Weaning from Bottles at Age 2

You've got to stop giving him bottles. He fusses because he knows you'll give in. Little kids are smart! If you really want to end this habit you've got to take a tough stance. Stop giving in. He'll probably fight you on it for a few nights; but once he realizes you're not going to give in anymore he'll stop. :)

I can only imagine having twins...joy and a balancing act. I had 6 kids, most 2 years apart. First of all get them off the bottle. Not only will it harm their teeth, but you may have some orthodontics to deal with later on. Is there any way you can have the boys in separate bedroom while you stop the bottle? If you don't give it to them, you will have to wait it out. I would guess it would take about a week or so..just don't give in. Perhaps have them throw the bottles away on garbage day and watch the truck take them away. That way you are not the bad guy and the bottles are gone.
Good luck!

One of my twins love, love, loves his bottle, too, but fortunately I'm not having to get up in the night!

A couple of suggestions: First, how about sticking a fresh bottle in his room right before you go to bed? That way, it's there when he wakes up - so he doesn't really have to wake up all the way to get your attention. Second, after he gets used to finding the fresh bottle when he wakes up, how about you leave him a bottle of water AND a sippy cup of milk for him to find?

Hi, D.!

The only thing that worked for me with my son is to pack up the bottles . . . literally, I packed them in a box, with tape, and put them in the garage.

Then when he wanted one, I didn't have one to give him.

It might mean a couple of nights of learning to cope without a bottle, but you AND your boys can do it. They are old enough now to not need ANY food in the middle of the night.

Good luck! :)

Hi D., it has been my experience with my three kids that if you want/need to make a change, you have to just do it and be committed to it. I will be tough at first. Your two year old is VERY smart and has you all figured out. So....offer water in a sippy only. They will soon figure out that it's their only option. I give my kids a choice: Would you like water in a sippy or nothing at all? They always choose water in a sippy. It shouldn't take longer than a couple of days. Plus, your child will learn to put himself back to sleep in the middle of the night. As for your other child in the same room, yes it sucks when they wake up too. However, it will not be the only time something like this happens. They have to get used to sharing a room and that means when one wakes up the other may too. Do the hard work now so you don't have to deal with it later/forever....
Good Luck! You can do it!
A.

At their age, it is really a good idea to stop giving bottles of anything other than water to nap or bed. If you don't, it could start to rot their teeth! (My husband had all of his baby teeth rot and need to be pulled due to the honey his mother would put on his pacifiers to keep it in -- not the same as milk, but dentists and pediatricians say the sugar in the milk can do similar damage.)

I also noticed that milk during the night with my slightly-older-than-babies could actually make them more likely to wake up during the night because of the habit and their body thinking they need it when they don't.

When we decided it was time to stop with milk during the night, we would give our twins a snack and some milk shortly before bed, and then brush their teeth. Once the teeth were brushed, it was a rule that they could only drink water until the morning. For a while, I would leave them each with a sippy cup of water in case they were thirsty during the night. It doesn't matter if they fuss about it -- their health is more important! You have to stand firm on that, even though it may mean a few nights of difficulty. If you give in at all, it will mean a lot of extra nights.

As far as waking the twin, I know from experience how hard that is! One possibility is to have them sleep in separate rooms for a little while. If there are no other rooms, you could possibly let one sleep with you for a "special night" and trade off. It shouldn't take too many nights, but it could open a whole different can of worms. If you would rather keep them in the same room, you'll either need to let them both cry, or go in to soothe the woken one and remind the other that there is water available to him.

I hope this helps.

Hi D.,
I have 5 year old fraternal twins and we got through giving up the bottle and pacifiers and you will too!
A book that was useful for me that you might find instructive is called, Pacifiers, Blankets, Bottles and Thumbs: What every parent should know by Mark L. Brenner.
It also might help to consult your pediatrician. The cries at night that you are interpreting as starvation, could just be a conditioned response. The book I'm suggesting talks about how to talk to your children about when and why it's time to say good-bye to....insert any of the things in the title. It's a very respectful and age appropriate way of informing, acknowledging and including your child in the process.
Good luck
A little about me: 43 year old mom, work part time, married to wonderful man and mother of 5 year old fraternal boy twins.

Hi D.,
It looks like it's time for a baby gift to be given to someone who's about to be a new mom or a new baby on the block, friend, whatever. Just make a big deal of the fact that bottles are for babies and the boys are big boys now. Get out some gift wrap and a box and now you are going to give their bottles to the new baby. Make a big deal out of the whole giving thing and you'll be surprised how well it works. They are definately old enough to explain things to and we all have to remember that the sucking they have been used to all of their lives is now going to be gone. It turns into a habit just like smoking. You need to do things that help them replace the feeling of sucking. It only takes a couple of times. They will probably need just a little more attention for a couple of days and nights but, it really will go away soon. Don't be afraid of it and think of it positively so that you don't get hung up on feeling badly for them. It's all for the better. Hope this helps.

