle breaking after he slept through the night and it went quite well. our attempts to bottle break before the sleep came were unmitigated disasters! However, choose one to work one, in the long run it probably doesn't matter which.
3) be no fun at night. Hand hime the cup/bottle, turn on classical music to go back to sleep, allow a book in bed and leave! DON"T BE FUN! if it is truly hunger that is waking him, he won't care! if it is attention seeking, he's not winning!
my little guy finally made some progress in therapy for his hand and once he got to a particular milestone he slept though the night at least 1/2 the time. We took his bottle away then and it was ok. he didn't care much by then. the main thing is to get the bottle away during the day first and then take the nightly bottle when sleeping thorugh night. My son is now almost 3 and sleeps pretty well now. I promise you will too soon!

Elizabeth - posted on 10/31/2010

I had this problem with all four of my kids. It was different with each of them. You need to try different things with him. He could be thirsty, he could be getting hungry, he could be having a bad dream and just needs to know mommy is still there, and there also could be something waking him up. If you have tried everything and still can't figure it out. Try either sleeping in the same room with him. ( Not in his bed. You start that and you'll never get back to your own bed. ) Or set up a camera with sound and record him sleeping. You may have to do this more then once to figure it out. My mother-in-law had this problem with my husband. One night she had stayed up doing something when she heard a noise. She went to his room and could see that the neighbor's son was starting his motorcycle and it was startling him. As the neighbor revved the bike my husband would jump until he woke up. She checked the clock and saw it was the same time he woke her up every night. So she changed his sleeping area were he couldn't he it as well and got a whole nights sleep. My daughter jerked in her so bad the whole bed would move. The doctor said she was dreaming that she was falling. So she had soft music playing in her room or those natural sound capes to help her stay relaxed in her sleep.

Dana - posted on 10/30/2010

my daughter did the same thing, i started giving her warm water instead of milk she stoppted waking up within a week

Susan - posted on 10/30/2010

his body is just in the habit of waking up. you can go with the water, sippy cup for not. if you go back and forth on a bottle it sends a confusing message. as a former peds nurse and mother of four, i would suggest boxing up the bottles together and getting him a very cool sippy cup that he picks out!!!! my guess, in three nights all will be well.

Eileen - posted on 10/30/2010

I guess I am lucky with my girl but I used to give her a bottle of milk prior to bed about 8 and then reduced it each night. This was after she had dinner so it was more of a comfort thing and then did brush the teeth, potty, bath and then a little quiet time before bed and never a problem. Takes planning and precision which is more time consuming then most people think but it worked

Deborah - posted on 10/30/2010

I'm an old mum of four (all grown now). My first baby did this and I got exhausted. He is waking out of habit. It will be hard but you have to break the cycle. I only offered mine water, it took a few nights but it worked. they get bored of waking if they're only getting water. It does no harm as long as he is getting everything he needs during the day and a lst bottle before bedtime. Good luck, I really feel for you x x x

Emily - posted on 10/29/2010

I agree with those that have said to leave a botte or sippy cup of water in his bed. He might just be thirsty, and probably isn't actually hungry. And snack or bottle/cup of warm milk right before bedtime might help fill his belly so he is able to sleep through the night. This is what we did with my son...when he was 20 months old his routine was a bottle of warm milk before bed, brush teeth and then sent him to bed with a cup of water. He is now almost 4 and still takes a cup of water with him to bed every night...but he doesn't wake me up during the night to get him a drink. (and most mornings his cup is empty because he was thirsty during the night)

Jackilyn - posted on 10/29/2010

Give him water in the night in the bottle, he'll soon realise its just plain old water and stop waking up and sleep through

Kirsty - posted on 10/29/2010

is your son eating enough food during the day? If he is then there is no need for him to have a bottle at night. Do you realise that 500mls of milk a day is too much calcium for a child between the ages of 1-3yrs? if they are filling up on milk then they aren't getting enough nutrients from food to live a healthy life. and diet plays a huge part in how we cope in other areas of our life such as sleeping habits. Give your son plenty of water to drink during the day and only offer milk with lunch and dinner, when he wakes during the night give him water in his bottle. Yes he will scream and demand milk but persevere... if you give in then you are allowing him to control your decision. You are the parent and he is the child so you are respnsible for his health and wellbeing until he is old enough to make them on his own. If he refuses the bottle of water then throw the bottle out, children over the ages of 12 months do not need bottles. Ultimately you need to decide what your long term goal is and keep this in perspective when dealing with him in the middle of the night. Do you want to spend the next few years dealing with a tired child or would you like a toddler who sleeps well and is living a healthy lifestyle.

