{{{{{hugs}}}}} for being so brave to start with BW now! You won't regret it, and we will be here to support you along the way.
The first thing I notice is that he is getting plenty of milk - he's at the upper end of what's recommended for bubs over 1 year - check out this link:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=67569.0 so I would definitely look at eliminating those dfs - without them, he's still getting about 370 mls of milk (including what's in his cereal), and that's fine. I suspect those have contributed to the prop issue of needing the bottle to sleep. I know lots of moms who eliminate the night feeds by watering down the bottle - eventually, your bub won't wake for just water (or you can just leave a sippy cup of water in the bed). Also at his age, those night milk feeds can cause problems with tooth decay, so there's another reason to let them go.
If he is sick, I'd put your sleep training on hold for the most part. My dd is a great independent sleeper, but even she needs some extra help when she's ill. You could use that time to work on the night feeds and then that's one less thing to address once he's feeling better.
I'm also wondering if his nap is too late. It looks like he's getting 6.5 hrs of A time before that nap, and that's pretty long for a 15 mo. My dd is almost 2 and she barely makes 5.5 hrs of A time. Also, if he's going down around 1:30/2 and sleeps 2.5 hrs, that's a pretty late nap to then turn around and go to bed at 8/8:30. Many mums find that routine with 5.5 hr of A time and a 1.5 - 2 hr nap, and another 5.5 hrs of A time works well for their bubs. If your guy has often needed more sleep than average (and my dd is like that), you can shorten those A times, but I'm wondering if balancing out your day a bit more might help with the sleep training. If he's OT for the nap, but UT for bedtime, that's not going to make sleep training any easier (and may be part of the reason the bottle has become a prop, because he's not in his optimal sleep window). So I'd move his nap earlier in the day.
Gradual withdrawal is definitely the way to go since he's used to you as a prop. Have you checked out this link:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=80750.0 Since it's both the bottle and the rocking that is a prop, I'd start with the bottle first - separating it from the sleeping, but go ahead and still rock him to sleep (just without the bottle). He's had 15 mos of going to sleep with rocking and a bottle, it's going to take some time to teach him a new way, and by doing too many things at once, you can actually make it harder on you (and him). So I'd change up your winddown routine so the bottle comes earlier - even if all you do after you feed the bottle is change his diaper, rock to sleep. Do something. This can be a great time to start some new wind down habits - reading a story. So he gets his bottle, and you do whatever you can to keep him awake during it, then after the bottle - change his diaper (or here is where you could put on his jammies), then back in the chair, read a story, rock to sleep. Eventually, I think you'd want to offer the bottle before you even start the winddown (my dd gets milk with lunch and with dinner - so both before her wind downs) - so just keep moving it earlier in the routine, but still go ahead and rock him to sleep.
Once you've removed the bottle from the wind down routine, then work on the rocking. Rock him til he's drowsy but not asleep, then put him in the crib. If you can lower the side of the crib so you can sit in there with him, do that. Comfort him however you can while he's in the crib. I wouldn't do pu/pd at his age - he's too big. So if he stands up, lay him back down, cuddle him (while he's in the crib), rub his back, hold his hand, experiment to find something that will calm him in the crib. Then you will gradually do that less, til he can go to sleep in the crib with you right there, but only using your voice. Then you will gradually move yourself further away from his crib and out the door. This will not be a quick process. But try to think of it from his perspective - for 15 mos he's gone to sleep another way. He doesn't know how to do things differently, so you have to teach him, but it's going to take time.
hth
michelle
