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QUESTION:
“I need some advice on how to get my 21-month-old off of bottles and sleeping through the night. He’s never been a good eater and has always just wanted the bottle. He sits down at every meal no matter what but maybe has two bites, and that is it. I have offered him milk in a sippy cup, but he won’t touch it. He wakes up every 2 hours at night for a bottle. I have tried watering it down and have tried the cry out method, but he ends up crying until he pukes. I am just not sure what to do anymore. I am so worn down it feels like I’ve had a newborn for the last two years. Any other mommas go through something similar and have suggestions?“
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Community Answers
The following top answers have been selected by a moderator from hundreds of responses to the original question.
“My son was crazy with his bottle and I hate to say it but cold turkey worked for us he lost his bottle and I wouldn’t look for it and he just went with out hard week but he doesn’t use it anymore. Good luck momma!”
“Have you tried the bottles that have the shape of a sippy cup nipple?”
“Up every two hours, for 2 years?! You are wonder woman to have survived this! Best of luck…plan for some support for “Cold Turkey” week, if you have people. Then sleeeep. You definitely deserve it!”
“My guy was just over 2.5 and one day I brought his milk in a sippy cup and told him the bottles are all dirty and that he could have it in that or nothing at all. We never looked back.”
“We started slow, and only offered him a bottle at nap and night time. Then slowly weaned off naps, then slowly the night.”
“I feel like your making to bigger of an issue dont worry so much.my 4 kids now grown had bottles until 4 ish they ate food but had one bottle after preschool or going to bed they are well adjusted adults who have great diets all in the correct weight range with good teeth , you can create problems by putting your worries into your kids they will be fine.”
“Try the Nuk Active sippy cup! My son would drink his bedtime milk out of that but fussed for like 4 days getting that cup in the morning next thing you know he drank it and never made an issue out of a bottle again.”
“I have one that came home from school want her bottle.the food part doctor said give anything she want to keep her eating one day came home pick up her slippy cup. Trouble days done.”
“I took my daughter’s bottle and paci the same time. It was hell. You just have to do it. My daughter did not like any of the cups I just kept offering her different ones when she wanted a bottle and that was that. After 3 days she would take the cup.”
“Have you had him evaluated by his doctor to rule out this isn’t something like an undiagnosed tongue tie? Both my children had them and were fixed within a month of birth, but when we talked to the specialist who did it he told us stories of children just like this who were diagnosed much later. It could be a texture thing also. I would talk to your pediatrician. Good luck Momma.”
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