Jennifer - posted on 10/29/2010

A child at the age of 10 months old doesn't need a bottle at night nevermind a 20 month old! Plus a 20 month old shouldn't be using bottles fullstop. It would have been easier to break this habit months ago, as it will be affecting his teeth but all you can do now is persevere. Just don't give him it, if he cries, he cries. He will soon learn that he is not going to get it.

EILEEN - posted on 10/29/2010

When my children were young I put a Baby Rusk in there Bottle ,but some of you young mums might not know of Rusks as this is going back in 1970s

Karen - posted on 10/29/2010

PUT RICE CEREAL IN HIS BOTTLE TO MAKE HIM FEEL FULL HE'LL SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT, I HAD TO DO THAT WITH MY SON

Ashley - posted on 10/29/2010

i would not give him a bottle he is almost two and it will mess his teeth up! try giving him a snack before bed and a bottle may just be a security for him that u'll have to brake him off of. it will be hard but u have to do it for his health! give him something else like a stuff animal let him pick it out!

Claire - posted on 10/29/2010

Might be worth watering down his milk bit by bit cuz if you give him water straight away it might upset him more

Sharon - posted on 10/29/2010

He may have a problem with blood sugar. THe crankiness and thirst seem to indicate that. Have you talked to his doctor about it? He may also just need water, or he may be going through a growht spurt which requires a greater intake of food for most children (especially boys).
You might also try giving him a hearty bed time snack with a cup of water or milk. Milk has enzymes that help cause drowsiness. Honey (pastuerized only) also aids sleep. So a little warm milk and honey may do the trick.
I am sorry, there are so many variables and they truly depend on what is actually causing this. I would first get him checked out at the doctor.
Best wishes!
~Sharon

Leah - posted on 10/29/2010

Yes. This is exactly what my then 16 month old did. It was taking its toll on the whole family. For months we had wanted to move the baby into his sister's room and get our adult space back but didn't want him to wake her in the night as she had to get up for school in the mornings. Evenually, we swapped crib and toddler bed, putting the older child in a bed in our room and the baby by himself in the other. At bed time we would close both doors, I would use earplugs and let him cry it out. It took about 3 nights. Soooo happy we did it. At that age, they don't NEED a bottle in the night. They are merely used to it. Don't let it ruin your life!! GL!

Deb - posted on 10/29/2010

he probably doesn't need it. i have had a lot of friends with this same issue who gradually just watered it down cutting formula back and adding more water. By the time it was mostly water, most kids had given it up on their own.

Tina - posted on 10/29/2010

Does he get enough attention during the day ? Do you read to him, sing to him as in good songs I trust, or read Scripture to him and pray for him or show him that God loves him ? There are a lot of childrens books and first books for toddlers, and things that can be done that way if you haven't tried that as yet. He seems to have an appetite that might indicate that he doesn't get enough before bedtime ? Is there a favorite stuffed toy, that he can hold on to ? Does he have anything that will catch his attention that will help ? Does his daddy sing to him ? Can his daddy sing ? That might be of help if you can distract him from his bottle at night . Don't let him rule over you, that's not good, you must be firm, and yet gentle and be consistent in that. It is not easy, but if you can get through that time it will leave you both better off if you can show him things he hasn't seen, before it might help. I know that my husband surprised our son about that age ? by throwing his own 'tantrum' right next to him, that totally shocked our son, and he never did that again. That might surprise him enough to stop ? Hope that has been helpful to you. T.C.

Erin - posted on 10/29/2010

I agree with everyone about your son possiby getting hungry in the middle of the night. My daughter kept waking up too so we started doing snacks after bath time. We usually do either cheese or yougurt so she will stay full till breakfast the next morning. Good luck to you.

Jen - posted on 10/29/2010

Both my boys did this as well. I gradually gave them less and less milk in the bottle. It's just a habit, they don't really need the milk. Eventually they grow out of it!

Diana - posted on 10/29/2010

This is a difficult situation for all of you. It didn't happen over night, so it won't go away over night. You just have to set your mind to the idea that you are the parent doing what is best for him.
At 20 months old, he should not need a night time bottle. He should be getting adequate nutrition from the food he eats and all bottles should be packed away. Make sure he is getting enough calories during the day, and especially at dinner. Check with your pediatrician about this. Providing your baby with a bottle of milk during the night will rot his teeth, I promise you.
You will need to prepare yourself for tantrums now, they don't get easier as he grows and you will kick yourself for not nipping them in the bud right now.
There are 2 schools of thought on this. One is just going cold turkey. You WILL have several nights of crying so you will need to prepare for this. When he cries at night for his bottle, just go in put him back in his favorite sleeping postion, pat his little bottom for a few minutes and leave the room. Do not pick him up or speak to him. He will think this is great fun and totally defeats the purpose of this training for both of you. Trust me, this will break the habit of waking up and you will all wake up much happier in the morning.
The second one is to replace the milk with water as others have suggested and use a sippy cup rather than a bottle. Decrease the amount of water that you put into the cup each night until you have nothing to offer him and he will eventually stop waking during the night.
I also suggest you get a book or two about sleep disorders in toddlers. This is a sleep disorder, not a nutritional issue. If you pacify him now by giving in to him, can you just imagine what his teenage years will be like?? A little "pain" now will make him a much happier toddler. Remember who is in charge.....YOU!!
Best wishes!

