# 18 month old drinks bottle of formula



## urmysunshyn (Jun 30, 2006)

My 18 month old drinks formula from a bottle.

She demands a bottle before bed, sometimes during the night, and first thing in the morning. THese are 4 ounce bottles of a stage 2 formula. We started the stage 2 formula because she weaned from nursing when I got pregnant again and she was constipated from cows milk.

We're stopping the middle of the night bottle by taking her to the bathroom for a drink of water and laying down with her until she falls back asleep.

About when is it common for toddlers to stop using a bottle? What do others do when your toddler wakes up during the night wanted to eat or drink?

Thanks.


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## octobermom (Aug 31, 2005)

I both bottle and nursed because there was no more "need" for us to use formula as she nursed and by then our suppy issues had greatly inproved I weaned her from the bottle at 13 months basically by tossing it (she only took 1-2 bottles a day so weaning down really wasn't an option and again she was still nursing. Childrens need to suck though are real and extend for many well past a year so I don't at all think its unreasonable for an 18 month old to take a bottle. There are some concerning factors to think about though. FOrmula milk or other suger laced stuff (not BM though) against the teeth at night can be a huge factor in cavities and other dental problems latter. There is some research to suggest bottles can delay speach as it doesn't work out that tounge to pallet like nursing does. I'd consider doing a few things. (if you ever are or not so far) Don't allow her to walk around dangling a bottle from her teeth, start giving her juices and "milks" in a cup or say she needs to sit at the table or cuddle with you and limit taking drinks to water. You may want to try switching to a straw cup and see how she likes it it can still help sastify her sucking need but is better for her oral development.
Now I may be diffrent here but having a toddler with serious food issues I'd personally be fine with countinuing the formula especially since nursing is no longer an option. Toddler diets can be soo iffy and frustrating at times formula can still provide "most" nutrution just make sure your balancing out her daily calories and not "over feeding" I'm sure if your following her cues ect shes fine.


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## Terabith (Mar 10, 2006)

: My almost 3 year old still takes 3-4 bottles a day. I know it's bad....but she didn't nurse from the tap (tried really hard, ep'd for six months, etc), but she really loves her bottle. It's always been a major comfort thing. I figured that if she was nursing, I wouldn't be weaning her. She doesn't suck her thumb or a pacifier. But she gets 1) a bottle of cow's milk in the morning (8 oz), usually whole tho I have been just buying skim the last few weeks, 2) before nap time she gets an 8 oz bottle of soy milk (occassionally I've hand expressed breast milk for her. She drinks the bottle while I read her books and then I wash it and fill it with water for her to nap with. 3) Before bed, she has a 4 oz bottle of prune juice and a 4 oz bottle of goat or occassionally rice milk, again while reading stories. (Prune juice bc she gets constipated often). I give her a bottle of water for bed.

I figure she's not walking around with it all day. I've decided I'm not going to take that comfort away, dentists be d*mned.


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## urmysunshyn (Jun 30, 2006)

It' good to know that other babies her age are still using a bottle. I get some frowns here and there when people see her using a bottle still. She does drink from a sippy, straw cup, and most recently a regular kids cup which she likes.

The funny thing is if I put formula in something other than the bottle then she won't drink it or if I put something besides formula in her bottle she won't drink it.

I guess like everything else, when she wants to she'll change.

She really is a nibbler also. She won't eat vegetables but would eat any fruit I give her. I need to find some recipes where I can sneak in the veggies.

Helene


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## KoalaMommy (Apr 7, 2004)

my dd weaned herself from the bottle shortly after 18 months. She was taking a bottle at bedtime, though hers had cow's milk and then breast milk once dd#2 was born. She just stopped drinking as much until she didn't want the bottle anymore. Although, lately she's started demanding juice at bedtime, so, I guess it never truly ends.


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## mammastar2 (Dec 17, 2004)

Dd was a bottle drinker until she turned 4, although it was cow's milk after she turned 2. She would have a bottle at night, one for a nap, and then one or more when she was tired or stressed. She'd only drink lying down too, and was tall for her age, so we'd get a few funny looks when someone would round a corner in the library to find her stretched out on my lap with a bottle!









We gradually decreased how much was in the bottle, especially for bedtime: it certainly made staying dry at night easier! Eventually it was so little that she was cool with the idea of 'when I turn 4, I won't need one anymore.' Now she has a small glass of milk before bed sometimes, but no bottle.


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## afishwithabike (Jun 8, 2005)

They stop when they want to. Sometimes it is merely a comfort thing. I would't worry about it.


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## LeosMama (Sep 6, 2005)

My 2.5 yo still gets a cow's milk bottle at night (sometimes with yogurt in it). We cuddle up and read stories or watch a movie and have a bottle of milk together, then it's night-night time. Just part of our daily routine. At some point he will be done with it. Who knows when?

What exactly are you concerned about? The baby-ness of it? They won't be babies forever, they won't take bottles forever. They'll grow out of it.


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## urmysunshyn (Jun 30, 2006)

i became concerned because most of the other moms i know don't give their babies around 18 months bottles anymore.

i suppose that my daughter will like everything else stop when she's ready. thanks for the comments.


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## 2M's Mom (Aug 4, 2006)

My DD was similar, wanting her bottle all the time, and only wanting formula in it. I was able to switch her to milk slowly, but it took 2 months! We ended up taking the bottle away when DS gave up the bottle (he was easy because he didn't have the bottle very long). She was just over 2, and he was just about 1. I would get a lot of comments and looks when she would have a bottle in public. And, of all her little friends she was the only one even close to her age with a bottle. But, you know, that was her method of comfort and it worked for her. Once we put the bottles away she only asked for it once (I gave it to her) and then never again. Maybe it was more my crutch then hers? Anyway, like all the PP's said, it seems like what you are doing it fine!


