So I've posted before asking for tips on bottle weaning for my one year old. Well today my husband announced that since we were out of formula that it would be our first day without offering bottles of formula to our son. I offered him milk or water in sippy cups at his meals and snacks, but at his naps I gave him a bottle with water in it to try to help ease the transition of going down to sleep without a bottle of formula. His first nap was a disaster - he was very upset about not having a regular bottle and he scream/cried for about an hour and then I just got him up because I knew he wasn't going to put himself to sleep. His second nap he cried for a bit too, but eventually went to sleep. When I put him to bed, I rocked him but instead of offering formula I offered another bottle of water and he drank it because I think bottles are more of a soothing mechanism than anything else. But then tonight at around eleven he woke up screaming and crying inconsolably. My husband went in to try to calm him down and he offered him a bottle with water in it again. My son drank some, but then I guess he reached a point where he realized that wasn't what he wanted. My husband and I were at a loss for what to do so my husband put him back in his crib and my son proceeded to scream/cry for at least another thirty minutes before eventually falling asleep. My husband is lucky because somehow he can sleep through the crying, but I can't. It makes me feel terrible to listen to it, but both my husband and I are thinking that it's best to take away formula cold turkey rather than be inconsistent and continue to keep up bad habits at night. I'm not really asking for opinions about letting a child cry it out. But I am concerned that maybe he could still be hungry in the middle of the night and I would feel horrible knowing he was crying because I wasn't feeding him enough. That said, how would I know without reinforcing old habits of going in and giving him formula bottles whenever he wakes up? Ugh. Also, did you experience anything similar when you first took your child's night bottles away?
He's currently back asleep but my mom guilt is raging for letting him cry and for not giving him what I know he really wants. But I also know he really needs to learn better nighttime habits. This is one of those times where I wish parenting came with an easy instruction manual to follow.