Suzanne - posted on 10/29/2010

a sippy cup or a sport lid type bottle beside his bed should help you may have to get up for a bit to hilp him find it but once he realizes it is there all the time he will find it on his own

Diann - posted on 10/29/2010

I am not sure, but one of three things may be going on here... 1) He is thirsty in the middle of the night, which may mean that the last meal you feed him could be too salty. Double check the labels and see if the salt content is high. 2) He might not be getting enough to EAT before bedtime and thus the waking up in the middle of the night is because he is STARVING! (Not literal of course, He just THINKS he is.) or 3) He is testing out the boundaries of what you will give to him attention wise. The "WAIT MOM is not WITH ME! I shall turn up the heat and she will HAVE to COME RUNNING!!!" syndrome. Not to mention you state that he is "20 months?" He is almost 2 years old and wants a bottle? Did you recently try to move to a sippy cup? I would venture a guess he is testing the boundaries, Not wanting to be a big boy, or fearing that being a Big Boy means that he will not be Mommies LITTLE boy anymore. Instead of paying attention to the things that eh does that are driving you NUTTY! try to focus on the things that he does that please you... Like, When he cleans up after himself at dinner. PRAISE THE HECK OUT OF HIM! When he shares a toy PRAISE THE HECK OUT OF HIM! When he throws a temper tantrum, Act as though he is not there. IT IS NOT EASY! TRUST ME! Especially when you are jolted out of a sound sleep. HOWEVER, With the weekend coming up, this is the perfect time to test these theories. At almost two, this is the boundary testing age. IE the terrible twos..SO I will guess he is doing that. AND BTW, It wont be like this forever, He WILL sleep through the night again! You will get rest! I PROMISE! Keep us posted, I want to know how he does this weekend.

Nickie - posted on 10/29/2010

my son was the same way its just he is thirsty kids so when my son done it i just gave him a sipppy cup full of water ..but kids go through stages all the time so it could be a stage right now my son is in the stage sucking ice cubes :)

Heather - posted on 10/29/2010

Momma, I had the same problem when my daughter was around 6 months. Out of no where she was waking during the night and comforting wasn't cutting it. She wanted her bottle. So, I filled it with warm water the first night and the second. By the third night she had caught on to me and wasn't so ready to wake up during the night. I would also highly recommend weaning your child from bottles altogether. Drinking from a sippy cup reduces the need to suck and will reduce the likely hood that he's waking up for that type of comfort. Good luck and don't give in! The sooner and firmer to relate to your child that night time is not the time for eating and drinking the sooner you will be past this problem.

Lucy - posted on 10/29/2010

the bottle is a "habbit" at this age. You could try replacing it with a sippy cup for a while but then that too will have to go eventually. Ashard as it may be you might have to just go Cold Turkey with him. He will scream and cry and throw fits for several nights and no one in the house will get any sleep but then it will be over. We had to do that with my grand daughters pacifier. It was brutal for a few days nd then that was it. Good luck, I

Nadia - posted on 10/29/2010

also cut down on his naps during the day i found helps

Deborah - posted on 10/29/2010

Sure, hopefully you are giving him water in his bottle and not milk, which will decay his teeth and rot his gums. Secondly, you have to make clear who's the parent. You may have to let him be grumpy and throw a fit and not respond. As long as you respond, you are not in control and he will continue. You must stand your ground. Once he sees that his actions get no results, he will stop and comply.

Nadia - posted on 10/29/2010

my daughter is nearly 15 months i had the same problem,i use to get so tired from getting up a giving her a bottle,1 day i jus decided nut this is silly ,so i made a plan up for her she would have dinner bath and quite time until bed time then bottle and sleep. and every time she woke up during the night i would just put warm boiled water in her bottle in a weeks time she was only waking up once for bottle that was very early morning so i gave her milk so she would sleep a bit more longer! or even try to give a dummy to him,something to sooth him! hope that help and good luck!!

Sefakor - posted on 10/29/2010

I had the same problem with my daughter. she would wake up sometimes 4 times in one night. it continued till she was 3. when i had my second, i realised every baby is different becos she stopped night feeding at 6 months n i didnt do anything different. I know it difficult but just give him his bottle.he will stop when it is time. For a moment there i thought my daughter will never stop waking up fo a bottle but she did. she is almost 5 now and as healthy as can be. hang in there.