How to Stop Night Feeds for a One Year Old

A gentle, step-by-step guide to help your one-year-old sleep through the night without feeding.

  1. Make sure your child is ready. Before stopping night feeds, ensure your one-year-old is eating well during the day and gaining weight appropriately. They should be getting most of their nutrition from solid foods and drinking from a cup. If you're breastfeeding, consider whether you're ready to drop these feeds too, as this affects your milk supply.
  2. Choose your approach. You can go cold turkey or gradually reduce feeds. For gradual reduction, if bottle feeding, decrease the amount by one ounce every few nights until the bottle is empty, then stop offering it. If breastfeeding, reduce nursing time by a few minutes each night. For cold turkey, simply stop offering food or milk when your child wakes, but still provide comfort.
  3. Increase daytime nutrition. Make sure your toddler gets enough calories during waking hours. Offer a substantial bedtime snack about 30 minutes before their usual bedtime. Include protein and healthy fats like cheese and crackers, or banana with peanut butter. Ensure they're drinking enough milk or water throughout the day.
  4. Respond to night wakings without food. When your child wakes at night, go to them and provide comfort, but don't offer food or milk. You can pick them up, rub their back, or use your usual soothing methods. Be consistent and patient – they may protest at first. If they're used to a bottle, you can try offering water instead, though many children will reject this and eventually stop waking.
  5. Stay consistent. Once you start, stick with your plan for at least a week before making changes. Mixed messages will confuse your child and prolong the process. Make sure all caregivers know the plan and follow it consistently. Night weaning typically takes 3-7 nights, but some children may take up to two weeks.
  6. Handle setbacks gracefully. If your child gets sick or you're traveling, you might need to temporarily return to night feeds. That's okay – you can restart the process once things are back to normal. Teething, growth spurts, or major changes can also cause temporary setbacks in sleep patterns.