When to stop bottle feeding baby at night
When and How to Eliminate the Bedtime Bottle – SlumberPod
“I like to hear my baby cry!” said no mom ever. That’s one reason that it’s hard for parents to guide their children toward better sleep habits. When you find something that works to get your baby to sleep, you want to keep doing it — even if it takes hours.
“No matter what I do, this child is not going to go off to college sucking on a bottle before bedtime,” you tell yourself.
And yet, your five-year-old daughter relies on a bottle to sleep …
“They’ll wean off of it soon enough, right? Do I really have to cut out the bottle NOW?”
The answer? Yes.
Recently, I chatted with a couple about their five-year-old daughter who was still using a bedtime bottle in order to initiate sleep and maintain it. No, there was no milk in it, not even water … but she needed to suck on the nipple. I know, it sounds extreme but it was not the first time I have had parents admit this to me.
There is no guilt, nor shame here at Pam Nease Sleep! Everyone on my team, with the exception of our current assistant, are past clients. We did all the things to get our own children to sleep and back-to-sleep before we sought professional, one-on-one help via a paid sleep consultation package.
Because here’s the thing ...
We get it. In the words of Oprah, even when you “know better, you don’t always do better.”
Giving your child a bottle before bed, or when they wake in the middle of the night, is appropriate when they’re younger. Babies need formula or breastmilk for nourishment! For example, it is common knowledge that a newborn’s stomach is only the size of an egg around 10 days of age.
But by the time they’re 6 months old (*adjusted, if working with preemies), many experts agree that most typically-developing infants don’t need the nutrients and calories that they are getting from nighttime feedings. Babies are typically consuming enough throughout the day, and they’re getting their nutritional needs met.
The first birthday! By the time your child is 12 months old, my best advice is to remove the bedtime bottle from your child’s sleep routine even if they know HOW to self-soothe themselves into sleep and back into sleep throughout the night.
I get it. Most likely, if you are like me and the thousands of families we have personally guided via one-on-one paid advice, you will be worried that your once great sleeper will suddenly wake up in the night from hunger.
I guarantee you that if your baby truly knows the beautiful gift and vital life skill of being able to fall asleep at the beginning of the night all by themselves, they will not wake up looking for the lost eight ounces from bedtime! You might be afraid, just like I was in 2007— when my spouse forgot to give our 10-month-old son his bedtime bottle one fateful night. I was TERRIFIED but my son was not. He sailed right through and slept his normal 11.
5 hours until morning.
So, what’s the issue? Why is bottle-dependence by far one of the most popular reasons we get calls for HELP from tired parents across North America looking for a better solution?
It’s because the baby is not only getting the bottle to fill their belly but it is also tool to initiate sleep and to return to sleep.
Many sleep consultants will call a bedtime bottle a prop, a crutch, or a bad sleep habit. I prefer to call it a "temporary tool" as I never want to guilt or shame a parent for the choices they are making. Where families “fall down” is not recognizing that their child needs to learn HOW to sleep all on their own without the need of external strategies (as we don’t want to replace one external strategy with a new one). I know this one so well … I did not want to be the “human soother” and tried replacing my breast with both the bottle and the pacifier before I sought professional help.
If you are still needing to teach your child HOW to go from awake to asleep all on their own, please keep using the bottle for now until you find someone or a sleep training program you are 100% confident in.
- Teeth are coming in at rapid-fire by this time. This will save time as you will not have to brush their teeth again after the bottle, nor worry about milk deposits.
- Bedtime bottles may start to interfere with dinner. (For some reason, if you are curious, bedtime nursing does not.) In one particular case, an 18-month-old would not eat his meal at 6 pm knowing that he would be getting 18 ounces … yes, you read that correctly, 18 ounces of formula at 7pm before bed.
- Most parents feel like they are ready and that their tiny human is getting enough calories by day to sleep through the night without the need for the “top-up”. Although they are naturally nervous, they are ready and would like to speed up bedtime and get to date night even faster.
As scary as may be for you wonderful parents, it will be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy to your sweet little muffin.
If you are bottle-feeding – on your fateful night of saying goodbye to the bedtime bottle, have the “opposite parent” do the bedtime routine 100% on their own for TWO nights in a row. If you have been alternating consistently since your little one has learned to sleep, then toss a coin on who does the first bedtime without the bottle.
If you would like to keep a bottle in the evening, move it to BEFORE bath rather than afterward.
