Getting baby off bottle

Re: Getting baby off bottle

• twinkletoes3126 member

  January 2014

  Our pediatrician said it's totally fine to have bottles until 15 months. Starting at 12 months we offered milk at every meal in addition to the bottles he was getting. Every several weeks we took a bottle away. The amount he would take at meals gradually increased and it worked fine. Good luck and I wouldn't stress too much about it.

  
  

  
  

  #2 BFP 8/23/14, EDD 5/1/15, M/C 9/17/14 - Forever in our hearts

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• BabyHope2013 member

  January 2014

  We eliminated one bottle at a time. Started with his lunchtime bottle and replaced it with a sippy. He wasn't happy for the first day or two, but got the hang of it. After a week, we took away his afternoon bottle and replaced it with a sippy, a week later his dinnertime bottle. Did this routine with only having his first morning bottle and bedtime bottle until we removed his morning bottle and replaced it with a sippy. Once he realized that what was in his bottles was in his sippy, he got over it and was fine. We just transitioned to WCM and in another month or two I will start to work on eliminating the bedtime bottle. 

  
  

  Removing one bottle is the hardest, I thought, after that it get much easier. 

  
  

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• LSU628 member

  January 2014

  DD was super easy and never looked back. DS got PISSED at first when I would try to offer the sippy instead of the bottle, especially if he was tired. I started giving him his cup of milk with his meal and shortly after when he was awake and more agreeable. We were able to move the milk to a meal-time thing and not a sleep crutch. Now we are down to just the bedtime bottle, but to be honest it's probably my selfish desire to get snuggles and not his need for the bottle to sleep.
  

  
  
  
  

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• Jtiki member

  January 2014

  In my home country, babies typically use a bottle for milk until around 2 years, but they will get juice and water in a regular or sipie cup. If you little one is also eating solid food, I wouldn't stress about the bottle, and just gradually reduce it. Maybe switch to 2 ounce bottles if you feel strongly about cutting back.

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• hmontty member

  January 2014

  I agree with PP. You just need to take the bottle away.
  
  I'm not saying rip it out of her little hands, but I suggest trying as many different kinds of cups as you can until you find one that she is able and willing to get SOMETHING out of. (Neither of my kids did well with sippies, but both liked straw cups. My daughter took right to it; my son took a little more time to figure it out.)
  
  Once you see her getting anything out, even if it's just a taste, then no more bottles. Period. Just put them away and hand baby the cup. If she can get something out, then she can get everything out...she just needs practice and motivation.
  
  As I said, I introduced my daughter (now aged 3) to a straw cup at 11.5 months, and she immediately took to it -- and I immediately did a happy dance and put the bottles away. She never used one again.
  
  My son, on the other hand, did take a little time (I'm talking maybe 5 days) to get the hang of the straw cup. I had introduced other sippies first (starting at about 11 months), and he sucked on them but mostly just played with them. With the straw, he did get some milk out. After a few days, when I knew he was getting some mouthfuls, the bottles were gone (about 12 months). A day or two after that, he was drinking full cups from the straw cup, and now, a few weeks later, he is a straw cup champion.
  
  If there is no other option, she will drink from a cup. But as I said, keep trying until you find a cup she seems capable of using well enough to at least get a "snack" out of it.
  
  That's my two cents.
  

  
  
  

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• janinekrause member

  January 2014

  I come from a different school of thought. I absolutely didn't even think about getting rid of them that early. My first was 2. My second was 18 months. My first was VERY attached. I dropped the easiest bottles first and left the AM and PM ones. When she got older, she understood. We packed them all up in a box for "babies that needed them". My younger one - they were all dirty one day, so we tried a cup. after a few days they were gone.

  My oldest slept great, was happy, and her paci and bottles were her loves. Whatever. its only a bottle. It didn't interfere with her health or happiness, nor mine. So I kept them.

   

   

   

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• earlyspring1 member

  January 2014

  Mine completely refused milk from a cup (but would drink water from a cup no problem) and I felt like they were just holding out and waiting for the next bottle, so we tried cold turkey for a few days. By the end of day three they were still completely miserable and refusing the cup. So we ended up starting with 3 bottles a day (down from 5). We offered milk and water in the sippies and we gave them a lot of yogurt to make up for what they were missing by drinking such little milk.
  Over time they started gradually drinking more and more from the sippy. After a few weeks we took away the bottle before afternoon nap. A few weeks after that we took away the bottle before morning nap. I thought the bedtime bottle would be the hardest and I wasn't even planning on tackling it for awhile, but all of a sudden they started pounding an entire cup of milk before bed. So one night I just put them down without their bottle and they went down fine. This entire process took about 6 weeks. Once we gave up on going cold turkey and started doing it gradually the process was completely painless. Good luck!

  

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