https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Apr 2026 05:53:32 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2300491 Thu, 24 Sep 2015 08:40:56 +0000 JennyPenny 2300491@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So last night we did a bottle (waiting on my prime shipment of munchkin cups :)) during books, then brushed teeth and went to bed. He went to sleep no problem, YAY! But then he woke up at 4 and I couldn't get him back to sleep without offering a bottle of water to take to bed. This makes me wonder (worry?) that he was self-soothing with the bottle we left in his crib on nights that he took a bottle to bed.... Maybe I'll leave a little bottle of water in his crib in case he wants it during the night? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2300489 Thu, 24 Sep 2015 08:40:20 +0000 looch 2300489@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JennyPenny: Then what I would do is to continue giving milk, in a bottle at night, but not in the crib. </p> <p>We didn't begin consistently brushing teeth as part of the night time routine (after milk) until my son was more along 2 years old, probably bad, I know...but at age 5 we have zero cavities. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2300486 Thu, 24 Sep 2015 08:38:53 +0000 JennyPenny 2300486@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: It was both the bottle aspect and I was letting him take the bottle to bed, so falling asleep with it in his mouth - no teeth brushing. I was hoping to replace it with something like what you're describing, but since he's 14mo he doesn't get all that much from a cup yet. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2300287 Thu, 24 Sep 2015 05:42:22 +0000 jape14 2300287@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JennyPenny: we just started using the same Munchkin straw cup that @Lbee: and @Madison43: use - literally yesterday - and it seems like we finally have a winner! Highly recommend!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2300263 Thu, 24 Sep 2015 02:08:50 +0000 FannyMae 2300263@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>my 3.5 year old DD just stopped drinking from a bottle at bedtime about 6 months ago. No harm done to teeth, regardless of the "wean before 12 months" mandate that the maternal health nurses have. actually, I don't know of any kids that have weaned that early, most of my friends' kids the same age still drink from a bottle.</p> <p>I decided to swap to using a ceramic mug (one of my coffee mugs) with a straw, and she drinks a smaller volume of milk and seems content with that. we brush teeth afterwards, then go to bed for storytime/lights out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2300254 Thu, 24 Sep 2015 00:58:28 +0000 looch 2300254@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Why would this be a habit that needs to be cut out? My son is almost 5 and drinks milk in a cup before bed while we look at books. Teeth are brushed afterwards, he uses the toilet and into bed.</p> <p>Are you concerned about the bottle/nipple or the milk itself? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2300181 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 21:50:11 +0000 MrsSRS 2300181@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>FWIW we use the cheap take and toss straw cups but I buy disposable straws because I am lazy and because they are less likely to poke LO in the mouth. LO can drink a lot from them because there is no resistance to the flow. Of course this means there is no resistance to spilling either. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299683 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:44:40 +0000 JennyPenny 2299683@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Madison43: @LBee: Awesome! Thanks for the recs :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299615 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:08:15 +0000 LBee 2299615@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JennyPenny: We use the weighted straw cups that @Madison43: uses. He can actually hold it upside down and drink through the straw if he so desires. I'm sure he's going to be completely lost with any other straw cup, but it works for now. </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Click-Weighted-Flexi-Trainer/dp/B00JQSITMI" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Click-Weighted-Flexi-Trainer/dp/B00JQSITMI</a></p> <p>My nephew uses this one and I've heard other people speak really highly of it being "bottle like": </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/NUK-Learner-Patterns-5-Ounce-count/dp/B00GEF7LMA" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/NUK-Learner-Patterns-5-Ounce-count/dp/B00GEF7LMA</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299605 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:04:41 +0000 Madison43 2299605@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JennyPenny: we use the munchkin weighted straw cups and their click lock cups. When she was your LO's age, I preferred the weighted straw ones because the flow through the straw was slower. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299544 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 14:29:36 +0000 JennyPenny 2299544@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks ladies!! Lot's of great insights :)</p> <p>@Truth Bombs: agreed - I feel like if we don't kick it soon it'll be really hard later. Since it's a pretty new habit I think sooner is definitely better than later. </p> <p>@Madison43: That's an interesting idea. He just drank from a straw for the first time this weekend so a straw cup would never have occurred to me, so I might try that! Any recs on specific cups? ETA: just noticed @daniellemybelle's suggestion for playtex straw cups too!</p> <p>@BabyTsMom: heh, yeah. We thought nothing of the 6:30 waketime before, but now that we've had a taste of 8 we're getting greedy :)</p> <p>@LBee: I didn't have high hopes for water either. Dinner and bedtime are an hour apart, so if we move the bottle to the start of bedtime routine it'd be about 45 min after dinner and 15 min before bed. Can't make any sizeable difference right? