I’m wanting to know how to break bubs out of bad habits. My 12mo is in the habit of using her bottle as her comforter. She won’t settle without it and even during her day naps she seems to need it as comfort. We started watering down her milk because we were concerned for her teeth and now she drinks only warm water but that doesn’t stop her wanting her bottle. I thought going to water would make it easier to cut the bottles out and we have tried other comforters that she has no interest in (refuses dummy’s and soft blankets or toys aren’t enough) so I’m wondering how do we break this habit? We tried the cry it out method for a couple of weeks and it worked after a few days until she had a growth spurt and started teething. But should we try that again? I just want to cut the bottles out all together before she starts day care. Thanks :)
6 Replies
Just my own opinion but dont overstress. She is only 12 months old theres no problem with her having a bottle and milk. I go to a sippy cup around2 and night milk only. Towards 3. Ive heard about bottle caries and bad teeth I think changing a babys milk feeds at 12 months is fearbased. We train babies and expect them to grow up so fast these days.
I thought they had to have formula until at least12 months (I had a baby ten years ago so sorry if I am wrong, it’s always changing 😀)? I remember I started weaning the bottles (formula) around 15 months, my son is ten now and doesn’t have one filling in his head. If she is only having warm water, is there anything wrong with that? Is there a difference between a dummy and a bottle of water? I would just go with it, I would probably start wanting to get rid of it around 2 if it’s just water, I weaned the milk because I was worried about tooth decay also. If it works, what’s the problem or could you give a sippy cup instead? FYI, most kids want a drink when they go to bed, my ten year old still gets a bottle of water (not baby bottle lol) for next to his bed, but we do live in a hot place. I’m sure child care will have no problem giving bubs a bottle of warm water.
Thanks ladies, op here. My health nurse said she shouldn’t be having any bottles or formula and because she needs the bottle as comfort to sleep I didn’t want her having milk. Obviously I don’t mind that she does that but I do want to break the habit early so she doesn’t rely on a bottle every time she sleeps. But I’ll just go with it for now and try cut a bottle out at a time and see how I go :)
Is your baby overweight ? That’s the only reason I can think of that a baby ‘shouldn’t ‘ have milk .... they are growing so much and fast at that age why take away their main source of nutrients so early unless necessary ??
What happens when she finishes the bottle? Does she drop it and nod off to sleep? Or is she literally drinking until she’s asleep?
You could try giving less amount in the bottle every week until it’s only a small amount and not relied on as much.
But other wise, I wouldn’t stress too much. The health nurses are trained to say the requirements for all babies but I feel like we are all in such a rush to make our children grow up. It probably won’t be forever that she relies on it and she is only 12 months.
I just followed my babies lead. My 3 year old still takes a small amount of milk to bed (sometimes doesn’t drink it) but my 1 year old has never. They are so different, so it varies from child to child.
She’s still a baby ! It’s not a bad Habit it’s a comfort there is a difference !
I gave my kids milk bottles and had dummies til they were 3ish , then they start getting old enough to understand giving it up or doing the whole give it away idea
It becomes a bad habit when they walk around the house at 3 years old with their bottle hanging out their mouth ... it becomes a problem when they refuse to try a cup (at 3yo) it becomes a problem if parents put juice in it ! It becomes a problem when they won’t take it out of their mouth and try to talk with it .... at 12 month old they still need the nutrients and comfort of milk at bed time !! Have you heard ppl say if you have trouble sleeping drink some warm milk ? And that’s advice to adults !!