[newmummy]

I have a 10 month old boy who has decided to go to bed with a bottle the last two weeks I had a lot of trouble trying to get him to go to sleep and I couldn't figure out why he has being like it then one night he was reaching out for his bottle before I walked off to put him to bed so he took it with him to bed and he was asleep in about two minutes he usually has a bottle half hour before going to bed but he has that the same time as he usually does and then he wants one to go to bed with as well so he has another 150 mls in bed but my question is I don't want him to get into a routine of going to bed with a botte I don't like the looks of it and things I have heard about it is there anyway of getting him to go to sleep without it before relised what was wrong it used to take neally 2 hours to get him to go to sleep and its to stressful please any advice on this would be great...

[N0help4u]

How much does he eat during the day? He might still feel hungry at night.
A couple of my kids wanted a bottle at bedtime. I gave them about 8 to 10 oz of baby cereal a couple hours before bedtime instead.

[Wondergirl]

My older son took a bottle to bed and ended up with a mouthful of chrome crowns until his permanent teeth came in. (The dentist called it "nursing bottle mouth.")

A bad habit is being established, and it will take a little work and time to change it.

In the evening, spend time playing with him -- playing on the floor with blocks and stacking things and filling things and emptying things and clapping and singing. Then begin the wind-down. In the order that's best for you, give him a warm bath, put clean jammies on him, allow him a simple snack (Cheerios or other cereal, soft fruit cubes, jello, etc.) and, after a final diaper change if necessary, in a darkened room and in a rocker or cozy chair cuddle with him and hum or softly sing to him while you feed him a final bottle. Lay him in his crib and turn off a dim light that was on in that room, kiss him, and say goodnight. Then quietly leave. If he fusses, repeat the last few steps, sing part of a lullabye, and then leave. Let him cry for a while, and repeat as often as you need to. Don't take him out of the crib or the room. This will go on for several nights until he realizes this is bedtime.

[N0help4u]

Yeah my friend always put her baby to bed with a bottle of apple juice. She NEVER cleaned the bottles you could see apple juice and milk build up in them and her kid had to have all her teeth pulled by the time she was three years old.

When my kids would want a bottle at bedtime. I made sure I took it out of their bed as soon as they fell asleep so that they couldn't keep taking it every time they woke up during the night.

[buggage]

If your son has to have a bottle, try giving him luke warm water in a bottle. However, its not a good idea for baby to go to bed with a bottle at all, esp once they get teeth. ( my doc said even before they get teeth, as the liquid could pool in their mouth and cause an ear infection) unfortunately at around this time, it's a matter of a little tough love.its usually harder on us moms then the kids I think.I made so many bedtime mistakes with my first son, and as a result, I didn't get him going to bed and sleeping through the night on his own until he was 2 1/2 and my second son was born... now that's rough... not what you want. So this time around, I did things a little better.get him into a night time routine, make sure he has had plenty of food to eat (some baby food/cereal, tablefood etc, depending on what you child can handle, is a good idea, as it stays in the tummy longer)and a bottle. (I like to do it about an hour before bedtime, as it gives the food time to settle, but not enough time to completely digest out and have him wanting more.) make sure you put him to bed the same time every night, and keep his routine constant. Once its time for bed, turn off the light, hug him, kiss him, tell him its time for bed, lay him down and leave. He will fuss and cry and have a hard time of it. Typically this only lasts about a week, and he will cry himself out and put himself to sleep with shorter bursts of crying each night. I personally found it helpful to have ear buds in my ears, in the other room with some calming music on, so that I didn't have to listen to him cry. It just about broke my heart every time and I gave in every time I didn't listen to music, so it's a good idea, try it out. My doctor also told me that really once your baby passes 10 lbs, there is no reason for them to need to eat through the night. Now to me, 10 lbs doesn't seem heavy enough/old enough for that, hah, but then I have know people that their babies start sleeping through the night once they are 1-3 months old, so I guess it might make sense. (granted, breastfeed babies need to eat more often then formula fed babies.) Once they reach this age they tend to start finding things that comfort them and calm them, whether its going to bed with a bottle, waking up for nightly feedings, thumbs, binkis, toys, etc. its just a matter of teaching the child how to put themselves to sleep, without the aid of the things that are bad for them in the long run.its just a habit, so avoid the bad habit before it completely forms. I am going through this with my second son as we speak. He does not go to bed with bottles any more (he just got his first tooth. I admit, I was occasionally a bit lazy before he got teeth as far as the bottle goes. But DEFINITELY make sure you get the bottle away once they are asleep, you don't want them drinking bad milk in the middle of the night) he has one right bfore he goes to bed. He puts himself to sleep, is now weened, and if/when he wakes in the night, I just let him cry himself back to sleep. Each night he gets better and better, I think he is even close to sleeping through the night now. Which makes me happy(I'm 6 weeks pregnant, and appreciate all the sleep I can get.) just stick to it, it'll be rough at first, but it will get better.

[vtram7]

I agree with NOHELP 4U... my little ones were still hungry at night, you can get those nurse feeders and put cereal in the bottle right before bed, or feed him cereal before bed... he will probably cry the first few nights because you have started this bottle thing, but he will stop... :) Hang in there! :)

[newmummy]

To answer your question about how much he eats during the day he has a bottle at 8 then at 9 he has porridge or toast or something breakfasty then at 11.45 he has youghurt 120g or fruit 170g then he has a piece of fruit a piece of cheese and 2 biscuits then at 4.45 he has 200g of vegetables, baked beans, spaghetti or pasta then he has a bottle at 7 then when he goes to bed which is at 8.30 he has another bottle which he never used to have until 2 days ago when I figured out that its what he was wanting...