18 Month Old Won't Give up the Bottle! Please Help!

My son refused to drink milk out of a sippy also. We gave him a cup of milk at each mealtime with a straw and held the cup for him at first, until he could hold it on his own without making a huge mess. He loved drinking milk out of a straw. Then when he got a little older, we got rid of the straw and he just drank out of a cup. That was also around 18 months of age if I remember correctly. Then we got rid of the bottle at night by just getting rid of it. One night we sat down to read stories and he was expecting his bottle and he didn't get it. He cried a little bit, but he still went to sleep like normal, and 3 days later, he stopped expecting it. It usually takes 3 days to create a new routine. You might have an awful toddler on your hands for 3 days, but then it will get a lot better and then he will forget about the bottle like it never even existed. Is this a 3 day weekend coming up for you? You could start tomorrow and then have 3 days before you go back to work. It's important not to give into what they are asking for and stay strong, now matter how much you want to give it to him. Good luck!

It is a lesson of tough love that I had to learn also with my own stubborn one. If he really likes milk and wants to drink it he will drink it in whatever container you give it to him in. If he knows you will eventually give in & give him a bottle, it is worth him fussing to get it. Our ped told us we could switch to 2% when my child was 2 and eventually taper down to fat free. However she said we could really stay on whole milk due to "skinniness" & could stand to have the extra calories. Good luck! :)

At 1 1/2 you won't be able to reason with him and please don't try. Offer the milk in the sippy cup several times and then offer water. The bottle is not needed and if you switch back and forth it will confuse him. Sooner or later he will drink. He shouldn't drink milk at bedtime/naptime anymore due to tooth development and not doing a complete swallow when they drink milk/juice at those times and ending up with bottle rot.

If you are in desperate need to get rid of the bottle then just do it! Literally gather up all the bottles in the house and put them in a bag and throw them away so you aren't tempted to give in because he's screaming. Do not make it a big deal; just give the milk in the cup with meals as if that's the only way it comes now. He may resist a few times but eventually he will learn that "milk comes in a cup" and if he wants to drink milk that's how he'll have to do it.

You could also do a goodbye ceremony to the bottles. You could tell your son that there are babies who need to use the bottles and since he is a big boy he gets to use a cup so that the babies use the bottles. We never did this - we cut the bottle out at 12 months and he never missed it, but some kids just need a little more incentive than others, I suppose.

As far as skim versus whole, our pediatrician recommended whole until 2 then switch to 2%, 1%, or fat free (which is what we give).

I've heard the supernanny say it before.. it isn't the child that won't give up the bottle, it's the parent. That's because it is easier to give in than to stick to our guns. Honestly, to lose the bottle you just have to do it. Get rid of the bottles and tell him no more. If he doesn't want to drink milk out of sippy cups, he doesn't have to, but don't give him any more bottles ever. Children don't need any milk at all, they get the calcium vitamins in milk from plenty of other sources so as long as he is drinking water he will be fine. The first couple of days it may be hard, but he will get used to it. My kids are 5 3 2 and 6 months.. with each of the first 3 I literally stopped giving them the bottle on their 1st birthday. No more. They never had real milk in a bottle, only formula. The 1st two had no problems with the switch at all, the 3rd became addicted to a pacifier on the day after her birthday when she hated them before that..I went with it, and she just gave those up a few weeks ago (25 months). I will do the same with my 4th. And we drink skim milk here too - adults and kids from their first birthday on. Our pediatrician told me that there was no reason to buy them different milk as long as they were eating a healthy balanced diet.
Good luck!!!