Getting My 1 Year off the Bottle

Updated on January 15, 2008
L.P. asks from Arlington, TX
15 answers

My son just turned 1 last week. I would like to start weening him off the bottle as much as possilbe. For the last three days he hasn't had a bottle until night time. I know some say he is still to young but he is getting to the point where he is chewing through his nipples on some of his bottles. Any suggestions would be of great help. Thanks.

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

So What Happened?

Well he had a little bit of a hard time the first night. By night two no problems. Took the bottle away completely and gave him the sippy cup. Thanks for everyone's input.

Featured Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.B.

answers from Lubbock on

YES, YES, YES!!!! You are doing it perfectly. Sippy cups except for bed-time bottle. Any dietician/nutritionist or child development professional will tell you, you are on the money with this. Way to go Mommy!!!

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.D.

answers from Dallas on

Switch to a sippy. If that is all you offer him, he will switch.
Personally, and we all have them as moms... this was not an area I was concerned about. My son took a bottle till 18 months and you know, he's not scarred. As long as they don't walk into Kindergarten with it, why stress?! lol
Pediatricians are guides, and their opinions differ amongst themselves. If you want him not to have it because of the nipples... then give him a sippy. If you are doing it because he is a year old and someone said so... then do your own thing!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

B.F.

answers from Houston on

I am a mom of 3 kids 27,18&17.a little advice about taking a child off the bottle.if he or she doesnt suck a bottle in the day time he or she can do without it at nite.sometimes parents mistake giving the bottle to a child because the child cant sleep unless he has it.most parents want to sleep at nite so they give the child the bottle so they and the baby will sleep through the nite.dont give the child the bottle at nite and after 2 to 3 nites of a little crying,he wont need the bottle again.b fulcher

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.B.

answers from Houston on

We started at nine months giving a sippy cup with a little juice, so she loved getting her sippy cup and then at 11 months I just quit the bottle. and Gave her milk in the sippy cup. My doctor recomended no milk at bed time or after brushing teeth. I thought it would be hard but it ended up being a lot easier then I thought. You just have to stick with it, to us the one time a night milk thing seemed to just confuse her. You are right on track with timing though, hopefully in a few weeks things will be going smoothly.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.S.

answers from Dallas on

With both my kids, I went 'cold turkey', and they didn't seem to notice. You might consider putting a sip cup of water in his crib with him...and even a paci. (if that is an option.)
Whatever you decide, just stick to it...consistency is key!
Hope this helps.
~K.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.R.

answers from Dallas on

I started my son at a year as well. The morning w/warmed milk in a nuby sippy cup w/straw in his high chair and then lunch and dinner and he was totally fine.

Good Luck and I hope this helps.
M.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

V.M.

answers from San Antonio on

I found the Nuby sippy cups to be very helpful during the transition from bottle to cup. Their spouts are similar to bottle nipples and the transition went fairly smoothly for me. My daughter is two and still uses those cups from time to time.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.E.

answers from College Station on

At my 3-year-old son's 1-year doctor's appointment, my pediatrician told me that I needed to stop bottle-feeding. I never gave him a bottle again. I just put his milk in a sippy cup (which he had used only occasionally for months). I find when changes need to be made, it's harder on the parents to change for fear that it will cause changes in daily routines and keep us up all night. It really is easiest to make changes when kids are young. Stop now before your child has a chance to miss it.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.L.

answers from Dallas on

Hi L.,

My son just turned one last month and I got him off the bottle and formula at the same time. The only thing I can suggest is just give him his sippy cup at night instead of his bottle. If he doesn't drink his bottle during the day then it shouldn't be a problem...that's how my son was. He only cried for it at night and it only took about 1 week and half and now he is completely of it!!!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.H.

answers from Dallas on

Try putting water in the bottle at night, sometimes that works.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

V.B.

answers from Houston on

I don't think it's too young. Most pediatricians will recommend that you start weaning at 1 year old, so you're right on track! Since he is down to just one per day, you may just try taking that one cold turkey and giving him his milk in a sippy of some sort. Try not to associate it with bedtime (i.e. try to change his bedtime routine so that it doesn't include a bottle). Let him drink his milk out of the sippy in the living room or somewhere besides his bedroom. Then, brush teeth, read stories, etc. and put him to bed. This may help with the transition. Best of luck to you!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.G.

answers from San Antonio on

I like the soft "nippled" sippy cups-I think by Playtex. Soft enough to not be harsh on tender baby gums, similar enough to a bottle, but baby can chew on them. They have the handles on the lid, so the sippy part is never catty-whompus to the handles. Plus, the valves can be used on their other sippy cups as LO gets older.

Definitely water at night if baby needs the comfort-just put less and less in over a period of time till he doesn't need it any more-worked great for my now 3 yo-he did sleep w/ an empty cup for a while, but that was no biggy and he felt safe.

Blessings~C.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.J.

answers from Dallas on

I think you just have to stop giving it to him. I had such a hard time with my daughter. I hated to not give her the bottle because she was so skinny I figured she need the milk. Come to find out I was the one with the problem. When I finally at 15 months decided I was not longer going to giver her a bottle she was fine. She never even cared that she was not getting one. We just gave her a sippy cup of milk and a snack before she went to bed.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.T.

answers from Amarillo on

Keep giving him only 1 bottle at night, but every 3 or 4 days, decrease the amount of milk you put in the bottle JUST SLIGHTLY (half an ounce or so). It worked with my son. Make sure you have a good, predictable bedtime routine, something like dinner, bath, story, bed, etc. Make sure he eats enough at dinner to make him full enough to go to sleep. I had to offer my son vanilla wafers and a sippy cup of milk for a little while to fill his tummy, but it didn't last long. Best of luck to you. M.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.N.

answers from Houston on

Whjen we went to the paed at 12 months she said the twins needed to come off their bottles, so we went cold turkey and only gave them the sippy cups. I repeated the process around 18 months to get them onto straw cups and now they are trying (just turned two) to sip from cups. If they can hang out for what is familiar (ie the bottle) they will!! Unless there is a physical reason not to progress, you need to get tough and hold out.
Good luck!
D.

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions

Related Searches