Second, TRUST your little one! Do NOT replace the bottle with a sippy cup of milk, warm cup of milk or even worse – a bedtime snack. Please trust me on this as it may cause MORE problems down the road. Sleep is all about skill at this age. I know you are not going to starve your precious bundle of joy by day so they will be able to sleep well by night. A little bit of food or milk just before bed will not help them sleep peacefully for 10 to 12 hours.
Continue to use bottles by day and move to cups exclusively when your family is ready to do so.
I am not your feeding expert – I am your sleep expert, but I would recommend that you say goodbye to daytime bottles by the time your child is two years old at the very latest.
Asking a toddler to say goodbye to their bedtime bottle is much more challenging than a baby. We all have habits and the longer we have them, the harder it is to change them! To be successful with this age group – as scary as it is – you have to go cold turkey. Meaning no more bottles AT ALL ... during the day AND at bedtime.
Introducing The Bottle FairyFor these toddlers, I suggest using a super FUN motivational strategy called The Bottle Fairy. In this delightful video below, get to know Pam and find out her trade secrets including the introduction of The Bottle Fairy.
Here’s how to do it …- About a week or so before you are ready, start letting your little one know that they are a Big Girl or Big Boy and that the Bottle Fairy will be coming soon!! She will collect all their bottles to take them back to babies who need them.
Replace the word “bottle” with whatever name your toddler uses to identify them. Quite often it is the word “bubba.” Please only do this lead up for ONE week (no more), as you do not want to create unnecessary anxiety for your child. Even a few days is fine! Don’t worry if your child does not know what a fairy is either. If you’d like, you can rent a book from the library or watch a Netflix children’s show about fairies to introduce the concept.
- Between nap time and bedtime on your big day, make it a GAME. Hide all the bottles around the house and have FUN collecting them all with your little one and put them outside on the doorstep for the Bottle Fairy in a box or a bag.
- When your little one is not looking, sneak outside and collect the bag or box of bottles. Replace them with a gift from the Bottle Fairy. I LOVE it when parents go to the extra trouble of putting Fairy Dust and sparkles! A good idea is to give your toddler a new special sippy cup from the bottle fairy (not to be used at bedtime though) and a special toy for your child to play with.
- At bedtime, if your toddler is looking for their bottle, remind them of the Bottle Fairy and that they are a big kid now! Remind them that there are no more bottles in the home as the Bottle Fairy took them to babies who need them. Focus on making bedtime fun and enjoyable with books and songs.
- As stated earlier, do NOT replace the bedtime bottle with a sippy cup of milk, warm cup of milk, a bottle, or even worse – a bedtime SNACK.
- TRUST that your little one will eventually drink milk from sippy cups or regular cups by day! In all the years that I have been consulting, 99.9% of toddlers start drinking their milk out of their cups within two weeks of the Bottle Fairy coming to their home.
- HAVE FUN!!! There was a little boy who received a toddler car that made noise, and he could safely scoot around the house. He LOVED it. His parents were so worried about saying goodbye to his bottles – in their words, he was “addicted” to them.
Whenever he would say “bubba'' during the day, they would remind him that he was a big boy and that the “bubba fairy” came. Within seconds, his tears would be replaced with a big smile and he would go and find his car to ride on. They were amazed at how easily he adapted at bedtime too. Before they hired me – he needed to fall asleep WITH the bottle in his mouth and needed several bottles throughout the night in order to sleep. It was not just a “top-up” situation.
If you are reading this and your child still relies on the bottle to fall asleep, please note that the Bottle Fairy strategy is only one part of the solution. Please get in touch for a complimentary 15 minute telephone consultation so that we can discuss your particular situation and discuss what is best for you.
As always, this is not medical advice. If you are concerned with your child’s feeding, please consult your IBCLC Lactation Consultant, Pediatrician, Family Doctor, or preferred healthcare professional.
Pam Nease, BA
With a reputation you can trust (4.7⭐ Facebook, 4.9⭐ Google and 5.0⭐ Yelp), a quick fix, coupled with long-term (regression proof) outcomes, we are delighted to have Pam Nease, Founder & CEO of Pam Nease Sleep est. 2009 as our guest this week.
Described as "a miracle worker" by her clients, Pam left a successful corporate career to dedicate her life to helping others with the beautiful gift and vital life skill of independent sleep. Due to the overwhelming demand for her services, she began to train past clients with her loving.simple.practical and FUN sleep solutions after accumulating over 10,000 hours working with one family at a time via her virtual, in-home, and exclusive Sleep Nanny Packages.
