Bottle to Sippy Cup to Cup?

Frankly, I don't think there should be a rush to get rid of the bottle. My daughter still loves her bottle for milk, and she's over 2 years old. Like another mom told me, they won't be going to regular school with it.

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He so SO way young...leave him alone! Both my babies had bottles way after they were one yr. They are both normal, beautiful, healthy girls now, one 16, and one 3! Please, dont rush all this stuff that pshycologists and public do these days and let baby be baby. They often do transitions quite primarily on their own a little later. Introduce sippy when he can at least do more than barely "sip" like you say. He cant even do it right yet. Let him have his bottle he is a BABY.

Wendy

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don't rush to get rid of the bottle of formula. But do keep an extra bottle of water (couple ounces) near to rinse his mouth out after the formula during nap/sleep...like a chaser of water.
Then when you are ready to get him off of formula, make the formula bottle smaller and the water bottle bigger.

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I didn't stress about rushing to remove the bottle at all. Granted, by the time my kids were the age of your son, they would chug the whole bottle and move on. There was no falling asleep with bottles or anything like that. I was careful to brush their teeth and make sure they were getting enough food. They would drink about 2-3 bottles a day. When I finally got rid of the bottles, (after age 2) my oldest one never drank milk again. My youngest would sip at it and leave half drunk sippy cups around the house (YUK) but now, she will chug the sippy cup, too. I say, let the boy have his bottle, especially since the formula is so important to his caloric intake.

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L.,

I love the idea of comfort and a routine! Good for you! I think the best thing you can do for both of you is just take it one step at a time. I adore the routine my 30 month old son and I have adopted today, and wouldn't trade OUR time for anything.

I offered cups at mealtimes, to let my son adjust to the idea of them with different liquids...milk, water, diluted juice. And, over a couple of months he was doing really well with it. By them time he was 18 months old he was totally off the bottle at night and for naptime...but, I just followed his cues. Once toddlers get into a routine with food and drink they start to move away from the comfort of the bottle. It's a totally natural process that takes time.

One thing I read in a recent post from Susan, was that she just left sippy/straw cups around her house for her kids to use at their leisure. Wish I had that advice sooner!

I wouldn't do anything cold turkey or expect one to replace the other. It's a transition, and needs time and care...don't worry about timelines or rushing it.

Good Luck!

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Hello L.,
When my children were little I was able to wean them off of the bottle by about 12 months. I just put their formula in sippy cups. Once they tasted that it was their formula they would drink it right down. Try that and see if it works for you.
~~D., a mom of a teenager (aaaahhhh!) and a nine year old boy!

At this age, I would think you could switch his naptime bottles with sippy cups. After a few days of total meltdowns, he will get used to it. If you don't give in and keep the milk in the sippy's, the transition shouldn't last more then a week. Switching was extremely easy with my daughter (I nursed for 8 months which included bottle feedings by my husband) And then it was bottles exclusively until she was 14 months (by that time she was taking only one bottle at night time) She didn't give me much of a problem. It's all about replacing when it comes to Toddlers. You just replace one thing for another. So, now my daughter drinks from a regular child's cup. When she goes to take a drink, I always say.."slow, slow, drink slowly." That way she looks to see when the milk will reach her mouth.She no longer needs milk before she goes to bed. (she is almost 22 months old) As far as the transition from sippy to cup, I first started out putting just a little milk in a cup. That way if she spilled, it wasn't to much. I think I started giving her a cup when she was17 months old)Now she is up to half a cup full and I hardly have to refill her cup for her. They grow up so fast!
It's all a process.
Good luck!
Good luck!

My son still doesn't drink from a sippy cup - he will only drink from a straw cup. when we took out the bottle it was a battle of wills, but he only got a bottle in the morning and before bed. Otherwise he only had access to a cup - he got used to it and realized very fast that if he is thirsty he will drink. Now he only gets a bottle in the morning only.

hi L.. i too have a little boy he is 13 months, i would recommend giving him his sippy cup with his meals. like maybe some apple juice and water in the sippy or something else he can drink besides the formula. see my son is lactose in tolerant. he drinks soy milk. sometimes i will put the soy milk in the sippy too. those are just some ideas. hope it helps.

C.

I concur with the others... he is young to be concerned about having his bottle disappear.

To me, the PRIMARY concern here should be: (1) he has multiple allergies and so the nutrition from his Formula is IMPORTANT. His nutrition... is key here. Not the bottle.
(2) if this is the only way that he, will right now, drink his formula... then let him. He gets calories this way/nutrients/and proper intake. Which is important for development and growth-spurts.

No need to rush it. No big deal. The thing is, here in our culture... the obsession is to "detach" children from attachments or comforting loveys or self-soothing habits as early as possible. But why? Detachment, to soon, can also be harmful.

Anyway... many kids still have their bottle even at older ages. Some ridicule that, some don't think it's a big deal in the general scheme of things in life. After-all, they will 'wean' from it one day. The reason babies/children love their bottles is that it is like a "nipple" and milk comes from it... much like a "breast." Its a NORMAL instinct in a baby and child. It's a natural progression, and children/babies "attach" themselves to it as a matter of survival instincts.

I would put the primary concern on his getting enough nutrients and intake. FIRST. Then, the bottle weaning can happen later. It is about his health... not the bottle. See what the priority is for you.

All the best,
Susan

he's still too young... don't change him yet

Hi L.,
I agree with some of the other mothers, no rush to change your son's drinking routine - every kid finally stops the bottle and every kid does it on his own schedule. However if you want to start the process, the morning and bedtime bottles are usually the most conforting so maybe try keeping those bottles and slowly trying to introduce sippy cup or regular cup to replace the mid-day bottles. Your son will eventually get it and want to use the sippy or regular cup but he is still young and you can take your time with the transition. By the time he's 2 he'll probably only want "big boy cups".

My son is 6 and we still use the sippy cups for bedtime so he doesn't spill his water or milk in bed.

Good luck!

Hi...I'm sorry that I didn't have time to read all the responses, so please excuse me if I duplicate. My son is 14 months old and I've recently gone through the transition. The good thing is that he's already drinking out of the sippy cup, for us that was the hardest part. Once he was comfortable with that, I just started with the mid-day bottle and swapped it out. Once he was comfortable with that and a routine was established (3-5 days for us), then I swapped out another one, etc. until he drinks everything from a sippy cup. The only one we haven't cut yet is the final nighttime bottle. Good luck!