Feeding 18 Month Old

My 13 months old loves cream cheese and jelly sandwiches; we find they really fill him up. We have peanut alleriges in the family so its a great alternative.

I don't think anything is wrong with the night bottle for now. If you do not mind giving it to her i would not worry. I think my kids were all about 2 when i weaned them of the night one. I may be a different case, but it did not cause any issues with their teeth. It was milk though...maybe there is more sugar in formula?

The only difference is our night bottle was right before bed, they slept 12 hours (thank god) by one.

M P,

I can't imagine that your daughter "needs" a bottle or any other nutrition (whether it were a cup of milk or nursing) in the middle of the night...she's 18 months old! No doubt this is just a habit for your child, and not a good one. Although weening may be "painful" (crying it out), it's probably a good thing to do. Also, do you brush her teeth after the middle-of-the-night bottle? If not, this is another issue. Leaving the residue in her mouth is not a great cavity fighter! You don't want to walk away from her first dental visit being told you need to schedule another appointment to fill cavities! Finally, why a bottle at 18 months, instead of a sippy cup...and why formula at 18 months instead of milk? I understand the allergy/gradual introduction, but isn't 6 months gradual enough? (I assume you started with the whole milk at the recommended 12 months, but perhaps you didn't...?) Perhaps you should speak with your pediatrician as well, if you still question what and how to make these changes. Good luck! Change isn't always easy!

I tend to agree with Faith...why formula at 18 mos? I would think she should be eating pretty much what the rest of your family is eating as long as it's not choking hazard. I always gave my son milk and a snack before bed, after his bath & jammies. Milk and a granola bar, cereal, cookie, fruit, etc. Is she getting a before-bedtime snack? If not, that may help. don't think she should be hungry during the night. Make sure her room is cozy--soft music, nightlite, etc. You may want to consider just soothing her through the night--cuddle, rock, but no bottle!

First of all, your daughter should have been weaned off of formula when she turned one year old. She should be drinking whole milk now.

Secondly, I think that your daughter may not be waking up necessarily because she is hungry, but more that the bottle has become a comfort for her. You need to wean her from the bottle completely. She needs to find some other way to calm herself. It may mean that she will need to cry herself to sleep. At 18 months old, she shouldn't be waking up during the night due to hunger.

Good Luck.

Are you sure she is hungry? She may just be using the bottle as a security device to help herself back to sleep. My thought it to try to see if it is the bottle or the formula she is after. Try giving her the formula in a sippy cup when she wakes up. If she refuses it, you might be looking at self comfort issue more than hunger. If it is just the bottle she is looking for. You could try putting water in it instead. The water might work to put her back to sleep but it might be enough of a change to help wean her off of the need for the bottle as security.

But if it is a hunger issue, it might just be that she is going through a growth spurt and just needs some extra calories. If that is the case, she might outgrow it herself in a few weeks. In the meantime, I would try a snack right before bed. Maybe a small bowl of oatmeal. Then her bottle/sippy cup of formula and then off to bed. You could also try some mashed potatoes or a small bowl of rice (if she can have it. Flavoring optional.). You want something that takes a little longer to break down but isn't so heavy that she will have a stomache ache when she goes to bed.

One quick note on the formula, is it milk based or soy? My son has lactose issues as well. But he reacts to milk based formula as well as regular milk. They are not severe (He can usually handle about 3-5 ounces and keep it down. More than that especially after 5 pm and he vomits it back up on us. Although he can handle foods where the lactose has been processed or changes like cheese or yogurt.). However, if she is on milk-based formula and handling it well, she probably won't have problems with the whole milk at this point. I understand the caution and only bring this up so that you don't worry so much about the transition if she is already on a milk based product and handling it well.

