Getting a Child off the Bottle

Hi M.,
18 months may be a little early to get rid of the bottle and onto a big kid cup right away. Find a good sippy cup first. I found ones that my little one likes from Walmart, I think it is a NUBI? They were cheap, they dont leak.

At around 12 months, I started with sippy cups for my little one, and at almost 3, she still uses one for nap and night time. She gets one with milk, with a splash of flavored coffee creamer for taste (she doesnt like milk alone), warmed just a little, and a water cuppy with her in her crib at night. Other than that, she only gets a big girl cup with juice or milk with meals and snacks. She just recently started with the big cups a couple months ago.
Good luck

My daughter also did not want to give up her bottle. I couldn't take the crying and so didn't actually have her give it up until she was 2 years 3 months. I picked a time when I was home with her for the week to help her adjust. She gave her bottles to her godmother who had recently had a baby. We made a big fuss about it. She cried for it for three days (with the first day being the worst). Then she eventually stopped. She felt comforted knowing that baby Mathew was getting her bottles, but it was still hard. She still doesn't love milk in a sippy cup but knowing she eats cheese and yogurt, I'm not worried about her calcium intake.

dear mom,

The easiest way to swap is to buy a silicone nuby bottle from walmart for $1.97 it looks like a bottle and works like a bottle except its a sipy cup and has a diffrent shaped nipple, Try using colored straws during the day in a soda cup. he will like it, and has his sippy cup for the night time use.

After a week introduce the straw type sippy cup for days

and still let him have his bottle at night and for naps

The nipple should be the same style.

and these should be the only bottles in the cabinet.

eventually he will grow out of the need for the bottle
and you can transition to something else.

MOM,

I wanna also say that there is no rush.

My younger 2 boys are 3 and 4 years old and still use a sippy cup.

And every once in a while my 3 year old needs his pacifier.
and I let him have it.

His teeth are fine.

M

Taking the child off the bottle is not always an east task. But the longer you keep the bottles in the house they harder it is. The first thing you have to do is get them out of the cabinet. Put them away where your son can't find them. Or better yet, throw them away. Don't let him see where you put them though. Buy him a couple new sippy cups and put them in the cabinet instead. The next time he points to the cabinet, show him the bottles are not there anymore. Tell him he is a big boy and he gets to use a brand new sippy cup. He will resist using the cups for a few days and probably cry a lot. Don't worry if he doesn't drink much from the cups for a few days, it won't hurt him to go without his milk for a few days. And before you know it, he will forget all about his bottles. Things like this are more traumatizing to the parents then they are to the child. Children adapt!

What seemed to work best for the many children in my family is getting rid of the bottles except for one. Graduating down from the sippy cup to a regular cup also helps too. Get something with some colorful design of interest on it. The bottle is just very comforting. We had all of the children off the bottle by slightly after 2 years of age. They would have one bottle at night and sippy cups during the day. Seeing other children drinking from cups also is encouraging to some children. Peer pressure in the positive.

Just keep working at it. 18 months may be a little young for your child to make the transition. Don't stress over it you still have time.

You've gotten a lot of good ideas. I just wanted to add one suggestion to "throwing away" the bottles. If you intend on saving them for another child make sure you have a clean bag in the trash can. After he throws away all of the bottles from the cabinet take out the trash. You don't have to actually put the bag in the outside trash, just let him think you did. That way he won't think he can just go get one out. They will be "gone", but not really. When you have another child and get those same bottles out again for use he will probably not even remember them.

If you want him off the bottle entirely, I would suggest taking them out of the house- attic, basement, somewhere he won't see them.

We are working on this right now and it's really tough. At 13 months, he still gets 3 a day, but would love more. I just make sure that there is a full straw-cup out at all times. That way if he's thirsty it's right there.

I got a Nuby cup..they have one that is very similar to a bottle then I gradually introduced other Nuby's that had a similar material for the lid but in a more traditional sippy cup shape, then he did all cups. That first day, I did not let him have a bottle no matter what, figuring when he got thirsty enough he would drink. I only had to do that one day.

Maybe if you open the cabinet and have the bottles be gone, tell him only cups now or put the cups in place of his bottles so thats what he sees in that spot, maybe he'll get it.

Or show him 2 cups and see if he'll choose ? Good Luck

just get rid of the bottles, cold turkey. I did it when my son was 21 months. He was a crab for a couple of days but then they were long forgotten. Your son won't die of thirst, he'll eventually accept other forms of drinking.
Lynsey

Have him pick out new sippy cups with you and explain to him that he is going to use them now instead of the bottle. When you get home have him help you throw the bottles away and fill the cabinet with his new cups. That way when he points to the cabinet you can show him and remind him that the bottles are gone and he has his new cups to use. Usually if you include them in the transition they go along with it. It has worked for all three of my children. Good luck and stay strong !

Cold turkey works best. Put the bottles away in a box somewhere and the only option is a cup and therees no choice. :)

Hi M.,
Giving him water in his bottle isn't helpful - if you want him off the bottle, don't offer him a bottle at all. Throw the bottles away. With my oldest, while I didn't feel it necessary to be done with bottles before 2 years, at some point before that, she started drinking 3 bottles of milk when we would get home from work/daycare and not eating dinner, so I decided it was time. The bottles went to the attic, where she never saw them again. I do not think that gradual weaning helps when we're talking about a toddler and a bottle. Just decide that you're done, let your son know that and show him that the bottles aren't in the cabinet anymore. Keep in mind that at over a year, his milk is not the primary sourse of his nutrition anymore, his food is, so it's okay if he doesn't drink as much milk when it's in a cup. It should be offered with meals as a beverage, he doesn't need separate milk feedings anymore.
Good luck!

Hi M., It is obvious that your son loves his bottle. Why should he stop? I say he is still a baby. Some cultures nurse for 5 years. I am not an expert but I did raise 5. My oldest wanted his bottle for a long time. I had 3 in a row and it was not easy to take it away. He would just grab one from a sibling. Anyway, he grew up to be a fine man. My daughter was a thumb sucker and did not care much for her bottle. My advice, let him have it. I'm sure you will get lots of different advice. Take what you like but children grow up so fast why would you make him so unhappy? I can guarantee he will give it up before long. Grandma M.