Hi! Everyone! You know how, when your second child comes, you swear you won't make the mistakes and allow bad habits to form like you did with the first child? But instead, you end up creating worse ones? Long story short and all excuses aside. Our 2.5 year old still uses a bottle. This is embarrassing to admit. She only needs her bottle at bedtime, but now that has bloosumed into middle of the night feeding as well! ARG!! For various reasons, she was not weaned at 18 months like her brother and now at 30 months she still has the **** thing. I know cold-turkey is the best, but we've never been very good at letting our kids "cry it out". Daddy and our 5 year old are leaving on a fishing trip today and I want to be rid of bottles forever while their gone. Any advice or words of wisdom? Anybody have experince with a sim ilar situation? Thanks bunches.

FranticMommy

Sorry to break it to you, but crying it out is the best answer. I did it with my daughter. She wanted to keep nursing and it was time to wean her. It took a night of her cying and then she was fine. Its really not as bad as you think. Good luck!

hello... not nice i had a similiar problem with the dummy, at 2.5 they do have a good understanding , although my daughter was 3yrs a star chart worked with her and when she went several nights without a dummy she had a reward , we put the reward in eye shot so that she was reminded about the pressie , crying it out is difficult we felt the same you feel guilty because you were the one who gave it too them and now you are taking it off them, you could try giving water in the middle of the night instead of milk that way they might realise that water is not worth waking up for and perhaps give up, perhaps compromise not at night but can in the day,no easy answer i dont think! hard work being a mum constantly worrying .. good luck

Like you I kept up the bottle with my second but for other reasons. My son is allergic to milk and didn't drink enough soymilk during the day so to ensure he kept up his calcium I kept giving him the bottle. Anyways I started giving him a glass of "milk" before going to bed. Yes it's replacing one habit with another, but I consider it a good habit replacement. Warm milk helps them sleep better and my son goes to sleep with a full tum. I hope this helps.

Read articles on the magazine The Mother and you will calm down and be at peace. By nature, a child breastfeed for four or five years. She needs it. If you did it the natural way she would still be breastfeeding. Don't be embarrassed by proud of yourself and let her suck or she will end up resenting you, biting her nails, or later on smoking. She is fine and she must have the bottle until she doesn't need it. She needs it.