"Parenting really is a never-ending balancing act...hang in there!"
Haha, isn't that the truth? This whole thread takes me back. When my kids were little, we had a similar issue—my youngest was absolutely obsessed with nighttime milk. I swear, he treated that bottle like it was his ticket to dreamland. And yeah, the dentist gave us the same talk about decay and sugars sitting on teeth overnight.
We tried watering down the milk gradually like someone mentioned earlier. Worked pretty well for a while, but then he got suspicious (smart kid, unfortunately). Eventually, we switched to plain water cold turkey. The first few nights were rough—felt like negotiating with a tiny dictator—but after about a week, he just accepted it. Kids adapt faster than we give 'em credit for sometimes.
One thing that helped us was shifting his bedtime routine around a bit. Instead of giving him milk right before sleep, we gave it earlier—say, during storytime or bath time—and then brushed his teeth afterward. It wasn't perfect every night (because real life), but it helped break that mental link between milk and sleep.
Honestly though, I'm amazed at how fast bottle decay can kick in. Back when I was a kid (yeah, dinosaurs roamed the earth then), I don't remember anyone talking about this stuff. We just drank whatever and went to bed...and paid for it later with fillings galore. Trust me—my dentist could retire early thanks to my childhood dental habits!
Anyway, hang in there—it gets easier once they get used to water at night. And hey, if all else fails, bribery works wonders...just kidding (sorta).
Haha, I feel this so much right now. We're just starting the switch to water at bedtime, and it feels like negotiating a hostage situation every night. I like your idea of shifting milk earlier in the routine though—might give that a shot tonight.
"Kids adapt faster than we give 'em credit for sometimes."
Fingers crossed you're right... Did anyone else find their kid waking up more often at night after switching to water? Or is that just my luck?
We switched our daughter to water at bedtime when she was about 18 months, and yep... she definitely woke up more often those first few nights. It settled pretty quickly though, maybe a week tops? Hang in there, it gets easier!
We tried switching to water at bedtime around 20 months, and honestly, it was rougher than I expected. I mean, logically I knew it would help her teeth, but emotionally... whew. She woke up crying every couple hours those first few nights, and I remember feeling like the worst parent ever sitting there in the dark wondering if this was really necessary.
I even called our pediatrician after night three (yep, anxious mom here 🙋♀️), because I was worried maybe she wasn't ready or something else was going on. He reassured me that it was totally normal and encouraged us to stick with it for a bit longer. I still felt unsure, but we kept at it.
The good news is—it did gradually get better over about a week and a half. Not quite as quick as some others have mentioned here, but still manageable. And once we got through that initial hurdle, bedtime actually became easier overall. She started sleeping longer stretches without waking up wanting milk, which was a huge relief.
I think the hardest part for me was balancing that caution and anxiety—like, am I doing the right thing? Is this too soon? But looking back now, I'm glad we stuck with it. Her teeth are definitely healthier now (and fewer dentist visits is always a bonus!). It's tough when you're in the thick of it though... Hang in there, you're definitely not alone in feeling frustrated or unsure about these transitions.
We had a similar experience when we switched our son off nighttime milk around 18 months. Honestly, I underestimated how attached he'd gotten to that bedtime bottle—it was rough for about two weeks. But like you said, once we got past that initial struggle, his sleep improved noticeably, and our dentist visits became way less stressful. Did anyone else notice improvements in their kid's sleep patterns after cutting out bedtime milk? Curious if that's common or just coincidence...
