No more bottles Turning one tomorrow

Alondrasilva10 · November 2013

My daughter will turn one tomorrow and already I've heard "She doesn't need the bottle" about a thousand times. I've also heard "She still needs to bottle" about the same amount of times. Personally I thought it was too soon but I'm a FTM so okay, I took the bottle away. I went with the cold turkey approach. She has been unbearable this past week. I'm talking about non stop whining and throwing the worst fits. For a minute I really didn't know what was going on. Last night we decided to give her a bottle and her mood immediately changed after that. This morning though she WOULD NOT take her Sippy cup. She threw it, she cried, and the fits returned. We gave in and gave her the bottle. We can't let her starve right?? (Not serious)

Now I'm scared about what to do. She's at daycare now (8-5pm). They are giving me the "She still needs her bottle speech" but I think it's only because she's been hard to deal with. They.. well they're not a five star daycare. So they are of no help.

I'm turning to you guys. What do I do? Now that she knows we have a bottle SOMEWHERE in that house will she no longer accept my sippy cup? I don't want to do all of this again when she is older.. so if she has to give it up I'd rather it be now. I just need some advice.

mb314 · November 2013

I tried at 12 months to have DS drink milk from a sippy, not a bottle, and he simply wasn't ready. Over the past month or so, I've given him a little milk in a sippy, at a time when he's not overly tired or cranky, and he's been warming up to the idea. At daycare, we're reducing his bottles (he was taking 4 up until recently), and have substituted a sippy! He still needs a bottle before naptime and around 4. We're working on it, slowly.

I'm in the camp that major changes like this should be done slowly if the child isn't ready for it. Why cause the stress for you and your LO (and the daycare providers)? Try a more gradual approach.

FWIW, our pediatrician said at the 12 month appointment that we should work towards getting rid of the bottles over the next 3 months. I am hoping to have DS pretty much off of bottles by our 15 month appointment, but I'm not confident that will happen.

Tapthathank · November 2013

I agree with pp. Start dropping bottles slowly, and once it's dropped - don't go back to it! We kept the bedtime bottle and morning bottle and dropped those last. You can also try to offer less milk in the bottle too. Keep offering the sippy cup of milk at meal times and a sippy of water throughout the day. If she's thirsty, she will drink!

oliversmommy32912 · November 2013

DS wasn't ready until 14 months. We have no regrets about waiting. We cut bottles cold turkey and offered Zoli Bot cups. It was an entirely painless transition. Once he was used to the Zoli we switched to a standard straw cup.

jnnfrrose6 · November 2013

What kind of sippy are you using? DS doesn't care what kind he gets now, but I know when we first introduced them, there were some he just wouldn't take. They also take some getting used to with the leak proof stuff in them, making it more difficult to get at what's in it, so she could be frustrated over that. I started with a nuby brand sippy that had a softer spout for DS and we worked our way up from there so that now he doesn't care what kind he gets, as long as he gets something.

Alondrasilva10 · November 2013

We have used all different kinds. It seems as though she has no favorites. Maybe it is too early. I really didn't like the cold turkey approach even before the bad attitude. I guess we'll give it another run with different sippy cups and I'll gradually take out the bottles. I like that idea a whole lot better.

Mrs.RockyM · November 2013

DD turned 1 on a Tuesday, and the following weekend we cut out her 9:00 bottle. Instead we gave her milk in a sippy, and added more food to what she was eating at breakfast and snack.

The following week we cut out her 2:00 bottle, the week after her 5:00 bottle, the week after her 6:30 bottle, and then two weeks after that (she was sick) we cut out her 7:30 bottle right before bedtime. That was this past weekend. She was comfortable with sippy cups before we cut the bottles out, she had drank water in them, and we didn't want to put WCM in a bottle.

Cutting on the weekend we got to see how she reacted and if she needed more milk or more food we could adjust accordingly. This way she was adjusted by the time she went back to daycare on Monday.

vrj0522 · November 2013

I considered doing it at 12 months but DS was definitely not ready. I gave him a few bottles in a sippy and he would drink 1-2 oz and be done and not be interested any longer so I stopped.

Now that he is almost 18 months, he drinks only 16 oz of milk a day and he takes his sippy easily and drinks juice and milk out of it pretty happily so I will probably get rid of the bottles altogether in the next week or two. He is just recovering from a separation anxiety phase so I feel like he is almost ready for it (I wouldn't dare have done it in the last few weeks).

I agree with pp, either do it slowly if she doesn't seem ready, or wait a little longer.

g8trkim · November 2013

We phased them out with both kids. DS was easy. He really liked the sippy and he was off bottles totally just before his birthday. DD is a little more dependent. Right now she gets one in the morning, one before bed, and one in the afternoon. The rest of the day is sippy cups. We will probably phase out the afternoon bottle when I'm off work the week of Thanksgiving. The morning one will probably be next. I'm hoping to be totally done by the New Year when she is 14 months. Every baby is different.

KatFCo · November 2013

DS is 18 months and still has a bottle of water. He's not ready to let it go, but we're slowly weaning him off it. He'll take a sippy now, but he prefers his bottle. If it's not hindering their speech and if the dentist doesn't say anything about it, they're fine.

Babies and toddlers use bottles for both nutrition and comfort; taking it away when they're not ready can be very difficult. Trust your instincts; if you think 12 months is too early, then your child isn't ready yet. A gentle approach is often better.

UMichGirl · November 2013

DS is 16 months and still gets 3 bottles a day. He WILL NOT drink his milk (he gets almond or rice milk) out of a sippy. And we've bought every sippy that exists (or so it feels like). I don't know what to do either, and we definitely don't want to stop cold turkey at this point. He's getting his molars and we are doing a dairy challenge right now. Don't want too much change on him at once!

