Getting rid of the bottle

tiamai_d

I used avent bottles with both my boys and simply changed to the softer spout lid, then the harder one, then a different cup (that they chose) and then they decided on their own to go onto adult cups and glasses.

Is she having a bottle before going to bed or taking a bottle to bed with her, I didn't pick up on that.



At night my boys use bottles with sports lids and some very weak diluting juice or water (they wake during the night for a drink as do I and milk would go off, so its juice or water).

Mummyboo

Hi thanks for all your great advice. :T

He has a bottle of milk at night in bed which is normally drank quickly before he goes to sleep.

Think I might just let him have it a little longer. My main concern was his teeth.

To be honest the bottles that I have all have the teats bitten so the hole is quite large (I was being stubborn and refusing to buy anymore).

So if I get over my stubborness should I buy the softer teats???

tiamai_d

Mummyboo wrote: »

Hi thanks for all your great advice. :T

He has a bottle of milk at night in bed which is normally drank quickly before he goes to sleep.

Think I might just let him have it a little longer. My main concern was his teeth.

To be honest the bottles that I have all have the teats bitten so the hole is quite large (I was being stubborn and refusing to buy anymore).

So if I get over my stubborness should I buy the softer teats???

If your brand of bottle does spouts to fit that bottle, try them. That way you are introducing the spout that you would have on a cup but it's still his bottle.

sooty&sweep

Hi

My little boy was over 3 when he gave up his bed time bottle.
We were on holiday and I'd forgotten the bottle and so it was either milk out of a cup or none and from then on it was out of a cup.

Toothsmith

TotallyBroke wrote: »

What do you think about giving hot chocolate?
Maybe consider putting some cocoa powder into his milk into a beaker cup. Leave the lid off so that he can see it is different then put the lid on so he can drink it.

Tell him that no way ever can hot chocolate go into a bottle it's just not right. It'll be his choice then to either keep the bottle or change to the chocolate.
It's upto you then if you continue with the chocolate or slowly reduce the amount until it's back to milk.

Don't do this!!!!!

Sugary drinks just before bedtime is suicide for teeth!

Pure unadultarated milk in a bottle will not do any harm to the teeth. (So long as it is drunk and taken away. Kids falling asleep with a bottle in their mouth might do harm as the milk starts to digest in the mouth).

The only 'safe' drinks for the teeth are milk and water. ANYTHING else will do some sort of damage. That damage will be particularly severe if given last thing at night.

The real problem with bottles and beakers is that kids can suck little bits out of them over a very long period of time. This 'little and often' is much more damaging to teeth than a drink, drunk over a minute or two, then the mouth can get on with fixing the damage.

So - if your child still has a bottle or beaker, that's fine, but ONLY put milk or water in it. NOTHING else. And if it's milk at bedtime, don't let them fall asleep with a milky bottle in place.

TotallyBroke

Toothsmith wrote: »

Don't do this!!!!!

Sugary drinks just before bedtime is suicide for teeth!

Pure unadultarated milk in a bottle will not do any harm to the teeth. (So long as it is drunk and taken away. Kids falling asleep with a bottle in their mouth might do harm as the milk starts to digest in the mouth).

The only 'safe' drinks for the teeth are milk and water. ANYTHING else will do some sort of damage. That damage will be particularly severe if given last thing at night.

The real problem with bottles and beakers is that kids can suck little bits out of them over a very long period of time. This 'little and often' is much more damaging to teeth than a drink, drunk over a minute or two, then the mouth can get on with fixing the damage.

So - if your child still has a bottle or beaker, that's fine, but ONLY put milk or water in it. NOTHING else. And if it's milk at bedtime, don't let them fall asleep with a milky bottle in place.

You chose to only quote part of my message. I did say that my lo has this drink half an hour before going to bed and downstairs.
We do not allow any food or drinks upstairs in our house. Before going to bed we go for a wee and we also brush teeth.

Toothsmith

Yes- I saw that. You may do it that way, but many don't, and a significant number of people who act on a recommendation like that won't either.

If kids are perfectly happy drinking milk, then I don't like them to find out that it's possible to put other flavours into it.

It's a slippery slope that's best not to go anywhere near for as long as possible.

TotallyBroke

Sorry yes I should've made my suggestion a lot clearer.
My lo has not had anything to drink late at night since he gave up his bedtime breast feed.

I had to add flavour as like me ds will not drink warm milk on it's own. We both could drink gallons of it cold but not warm.
Plus I think the warm drink helps him to sleep. The bath before just helps it doesn't finish off the job.
We do dinner, bath, hot drink. Then upstairs for teeth clean and toilet. Into bed with story and then sleep.

Toothsmith

I know what you mean. Mrs T.S. said the same about ours, but I wasn't convinced it being warm made much difference!! Especially as 'tepid' was more the description of the temperature rather than 'warm'!!!

With dentist hat on I would say cold unadultarated milk is a million times better than warm stuff with something sugary in it - even if it is a good half hour before bed time.

daveyjp

Are we the only parents advised by the health visitor to throw all the bottles away shortly after our daughter's first birthday?

At 2.5 I can't imagine her using a bottle now, I'm so used to seeing her using a proper cup.