Baby refusing bed time bottle

My 11 month old is still on 3 bottles, plus 3 meals. I do food first then milk around two hours later, before each nap and bed, has worked well since she dropped from 4 bottles about 2 months ago. The last few days she is suddenly refusing the bed time one despite the usual cues. I offer 3 x 7oz, would normally drink 5-6oz, now she is only having 2oz before bed and then screaming the house down, and wants to sleep without it… any ideas. She is still drinking the other bottles well. I know its probably time to drop a bottle and only have 2 but it would really be the afternoon one that needs dropped not bedtime as shes then waking at night after a few weeks of finally sleeping through?? 🫠

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Maybe if you try dropping the afternoon bottle, she could have a snack if she’s hungry before napping then she might be hungrier before the bed time bottle? (I say this like I know…..I have no idea, babies are a mind field!) But my little boy is also 11months and we are the same in terms of 3 meals, 3 bottles and milk 2 hours after food. He isn’t refusing any bottles but I was going to try dropping the afternoon one and replacing with a snack

@Nicola I will give that a try thank you! AlthoughIm not hopeful as she is usually looking for it at that time, and would cry for it 🙈 If that doesnt work I might try doing a small supper before bed instead? Although the thought of more weaning dishes and more bibs/outfit changes is making me want to cry haha. Its a minefield isnt it!

When do you do mealtimes? Might need to tweak timings and offer a little snack and water in the afternoon before a 4/4.30 dinner time and then that should keep going nicely before bedtime bottle, but also make her hungry enough to finish it. My daughter wasn’t having much of her 6.30pm bedtime bottle but I realised her dinner was around 5pm. We do dinner more 4/4.30 now and she’s started finishing bedtime bottle. Hope she gets there and sleeps through for you! X

So my LG has breakfast, hour later bottle number 1 (6oz). Lunch at 12-1 ish, I usually then give her something small like courgette fingers at 3pm, tea at 5 and then bottle for bed and that’s working for us, if she didn’t have the mini snack I think we’d struggle not giving her the 3 bottles x

@Kimberley so roughly: wake up 7.30 breakfast 8.00 bottle 10/10.15 nap 10.30-12.15 ish lunch 13.00 bottle 15.15 ish nap 15.30-16.15 ish dinner 17.45 bottle 20.15 bed 20.30

@Hollie so that looks similar to me then where the 15.15 ish bottle ish, I could try a snack? she usually cries for milk but maybe if I gave her something to eat 10 mins before!

Yeah I would try the snack, doesn’t have to be anything too big just something to put them on til tea might be worth a try :) x

@CeeCee I guess it is somewhat personal when you’d like bedtime to be etc! I can’t offer much advice as my routine is different, but we are on 2 bottles due to her refusing the 3rd. Our routine, if any help.. wake up 7ish bottle right away (impatient girl 😂) breakfast 8.30 nap 1 10am (35/40 min) lunch around midday/12.30 nap 2 2pm-3.30/45 dinner 4.30 bottle 6.15/30 bed 7ish X

@Kimberley She wont sleep more than 11 hours overnight so in an ideal world it would be 8pm-7am or even 7.30pm-6.30am but every time we get close we are set back with teething or illness or clock change etc lol- nursery starting soon so Im hoping that will help as I will just have to wake her religiously regardless of how the night went! Thanks so much for sharing. Im wondering whether I will need to do bottle first as well so she can have breakfast in nursery. My head is spinning lol. I tried a snack today instead of the afternoon bottle but she was NOT having it, so I made a smaller bottle and she just had 4oz so that might help with a slightly earlier dinner and a bit longer between dinner and bedtime bottle. Why are there no manuals for these babies lol!

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