How Do I Get My 1 Year Old off the Bottle and on a Sippy

Hey L.! So, I completely agree with getting off the bottle at 1. As a matter of fact, I had a party for my kids on the day of their 1st, and the very next day I got rid of all their bottles. Here's the thing though, the reason I believe in the 12 months rule is because of the easier transition for the child. You're right, she may refuse the sippy at first, but the thing is, she WILL drink when she's thirsty enough. the best thing to do, since you're a first time mom, and probably more sensitive to her getting upset and therefore more likely to give in to her, is to throw away all the bottles. If you want to, put them in a goodwill drop off box, but GET RID OF THEM so you don't even have the option of giving in. My daughter broke really easily. The first day with no bottles, she would say "dink" for drink, I would offer her the sippy and she'd push it away. So, I just kept offering it to her. I never switched cups, I just kept offering her the same cup. There's no reason to switch sippy cups, they all have one purpose....So, granted, I had to get the sippy for her frequently, but around lunchtime when she was eating, she did take the sippy and used it from there on out. With my son, he was a little more stubborn. He refused it all day long. BUT, a child is not going to let themselves get dehydrated. Eventually they WILL drink! If it's an issue, like you're offering it and your child is refusing it all day, start setting it on the counter or table for them when they ask for a drink, and then walking away. That way they can feel like you won't know they're taking a drink from it. Even at the age of 12 months, kids want to get their way, and if they want a bottle, and mommy's only getting them a sippy, to drink from the sippy is giving into mommy. So, try giving them privacy and then after about 10 minutes, go in and put it back in the fridge. With my son, he finally took a drink from the sippy the next morning, and he was fine after that. Now, let me tell you, if you DO give in to her, you WILL make things very difficult. Once you've taught her that you have a breaking point, she will get more and more mad until you give in and give her her way by giving her the bottle. So DON'T give in!

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I haven't read the other responses so I may be out in left field! I have 6 children, all were breast fed till they weaned themselves, usually around 10 - 12 months, except # 6 who is adopted and was bottled-fed. The breastfed ones were drinking from regular cups (we lived in an isolated area of Canada and had no access to sippy cups) plus bottles by the time they weaned from the breast. Taking them off the bottle was just a matter of gradually reducing the amount of milk I put in then having them drink a cup of milk before bedtime. For our bottle baby - he has FASD so didn't walk till he was 1 1/2, talk till he was 4, and had many other issues particularly with food, so we didn't even consider taking his bottle away till he was 2 1/2. Then his dentist read us the riot act and we went cold turkey with the bottle AND the pacifier! Whew! Fortunately, that nightmare only lasted 3 days and he was fine. He did get a sippy cup as he could not drink from a regular one.
I say all that to come to another point. Every child is different and YOU are her mother. I don't know who the "everyone else" is that says you have to have her off the bottle by the time she's 1, but my advice is "ignore them!" It's far more important that she is getting the nutrition she needs and that she's happy than that you meet some imaginary deadline. I have never seen a child enter kindergarten with a bottle in hand - she will be ready to drop it in good time. Maybe she just hasn't figured out how to get the milk out of the sippy, or maybe she still needs/craves the sucking involved in drinking from a bottle. Whatever the case, I can assure you that you will not cause any serious damage by allowing her to keep her bottle. Keep offering the sippy cup, maybe try to make a game out of it (have a tea party where you drink out of a sippy cup too!) and don't stress over when she ditches the bottle! Maybe when she's 2 or older you might want to start trying to pry her away from it. For now, just let her be a baby and ENJOY her!
All the best!

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Cold turkey worked the best for me. I had to make up my mind that I wasn't going to give in to the bottle request and just do it. I provided a sippy whenever my child should have been thirsty and after 2 horrendous days she finally "got it". Then I made sure all bottles were gone. I didn't want her to see one and have the fight all over. I told her that she was a big girl and big girl's use sippy cups and then I showed her that they were all gone. I really think the out of sight, out of mind worked because she stopped standing in front of the cabinet where they bottles were screaming her head off. Good luck. Oh yes, what happens at home should also happen at daycare. You don't want to confuse her by having a bottle sometimes and not at others.

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I agree that if your daughter is not ready, then what is the rush? Just because other mom's tell you to do something a certain way doesn't mean that is what you MUST do. Every other mom out there will give you advice, but we all need to do what we feel is right for our own child. I know lots of kids that are over one and still take a bottle. As long as she is not falling asleep sucking on a bottle (that can affect teeth) then it is not going to harm her. I would keep offering the sippy (she'll take it when she's ready) and if she wants a morning and night bottle, I don't see a problem with that.

I am a first time mom too, and I have had a very hard time with other people telling me what I should do with my baby. The truth is I am going to do what I feel is right, and you should too. It's ok to take other people's advice and use what you feel is right for you, and throw the rest out the window! If you and your DD are happy with a bottle twice a day, then keep it that way! Just my personal opinion here, you do what you feel is right. Good luck!

