17 month old and bottle

littlemurphy2912

So I know there are other discussions of this that have already been talked about but I am wondering what everyone thinks of how it pertains to my daughter. She drinks whole milk out of a bottle usually only before her bedtime and that's it. She drinks water and juice out of sippy cups the rest of the day when she is home with us. If she isn't feeling well or teething she will tend to ask for a bottle more than normal throughout the day. When she is at daycare she only gets water, juice, and milk in a small sippy cup and doesn't complain about it to my knowledge. I have tried giving her milk in a sippy cup and she doesn't take to it as well as she does at daycare. Now considering bedtime is the only time she usually has a bottle when she's feeling herself should I be worried that she's not off the bottle? My pediatrician told us at her 12 month appt that she should be off the bottle at 15 months. Is there really any harm in her still having one just before bedtime and that's it? Her diet fluctuates on and off a lot of the time. She's real late on her teeth coming in and I'm sure that's part of why her diet fluctuates at times but am I doing anything wrong with still giving it to her?

RedDDD

personally I haven't been that hard core on this.  Our Pedi also said to ween at 15 months and for the most part he drinks almost everything out of a sippy with the occasional bottle.  ie: over xmas we hadn't washed sippy cups so he had a bottle.  at our last apt the pedi didn't seem alarmed by me telling her he still had the occasional bottle.  If I took them away Im sure he would stop.  I guess since having a second baby three months ago I had bigger fish to fry so I hadn't been super serious about it.  But I don't think you are hurting her or doing anything majorly wrong.  Someone else can correct me but I think they are just worried about their teeth?

littlemurphy2912

Ok. Well thanks for your reply and sharing your story. I do try and brush her teeth and tongue with her toothbrush and water in the morning and when she is done with her bottle before she goes to bed. She doesn't go to bed with a bottle.

littlemurphy2912

Not sure if it will matter but we give her the motts for tots juices. We don't give her 100% juice at all and not sure if we will. Is that brand of juice still not doing anything for her even if it has more flavor than water or something different to have than water? Just curious.

littlemurphy2912

That's true. With going to daycare full time she tends to get colds or get congested and we feel some juice helps her with getting rid of that a little. I could be wrong. I just felt that juice wasn't all that bad for you but maybe I'm wrong.

FemShep

littlemurphy2912 said:

That's true. With going to daycare full time she tends to get colds or get congested and we feel some juice helps her with getting rid of that a little. I could be wrong. I just felt that juice wasn't all that bad for you but maybe I'm wrong.

Except for fresh-squeezed, juice is empty calories. The small benefits you get from vitamin C are more than offset by the amount of sugar in the juice. Kids don't need juice, and there's really no health benefit; stick with whole milk and water.

meglette417

Our doctor feels strongly no bottle after 12 months, if she is drinking other times without one then I would get rid of it.  Bottles aren't good for teeth or gums.  As for juice, we do orange juice watered down, I agree with sick season it is good to have him get vitamin C.  But there is a lot of sugar so !00% is best and easy to find.

shannm

By that age, I wanted my kids' calories to come at mealtime so I didn't give milk before bed. Dinner is typically about an hour before bed for my youngest and that is when she gets her milk. And it is from a sippy, not a bottle. Sometimes she drinks a ton and sometimes just a few sips. Having said that, I don't think you are doing "harm" but I would suggest that you are not encouraging her as much as you could regarding eating solid food.

littlemurphy2912

Thanks for the good advice! Truly appreciate it!

vrj0522

DS still gets milk before bedtime but we've moved it to about 30 min to an hour before bedtime that way it's not part of his bedtime routine as much. He was on a bottle for milk only up until he turned 18 months.

At 17 1/2 months I tried to get him to drink milk from a sippy and he completely refused so I gave it a couple of weeks and tried again. That time he took the sippy with milk perfectly for a day and then we went on a trip and I didn't take any bottles with us. It was really hard because the 2nd, 3rd, and most of the 4th day he refused milk completely. If I would've had a bottle with us, I know I would've given in but thankfully by the end of the 4th day, he started drinking milk again. So glad it worked out that way.

As far as juice goes, I also do watered down OJ for the most part with some other juice occasionally. It's best to avoid juice but I don't mind giving him some once in a while.

Smh619

I've been having a similar question. My 18MO drinks from a sippy cup during the day...milk at meals & water if he is thirsty at other times (although lately he's been asking for milk). I give him 2 oz of milk from a bottle at bedtime which isn't alot but I'd like to eliminate it altogether. It's just as much of a habit for him as it is for my husband & I. He's been having difficulty sleeping lately (waking up screaming) so I'm hesitant to get rid of it now but hopefully soon.

earlyspring1

Agreed about the juice. Even fresh squeezed is empty calories because they are not filling their tummies with the fiber from whole fruit. 

Cavities are not the only concern for teeth when it come to the bottle. Extended use of the bottle changes the shape of their teeth and palate, which can cause orthodontic issues and speech issues. 

All that being said, my girls are 13 months and still getting two bottles a day. We have weaned down from 5 but it's tough. I'm really hoping to be done by 15 months.