Hi everyone! I am new hear, and very eager to get some help. My 16 month old son has been in a "big boy bed" for about 1 month now. He is a active little guy, and started jumping out of his crib, so we had to make the switch. Unfortunatley, This happened A LOT sooner than we had planned on, so we did not bottle break him before. What can i do? Atleast when he was in his crib... he could "cry it out" and all would be fine in a week... but now, since he is in a big boy bed, he has free run of his room. The worst part is that he shares the room with his almost 4 year old brother. Once 1 is up, they both think it is Party time!
Anyone have any pointers on the easiers way to break him of the habbit?
Well, we have started only doing 1 bottle when we put him down to sleep, and if that doesnt work just let him cry it out a little. I didnt make it clear, but he hasn't had bottles other than the night time "soothing" bottle since he was about 9-10 months old. He has used sippy cups since then. But trying to give him a sippy cup at night is not his idea of "comfort" LOL. So, next step is to just take that 1 night time bottle away, and we will be good! ;o) we have also tried keeping him up a bit longer at night too in hopes that he doesnt put up much of a fight!
Thank you for your advise!
try putting only water in the bottle and using sippy cups with good lids for anything else..it worked for my 3 ages now 17,15,10..good luck oh yeah I also took my youngest to the store and let her pick one of those sports bottle like things it has a flip lid and a built in straw (in the baby/toddler isle)and she thought that was the greatest thing...hope this helps
Honestly when my son started jumping out of he crib he was already broke from the bottle. We just recently put him in a big boy bed I think it was more or less my fear of realizing its time. But he still has a cup that we set next to his bed at nights and if he gets thursty he just sits up and reaches for it. It works pretty good. I use a spill proof cup in case he doesn't put the cup back and it gets left in his bed. But thats what I did.
consistency..if you're done with the bottle, and you feel he needs more solids, i would suggest getting rid of all bottles (ok, i kept 1 or 2) and decide on a day..maybe give him a week with the bottle, alternating with cups if you're not already doing that..and then no more bottle...i was maybe lucky, but within a day, there were no probs..ok, let me rephrase, i had some regrets, becuz let's face it, t he bottle and pacifier are alot easier on us! maybe let him pick out his favorite cups to use, that he can access when he wants drinks
take a way nap/s and or get a baby gate and dress them for the next day the night before and put up the gate and let them be in there room and do what they want. In the morning they are ready to go...
because you already have them in clothes..
try that..
best wishes
Hi S.! Yes, the bottle breaking is always a heartbreak for me. It just means a new stage in their life and I hate it when they grow up so fast.
For my 6 kids, I just would start off slow by giving them sippy cups during the day and only a bottle at night. But...never give them the bottle while in bed. You want them to disconnect it in their heads that bottle and bed go together. Drinking should be separate from sleeping.
I do not agree with the lady that leaves a cup next to the child's bed unless it is water only. Only because it can lead to tooth decay. The bottle or cup does not have to sit in their mouths to get tooth decay, the liquid does. Also, if they don't have teeth, it is still important to keep the gums healthy so they can hold in the teeth well.
If you make the night-time a slowed down routine, the night time bottle will eventually be gone too.
Good luck!
Hello S.,
the best thing to do is not give him a bottle at all at any point of the day. All of my kids were off the bottle before age 1. Give him a sippy cup and explain to him that a big boy bed means no more bottles. have him help you throw the bottles away and help you to assemble the sippy cups. Give him a drink just before bed and leave it at that. If he gets up in the middle of the night get the sippy cup, give him a drink and then lay him back down. This will be time consuming and you will get little to no sleep but cuddling him at night when he cries every night for a bottle just prolongs the breaking of the bottle process.
As for the 4 year old just set him down and let him know that he has to show his brother that he can stay in bed while the little one gets up. Tell the 4yr old that he is the big brother and ask him to help you teach the baby how to stay in bed. Most babies listen to the older ones even if you think they don't. Have the 4yr old help u to teach the baby that bottle are for just babies and thats that..
when we broke my son of the bottle (at 16 months also ;) )
we started a bedtime routine of still rocking him in his rocking chair (where we would usually give him a bottle) and instead of a bottle we would do a few nite nite stories while rocking with a cozy blanket to help wind him down. So he just knows that after his bath he brushes his teeth, then gets jammies on, then gets his nite nite stories & then it's bedtime. We stick to the entire routine every night so he just knows exactly what is going to happen next.
The best way to do it is get sippie cups and then just take the bottles away ..
Try the hard top ones and if he cant seem to get it then get some of those ones that have soft tops and that will help teach him how to drink outta the cup.. I just took the bottles away from my daughter and she did fine.. Good Luck!