Hummingbirdbaby3 · November 2013

My LO isn't ready yet either. He rejects it until I put it in a bottle. guess he's just not ready yet...

AppleGrapeMSTK · November 2013

Tapthathank said:

I agree with pp. Start dropping bottles slowly, and once it's dropped - don't go back to it! We kept the bedtime bottle and morning bottle and dropped those last. You can also try to offer less milk in the bottle too. Keep offering the sippy cup of milk at meal times and a sippy of water throughout the day. If she's thirsty, she will drink!

This. We started by giving a sippy cup at meals, when seated at the table in a high chair, and bottles at other times. We took our time transitioning to sippy/real cup. 12 months is a general recommendation. There is no law saying that by 12 mo all children need to be weened. Your kid might not be ready! Also, we struggled until we found out that he prefers the straw. Now we're working on a regular ol' cup.

MrsMyers62312 · November 2013

My son self weaned himself from the bottle at 21 months. I never pushed it, but I did offer him 4 oz bottles instead of his usual 8.

zbeesma86 · November 2013

All babies are different (we've all heard it a million times, I know).

but just take it slow- LO is just turning one and you are taking the one thing that has been constant and switching it up on her.

it took patience and time but we let DD make the move herself. we kept bottles and use them for milk and would put a sippy with water in it on the coffee table- she would pick it up, inspect it, throw it, try to drink from it, then she was hooked. one day I set a sippy down with milk and we were done with bottles.

take it slow- she'll get used to it

AlfiesMOM · November 2013

We truly had the hardest time coming off bottles, I tried when she turned one and it was horrible. Finally, I said she isn't ready and frankly neither am I. When she was 14 months old I decided to try again. Same issue, my pedi said they like to see them off bottles by the time they are 18 months at the latest. So I got transition sippy cups from Nuk and I started using almond milk. The almond milk is sweeter than whole and she really liked it! It seriously was amazing! She still had a night time bottle with whole milk. After about amonth we started mixing half and hald almond to whole. Now two months later she is fully on whole milk out of a sippy cup and has fully weaned her night time bottle!

winecastle14 · November 2013

Seeing this thread late and I haven't read all of the responses, but I just talked to our pediatrician today about this at our 1 year appointment. My LO gets two bottles of BM at DC. The pedi said "sure, you can go ahead and switch her to a sippy" and then when I asked what happens if she refuses and only wants a bottle she basically said that a bottle really wasn't a big deal. Just give it to her in whatever way she'd drink it. I don't know if it's because she only has 2 bottles a day or if she really just doesn't think it's a big deal. I think 15-18 months is when you'd really want to start cracking down on no bottle.

janinekrause · November 2013

Sorry but I just don't get this big need to take away a bottle at a year. Hey, kid, you have been doing something for a year, but this magical date happened, and I am taking it away from you.

Imagine if that happened to you- and something you loved was taken away cold turkey.

Maybe its just me, but life is WAY too short to worry about keeping a bottle if it makes them happy. My first wasn't ready when I tried, and we weaned slowly, but her nighttime bottle didn't get dropped until 2. My second I took it away one day when they were all dirty- maybe 15 months, and she could care less, so bye bye bottles.

Do it slow, don't do it all for a while, etc. It is so not the end of the world.

Also, you say you are worried you will have to do it all over again. Not true in most cases. As they get older, sometimes they drop on their own, or you can reason with them to get rid of them (we had a big box and put in the bottles for the babies- wrapped it up and "mailed" it). She understood at that age and was ok with it.

leesa031906 · November 2013

it may just take her time. my pediatrician recommened replacing one of her bottles w/ a cup of milk. and then the following week take 2 bottles away. By her 15month appointment she should be off the bottle.

Jtiki · November 2013

My 18 month old still gets 2 or 3 bottles per day and I never bothered to try to change that. In my native country bottles are used typically until the age of 2, which is usually around the same time breastfeeding stops and no one stress over it as long as the baby also can drink from a regular cup.

sunnidazze12 · November 2013

I offered sippy every meal for 1 month. He refused, cried & then I'd give him bottle. After 1 month, finally he picked it up and drank all milk out of sippy. I immediately put bottles away & he never wanted a bottle again.

sunnidazze12 · November 2013

Also I started day after his first birthday & at 13 months he was weaned

aimeepigott · November 2013

We have been slowly taking away bottles. We started with just taking away the A.M bottle and giving a sippy of milk with breakfast until nap time. I am getting ready to take his afternoon bottle away next week. I put 2 weeks between each progression. The nighttime bottle is obviously the last to go. But once you take it away do not give it back. Eventually, they'll see that the milk has to come from the sippy.

JoNi2010 · November 2013

janinekrause said:

Sorry but I just don't get this big need to take away a bottle at a year. Hey, kid, you have been doing something for a year, but this magical date happened, and I am taking it away from you.
Imagine if that happened to you- and something you loved was taken away cold turkey.
Maybe its just me, but life is WAY too short to worry about keeping a bottle if it makes them happy.

Totally agreed with above.

I nursed my LO and it was tough weaning him off nursing so there was NO way I was weaning him off the bottle at the same time. He is 13.5 months and the past 2 days, he has been only using straw cups and regular cups, but it took a couple weeks to get here. I get that babies need to be off due to teeth reasons, but dentists and pediatricians tell me that sippy cups are not good for the teeth either. So if you're going through this much work to wean, wean him onto a straw cup or a regular cup. I would not want the headache of weaning off the sippy.

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