How did you wean your child off the bottle?

Chuck1906 · October 2013

My son just turned 2 last week and I have been gradually weaning him off the bottle to the point where he won't ask for one around bedtime. Now his mother on the other hand has been giving him bottles at bed time (me and her are not together). Now that he is 2, she has gone completely cold turkey with him and will not give him a bottle at all and seems to think in 3 days (per the nurse at the Pedia's office) he'll be over it and won't bother asking for a bottle again. I just laughed and said good luck! I don't think it will work in 3 days especially when he has been drinking from a bottle since birth then all the sudden you take that away from him! My thinking it has to be a gradual process. For the last several months, I have given him a bottle maybe an hour or so before his bed time. He used to wake up in the middle of the night wanting a bottle but he has since stopped that. When he did wake up I would give him 1/2 juice and 1/2 water which basically was watered down juice and that helped to break his habit of waking up in the middle of the night. If he is super tired, he'll end up falling asleep on his own with no bottle.

So his mom seems to think letting him cry for 20 minutes or more will solve the problem...I don't agree with her parenting skills anyway and this is just another decision that has me looking at her sideways!

What did you all do? What worked? What didn't work? How long does it usually take to wean them off the bottle?

Thanks!!

Chuck1906 · October 2013

Is there anything I can put in the bottle thats not harmful but considered nasty to the toddler that might make him not want the bottle? I tried giving him his cup with the built in straw but instead of juice, I put his milk in there and he threw a fit when he noticed I didn't have a bottle in my hand! LOL!

bluejetta · October 2013

We also did cold turkey but DD was 13 months at the time and I don't think she really noticed.

Chuck1906 · October 2013

WOW interesting comments! I will have to see if her way will actually work in 3 days then Three weeks is more realistic I would think but I guess it depends on the toddler I guess. @Clarypax No my son doesn't have developmental delays. Actually he is above average when compared to other toddlers his age. The problem I think comes with one parent doing things one way and the other parent doing things their way and neither are on the same page. Thats something we need to work on to solidify some of these issues. We could have been had him off the bottle completely by now.

kgs0505 · October 2013

Cold turkey at 12 months. He refused formula on his own, and transistioned to whole milk at 11 months. We tried several sippy cups at that time to replace the bottle, and the best one was one that had a bit of a longer spout and a feel of a bottle. This one:

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3956003&cp=&parentPage=search

He resisted a little at first, but he took to it within one "bottle". Bottles shouldn't be given anymore at his age, and cold turkey can work easily, if you find a good replacement. Now, he usees all kinds of sippy's without issue and we have never looked back.

ladylisalt · October 2013

ClaryPax said:

Does your son have developmental delays? I am always surprised to hear children still on the bottle at 2 years old, but of course it does happen. I did the gradual process where I just took one bottle away at a time. It sounds like he is only getting one bottle a day though? If he is only getting one bottle a day then just stop that bottle cold turkey.

Otherwise either method is valid, just a matter of personal preference and works best for the family. Expect some temper tantrums to be thrown because they won't like it, but they will get over it. I think 3 days may be a bit short, but by 3 weeks after the last bottle he should be over it.

Personally I wouldn't put anything gross in the bottle that would make him not want it. I would rather take it away.

I am not sure how to take this comment, if you were sincerely asking if a child on a bottle at 2 had DD or if it was on the snide side. If you go back a generation or two, kids were often on the bottle at 2. I realize nowadays it is less common as pediatricians and dentists advise 1 yr. but I personally think its harsh to assume a child has DD bc they are not off the bottle. Would you suggest the same for kids with a binky ? It could be more of the parents decision making/resistance more so than the child's. Hopefully you can see my point of view, it just might feel unsettling if someone asked if your child had DD based on something on the more trivial side vs. actual physical/cognitive development.

ladylisalt · October 2013

ClaryPax said:

ladylisalt said:

ClaryPax said:

Does your son have developmental delays? I am always surprised to hear children still on the bottle at 2 years old, but of course it does happen. I did the gradual process where I just took one bottle away at a time. It sounds like he is only getting one bottle a day though? If he is only getting one bottle a day then just stop that bottle cold turkey.

Otherwise either method is valid, just a matter of personal preference and works best for the family. Expect some temper tantrums to be thrown because they won't like it, but they will get over it. I think 3 days may be a bit short, but by 3 weeks after the last bottle he should be over it.

Personally I wouldn't put anything gross in the bottle that would make him not want it. I would rather take it away.

I am not sure how to take this comment, if you were sincerely asking if a child on a bottle at 2 had DD or if it was on the snide side. If you go back a generation or two, kids were often on the bottle at 2. I realize nowadays it is less common as pediatricians and dentists advise 1 yr. but I personally think its harsh to assume a child has DD bc they are not off the bottle. Would you suggest the same for kids with a binky ? It could be more of the parents decision making/resistance more so than the child's. Hopefully you can see my point of view, it just might feel unsettling if someone asked if your child had DD based on something on the more trivial side vs. actual physical/cognitive development.

Not snarky. I have just met some kids that were on the bottle at older ages due to developmental delays. Not to say this child is that way. Just asking OP for clarification because his approach might be different if there were other health issues.

ok, thank you for clarifying.

