If you have a LO of about 12-16 months, what do you do in the evening?

Charlie's 13 and half months, we have a pretty good routine, but he's a bloody nightmare in the night, so I was looking on changing it. Looking for some ideas really....

Ours is:

5.45pm - snack time. Usually a cake bar or biscuit, with some raisins or chooped up banana.

6.20pm (ish) - bathtime. DH undresses him, I bath him, put his pj's on, then take him downstairs to DH

6.40pm - bottle time. He almost always falls sleep on his bottle, then gets carried up to bed at about 6.50pm.

I still want him to have his milk, but we need to get him to start going bed awake and falling sleep. I know it's going to take lots of hard work, but we need to do it. We can't be carrying him to bed when he's 5! Problem is that he's usually so tired after his bath that he generally cries all the way through me getting him dressed, the only thing that stops him crying is his bottle, then he'll just fall sleep on it!

He drinks from a beaker perfectly well in the day, so I'm wondering whether that's an idea instead of his bottle???

So, what I'm after is what you give your LO to eat and drink, when, and how you put them to bed please??

I meant to say as well that he seems to be hating his cot at the minute. He won't even go into it withouth screaming and I've no idea why.

I had the day off work on Tuesday and put him bed for his nap after lunch. Normally he'll go off, but 20 mins later, he was still crying. I eventually fetched him, brought him down and sat with him, and he was asleep within30 seconds.

My routine is
Tea at 5.45pm, bath at approx 6.15pm. Dressed and downstairs for 7pm, Alex has his bottle and is down by 7.15-7.30pm and Ella has her milk in a beaker and is read stories/quiet play with toys til anything from 7.30-8pm then she goes upstairs without her milk (she used to have it in bed but we stopped this a few weeks ago).

Thanks Kina. I think we may need to drop the bottle and give his milk in a beaker. And quiet time/book, etc sounds good as well.

what about letting him having a bottle in his cot and let him feed it him self, thats what i used to do with kacy, she has stopped having a bottle about 3 weeks now altogether, what about putting him in a bed if he hates his cot so much?

I've learnt the hard way on Summer so don't listen too me for advice. I will normally bath Summer and Jack about 6:30pm and then dress them both etc... Jack will guzzle his bottle downstairs then I go up and put him down in his cot awake around 7pm without a murmur no problems he is so content and laid back. Summer will stay up until about 8:30pm and read books with me, play a few toys and have a bowl cereal or toast for supper. she was collicy baby and I would be rocking her all night and we never got out of the habit. tried controlled crying when Summer was 14 months and made her sick. well she is happy with it and i'm not too bothered so even at 2 she falls sleep on my lap upstairs having bottle then I put her in her bed fast asleep. she'd be running wild if I didn't do that and think making rod for my own back espec when time too give up bottle. good with cup in day but not at night she LOVES her bottle. good luck with it all but whatever keeps them happy and whatever for a peaceful evening I

opps just pressed enter

whatever for a peaceful evening and whatever keeps them happy I would say X

Charlotte has a bath around 6, jimmies on, down stairs by 6.30 and watches Cbeebies bedtime hour,til 7, and by then she is usually ready for bed, she will often ask to go to bed!
I do her a bottle of milk (10oz!) and she takes it to her bed. She will drink it and fall straight to sleep.
Sh wont however drink her milk downstairs and then go to bed, so I am in need of working that one out!! She loves her milk so much!

Charlie's a really strange kid with his bottle. He point blank refuses to hold it! He reverts to baby mode when a teat is put anywhere near his mouth!

A couple of weeks ago, I bought him one of those bottles with the whole in the middle - sorry not describing it very well - you know, the ones with 2 thinner sides so LO can hold it easier? But he still refuses to hold it!!

If he held his own bottle, I would take him bed and let him drink it himself, but he won't!

Oh, and Vicky - he's such a bloody wriggler that there's no way he's ready for a bed yet! He always ends up upside down, bum in the air, usually with his head up against the bars!! Most mornings he's got cot-bar marks on his cheek!!!