Phasing Out Night Bottles

So you are caught in a vicious cycle, the only thing that will comfort your young child and get them back to sleep is a bottle. They are heading towards age 1 and maybe even age 2, at which stage it is fair to say they don’t biologically need feeding, and just because they drink it doesn’t mean they need it.

- Lucy Wolfe

Frequent night time feeders can often drink more than their daily requirement of milk intake in the overnight period. Biologically unnecessary feeds wake up the digestion system when it should be sleeping, causes overfull nappies, and may increase the risk of dental decay. Furthermore, it will absolutely compromise their daytime appetite for both solid food and milk.

Beyond 6 months of age and most certainly by 9 months, there is no evidence to suggest children require night time feeds. Of course there will be exceptions to this but if in doubt, keep a food diary and seek advice from your GP or health visitor. They can assess what you are doing, weigh your child and confirm whether night feeds are still required.

Typically the issue of excessive night time feeds is caused by the inappropriate use of a bottle at bedtime. If your child can only get to sleep by sucking a bottle of milk, then as your child cycles through sleep, they may need to have a bottle to allow this to happen. Children will waken frequently overnight for bottles when the bottle plays a significant role in bedtime.