Would it help with your toddler's sleep to stop the bottle (if you've been bottle feeding)?

Making the decision to wean your toddler from the bottle in the night

Toddlers don't necessarily wake less often in the night once you stop offering night-time bottles, depending on your little one's age and developmental needs. You can find out about normal toddler night waking here.

There's not really a right or wrong time to stop the bottle in the night. It's possible that your little one has already had at least a year of the profound sensory comfort of milk and sucking (whether breast or bottle), and the cuddles that go with it, in the night. How fortunate your little one has been to have received this gift from you!

Here are things to know, as you make your decision about when to wean your toddler from the bottle at nights.

• After 12 months of age, many children like to have up to two or or perhaps three glasses (about 500 mls) of whole cow's milk, complementing their usual meals. You can find out more here.

• You can be relaxed about this, though. Some toddlers never drink cow's milk, and meet their calcium and vitamin D needs from other foods in their diet. It's important neither you nor your toddler feel pressured to get the milk in, since any pressure around foods and milk can backfire and create a conditioned dialling up in your toddler when milk is offered.

• After 12 months of age, more than about 500 mls of milk in a 24-hour period might start to decrease your little one's appetite for solid foods, which contain the wide range of nutrients needed by your child. You can find out about toddlers and solids here.

• Don't use toddler milk formulas (unless your doctor has specifically prescribed a special formula.) Toddler formulas do not benefit your toddler's brain or immunity more than cow's milk, and contain extra carbohydrates and refined sugars which aren't good for your child's health. You can find out more here.

It's developmentallly normal for toddlers to wake in the night. We don't need to rush the transition away from the bottle at night in toddlerhood, as long as

• You are working with the two sleep regulators, the body clock and sleep pressure, to keep your little one's night waking manageable

• Your toddler isn't taking so much milk (regularly more than 500 - 700 mls in a 24-hour period, depending on your child) that it's impacting on her appetite for a range of other nutritious, iron-rich solids.

If your little person is waking a few times at night, trying to delay the bottle or not offer it at all some wakes can cause sleep battles, and worsen everyone's sleep. In this situation, you might decide that it's best committing to a week of disruption in the night while you wean from the bottle, getting it over and done with.

Here are two things to weigh up as you decide when to stop the bottle in the night.

• Do you think your toddler is developmentally ready to learn to go back to sleep in the night with a cuddle only, weaning off the powerful sensory triple-hit of cuddle + sucking + milk in the tummy?

• How much longer are you able to manage the disruption of having to get up to organise a bottle of milk in the night? Getting up like this can make it harder for you to get back to sleep. Many little ones are used to taking the bottle without it being warmed, which is definitely less disruptive for parents and something to encourage from early on!

Things to experiment with when you decide to wean your toddler from the bottle in the night

Sometime in that second year of life, most families I see in the clinic will have weaned their toddler from all bottles of milk in the night.

You might

• Prepare for some disrupted nights. By that I mean, be prepared for lots of crying in the night. This won't harm your child, but it does feel miserable and distressing for parents as well for a time. She's learning something new in the night and it's hard for her! Hopefully you have another loving adult who can either take over, or at least share the nights as you rock and sing and walk or snuggle down on the floor-bed together.

• Decide that the bottle at bedtime in the evening will be the last to go, to keep bedtime as manageaable as you can for now while you wean in the night.

• Have some kind of transition cup or sippy cup of water on hand when you do take the leap and commit to no further bottles in the night. This might be hurled across the room by your upset small child, but at least you've offered, to make sure she isn't thirsty!

• Make sure your child isn't doing catch-up naps during the day after a difficult night, as this can quickly promote excessive night waking. Sensory motor nourishment during the day and only the usual amount of napping is important during this transitional week.

After a few nights or perhaps a week or so of disruption, you'll come out the other side, no longer needing to organise a night-time bottle, even though you'll still be cuddling and comforting your toddler when he wakes in the night. This can help make the nights easier, as your toddler continues to develop towards consolidation of sleep at night without needing your comfort - which will happen, just not as early as we're often led to believe!

Recommended resources

Does bottle feeding your toddler to sleep cause bad habits?

Would it help with your toddler's sleep to stop the bottle (if you've been bottle feeding)?

When is it time to wean your toddler from a bottle in the night?

Selected references

McCann J, Woods J, Mohebbi M, Russell C. Regulated nutrition claims increase perceived healthiness of an ultra-processed, discretionary toddler snack food and ultra-processed toddler milks: a discrete choice experiment. Appetite. 2022;106044:106044.