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299531 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 14:21:22 +0000 LBee 2299531@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If it were me, I would move toward it slowly. First I would institute brushing teeth after the milk and then I would start towards a cup. I take less issue with the bottle then the not brushing teeth before bed thing. I think tons of sippy cups are almost exactly like bottles, so I don't really get the whole "no bottles" thing. </p> <p>For what it's worth, I don't think the bottle of water will actually extend the sleep. I would be more inclined to say the extra sleep is from the WCM calories and not from just the bottle habit. Have you experimented with giving him more milk at dinner? What's the spread in time between dinner and bedtime? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299518 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 14:14:01 +0000 jape14 2299518@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are still on 2 bottles per day, including one before bed - haven't found a straw cup that he likes to drink milk out of yet (though he will chug water out of any and all straw cups). Anyway, at our 12 month appointment, our pediatrician said not to worry too much about bottle weaning right at 12 months as long as we brush his teeth afterward. She said that the "no bottles after 1" recommendation was a general recommendation to discourage people from using bottles particularly if they are giving excessive milk (like 30oz+) and/or are introducing other liquids besides milk and water (e.g., juice, SODA, kool-aid etc - she said she sees it all the time which is slightly horrifying). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299477 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 14:04:03 +0000 daniellemybelle 2299477@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We didn't do bedtime bottles but we had a hard time finding a cup that LO liked. She wasn't attached to the bottle (she was still nursing) but since I didn't produce much the only way to really get WCM in her was with a bottle. I wasn't going to be a Nazi about it and deprive her of the milk she needed to force her to a cup.</p> <p>We just kept trying cups and would also let her have a bottle or two per day. Eventually around 14 months we did strike gold with Playtex straw cups and the switch was fairly painless.</p> <p>Even now at 2 she will drink a cup of milk while we read books and sing and then brush her teeth before bed. I would just get in a habit of teeth brushing after the bottle, and keep trying with cups. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299437 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:41:07 +0000 BabyTsMom 2299437@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>As long as you're brushing teeth afterwards, I don't think it's a huge deal either. But FWIW, a 6:30am wakeup is totally normal... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299423 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:35:02 +0000 Madison43 2299423@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JennyPenny: we do a straw cup of milk while we read stories before bed and then brush teeth. My LO didn't take nearly the volume of milk from a cup as she did a bottle at first, but once she got used to it, it evened out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299408 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:26:48 +0000 mrsrain 2299408@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My daughter gets a bottle of milk between dinner and bedtime. It is the start of her night routine (bottle, diaper, PJs, say night-nights, song, crib). You could try moving the bottle back half an hour until you get it where you want it in your bedtime routine. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299403 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:24:25 +0000 Truth Bombs 2299403@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would just do milk in a cup. I was adamant that we cut bottles completely at 12 months. I think the longer a child uses them, the harder they become to get rid of. So I would just offer a cup of milk close to bed time to help him fill up his tummy. Then brush teeth and go to bed. Even if he's not drinking the same quantity, it will probably help at least a bit with sleeping longer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299393 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:20:29 +0000 Greentea 2299393@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: I agree. </p> <p>I personally give my kid all the milk she wants... and no, she doesn't drink an excessive amount. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299365 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:07:01 +0000 Mae 2299365@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't personally believe this rush to get kids totally off bottles at 12 mo is as important as people make it seem. If giving him a bottle then brushing his teeth helps him sleep longer at night I'd do that. Maybe up until he was 2 or so if necessary. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-bedtime-bottle-lengthens-toddlers-sleep#post-2299357 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:03:21 +0000 JennyPenny 2299357@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Here's my current parenting dilemma that I'm hoping to get some insight on. DS is almost 14 months and had a very good sleep routine and healthy habits until a recent vacation. He was completely bottle-weaned and had never nursed or needed a bottle or other food to fall asleep. </p> <p>On vacation we started using a bottle of cow's milk at bedtime to help him fall asleep because he was having a hard time when in the same hotel room with us with more stimulation then usual. We got back two weeks ago and started trying to break the new habit. Sometimes he went to sleep fine without, sometimes he didn't and we would cave and give him the bottle. It would probably be a somewhat quick fix to get him completely off the bottle BUT we noticed that he sleeps longer on bottle nights. He's consistently been waking up at 6:30am (previous regular wake up time) when he doesn't have the bottle, and 8am when he's had the bottle. It's glorious!!</p> <p>So here's my question - I know a bottle of milk to fall asleep is a bad habit and is bad for their teeth. Any suggestions for remedies that might keep the extra sleep? My thoughts are maybe trying a bottle of water, or doing the bottle 10 min before bed and then brushing teeth. But he was completely bottle weaned before so both of these seem like not great solutions. He drinks well from a cup but definitely not the same quantities as he does from the bottle so I'm not sure a night time cup would have the same effect. Are there other solutions I'm missing? </p>