Note: Guest blog posts are shared for informational and educational purposes and may not reflect the official policy or position of SlumberPod (parent company, Dovetail Essentials, LLC), our employees and/or contractors.
This blog post was originally published 02/16/2021 but has been updated for 2022.
Note: Guest blog posts are shared for informational and educational purposes and may not reflect the official policy or position of SlumberPod LLC our employees and/or contractors.
April 26, 2022
Tags: Feeding Pam Nease Pam Nease Sleep Sleep Tips
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When to wean your baby off their bottle at night
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The bedtime bottle is often the last bottle to go.
It can be a central part of your baby's bedtime routine, and a source of comfort as they fall asleep.
That can make it a tough habit to break – but you have plenty of time to make the transition. It's best to stop giving your baby bottles between ages 1 and 2. By a year old, your baby is getting their nutritional needs met with daytime meals and snacks, so they don't need the calories from breast milk or formula to get them through the night.
If you're breastfeeding, there's no need to wean your child completely yet. In fact, experts recommend breastfeeding for at least year – or as long as you and your baby want. But once your baby is a year old, they no longer need formula and you can start giving them cow's milk.
No matter what you're serving, it's smart to start transitioning from bottle to a sippy cup or straw cup around age 1. And it's recommended to have your child drinking out of regular open cups by the time they're 2 years old for their dental health.
If your baby was born premature or has other health considerations such as digestive problems or failure to thrive, they may need a bedtime bottle longer.
Talk to your baby's healthcare provider before making changes to their feeding schedule.
Why to wean your baby off their bedtime bottle
If your baby is used to falling asleep while drinking from their bottle, or right after having a bottle, it may be difficult for them to fall asleep without one. It's best to teach your child how to soothe themself to sleep, rather than relying on a bottle at bedtime (more tips on that below).
The longer you wait to stop the bedtime bottle, the more ingrained it will become – and the more difficult it will be to get your child to fall asleep without it.
Another reason to discontinue the bottle is to protect your baby or toddler's teeth. If your child falls asleep while drinking from a bottle, they may have milk pooling in their mouth and around their teeth when they go to sleep, which can cause tooth decay.
This is the case even if your baby doesn't fall asleep while drinking from a bottle. If you put them to bed right after giving them a bottle, the milk may pool in their mouth and around their teeth.
It's best for them to not have milk in their mouth when they fall asleep, especially once they have teeth. Remember to always brush your baby's teeth after giving them milk, and don't give your baby more milk after brushing.
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This is also a good time to introduce a sippy cup. Sippy cups that feel like a bottle (with a soft, flexible spout) can be a good tool for transitioning your baby from a bottle, but the best thing for your child's teeth is a regular open cup or straw cup.
Once your baby is drinking from a sippy cup, don't put them to bed with a sippy cup of milk or juice.
How to wean your baby off their nighttime bottle
Babies are good at self-regulating their feedings, so your baby may "tell" you when they're ready to drop that last bottle of the day by turning their head away or consistently not finishing it.
But if your baby isn't ready to quit the bedtime bottle on their own, it can seem like a daunting task – especially if it's central to your routine or something your child finds comfort in.
You can still maintain much of your baby's routine without a bottle, and find other ways to comfort and soothe them before bed.
Here are some ways you can help the transition along:
- If your baby regularly falls asleep when they drink from their bottle, start by moving the bottle to the beginning of their bedtime routine so they can get used to falling asleep without it.
- Gradually reduce the amount of breast milk or formula in your baby's bedtime bottle. Give them one ounce less every night for a week or so, until there's only one ounce left in the bottle, then remove it from your bedtime routine.
- Keep all the other parts of your child's bedtime routine the same – taking a bath, putting on pajamas, reading a book, singing songs, snuggling, and so on.
- If you want to replace the bottle part of your child's bedtime routine with something else (like singing a lullaby), implement that with the bottle for a few days before cutting the bottle out. That way, they're already familiar with this new part of the routine when you stop giving the bottle.
- Offer your baby other comfort objects at night, like a favorite blanket or stuffed toy, once they're at least a year old.
- Give your child some extra snuggles and quality time before bed.
- Offer a cup of milk with dinner or with a before-bed snack instead of the bottle.
- Explain to your child that because they're getting so big and grown up, they don't need the bottle before bed anymore.
- On a similar note, give your child plenty of praise when they first start drinking out of a cup: "Wow – look at you drink with that cup! You're so big!" It can help to choose a cup that's their favorite color, or that's decorated with a favorite cartoon character or animal.
