# Almost 2 and still waking up for a bottle at night



## amberlynn

Ive done all I know to do, so I turn here in hopes of help and great advice. My son turns 2 in October and he still isnt sleeping through the night, he wakes up atleast twice for a bottle. Ive tried all I know to do to wing him from it, I cant bare to hear him cry and scream. He still sleeps in his crib in the room with my H and I, only because we're still in a one bedroom house. I know that him sharing a room with us maybe parts of him not sleeping at night, but I also know that him still on the bottle is a BIG part of it, only thing is, I dont know how to wing him from the bottle... any advice would be greatly appriciated.


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## mommyto3boys

Hi Amberlynn,

I feel your pain!!! They say at that age the reason they wake up in the middle of the night is not because they are hungry but because they want some company..ie. YOU!!!
Being in the room with you makes it extremely hard.

I know that I used the FERBER technique...basically to let them cry it out....BUT..its extremely hard but it does work. May I suggest that you set his crib OUTSIDE your room in the living room or something at night? I know that might not work, but if that doesn't, have you considered sleeping in the living room UNTIL he gets over that?? I'm sure he wakes up in the middle of the night and sees you and wants you!!!

I guess if you could let him cry it out at least to get rid of ONE of the bottle feedings, that would be a start (with you not being in the room), that would be a start??? It takes nerves of steel...gets some earplugs and GET out of the room where he sleeps at least until he gets over it..!!!!


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## mommyto3boys

OH by the way, does he take the bottle during the day? If he does...wean him to a cup....that REALLY helped with the night time thing...he's old enough for you to 'talk' to him about the whole bottle issue..and he needs to be 'weaned'. 
That also really helped with my son !!!
No more bottles, you're a big boy now!!!!!


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## amberlynn

Thats the thing, when he wakes up its more like he wines the actually crying, hes like doin it in his sleep and wont stop doin it until he has a bottle and then doesnt even drink all the juice, just enough to wet the inside his mouth. Its so annoying.. Ive tried givin him just water, ive tried just ignoring him, ive tried everything the drs have told me to do.. im at my wits end..


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## Sandy55

A) Do NOT give him juice in a bottle. ONLY give him water, refuse to give the child juice. Juice has sugar, the child has teeth.
Water should be used in night time bottles, IF a bottle at ALL.

B) I would take the bottles and the child to the nearest dumpster and show HIM all the bottles are going "bye-bye". Let him help you throw them in, make a big deal of how happy you are he threw them away, as he is now a big BOY. The end. He will probably have regrets, but you MUST be strong and NOT reverse.

C) Your problem is that YOU have a problem, this is not a child problem. It is a weak MOM  problem.

Your *first issue* is that you have a two year old in your bedroom. That needs to change. Otherwise, stop whining, you made your bed you sleep in it, KWIM????

Your *second issue* is that you *MUST* learn to stand the whining and stop giving in to this child. Believe me, a two year old whining will turn into a 14 year old whining in a heartbeat. To EXTINGUISH whining/crying in a child, one STOPS giving in to the WHINING behavior; any other option just reinforces it. 

(By whining and crying, I mean whining and crying that is *not* related to PAIN, hunger, or wet diaper conditions; a mother must always respond to pain, hunger, and wet/soiled diaper....).


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## TNgirl232

I agree with the don't give them juice at night. Its sits in there mouth and just eats away at their teeth. He'll get cavaties, its even possible to get them in teeth that haven't even come in yet.

My doctor said the best way to wean a child off a bottle is one day the bottles are there and one day they are completely gone. Worked for me - the first night they were gone, my daughter just laid awake til 2am - no crying, with me on the couch. After that, we didn't have any issues.

I've seen one of the Nanny show's try a "giving it to the baby's" techinque where the child helps gather up all the bottles to give to the baby's and he gets a big boy sippy cup to replace it with.

As for the sleeping all night - I'm not the star example of this...my daughter slept with me until she was 3 (but she didn't wake up in the middle of the night either). At age 3 me and her dad got married, and we started a 1 night in your bed, 1 night in ours getting progressivly more nights in her bed. Then she decided she wanted to sleep on the couch (didn't see it as hurting anything) and did so for almost a year. When she started Pre-K I told her that going to school meant sleeping in your bed...and that was the end of it.


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## mommyto3boys

Hi Amberlynn,
If he is just whining and not actually crying, I think if you could SOMEHOW move him out of the room, DOOR SHUT, you will find that things will improve.
Contrary to popular belief, the saying 'he's sleeping like a baby'...does not mean he is silent!! Most babies wake him whining at some point in the night and they do eventually go back to sleep if they are 'ignored'. Believe me if he is really in 'pain' or really distressed, you WILL hear him through a closed door.

I had my son in my room also for the first six weeks, never slept a wink...and as soon as I put him out of the room, door shut (no MONITOR either!)..it's amazing how much he actually sleeps and you do too ..

