Bottles... when do they stop?

Hello everyone

Well, DS turns 2 in less than a month.

His favourite thing is to have a warm bottle of milk (just normal) before he goes to bed. He doesn't want it in a cup (which he drinks out of all day), he wants a bottle. He lies back and laps it up. He then puts the bottle on the sink and heads to his room for bed.

I have had nights where I have refrained from giving him one and he just won't go to sleep. With a belly full of warm milk he goes straight to sleep and I don't hear from him all night.

PS. DS is an eating machine, so it doesn't matter how much he eats at tea, he will still skull down the milk (200ml).

Do any of you have a nearly two year old still drinking out of a bottle, or should I be ejected in to outer space for creating a mummy's boy?

My 3.5 year old still can't sleep with out a drink.
I got rid of the bottles for pop tops & she refuses to go to sleep with out one. With milk only.
At least your DS drinks his before he goes to bed. DD takes hers with her.
He won't have just as much in a cup??

i dont think its an issue at all, id just make sure you brush his teeth after teh bottle!

My DS is 2 and still goes to bed after having his warm milk, HAS to have it, even tonight in 43 degree heat! We only very recently got rid of the Pigeon Mag Mag cup with the Stage 2 spout which is very like a teat. He has warm milk in the morning as well out of a different sippy cup and we managed to get him to take that same cup at night as well...then the Mag Mag "disappeared".

He does like to have a "cuppa tea" which is warm milk in his Bunnykins cup so we are encouraging that at the moment...before we prepare his milk we ask him if he wants a cuppa tea. Sometimes he says yes, other times he says no (usually when he is very tired) so he gets the sippy cup then.

I recommend the Mag Mag as a great way of getting them off the bottle because you can fit it with a Pigeon bottle teat to start, then when they are used to it move on to the Stage 2 spout which is very teat like. (Stage 3 is a straw cap which I never used, didn't fancy cleaning milk out of a straw). Avent cups and bottles have interchangeable teats and spouts, might be another way to go?

PS: Me, my brother and my sister were having cups of tea before we went to bed well into our teens...a hangover from the bottle before bed days!

Mum couldn't get us to drink warm milk out of a cup when we gave up bottles so she used to make us very milky tea to drink...and as we got older it was just a ritual that stuck and my sister and brother switched to coffee but still. Even now I quite like to have a cuppa before I go to bed lol.

I don't think its THAT bad - so don't go and hide or anything just yet ;)

I agree with the Mag Mag cup - its cool.

DS has a cup of "coppee" (coffee) now most days (its just warm milk in a cute cup with a tad bit of milo in it) and he drinks it at his table like a big boy...

But before he goes to bed - he still has a sippy cup of milk - oats milk - and we are trying to see if he'll have a cup of coppee instead.. lol

I think it's fine. 2 is still pretty much a baby IMO and there are heaps of 2yr olds at the day care where I work who have a bottle before nap time. It's not as though your DS walks around with a bottle in his mouth all day and as AJP said he can brush his teeth afterwards which would be a good idea.

I dont think there is a problem with it. LIke mentioned, just give his teeth a good brush before bed. I just this past month stopped giving DS1 (3 in April) a bottle of milk in the morning and before bed. I only stopped because he use to chew the teats and milk would spill all over the house. After a couple of days asking about his bottle, he is happy to have milk in a cup. I felt like a mean mummy taking it off him because he loved it so much. DS2 still has milk in a bottle but intend to stop that just before #3 arrives.

my older 2 'happily gave santa their bottles' at the ages of 1 :) (my doing) and they went onto sippy cups before bed or pop top bottles...

My DD is over 2 and still has bottle before bed. I don't see it as a problem because she drinks the milk all at once and then leaves the bottle downstairs. I think its more a prob if they are going to bed with the bottle. Like others said just brush his teeth before bed. As long as its not detrimental, whatever works and makes them happy I think.

Both DS1 (44mnths) and DS2 (23mnths) have a bottle of warm milk everynight about 30mins to an hr before bed other wise they won't sleep!

I have spoken to the paed they are both seeing and he sasy it is fine. I find it is the only way for me to get them to have any dairy besides cheese and yoghurt!

I'm hoping to wean DS1 off it by the years end as he starts kindy next year!

My DD (2) is still having a bottle of milk too so don't worry about it. Glad to see that we are not the only ones lol

DS has only recently given up the bottle, he refuses to drink milk out of anything but his bottle. When he had his 2.5yr checkup, the CHN (why I listen to them I don't know!!:rolleyes:) She said just throw it away now! Throw it in the bin and throw something sloppy on top so you're not tempted to get it out again! I though personally that was a bit harsh but that night I didn't give him his bottle and we had 1 really hard night and ever since he has been fine and hasn't even asked for 1, that would be nearly 2mths ago now I think. IMO 2 is not too old to be having bottles, and reading through the replies there are many kids over the age of 2 still having bottles. Get rid of it when you're ready to or when he's ready. His dummy was a similar scenario but that took longer to give up!

thanks so much for posting this!!!
i was begining to think that our DD was the only one so attached to her bottle!!
we had gotten her to stop taking it to bed with her(she had it in the hour leading up to bed) but we recently swapped from a cot to a toddy bed and gave it back to her to make her transition a bit easier, but now cant get it off her again!
we're thinking of asking her to give the bottle and dum dum up to santa this year in exchange for presents! but i will trying some of the things you've all suggested!

My boy is now 20 months and still has 2 bottles - one when he wakes and one before bed I was also wondering if I should think of cutting back??? He eats well most of the time and will drink milk from cup but not as much as from the bottle.

I might need to reserve my seat on the space shuttle beside you because my DS is 3 in March and still has a bottle before bed.:redface: He does brush his teeth before he hops in though.

DS still drinks his milk from a bottle ( 3 per day). I dont really care as it is his routine and he drinks his water from a normal cup perfectly well. I dont see it as any different to people walking around with water bottles. But having said that the bottles are on their way out. We have two left and wont replace them as they break so he will make the transition at some point.

Thanks everyone.

I'll have a look at the mag mag. I think it's just a before bed comfort thing - and a final injection of calcium never hurt anyone.

He drinks from sippy cups all day (and can even drink very well from a plastic bottle - like a Mount Franklin bottle) - but the Avent before bed seems to be a really relaxing post-bed thing. I think I will start to just use the smaller bottles and slowly wean him off it. Still technically a baby though - so can't be too hard on him.

LP

I hate to say but my DD1 had a bottle until she was FIVE!! Yes 5!! AND.. .she is ok! She never ever had it in bed, she had one upon waking (thank the lord for a few mins peace) and then one before bed. She ate properly in between, has never had teeth probs (only other thing she drank/drinks is water) and I knew she was getting her calcium.
DD2 on the other hand, gave up bottles at one year of age (she'd only had them a couple of months). So I go with the flow here!! xo