When to wean your baby off their bottle at night (2024)

The bedtime bottle is often the last bottle to go. It can be a central part of your baby's bedtime routine, and a source of comfort as they fall asleep.

That can make it a tough habit to break – but you have plenty of time to make the transition. It's best to stop giving your baby bottles between ages 1 and 2. By a year old, your baby is getting their nutritional needs met with daytime meals and snacks, so they don't need the calories from breast milk or formula to get them through the night.

If you're breastfeeding, there's no need to wean your child completely yet. In fact, experts recommend breastfeeding for at least year – or as long as you and your baby want. But once your baby is a year old, they no longer need formula and you can start giving them cow's milk.

No matter what you're serving, it's smart to start transitioning from bottle to a sippy cup or straw cup around age 1. And it's recommended to have your child drinking out of regular open cups by the time they're 2 years old for their dental health.

If your baby was born premature or has other health considerations such as digestive problems or failure to thrive, they may need a bedtime bottle longer. Talk to your baby's healthcare provider before making changes to their feeding schedule.

Why to wean your baby off their bedtime bottle

If your baby is used to falling asleep while drinking from their bottle, or right after having a bottle, it may be difficult for them to fall asleep without one. It's best to teach your child how to soothe themself to sleep, rather than relying on a bottle at bedtime (more tips on that below).

The longer you wait to stop the bedtime bottle, the more ingrained it will become – and the more difficult it will be to get your child to fall asleep without it.

Another reason to discontinue the bottle is to protect your baby or toddler's teeth. If your child falls asleep while drinking from a bottle, they may have milk pooling in their mouth and around their teeth when they go to sleep, which can cause tooth decay.

This is the case even if your baby doesn't fall asleep while drinking from a bottle. If you put them to bed right after giving them a bottle, the milk may pool in their mouth and around their teeth. It's best for them to not have milk in their mouth when they fall asleep, especially once they have teeth. Remember to always brush your baby's teeth after giving them milk, and don't give your baby more milk after brushing.

This is also a good time to introduce a sippy cup. Sippy cups that feel like a bottle (with a soft, flexible spout) can be a good tool for transitioning your baby from a bottle, but the best thing for your child's teeth is a regular open cup or straw cup.

Once your baby is drinking from a sippy cup, don't put them to bed with a sippy cup of milk or juice.

How to wean your baby off their nighttime bottle

Babies are good at self-regulating their feedings, so your baby may "tell" you when they're ready to drop that last bottle of the day by turning their head away or consistently not finishing it.

But if your baby isn't ready to quit the bedtime bottle on their own, it can seem like a daunting task – especially if it's central to your routine or something your child finds comfort in. You can still maintain much of your baby's routine without a bottle, and find other ways to comfort and soothe them before bed.

Here are some ways you can help the transition along:

• If your baby regularly falls asleep when they drink from their bottle, start by moving the bottle to the beginning of their bedtime routine so they can get used to falling asleep without it.
• Gradually reduce the amount of breast milk or formula in your baby's bedtime bottle. Give them one ounce less every night for a week or so, until there's only one ounce left in the bottle, then remove it from your bedtime routine.
• Keep all the other parts of your child's bedtime routine the same – taking a bath, putting on pajamas, reading a book, singing songs, snuggling, and so on.
• If you want to replace the bottle part of your child's bedtime routine with something else (like singing a lullaby), implement that with the bottle for a few days before cutting the bottle out. That way, they're already familiar with this new part of the routine when you stop giving the bottle.
• Offer your baby other comfort objects at night, like a favorite blanket or stuffed toy, once they're at least a year old.
• Give your child some extra snuggles and quality time before bed.
• Offer a cup of milk with dinner or with a before-bed snack instead of the bottle.
• Explain to your child that because they're getting so big and grown up, they don't need the bottle before bed anymore.
• On a similar note, give your child plenty of praise when they first start drinking out of a cup: "Wow – look at you drink with that cup! You're so big!" It can help to choose a cup that's their favorite color, or that's decorated with a favorite cartoon character or animal.
• Once you've cut the bottle out, be consistent. Don't go back and forth between offering the bottle or not. Be confident and optimistic about the change for your child.