- Once you've cut the bottle out, be consistent. Don't go back and forth between offering the bottle or not. Be confident and optimistic about the change for your child.
Kandis Lake
Kandis Lake is a registered nurse, health writer, and mom of three kids. She lives in Utah and loves reading and adventuring with her family.
Should I feed my baby at night?
Restful sleep and nutrition
Each child has his own individual rhythm of sleep and nutrition, as well as individual need for them. Just in newborns in the first weeks of life, the ability to distinguish between day and night has not yet been developed. The child is simply not used to going without food for a long time. Indeed, in the womb, he could satisfy hunger at any time of the day or night. Therefore, at least in the first weeks, he will certainly wake you up at night for feeding.
If you are formula feeding your baby, unload yourself and take turns with your partner for nightly feedings. It is also possible if you express milk in the evening and store it in the refrigerator (from +4°C to +6°C, closed for no more than 2 days).
After three months, the baby can go without food for longer, so he has a longer nighttime sleep than daytime. Starting at about 6 months old, babies no longer need to feed at night, because at this age the rhythm of hunger and satiety in a healthy child stops at daytime.
Before going to bed - milk porridge
Milk dessert with biscuits
Milk porridge at night is more satisfying than milk food. HiPP milk porridges are available both in instant form for easy dilution with water, and in ready-made form, for example, our Good Night milk desserts. You can give milk to your baby first from a bottle and later from a cup. It goes without saying that with the introduction of complementary foods, the child should get used to the spoon, and his diet should contain a sufficient amount of solid food.
Weaning from night feeding
Night feeding can become a habit that your baby will only reluctantly say goodbye to. If your baby keeps waking up during the night, try offering unsweetened tea or boiled water, but don't feed him. Night feeding even interferes with uninterrupted sleep and can damage the first teeth of the child, since after a nightly meal, the child's teeth, as a rule, are no longer cleaned. Of course, it will take some time to wean your baby from night feedings, but in the end you will definitely reach the goal!
Learn more: Tips
Video: Weaning tips - OB tips Video: Baby massage Diet planFood and drinkDigestion for your babyOn holiday with your baby baby? Do I need to feed my baby at night? When will my baby start sleeping at night without waking up? Tips for improving your baby's sleep
Baby crying Motor and speech
Choice of complementary foods
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puree from 4 months - Vegetable puree from 5 months - Vegetable puree from 6 months - Vegetable puree from 7 months - Vegetable puree from 8 months Fruit puree - from 4 months - from 5 months months - from 6 monthsMeat purees - Meat pureesMeat and vegetable menu - from 8 months - from 12 monthsFish and vegetable menu - from 9Soups - from 6 months - from 7 months - from 8 months - from 12 months - From 18 months "Good night" in jars - Cereal porridge with fruit in jarsDrinks - Health drinks - Granulated teas - Tea bags - JuicesCookies - Cookies
Up to what age to feed the baby at night and how to replace formula
Baby formula is only a forced measure to replace mother's milk in the absence of sufficient lactation or underweight in the baby.
In all other respects, the infant formula feeding algorithm remains the same as with breastfeeding. The baby also needs nightly feedings about every 3-4 hours. This is due to scientifically proven facts. Babies up to a year old have an accelerated metabolism, food is digested faster, and naturally, they experience hunger at night. Also, any anxiety of the baby at night forces him to demand his mother's participation, and of course - food as a sedative. There is even a theory that children are genetically woken up to eat to avoid "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" in their sleep.
But also can't it continue indefinitely? The child grows, develops actively, from the age of 6 months receives a variety of complementary foods, and over time should form a normal daily routine. And for this you need to figure out: how to wean a child at night to eat the mixture in the most gentle ways.
Up to what age to give formula at night
Experts differ on this issue, but the average age when you can do without night feedings is nevertheless derived.
Infants with normal development can sleep peacefully at night without formula 10-12 hours from 9-12 months. Of course, if parents do not consider it necessary to restrict their child in nutrition, they can safely continue to feed their child at night and beyond. But they must be aware that, firstly, over time, these periods of eating become just a habit for the baby. And secondly, mothers should also think about their own well-being after sleepless nights. So, the approximate age of weaning a child from night feedings has been determined, it remains to find out how to replace the mixture for the night after a year for the first time of the transition to a new regimen.
Night formula alternative
Formula feeding formula is extremely nutritious and delicious food for your baby. Therefore, the nightly replacement should be unequal, so that the baby subsequently feels that he does not need to wake up for such food. For these reasons, many mothers, thinking about how to replace the mixture for the night, use not the best products.
