Bottle Weaning.

Hi T.. I am a first time mom also. I was told to take my son completely off by one year. At around 9 months I introduced Logan to a sippy cup and started using his bottle for only formula. At one year I completely took it away and now he only has a sippy cup. It was tough for him for the first week, but then he got used to it and has not had a prob since. I hope this helps. Good luck!

I think weaning all depends on the child. I have two little boys one 21 months the other 7 months. My oldest was weaned at 5 months because he kept pulling the nipple out of the bottle. My 7 month old just got off of one 2 days ago.

The way I weaned them is I gave them the nuby cups with the soft silicon tip. It works great because it still gives them a little comfort like the bottle. The only down side was when they really started teething they tend to bite on the nipple and some times they are no longer spill proof.

My oldest finally went to a hard cap sippie cup about 4 months ago.

The doctor told me that the bottle needs to go between 12 and 16 months to prevent dental problems. You need to try to find a sippy cup that you both can stand. The most important thing to think of when choosing a sippy is how hard the child has to suck. If it is difficult then it is going to cause dental problems also. You need an easy flow type. Not only does staying on the bottle cause cavities but it tends to cause kids to have buck teeth.

I made it fun for my kids...my son wanted to throw his out of the car going down the road(we did it where it would land in a friends yard so we could pick it up and trash it later). He never cried for it again.

My daughter gave her baba to the dog. She watched out the window as he chewed on it and played with it for a few weeks, She liked that it made him happy.

At 2 we did the same thing with sippy cups.

Both the peds I used for my girls said 1 year. I had both off before a year. I started introducing the cup around 6 months. The older they are the more set in their ways they get.

I have always heard that at a year its a good idea to wean. When my daughter had her birthday I started introducing more sippy cups (nuby's are our fave) and by her 13th month she was totally off. I know all babies react differently so be prepared to try several brands and styles before your baby is satisfied.

I am a mother of 2 and the pediatrician my kids go to advise at 12 months i went from a bottle to a sippy cup that has a soft spout like a bottle found at walgreens(drug stores) walmart...

Hi T.!

I have two children, but only one I've weaned so far (my daughter is just 10 months old). We cut out daytime bottles for my son right at a year old. He still got a bottle in the a.m. when he woke up and at night before bed until 13 months old. Then, he only got one bottle a day until he was 14 months old. At 14 months old, we just completely stopped giving him a bottle at all (can't remember if we cut out his night or morning bottle last though). He did fine, although it did take some time to get him to use a sippy cup consistently. But, he was eating well, so we didn't worry. I plan to wean my daughter (she is breastfed and bottle fed) right at a year when I can start her on whole milk. Good luck!

Hi T.

I have a 14 month old. My pediatrician really stressed getting mine off the bottle before 15 months. They said it is a lot easier...if you wait much longer it becomes harder.
I started by cutting out one bottle each week. He was getting 4 bottles a day. I changed one to a sippy cup. He hated that!! I kept doing it until he accepted he was not going to get a bottle. Then I cut out the next bottle with a sippy cup. I cut out the two middle of the day, then the morning and last the night time. Took me a month, but he is fine with it and takes the sippy cup great now. I like the Gerber soft tip, but that is just my preference there are tons of sippy cups out there.
Good Luck to ya!
J.

T.,

My daughter is 17 months old, and we started giving her a sippy cup with dinner when she was 9 - 10 months old just so she could sort of get used to it. By the time she was a year old, we were able to cut out her daytime bottles and she would drink from a sippy cup instead. Now, she still has a bottle when she first wakes up and right before she goes to bed. This weekend, my plan is to cut out her morning bottle and give her a sippy cup instead. If she accepts that willingly, then I'll try cutting out her nighttime bottle as well. I think you just have to sort of take cues from your baby and just experiment with giving him or her a sippy cup at times when they are most likely to accept it (at lunch, or sometime when they aren't particularly tired and fussy and more 'bottle-needy'). If your child is not receptive, then wait a few days and try again. It'll all work out! :-)

It is not too early. My daughter is 9months old and we are phasing the bottle out. She gets sippy cups with formula in them during the day and one bottle at night to sleep. Good Luck!

No fun for you! My first was 12 mos old. On his first b-day party, we "threw away" the bottles because he was a big boy. He had no problem with that. My 2nd was taking night time bottles until his 2nd b-day--I couldn't get him to quit! I've heard people gradully diluting the bottles until they're all water, and the kids lose interest. I don't know. I think at 14 months, you can cut down to night time bottles only, and that's reasonable. Go out & buy sippy cups and make it a BIG PARTY ;) It's hardest to give up the bed time bottle, so you can try to put to bed with just a bottle of water. Or, you can just go with it. I mean, nobody took a bottle at 5, right? He'll let you know when he's ready to quit. I feel every one gets a little caught up in milestones. Before sippies, kids had bottles til 3 or 4. If you want to wean him, you can do it, if you don't care, don't fight it. There's more to fight later! :) Oh, and one more thing. DON'T put formula (or breast milk, or whatever you are currently feeding) in the sippy. Let it be separate w/ cow milk or soy or juice or water. Otherwise, he'll just hang on to the sippy like a bottle.