Chuck1906 · October 2013

I notice that when he was on the bottle it would relax him and he would drift off to sleep. The bottle was like a comfort item to him. I took him outside the other day and had him throw his bottle in the trash can and say bye bye to it. So when he asks for one I can easily say you threw it in the trash remember?

I have been giving him water or juice in his sippy cup but he's been on sippy cups for a long time now. I noticed last night he asked for a bottle and instead I offered him a bedtime snack which he accepted. I gave him some water in his sippy cup with the built in straw. He ate his snack and a short time later he was knocked out. Now I will have to say he was super tired from the get go and didn't raise to much fuss this time. But 2 days ago he was having a super hard time going through withdraw. I wish I could offer him another comfort item but so far the bedtime snack and water, milk, or juice in his sippy cup seemed to work if he is really tired. I am sure he would rather have something he could lay on his back and drink and drift off to sleep the same way he would if he were drinking a bottle.

jllmb79 · October 2013

I replaced bottles with milk in a sippy. I told her the bottles were all dirty and if she wanted milk it would have to be in a sippy. I let her have a last sip of milk before bed and brushed her teeth for about 1 month before I switched the sippy to water and offered a last sip before bed. Maybe every couple months I get a wake up in the night. I usually let her cry for 15 minutes to see if she will go back to sleep, if not I offer one sip of water and leave her to go back to sleep.

Soap1 · October 2013

We went cold turkey at 11-12 months and it took about 3 days. I don't think his mother is doing anything wrong with her plan to get rid of the bottle. It's time!

ETA: Also I would not give him juice at night - it can rot his teeth. Water only.

Chuck1906 · October 2013

I wish we had gone cold turkey a lot earlier. He is really having a tough time with the withdrawal of not having that bottle at bed time right now. A lot of people are saying 3 days is what it takes and its been a week already and he is still asking for a bottle. Even if I put milk or water in his sippy cup he throws a fit because its not a "bottle". I feel bad for him but hopefully in the days and weeks to come he'll get used to not having it and will adjust.

janinekrause · October 2013

My older one had bottles at night until 2 1/2. She was old enough to understand and we "gave them to babies"- wrapped them up and "mailed them". My younger one just turned 21 months and 2 months ago, they were all dirty one night and we tried a cup and she seemed fine so that was end of them- she asks sometimes but doesnt get very upset.

I think people push the issue too much. If it is that comforting, whats the big issue.

But yes, I do think, he will get over it within a week.

kat8805 · October 2013

We switched to cups as soon as possible, but never gave anything at night or bedtime. Not sure I understand why you would, for the sake of their oral health, but we also have a daughter whose slept through the night religiously from a very early age. We did however us pacifiers from an early age until around 2, when she started shewing through them. She then depleted the stock of "passies" on her own and there were no more to be had. During her pacifier use, there were the rare nights when she would drop the pacifier down behind her crib during the night and would cry when she couldn't reach it. We would ignore mid-night cries, and she would go back to sleep in minutes.

I would suggest that, as with any relationship, you take up your parenting concerns with the person you share them with. If you have expressed your concerns with her to no avail, perhaps you could try a different way of stating it. Us ladies have fine tuned the art of selective hearing as well

Chuck1906 · October 2013

It seems like a bottle of milk comforts my son and relaxes him if he's wired up. Often time he would fall sleep drinking his milk. Now if I put the milk in anything other than a bottle he doesn't want it and throws a fit. I have been putting water in a sippy cup and that kinda works but he likes to lay on his back as if he is drinking a bottle and he obviously knows its not the same thing.

I will say he is doing better but he is still struggling and I wish I could find something else to give him that would equal that same level of comfort that the bottle gives him. He has a favorite blanket and all but he could care less about that right now! LOL!

rlyttle · October 2013

What about replacing bottle time with snuggle time or book time? Cold turkey is a very good way to go. It might take longer than 3 days, but otherwise it may take A LOT longer! As far as the tantrums, you are just going to have to find out what works best instead of just giving in with the bottle.

erbear · October 2013

We just switched to a cup around a year and called it a day. No issues.

I think it probably is confusing if one parent allows him to have bottles (or pacis, or whatever) and the other does not. I think you and his mom should agree on something (gradual wean, cold turkey) and stick with it in both places.

Chuck1906 · October 2013

Yea everybody is on the same page now with the "cold turkey" way...truth be told he hasn't really been asking for a bottle in general but over the weekend he asked for one and I quickly changed the subject and offered him a snack and water in his sippy and he was fine with that...so yea I think a lot of this is going to be trial and error to see what works best.

LMBecky11 · October 2013

Glad things seem to be going better. I didn't have the same experience with a bottle because my daughter didn't use a bottle (BF), but she used her paci constantly day and night until a couple months ago. We were down to one very holey paci and told her it was the last one. She ended up leaving it at a park and it was rough and my husband wanted to just buy her another, but after a couple weeks she stopped worrying about it. She still occasionally will talk about how she lost her paci at the park. She used to look all serious and sad whenever she said it. But now she is ok. It just takes time when they have that comfort item taken away cold turkey.

Want a personalized experience?

How did you wean your child off the bottle?

Re: How did you wean your child off the bottle?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards