How to phase out bedtime bottle?

[kimigal]

My LO is 6 months old and he was nursed to sleep for the first 5 months, when we transitioned to formula, and since then his bedtime routine is as follows:

6:00 Home from daycare
6:10-6:30 1 jar Stage 1 veggies
6:30-7:15 play with Mommy and Daddy or bath if needed
7:15 head upstairs, change diaper, put jammies on, read book, rock and drink bottle, usually falls asleep at end of bottle

Now that he's got 3 teeth, I know we need to be cleaning them at night after he eats. I'd like to get him to eat his last bottle a bit earlier so that we can teach him how to go to sleep on his own (he's pretty good about this for naps so I'm guessing he should be able to do it at night too) or maybe just with rocking.

Any suggestions as to how to ease him away from that bedtime bottle? We're also trying to space out his bottles a bit more so he only take 4 throughout the day instead of 5, so I don't want to upset his schedule TOO much all at once because he sleeps through the night (7:30 pm-6:30 am) and it's a blessing!!! Anything that interrupts that will get the "no go" from me... LOL

[elektra]

I really wouldn't worry about the bedtime bottle phase out until much later, IMO. If he is sleeping through the night at 6 months, then I say just let him have it!
I plan on letting DS take the bottle right before bed until we phase out bottles all together right after his first birthday.
I have nursed him right before bed, until just last week when we started weaning. SO I plan to just replace that nursing session with a bottle for another month or so.

ETA: We are starting to phase out a few bottles, and what I am doing is just putting some formula in a cup instead the morning and evening bottles that DS was getting right before solid food. I think the bottle before bed will be the last to go actually.

[lmr1101]

This may not solve your problem but may help take away some worry, at my dd 12 month visit I asked the ped if we need to get rid of her nighttime cup of milk. I had been nursing her right before bed until 12 months and then switched to a cup of milk. I had the same concern about brushing her teeth. He said we don't even need to worry about cavities until her 15 month visit. At that point I'm hoping by then we'll have adjusted her bedtime routine enough that she won't mind having the milk not right before bed.