My child is 15 months old. I haven't weened her and don't have any plans for the future. I don't know what is best. All I know is that I want my child to be comfortable in life and to enjoy as much of everything she can and one thing that she enjoys is her bottle before bed. It is a calming and loving and joyful and relaxing experience for her. I don't give her a bottle to hold and run around the house with. The only time she gets it is when she wakes up in the morning and before bed at night. Personally, I am not worried about weening. I enjoy her laying in my lap quietly and plan to do it till SHE gives me the sign that she is ready to quit.

I slowing introduced a Nuby sippy cup to my daughter a few months before her first birthday. Every once in a while I gave her a sippy cup with a little bit of formula in it. I gave her the sippy cup more often as she got closer to her first birthday. As of her first birthday, out went the bottles. I also tried putting straight whole milk in her sippy cup and she drank it just fine! So, out went the formula too! I don't remember her fussing any about the formula or bottles being gone. She loves milk now, & water.

First, i try not to give the bottle during the nap time, after one or two weeks, after she get used to it then during the night time. now my daughter is bottle free...and she always said bottle is for baby and i'm a big girl now....

Hi T.

Your son isnt too early to be wean. That is the age I weaned my son also. The hardest part for him was trying to understand why he was getting milk in his cup, because when he was 6 months and we started juice we gave him a sippy cup. Up until about 3 weeks ago the only sippy cup he would drink his milk out of was a nuby cup because the sippy was soft like a nipple. Good Luck,

I took the bottle away from my daughter at 12 months. I just took it away and she never fought me on it. she took straight to the sippy cup and had no problems. So I guess iI just used the cold turkey approach but she was perfectly fine with that!

14 months isn't early at all. Kids should at least be almost off the bottle by their 12 months for dental hygiene reasons. You will endure alot of drama when you take away the bottle but it's so much better for them to have a cup especially if they have teeth. I weaned my duaghter at 11 months by completely taking away the bottle. She had no problems with it all. She would ask once in a while "Ba?" I would just tell her Ba (bottle) went bye-bye. She seemed to understand since she knows what bye-bye means. Try to find some cups that he'll drink out of and work them in throughout the day. It took a while for us to find the right cup.

We weaned our daughter when she was about a year old. We just started giving her a sippy cup when she ate. It was a little harder for her to take naps because she was used to having her bottle, but it didn't take her long to accept the cup. I don't think 14 months is too young. Some people have told me that 12 months is a good time to start. Also, we used the sippy cups that were like the nipples on bottles. I hope this helps!

Most people ween from the bottle right after the 1st birthday.... 14 months is certainly not too early. I had no problem weening my daughter off of formula; for a month or so I still gave her a warm whole milk bottle before bed to help her sleep but that was really more because I wasn't ready to give it up yet and when I decided to stop she never looked back. Don't stress about it... offer him sippy cups with milk, water, and/or juice and help if he needs it. If you have any problems getting him to switch just post another request and we'll be happy to help with that too! :o) Good luck!

T.,

With my first one I stopped giving her the bottle when she turned a year old. We just quiet cold turkey and started using sippy cups. She ate very well so the milk wasn't an issue for her. With our second one we have just taken it from her a few months ago. She was 33 months old. While she didn't use it throughout the day, she demaned it at nap and bedtime. After my son was born in August and I was off on maternity leave. I stopped giving it to her and put her milk in a Nubi sippy cup. She fused should I say scream for an hour one day and after that she said no more bottle.
It's much easier to wean him from it now. I think they use it as a comfort measure the older they get. Now if I can use wean her from her pacifier.
Best of Luck

unless you want him to be taking a bottle when he is 3 you should definitly take it now. most doctors recommend it by 1yr. once a child reaches 1 he starts developing his own habits and unless you want the bottle to be a "habit" you should take it away. when you take it though make sure YOU are also ready because once you take it, and you give it back because he's fussy ect. you will spoil him

We introduced sippy cups around 6 months and the bottle was gone by 1. It wasn't really an issue with my first and hoping it won't be with my second either and I plan to do it the same way. We had a hard time letting go of the Pacifier but not the bottle.

It's definitely not too early. I weaned my kids off the bottle at 12 months and just used a sippy cup. Does he use a sippy cup at all now? If so the transition may be easier. If not, I would start giving juice in a sippy cup (Nuby is a good brand to start with - the ones with the soft nipples) then eventually start giving milk in the sippy cup until he's completely weaned. Good luck!

Drs. usually recommend weaning off the bottle by 12 months so it is not too early. Does he use a sippy cup? If so, just start giving him all his drinks in that. If not, experiment with different types of sippy cups. Some kids have a preference for hard spout or soft spout or shape of spout, etc. My kids liked the Avent sippy cups. They have different types of spouts you can buy as the kids progress from a soft spout to a hard spout, etc.