"Advice on Weaning 12 Month Old from Bottle to Cup"

Updated on December 03, 2006
T.S. asks from Kingston, NH
9 answers

My daughter is 12 months old and currently takes 3 bottles of milk a day. One around 8:30am (6oz) about 2 hours after breakfast, 1 around 3:00 (6 oz)after her nap and one around 6:30pm (8oz) which is about 1/2hour before she goes to bed. She eats 3 meals a day and I give her water in a sippy cup with each meal. She dosen't love the sippy cup but will drink a little water out of it. I have tried giving her the milk in the cup but she only drinks about an ounce and then dosen't want any part of it.
How should I be giving her milk to her? Should I put her in her highchair or just give it to her while she is playing? Should I also feed her some yogurt or cheese if she only drinks a little of the milk or should I put the rest back in a bottle and feed it to her?

I'm not to concerned on getting her off the bottle quickly but I would like to have her drinking from a cup by 18 months. Any suggestions who be great!!!

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all the responses. I am giving her the milk in a sippy cup during the day and then giving her a bottle in the evening. She is only drinking about 5 ounces of milk form the sippy cup so I am continuing to give her the 8 ounce bottle in the evening. Her ped said that is fine. Once she starts drinking more milk during the day I will take away the bottle. Hopefully that will happen before she is 1 1/2 because I am planning on giving her all sippy cups at that point. She does drink about 3 ounces from her cup in the evening and then I give her the rest in a bottle. I'm sure as time goes on she will drink more. It's funny how crazy moms can get about all of this stuf:)
Thanks again

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J.L.

answers from Columbus on

Like someone else said, we used the sippies from Walmart with the soft nipples. We switched my son over just before his first birthday with no problems at all. We just started with the sippy in place of one bottle, then two, etc, and within about a week,he was totally off the bottle. Piece of cake.

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E.J.

answers from Cincinnati on

The best sippy cup that I think that they have are the Nubys. The top to the cup is pretty much like a nipple a bottle. The only difference is that the nipple is a bit bigger. It worked miracles for my son when I took him off the bottles. He didn't cry for it or anything. It was almost as if he didn't even notice the difference. Also my son who is now 3, is not a big milk drinker. My pediatrician had suggested that I do the Similac 2 which is formula that they can have until they're 24 months. Although my son didn't care for that at all you can try that too if she was on regular formula. They have it in different Brands too. Also yogurt is a great source of calcium and cheese too, but be careful not to give her to much she may get constipated. So for us til this day we go 3 6 packs of yogurt a week. Also I would not put the milk that she has not drank back into her bottle. Try the Nuby cup and see if that makes a difference. Try to let her get use to a cup. Shes way to familiar and comfortable with the bottle and if thats what you do when she doesn't drink it thats what shes going to expect.

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K.M.

answers from Terre Haute on

I have a 13 month old who I just transitioned from bubba to cuppy. I will tell you I had to buy SEVERAL kinds of cup before he found one that he really likes. There are ones made by Gerber with animals on em that he loves. I give my son a cup whenever he seems thirsty. My ped said only to give it to him in the highchair during meals...But he doesn't have 6 kids at home, and to be honest I don't have time for that. I think you should just try some different things and find which works best for your little one, cause all kids are different..Good luck

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L.B.

answers from Mansfield on

Hi T.! It has been my experience (I have two girls-5 and 6) that if you just stop bottles completely at 12 months and give CUPS ONLY the child will adjust very quickly. Maybe you could try different TYPES of cups. She may find one that she really likes and want to use it all the time. Try taking her to the store and letting her pick one out and make this her special cup! Then make a big deal everytime you give it to her. Also, I would check with your pediatrician, but I don't really think she will require quite so much milk (she should still be on whole) as she is starting to eat full meals of baby food. Also remember whole milk may fill her up faster than formula because it is so fatty! I say, keep trying now because believe me at 18 months she will have a mind of her own and it will be TWICE as hard to get the bottle away then. Right now she does not have that mental capacity to manipulate, she just isnt interested, so all you have to do is get her attention and make cups FUN!!!!

L. B.-single working mom of two girls, 5 and 6

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S.F.

answers from Columbus on

Hello,
It could be that the liquid is coming out to fast or not fast enough. It could aslo be the muth part is to hard. The shape could be the wrong fit for her hands. I am not a rich person, I had to buy many diffrent sippy cups before I found the right one for my daughter.
The other thing is to cut back on how often you give her the bottle. Offer her the suppy cut more often. If she takes it fine, It can take a bit of time for to catch on that they bottle is not going to be an option.
Just keep offering her the sippy even with just a bit of juice and water or just water. The less often she is offered the bottle and more the sippy she will be thirsty and just start drinking. Just keep doing a gradual less bottle and more sippy cut introduction.
Just keep in mind you might have to spend some money to find the right sippy cut, but once you do its all down hill from there until you have the open cut to deal with.

The other thing I forgot to mention is on most sippy cups they do have the recommeded age group on packages.

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J.G.

answers from Cincinnati on

The best cuppy I have found is at wal-mart and it has a soft nipple to drink out of. My kids didn't like the hard cuppies til they were older.

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J.W.

answers from Columbus on

My son is 14 months and also wanted nothing to do with a sippy cup. What I did was just leave the cup out when he is playing. Then every time he came near me I would offer or give him a drink. I started that around 12 months. Now while he is eating in his chair I just sit it on his tray and if he needs a drink he grabs it. The same for when he is playing I just sit it on the end table and if he wants a drink he goes and gets it.

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L.S.

answers from Cincinnati on

Well I had two different experiences with that. With my daughters I weaned her off, giving her bottles only in the morning or at night or when she will not feed. Otherwise,I would give her a cup with her juces or water throughout the day. With my son, as soon as he turned 1 my husband threw away all of his bottles!! I thought that was truamatic and it was hard at first, but he got used to it quickly. he realized that this was the only way to get his milk, and he liked being a big boy. Now he is almost two and trying to drink out of regular cups!! He is fast for his age. Every child is different choose the best way is right for you and the baby. You could start by replacing 1 bottle with a sippy cup or you can just work with one throughout the day and see how that works out. It takes time, she will get used to it soon. And yes you can give her cheese, yogurt or regular milk from her cup. It takes time. and it is hard work for the both of you. Also try different cups, like Advent or Gerber, with handles or without, and make sure it is age appropriate
Good Luck!!
L.

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M.L.

answers from Canton on

I used the Avent trainer spout. You can even get the kit with the nipple, and the trainer spout to get her used to the bottle itself, then do a switcher-oo. It worked with both of my girls. Hope this helps.

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