How do i get my son to.. not have a milk bottle before bed? Its bad for his teeth!

Heather - posted on 11/02/2009

see and thats were we are the parents at home with the child. i gave my son a bottle before bed at that age and he did go right to sleep. but after he hit a year that day no bottle he was looking for it but we got him really tried so he wasn't looking for that bottle at night. idk he just didnt want it no more the sippy what he would want and wat he gets now. the doctor was suprise that we could break our son that fast most parents keep the baby on the bottle and its no good for there teeth but i wasn't that worried at under a year so0.

Ashley - posted on 11/02/2009

Quoting Heather:

were we go to the doctors at they didnt want my son on the bottle no more. so after he turn one we took the bottles and just stop give them to him. my son is 14 months now and can drink out of a sippy on his own. with no bottle and he doesnt get anything to drink before bed if he does need it we only give him water in a cup which he learned how to drink from now on his own.

I also agree with this. After my son is 1 there will be no more bottle! He can drink out of a sippy great now; at his 9 month appt his doctor told me if I wanted I could start weaning him off of the bottle now! But I think it's a little soon...

Heather - posted on 11/02/2009

were we go to the doctors at they didnt want my son on the bottle no more. so after he turn one we took the bottles and just stop give them to him. my son is 14 months now and can drink out of a sippy on his own. with no bottle and he doesnt get anything to drink before bed if he does need it we only give him water in a cup which he learned how to drink from now on his own.

Ashley - posted on 11/02/2009

After he finishes his bottle clean his teeth. My son is almost 10 months he'll eat supper, get his bath, get out & I'll give him a juice bottle (with his medicine in it!), and then he'll get a night time bottle, he drinks it while awake and then I clean his teeth. I use the baby orajel teeth & gum cleaner on my son, & he only has 4 teeth! Lol. You can also wipe his teeth clean with a cloth. As long as he's not falling asleep drinking his bottle I think he'll be fine!

Grace - posted on 11/02/2009

try exchanging it with water,it worked 4 my oldest,but not my youngest

Autum - posted on 11/02/2009

the bottle is makes them feel safe. He might cry ofr an hour, but it will get easier every night. How old is he?

LeAndra - posted on 11/02/2009

try getting him used to other things. Such as reading a story or giving him a warm bath. I know for my daughter when she was a baby i did massages and it usually calmed her down and she was good to go.. Remember that changing your childs bed time routine will be difficult sometimes however if you stick to it they usually get the idea and adjust, after a couple of nights of you not getting any sleep =).... Dont let your child rule you. Put your foot down mama and show him whos really tha boss.

Nichola - posted on 11/02/2009

i went shopping with my daughter and we bought a "special beaker" together, just for big girls!! she has a beaker of milk when she goes to bed, and i brush her teeth in the morning, and at night when shes in the bath. After she turned two we decided she was too big for bottles so one night the "bottle fairy came and took them away to give to another baby that really needed them" lol having said that its worked! good luck

Crissy - posted on 11/02/2009

well i agree with diluting the bottle with water till its completely water and no milk. only if ur totally worried about it. i let my children all have there bedtime bottle till i got them totally weaned from it. i wouldnt stress you or ur son out about it tho. all of my children were fine. every child is different. every one of my children stopped taking the bedtime bottle all at different times. it will eventually happen. good luck

Julie - posted on 11/02/2009

How old is your son? If he is on solid foods, that is the time to just cut out the bedtime bottle completely. My son started solid foods at 6 months, and within a couple of weeks, he wasn't taking a bottle at bedtime anymore (it was a little longer before he dropped bottles before naps). He gets dinner at 5:30/6, and that is the last time he eats/drinks. Then it's bathtime (including brushing his teeth, no toothpaste yet though) and pajamas and into bed by 6:30/7. Be sure you have other bedtime routines in place to cue him that it is time to sleep, like soothing music, a cuddly blanket, and sitting with you in the rocking chair. My son, who is 13 months now, has a favorite song I sing to him, loves to cuddle with a blanket, and be rocked. If he is having a hard time settling, I turn on his nebulizer, which provides white noise and helps him settle down. We use the same routine for naptimes.



I don't believe in the full blown cry-it-out method, the longest I have let my son cry is about 5 minutes, at which point he has already calmed down and gone to sleep or is ready to let me calm him down and rock him to sleep. He's actually very good at putting himself to sleep. If I've been rocking him for 10 or 15 minutes, and he's still wide awake, I'll just lay him down, and he'll sit up and watch me leave until I reach the door and blow him a good night kiss, then he smiles at me and lays down and talks to his stuffed animals until he falls asleeep. If he is crying and not settling, it usually means he is over-tired or teething and will need some extra love to get to sleep.

Emilee - posted on 11/02/2009

Honestly, I gave my son his bottle of milk at bedtime till he grew out of it and his teeth are fine. If you still want to give it to him, brush his teeth with your finger when he's done, or just brush them in the morning. Hope this helps! Good luck!

Linda - posted on 11/02/2009

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought it was only bad for there teeth if they fell asleep with the bottle propped up in there mouths? I always gave my girls bottles before bed time and neither one of them had any problems, and still no cavities =). I honestly wouldn't worry about it unless the doctor has told you otherwise. If you're really worried though you could always dilute it half water half milk? That probably wouldn't be quite as bad. How old is your son?

Whitney - posted on 11/02/2009

Try weaning him down to almost nothing and then once that's done use a baby tooth paste after his last bottle and before bed. If you slowly decrease the milk he might get ticked at first, but it willl be less traumatic for you than cold turkey.