I actually cannot believe it. I thought sharing this might help someone having the same issue.
Ellie was a little bottle obsessive, she lurrrrrrved her bottles. Until this week she would have a big bottle of goat's milk before going up to bed, and two or three bottle stops throughout the day, either with goat's milk or water. (She dropped her nap really early so this was our way of recharging throughout the day, and me getting 5 minutes of peace
I had been wondering for ages how I was going to get her off the bottle and thought maybe the only thing she would trade for would be a cup of hot chocolate at bedtime, but I was too chicken to try. So anyway, last week we were playing Peppa Pig (little characters from a tv show, she has their house with the family of pigs in it). I was mummy pig and (without thinking, I didn't plan this) said "i'll make everyone some hot chocolate", Ellie pipes up "I want some hot doogalot" so I told her "Big girls have hot chocolate instead of bottles, so you can have hot chocolate but we have to go and put all your bottles in the bin" "Ok!!"
So we did! She threw them all in the bin (I put them in a carrier bag as she'd never had hot chocolate before and I might have had to retrieve them if she didn't like it!)
I made her a cup of weak hot chocolate, she loved it, (even with goat's milk, ugh) and she had a cup that night and when she asked about her bottle I reminded her what had happened and she accepted it. And she's pretty spirited, to say the least.
I was waiting for the backlash all week, but so far it hasn't happened. She tried it on with dh this morning because he'd been away all week, but he reminded her about bedtime hot chocolate and she dropped it. She must be loving that cocoa!!
Ok so maybe trading for a sweet drink isn't such a great achievement, but she brushes her teeth after, the bottles must have been worse for her teeth anyway, and we're all happy. I thought the bottle was a great comforter to her, and was worried about taking her comfort away. Either she wasn't that attached, or she's fickle where chocolate's concerned
. And I was wondering about the sugar before bedtime - she slept for 13.5 hours the first night and 12 or 13 every night since, so all good there too.
Hope that helps someone with the same issue, or maybe gives you some ideas!
love from Michelle xxx
