need help with accidental parenting for 1 year old!!!

[billy26]

Hi there,

I think I have accidentally used bottle feeding as a prop for my 1 yr.  It started a few months ago when she started to teeth and now I can't seem to get out of it.  DUring this time I gave her a bottle when she woke up early in the morning and it would help soothe her.  Prior to this she would pretty much sleep until 6:45 to 7:00 in the morning.

The problem is now she wakes around 5:50 am every morning.  Now I know if I give her a bottle she will fall asleep again until 7:00-7:30.  If I don't give her a bottle she will stay awake.  I don't think it is hunger because if I take her out of her crib and play with her she will play and I can wait until 7:00 to feed her and she is fine.

I also have not been consistent and have somtimes given her the bottle in the early morning to get her to sleep some more some times for my sake as well because I am so tired.  But I am really wanting to fix this problem for both of us.

Her schedule is something like this:

Wake 7:30 (if I give the bottle at 5:50) 7 oz
E: breakfast
A:
S: about 10:30 for 30 min 

E:  11:30-12:00
A
E: 2:30  bottle 4 oz
S:  2:30- 4:00/4:30

E 5:00
A:
E: bottle 7 oz
S: 7:30

I think because she has a bottle before each of her sleeps that she is used to it.  Please have a look at our schedule and if you think there is something with that I can change and how I would go about getting her to sleep until later before waking up for a feed.

This morning I let her fuss in her crib until 6:45, she fussed on and off, and at 6:45 I gave her a bottle and she sleeping again.

Thanks for your time and help!!!

[Peek-a-boo]

bumping this up for you

[Peek-a-boo]

Okay, was hoping someone with more insight would come along, but I'll take a stab.

My first question is with the 2 bottles before sleeps, is your LO falling asleep at the bottle or just having the bottle, then going in the crib awake?  If LO is going down awake, then I don't personally think the bottle before your sleep times is at the root of your problem.

Since it sounds like your Lo is waking at the same time every morning for the bottle, have you considered trying wake to sleep?