Hello!

I have a 3 year old who drinks juice or water in a cup or glass but whenever it’s milk – formula or fresh cows milk – she will only have it in a bottle and she will want to lay down.

She wakes up at night hungry and wants a bottle. Is this ok or do I need to make measures to stop it?


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  • I have the same thing happening with my DD. I spoke to a community nurse about it and she said that so long we brush her teeth after she had her bottle it is ok to give her a bottle in the evening. My problem is how to not let her sleep while she is drinking. I tried already few times and no success yet. Good luck to you.


  • She’s three – she will wean when she is ready. My eldest boy (pictured with his baby brother) has just turned four on Dec 31 and only weaned off his night time bottle around six months ago. When they are ready they will do it :)


  • Give the milk to her in a plastic bottle or cup with a straw that comes out the top. If you look around you can get some lovely one my son has a minnion one purchased from the local supermarket. Last year at easter we made a big thing of the Easter Bunny leaving eggs in exchange for his bottles and dummies. So the next morning the bunny left a few extra eggs where the bottles were left out. There were a few massive tantrums in the next few days but he realised the Bunny couldnt return the bottles till next year..He took to his cup with a straw easily after a few days and loves it,


  • You could also let your toddler know that on a certain date, the bottles will go. Eg. a birthday or at Easter. You could have them leave the bottles out for the birthday fairy or easter bunny who will take them for another little boy or girl who needs them. All the best, it’s hard when they’re emotionally attached to their bottles.


  • Get rid of the bootless so she doesnt have a choice but to drink milk from a cup. As for waking in the middle of the night for milk, don’t give it to her. She is waking up because she gets the milk. If she knows theres no milk, she won’t wake up.


  • My baby was only offered water in his bottle of a night and he soon decided it wasn’t enough to wake up for.


  • We also replaced milk with water and that worked for us. Eventually he went off the water at night and no more night bottles.


  • If she’s waking up hungry in the night, try giving her more to eat before bed. Giving milk during the night can lead to tooth decay so I’d try stopping it if you can.


  • Have you tried just offering water at night and having no bottles available? That’s how we got our daughter off night time bottles


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