“I like to hear my baby cry,” said no mom ever. That’s one reason that it’s so hard for parents to guide their children toward better sleep habits. When you find something that works to get your baby to sleep, you want to keep doing it. Forever. But a goodnight bottle is not the best option.  That’s a conundrum because one of the easiest ways to soothe your baby into a relaxed milk stupor that will lull them into dreamland is to feed them or give them a bottle. Because it works so well, it’s a tough habit to give up. No matter what you do, your child is not going to go off to college sucking on a bottle before bedtime, you tell yourself. They’ll wean off of it soon enough, right? Do you really have to cut out the goodnight bottle now?
By the time they’re 6 months old, however, most infants don’t need the nutrients and calories that they get from nighttime feedings. They are typically consuming enough throughout the day, and they’re getting their nutritional needs met. But feeding your child, whether you’re nursing or offering formula, is comforting. It helps them relax. You might be hesitant to give up the goodnight bottle because you’re going to have to find another way to comfort them at night. Feeding your baby is one of the easiest ways to calm them down. That’s why many parents resist taking it out of the bedtime routine. It works, and it works well. The thought of having to spend long hours trying other soothing methods at night, such as rocking, bouncing and singing, is exhausting. But what do you think will happen if you continue to use the feeding sessions to calm your child down? They won’t learn other ways to soothe themselves to sleep. You won’t get much sleep either if your child continues to wake up for feedings. Some of the issues with giving bottles at night include:
I completely understand–it’s hard to figure out how to get your baby to sleep when you have a tool that works. I did the same thing before I became a sleep training expert. At What Age Should You Get Rid of the Nighttime Bottle?Every baby is different. While most infants are getting enough nutrients and calories during the day by 6 months, many can continue to rely on a bedtime bottle until about 10 months. The longer the habit goes on, though, the harder it may be to break. By the time your child is 12 months old, you should definitely try to remove the bottle from the nighttime routine. It’s a little different if your baby is nursing to sleep. But if you feel as though your baby is tied to the breast and you’re having trouble getting anything done or getting decent rest because of it, I can help you with that too. I can walk you through the steps and help your child learn the skills that they’ll need to go to sleep and stay asleep no matter where they are or who they’re with. You don’t have to listen to your baby cry, and you and the whole family will finally sleep through the night.
did you know that feeding your baby to sleep is one of the fastest and most effective ways? it also solves a number of problems such as:
So, what’s the issue? Why is it by far the NUMBER ONE reason we get calls for HELP from tired parents across North America looking for a better solution?
So your little one has been an awesome little sleeping machine since they were an infant and you have filled their cute little belly with love and nourishment before they go to bed each night. Sometime around their first birthday, most parents are ready to say good-bye to the bedtime bottle or the bedtime breastfeeding session for various reasons. If you are breastfeeding your little one, there is absolutely no rush on my part. I am proud that many breastfeeding mamas say that I have saved their nursing relationship through improved sleep. Many have decided to do extended breastfeeding into toddler hood and beyond. For my bottle-fed babies, I do recommend that you say good bye to the bedtime bottle around the first birthday, and definitely by the time your little one is two years old.
Sleep is all about SKILL at this point – the ability to go from Point A) Awake to Point B) Asleep. You can read more interesting facts about sleep here: FAQ. The vast majority of parents are confident that their children are getting adequate calories by day and no longer require this bedtime bottle top before bed. I know you are going to fill up your little one with lots of love and healthy nourishment all day long, so they are going to sleep well by night. This applies to 99.9% of babies this age. If you feel your child falls into the less than 1% category, please Get In Touch for personalized support and assistance. Most babies have teeth at this age and will be getting more. This saves you from having to brush their teeth again mid-way through your bedtime ritual, or from having your baby go into the crib with milk deposits left in their mouth. Most parents are moving their children to sippy cups or regular cups around this age, so it is a natural progression to eliminate the bedtime bottle. For breast feeding families, many are also introducing cups with water for their little ones to drink by day. Keeping the bedtime BOTTLE beyond this age, can CAUSE problems! In my decade of full time consulting, I have not encountered problems with bedtime breastfeeding sessions beyond the first birthday, but I HAVE seen problems with bedtime bottles. In one extreme case, a bouncing 18 month old boy was drinking 18oz of formula every night before bed. He did not need the bottle in order to fall asleep – he was a great independent SuperSleeperᵀᴹ as his parents had hired me when he was about 6 months old. That was not the problem. The issue was his dinner. He refused to eat his solid foods knowing that he would get his “preferred meal” at bedtime. They had the same issues during the day, so I helped them say good bye to his bottles in a loving and fun way. Marital relationships are important too! When you hire Pam Nease Sleep, you know your little one is going to be able to sleep anywhere and for anybody. For my exclusively breastfeeding mamas, they know they will be able to go out on a date at 7ish after the bedtime nursing session and leave their little one with a trusted caregiver to complete the routine. When their little ones are around a year old, some parents would like to start their date earlier! Even with all this flexibility, starting a date at 5pm instead of 7pm is still very appealing for exclusively breast feeding families. Can you blame them? Here’s to extended nursing, great sleepers and strong, happy and healthy family relationships!
