Question
Hello,
My 2.5 yr old boy still uses a bottle to self soothe at night. This habit was created from living in a one bedroom apartment and trying to keep him quiet through the night when he was younger. We obviously hate this habit as it has kept him waking up numerous times throughout the night since he was an infant. I sleep with him in his bed to help get him back to sleep with the bottle throughout the night. I have a couple questions… First, before I address sleeping in the bed with him, do I need to get rid of the bottle? I feel like getting him off the bottle needs to be dealt with before the cosleeping. My second question: how do I get him off of the bottle? I have read about watering it down… That does not work. He will drink a bottle full of water throughout the night and be just as content. Do I tell him he can only have three bottles in 24 hours and just give him a smaller and smaller amount every day? Do I throw a ‘goodbye bottle party’ and go cold Turkey? I have let him pick out sippy cups to replace the bottles but after one or two feedings he instantly wants the bottle back. I’m just looking for some good tips or tricks that I have not tried that might help me cut this bottle habit out and help him self soothe. He does have a pacifier but he does not want to use it in replace of his bottle at night. Do you have any other tips or tricks that may be effective? We now live in a two bedroom condo but we still try to keep down for our neighbors so cold turkey and screaming throughout the night really make me anxious.
Once I am successful getting him off of the bottle, I think getting out of his room will not be as hard. He doesn’t really wake up for my comfort throughout the night, he wakes up for the bottle. Thank you so much for any advice!