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## Vicitoria (Dec 17, 2004)

My son is 2. He uses a sippy cup and drinks milk but still drinks a bottle at night. Usually around 5am. sometimes earlier. He's starting to give it up little by little. I don't want him drinking the milk in the middle of the night. He goes through water bottle too though. It's really annoying because we have to change his diaper at least once to keep up with it! We are transitioning to a toddler bed from co-sleeping at this point and he actually went the other night with nothing until 7 am! It was sooooo cool! Everything in good time when they are ready. Sometimes it's just hard to be patient.


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## Mom2lilpeeps (Aug 19, 2006)

hi I am new to this site and am so relieved to hear other Moms not stressing about getting their toddlers off of bottles. My 2.5 year old stopped taking the bottle one day about a month ago and my son 19months still takes one at nap time and before bed. I figure they won't go to college drinking bottles so why rush them. They are already growing up so quickly! I don't talk about weaning and other issues with some moms I know because they seem to be on a specific timeline with their children and I am not. To each his own but wow what a relief to find this site! I look forward to talking with ya'll.

Candy


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## Yo Becca (Apr 17, 2005)

I wouldn't be too concerned about the bottle...but you might want to start transitioning her away from formula. You could do it like folks do when switching to decaf - little at a time switch her to milk or water. I personally would worry about the excess sugar in formula and that it would affect her motivation to eat a variety of foods as her primary source of nutrition. At that age, my DD was still nursing, but not really for nutrition.


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## SleepyMamaBear (Jun 5, 2005)

we do bottles filled with water for nap and bedtime and when she night wakes.
all of her milk(soy and organic local pasture fed cows milk) is either in a sippee cup, a sigg bottle with sipper lid, or a cup with a straw.
i am so incredibly scared for cavities with her, so shortly after she turned a year old we put water in her going to sleep bottles, and she started getting all of her milks in cups.

i havent read any other replies, just wanted to give my two cents.

also. some kids dont lose that need to suckle til they are as old as 7! i am letting Addy bottle wean on her own time, and not stressing about it, and when she is done needing to suckle to sleep, she will be done. hopefully she wont need to suckle that long, and if she does it would be nice for her to find her thumb. she currently laughs when i ask her if she likes to suck on her thumb. she thinks its a joke.


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## msjd123 (Jun 11, 2005)

My dd is 17 months old today and is still very attached to her naptime and bedtime bottles. She drinks soy milk in them, but she always gets one first thing in the morning, before nap time, and before bed. Sometimes she wanders with it in the mornings, but after breakfast, that's it -- Mommy makes it disappear.







At naptime and bedtime, we cuddle and she falls asleep in my or dh's arms with it, but we've never allowed her to have it in bed. Like someone else said, I think of it like nursing. I wouldn't suddenly wean her at this age, so why take away her going-to-sleep source of comfort? She also won't drink soy milk out of anything but a bottle, and we're veggie, so I'm also hesitant to take away one of her major sources of fat and protein.

As for formula, I think that's your call. We switched when we ran out of formula around 14 months, I think, and really, I wouldn't have switched her if it weren't for the cost. Dd was on Alimentum, a hypoallergenic formula that cost $25/pound.







Mercifully, soy milk is more affordable.


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## urmysunshyn (Jun 30, 2006)

THose are all great replies. I'll try weaning to water for nighttime bottles. I'm having my second in Sept so maybe I can pump some bottles for my 18 month old as well instead of the formula.

I do notice she is a picky eater. Maybe the formula affects this? How much sugar is too much? I'll check the can to see how much sugar is in the formula.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

I beleive in child-led weaning- if child-led weaning from the breast isnt' possible, then why rush the child off the bottle? 18mo still have a need to suck! Just use common sense about her teeth- if she'll accept water in her bottle, she can fill her sucking needs without worry about tooth decay. If not, then you're probably on the right track with "weaning" from the middle-of-the-night bottle, but continuing bottles of formula at other times of day.

If I wasn't able to BF, I'd probably use formula, or a mixture of formula and whole milk, at least until age 2.

With most breastfed toddlers, nutrition and comfort go hand in hand. With bottlefed toddlers, they don't have to. She can drink formula in a cup with meals and use a pacifier or a bottle of water for her sucking needs. Stop using the formula when you're confident that her diet is consistently varied enough to be adequate for her- and let her suck on the bottle as long as she needs to.


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## boricuaqueen327 (Oct 11, 2004)

DD still gets a bottle of either cow milk or stage 2 formula. We had breastfeeding issues and she was completely on formula at 6 months. I believe wholeheartedly in child led weaning from the breast and the bottle. I will let her have her bottles until she is ready to let them go. Already she is wanting more and more to use a grown up cup or a straw sippy when we are out so it wont be too long before she gives up her bottles I think. Anyway, i see nothing wrong with toddlers using a bottle/sippy cup for comfort if they cant breastfeed ( or even if they can). I just make sure dd's teeth are brushed often, she doesnt walk around with a bottle in her mouth and nothing goes in the bottle but milk/formula or water.

WIC and the Ped. are on my case to get her off of it but her speech is great, her teeth are super healthy and she is growing and eating well so I am not concerned about her using a bottle right now.


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