We are not suggesting weaning from this pre-bedtime breastfeeding session unless you as parents WANT to or you think your baby is ready. Many of our breastfeeding clients continue nursing before the bedtime routine right into toddlerhood and beyond. As scary as it will be for you wonderful parents, it will be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy to your sweet little muffins. If you are breastfeeding , then on your fateful night of saying good bye to the top up feed, have DAD (or another trusted caregiver) do the bedtime routine 100% on their own for TWO evenings in a row. If you would like to keep in an evening nursing session, move it to BEFORE bath rather than afterwards, follow step 1 as above. Do NOT replace this feeding with a sippy cup of milk, warm cup of milk, a bottle, or even worse – a bedtime SNACK. Please TRUST me on this as it will cause MORE problems down the road. I will be writing another blog post on this very subject and will include a link when it is up. Please trust your precious little one – sleep is all about skill at this age. A little bit of food or milk just before bed will not help them sleep peacefully for 10 to 12 hours. I promise you that as long as you have been following my advice since you hired Pam Nease Sleep, your little one will not wake up hungry in the night. Here is to extended nursing if you choose to do so. Continue to enjoy all that great sleep and all that great nursing as long as you like!
As scary as it will be for you wonderful parents, it will be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy to your sweet little muffins. If you are bottle feeding – on your fateful night of saying good bye to the bedtime bottle, have the “opposite parent” do the bedtime routine 100% on their own for TWO nights in a row. If you have been alternating consistently since your little one has learned to sleep, then toss a coin on who does the first bedtime without the bottle. If you would like to keep in a bottle in the evening, move it to BEFORE bath rather than afterwards, follow step 1 as above. TRUST your little one! There is a real science to the bedtime ritual. This is one of the many reasons the top up was after bath and before books – to help prepare you for this eventuality – to help make it seamless. Your child will be focused on the wonderful loving and bonding activity of reading books and singing songs that you have been doing for weeks or months prior. You can read more about bedtime routines here: Make Bedtime Fun!, The Power Of Song, Bedtime Story. Do NOT replace with a sippy cup of milk, warm cup of milk, a bottle, or even worse – a bedtime SNACK. Please TRUST me on this as it will cause MORE problems down the road. I will be writing another blog post on this very subject and will include a link when it is up. Please trust your precious little one – sleep is all about skill at this age. A little bit of food or milk just before bed will not help them sleep peacefully for 10 to 12 hours. I promise you that as long as you have been following my advice since you hired Pam Nease Sleep, your little one will not wake up hungry in the night. Continue to use bottles by day and move to cups exclusively when your family is ready to do so. I am not your feeding expert – I am your sleep expert, but I would recommend that you say good bye to daytime bottles by the time your child is two years old at the very latest.
Asking a toddler to say good bye to their bedtime bottle is WAY more challenging than when they are a baby. We all have habits and the longer we have them, the harder it is to change them. To be successful with this age group – as scary as it is – you have to go cold turkey. Meaning no more bottles AT ALL – during the day AND at bedtime.
For these toddlers, I suggest using a super FUN motivational strategy called The BOTTLE FAIRY. As always, this is not medical advice. If you are concerned with your child’s feeding, please consult your IBCLC Lactation Consultant, Pediatrician, Family Doctor, or preferred healthcare professional. |
When should I stop giving my toddler milk before bed NHS
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