Oh btw, my third son....he was in his own crib, door shut to his room, I was in my room with door shut a week after I brought him home.....it was hard but he did sleep (and myself) much better from the get-go!!!

BTW, as my mother once said...your son will NOT be in high school with his blanket and bottle...you will get through this and it will pass!!! lol

The bottom line is you gotta get tough!! With yourself and him..


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## Sandy55

With each child (4) I started out with a small cradle beside my bed. That lasted about two nights, with EACH child! 

Am a really light sleeper, so my kids each had their room, we had ours. Everyone much happier campers .

It is SOOO hard being a tough "Mom", Amber. Hugs.


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## amberlynn

Thanks for all the advice!

He takes a sippy during the day and sometimes drinks from a normal cup. I think what im gonna have to start doin is just let him play till he wears himself out and just falls asleep on his own. He normally wont go to sleep unless he has his bottle, but im so tired of not gettin sleep at night, the Hubby is a hard sleeper and claims he doesnt hear him wake up..which i think is a load of crap..Ive got sugar free packets to add to water, he wont drink just normal water.. but somethin has to give. Im tired of the dr jumpin on my butt at every visit. Its hard to be the "tough mom".. Ive spoiled him so much...I give in too easy to his wants.. espcially when it comes to him wanting a bottle...


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## Ladybug.06

I know it is so hard to get children through these "milestones", the way I taught my children was to just let him cry like others on here have suggested. I know it's hard to not give in but he can't cry forever, maybe if you wake him up from his naps so he takes shorter naps during the day so at night he will be too tierd to cry for a long time....just a suggestion - it could work.....he just needs to know that he CAN get through the night without a bottle and he needs to know that you will NOT give him a bottle at night anymore. I know it's easier said than done but a few sleepless nights should be worth not having to get up anymore to give him a bottle, and the whole sleeping with you thing I totally understand - not everyone can afford to give their child their own room right away, plus just like they get used to sleeping with you - you get used to sleeping with them, I just moved my 3 yr. old out of my room last month into his sisters room.


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## LaBella

With my oldest daughter, she drop the pacifier, bottles and all when she was 1 and never looked back, she actually trew the pacifier in the trash herself. With my youngest what I did when she was about 8 months was leave her the bottle in the corner of the crib, same place every night, if she wake up and wanted her bottle, she would just reach for it and go right back to sleep, without me.

When she turn about 2, she stopped touching it, after about a week of untouch bottles I stopped leaving them. The pacifier was a little tougher, but one day I went to the trash can with her, told her that no more "coco", she was a big girl and did not need it anymore, and let her see me trowing it away, that was the end of it as well.

Why don't you just throw them away in his presence, tell him he is a big boy now and does not need a bottle anymore. As for the room thing, if you cannot afford to move and give him his own room I understand, but why don't you buy a room divider, something inexpensive that has cloth or something darker, and divide the room, his side and yours, probably if he does not see you then he will not wake up anymore. You have to be tough and let him cry for a day or two, also let him get tire until he is ready to go to bed, also do not let him take long naps, and you will probably see improvement.

Good Luck


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## shelleyv

My daughter is turning three in about 3 weeks. She drinks bottle before bed and then wakes up for juice sometime during the evening. My plan is on the day she turns three, we throw all bottles away. I will explain she is big girl now and babies use bottles. I will buy a few decent sippy cups for day time use but the bottles must go. Besides, after three years of washing bottles and sterilising, good gracious, enough is enough! Good luck!


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## Mommybean

At 3, I just don't SEE the reason a child is still on the bottle?? By 3, a child should actually be past sippy cups (except on occasions such as car trips) and on to regular cups? Juice, at night or in a bottle (especially) wrecks kids teeth because the sugars do nothing but sit on their teeth thru the night and eat away at them, causing cavities. There is NO reason a 2 or 3 year old should be waking up at night for a bottle of ANYTHING, and giving in just perpetuates the problem. Not to mention drinking during the night is just going to make potty training that much more difficult.


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## NothingMan

My son (2.5) used to do the same thing amber. He'd wake up in the middle of the night whining. If he needs a drink at night (my house is VERY dry, even with humidifiers) put a sippy cup of water in the corner of the crib. Like everyone else said, no juice. Try to limit the amount of sugar he gets after dinner time as that will go a long way towards a good nights sleep (sugar = energy AND bad teeth). Also, you just have to let him cry it out. Turn the baby monitor off if you have too until he falls back asleep then turn it back on. At your childs age there is no reason they cant sleep through the night. The only thing that stops them is US. Obviously, you'll want to pay closer attention if the child is sick. I know its hard and your natural instinct is to love them and hug them and cuddle them when they are sad...but for this you need to let it go. He'll stop after a couple nights of no mommy coming in to sooth him. Trust me 





John


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