Hi D.,
It's been sometime since I had to deal with bottles, but I suggest that you remove all of the bottles from your home, car etc. Only offer sippy cups for everything and every time the boys are thisty. The first few times will be difficult but once they realize cups are the only option they will adjust. I would also suggest a small snack like a small amount of cereal 10-15 minutes before bed.

With my daughter, it had to be done in stages. I started out by offering her a non-spill tippy cup with milk in it or a bottle of water. Once she realized that she simply could not have both, she chose the tippy cup. I gradually transitioned her to water in the tippy cup. I used to say that I didn't care if she carted that thing off to college! (She is nearly 15 now, and has not used a tippy cup in some years.) :) The tippy cup of water solved both the problem of having milk sit in her mouth overnight and the issue of leaking liquid all over the bed. By the way, I did this with my younger daughter as well, and it worked just beautifully. (She is nearly 13, and very much without a tippy cup!) :) God bless You and Yours!

It sounds to me like your little one has got you wrapped around his finger? ;0) Try talking to him. Tell him your expectations. (He's 2, but he'll know you mean business if you're firm and consistent) He will protest...for at least a couple of sleepless nights, but he will go back to bed without assistance if you follow through. It may break your heart at firs to hear him cry, but that's his job! He's testing his limits to help himself become the autonomous little guy he is! You're the mommy, which means you're the boss. You, ultimately, get to make the decisions...right?! Good Luck!

Try giving them some cereal in their milk when
you are ready for them to sleep all night. I
did that for my three boys and 27 foster children
and they did just fine, all of them. E.

We've been going through a little of this with our daughter. Now that she's old enough I sat her down one night and explained to her that she's a big girl now...and in a big girl bed...and bottles are for babies....Babies need to drink milk at night, but not big girls. We went through all of that and she told me...she still wants to be a baby, and I told her she will always be MY baby, but she's a big girl now.

We pretty much went cold turkey after that. Yet it wasn't too hard for us...because we stopped the middle of the night bottle around a year old for her. (she's now two years old and three months) anyway, she was only getting a bottle at nap and a bottle at bedtime..so we kind of gradually changed nap to a sippy....blah blah blah

Since it's really not about the "bottle" and more about her teeth and what the milk does to her teeth all night...we told her she could have her milk right before bed, in a sippy with a snack. We then go up and brush teeth and do our normal bedtime routine. I told her if she wants to pretend she's a baby she can have a bottle with water.

I think you may need to do this in a few steps...first....get rid of the middle of the night bottle. And sadly you'll just have to let him Cry it out. Maybe move the other one (who sleeps through the night) out of the room while he's screaming and complaining. IT might take a few nights of this before he gets the point. He can have a drink of water at night if he's thirsty...but not milk. Once our dauther realized I wasn't going to give in and give her milk..she finally stopped...but it was a long LONG few nights.

I think after that battle is over...THEN you need to battle the bedtime and naptime bottle. Maybe your doing too much at once for the little guy. He sounds like he's sensative and relys on that for comfort. Yet try to make use of explainging WHY you are doing these things...not because your mean mommy..but because mommy doesn't drink milk in the middle of the night and it's bad for his teeth...Ive found my battles a lessen when I explain things to her...she understands a lot more than I realize sometimes.

I feel for you though...I think I cried with her when then nighttime bottle went away.

Sorry...that was a long one :)Hang in there..but stay strong.

The good thing is, at 27 months he is old enough to understand when you tell him no. If in insists on crying, move him to another location to cry it out so he does not wake his brother. If you are not firm with him, and keep caving to him, he will learn very quickly to apply the same behavior to other things he wants. You know 27 months is too old for a bottle, and night feedings, you need to set out the rules for him.

When I was teaching toddlers, I had some of the most ingenious parents. To overcome the bottle/binkie issue, one of my parents took their 2 yr old child on regular outings to the park, etc, and then "lost" one of the bottles/binkies to the trash when the child was busy playing. Once she got down to the last one, she took her child to the zoo with the bottle/binkie in the backpack. She threw the bottle/binkie away at the zoo (so that she could not give in during the night) and then told the child that the Mama monkey had taken it to give to her baby monkey. Worked like a charm!

You have some great responses, and I agree that the bottles just need to disapear one day, and not come back. It worked with my daughter!

You are right, it is a habit, so it is up to you to enforce it or stop it. Can you put the other twin in a separate room for a while and deal with him only? What kind of beds you are having? If he sleeps under his brother that could be an issue? See at which direction he is turning when he sleeps and adjust the bed that way. If he seams uncomfortable, there must be a reason for it. Try to figure out the reason and than deal with that. Good luck!