And for those who told you she should be off of the formula, couple of comments on that. First of all the next step formula is made to be used from 9 to 24 months of age. Also, there are children who do not handle whole mile or any kind of cow milk well. There are other children who just won't drink it. My pediatrician recommended I keep my child ON soy formula for now. Not my friend or some random Mom I spoke to, my Pediatrician. They do NOT need to be weaned to milk at this point. It is perfectly fine to keep them on formula that is geared toward their nutrition. The norm may be to wean to whole milk at age 1 but that norm is also changing. Some children because of other health risks are being put on 2% milk instead of whole milk. Me, I'll listen to my son. His body's response and reaction to different types of food and beverage are the best indicator of what is best for him. And I'll use my pediatrician's advice as a guide. Sorry for the rant but I just thought some of the response's were a little ignorant especially given the fact that you had already mentioned that there were lactose issues in the family.

Anyhow, I hope this helps. Best of luck.

It sounds like your daughter is a good eater, so I would feed her whatever you are eating at each meal, plus very filling mid-afternoon and bedtime snacks.

I'm afraid I won't be a lot of help on the wheat-free snacks, but on the topic of the lactose intolerance, since Enfamil Next Step is made from cow's milk: if she wasn't going to tolerate whole milk, she wouldn't tolerate the formula either (unless you are using the soy-based Next Step). So maybe you can go with more dairy snacks? When my LO was younger,I made oatmeal using whole milk and a little fruit for a filling snack before bed.

For the bottle, at the least, you may want to have her brush her teeth after the last bottle before bed, and I would try to wean her from the bottle in the middle of the night - for the health of her teeth at least. Any chance you could switch her over to water in a sippy cup and a cuddle when she wakes up in the night? She may decide pretty quickly that it's not worth getting up in the night for water :)

MP,
I would not feel bad about giving your daughter formula at 18 months. I also gave my son formula until about 18 months because he would not drink regular milk. I soon learned that it was whole milk that he didn't like, because it was thicker than the powdered formula I gave him. I put him on 2% and he was fine. I didn't worry about the fat because he was always in the top percentile of his weight and didn't need the extra fat.

I also let him keep his bottle until about 18 months and his binky until age 3. I never let what other parents did with their children dictate to me what I should do with my son. Children are individuals and should be treated as such. Mothering is difficult enough without critism from others. As for the night feeding, you can try substituting water for milk in a sippy cup and she may eventually decide that she doesn't want it at all.

Hi MP,
Reading over the other advice given, I do have to agree that it is probably less of a hunger issue and more of a comfort issue. My son is 20 months old and he can make it fine through the night with his last snack of milk and wheat free cereal(found in organic food section of giant) between 6:30 and 7p. He goes all night until 6:30a without a problem.
We also are waiting till 2 to use wheat products. I give my son a mixture of brown rice baby cereal with whole milk yogurt and fruit along with a vegetable for dinner.

Good Luck!!

MP,
Your daughter is way past needing to have a bottle at night. She should be completely off of a bottle (my opinion). This is just a habit for her. If she is eating well and has a nice supper and a snack before bedtime (banana, apple, cheese, animal crackers etc...) she will nto be hungry. What about brushing her teeth? A bottle is not good at this age at bedtime. If she can eat yogurt and cheese and there is no problem at this point I would try milk... chocolate, strawberry or even soy vanilla. She really needs to get off the bottle asap this is just a habit.
Good luck
C

I agree with most of the ladies that have posted, so I won't give that opinion again. I do have a suggestion. I've read that an effective way to get rid of the middle of the night bottle is to start to dilute it with water gradually until it's all water, then reduce the amount that you're giving. It becomes not worth it to wake up for!

Hi My son is 14 months old. He eats breakfast, lunch, & dinner with us (whatever we are eating). He also eats a small snack between breakfast & lunch, another snack between lunch & dinner (one snack is usually fruit or veggies, the other goldfish or cheerios). After dinner (around 7pm) he gets yogurt mixed with rice cereal. He then makes it until about 5:30am.
Good luck.

Hello MP! Could your daughter possibly be waking up just out of habit? Just a thought... I know children can often do this and they pick up habits sooo quickly. She eats so good, I wish my boys ate as well as she does. I have a 16 month old and a 4 yr. old and they are quite the picky eaters. Best of luck to you.
** I just read the other posts after I posted this and I am just repeating what a lot of the others said SORRY. Do what you think is best:)