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Don't be so hard on yourself or your daughter!! If your daughter wants a bottle for a few more months, will that be the worst thing that could happen?? As long as you are offering a sippy everyday, she will eventually get the hang of it. She is only one year old! Now, if she was two.....that would be another story. Give it some time, maybe start by giving her one sippy a day at lunch everyday. After she is comfortable with that, give her another sippy at dinner. And so on and so forth. I promise, she WILL figure it out as long as you keep giving her the cup. Don't make it a battle, but do keep on her to make sure she is at least making the effort EVERYDAY. My 18 month old fought this process when I began weening him, but my persistence is what worked. My older son never really cared too much about giving up the bottle.

Well, good luck and don't worry so much!

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So maybe I'm a little relaxed in my parenting, but my thought is "she's not going to be 4 years old drinking out of a bottle." Meaning, what's it hurting her to have a bottle right now? When she's ready to switch, she will, no need traumatizing her just because that's what people/books tell you is the way it has to be done. My daughter was almost two before I took all her bottles completely away. She switched on her own time table, not because someone told me that's what needs to be done. Who are they to make that determination. It's not hurting anything, so I personally don't see a problem with her having it. Yes, offer her a sippy on a regular basis and eventually she'll learn to like it. You'll know when to switch entirely.

My husband gave me a hard time about her being on a bottle after 1, because his mother told him she was too old for it. So go with your instinct and make your baby happy. Seriously, what's the rush?

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L.,
I too have a daughter who was taking a bottle in the morning and at night. The difference is she was 20 months when I took it away. I waited too long and she came to depend on it. In hindsite I wish I had done it sooner but I thought she would wean herself like my other daughter did.
You know your daughter best, trust yourself that you're not going to hurt her, you're helping her grow up and into a toddler, that's what we do.
I went cold turkey finally and it took about a week to adjust. Bedtime was really hard, and my heart broke because I could tell she was confused and wanted the comfort of the bottle. But with patience, lots of encouragement and a treat of chocolate syrup in her milk, she came around.
One piece of advice, when you decide to do it don't turn back, keep moving forward. She will begin to drink from the cup even if it takes a couple of days. Unlike us adults, babies eat and drink what their bodies are craving. She will come around.
Lastly you're a good Mom. Deep breath.
Hope this helps.
L.

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I am not of the school to have to take the bottle away at 1.....2 yes. At 2, they have a bigger need to be a BIG kid and are better able to switch to a cup, just like their other family members. Not all rules fit each child, they are made out of a cookie cutter. Use your best judgement, it took me until my 3rd child to learn that.

But, if you want to and feel it is best for your child, do so.....I also don't think taking it away will cause any lasting damage. ;) If you have tried weaning and it doesn't work, you will have to do it cold turkey. My second child did that with the breast. She wouldn't use a sippy until I took my breast away for good. She didn't drink for 2 days!!! That was hard, but I just supplemented her fluids with lots of fruit and healthy posicles. She did eventually take it and has not been hurt in the least.

Good luck.

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In my "ever so humble" opinion: anybody who tries to wean a 1 year old off the bottle is NUTS!!! Gluttens for punishment even! LOL Kudo's to anyone who was able to do that, but I don't consider it something that overwhelmingly detrimental to allow the bottle in the fashion you're doing it - it's what we did.

We have 2 daughters, and like you, once they turned 6 months, we began *offering* sippy cups, but still gave bottles during the day. Just going by the adage, "you can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink" - we just figured that eventually, they'd start drinking more and more from the sippy cup and would begin being okay with that - and that's what happened.

Soon enough, it got to the point where the only time they wanted the bottle was before naptime or bedtime, then just bedtime. Both our daughters "self weaned" off the nighttime bottle by the time they were about 2...they just didn't want it, or were okay with drinking some water from a sippy cup.

My suggestion: Relax about getting her off the bottle ASAP. Let daycare use whatever works - bottle or sippy cup. Speaking from experience with your situation, I know they'll encourage use of the sippy cup, but will also offer the bottle if necessary. Take the same stance at home (encourage sippy cups, bottle if necessary). Eventually it'll come.

It'll be a gradual cycle - you may be able to get her off it by 18 months, but just relax about it as long as there's progress in that direction (switching from bottles to sippy cups).

For what it's worth - and good luck!

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I have three children and I took them all of the bottle the same way and it worked easily every time. I started by only putting milk or formula (depending on which one they are on) in their bottle anything else, juice, choc. milk, ice, water or so on were in the sippy cup.

Next, I started diluting the formula/milk in the bottle an ounce at a time. I also made sure the bottle was luke warm so it wasn't as pleasant to the drink as the ice cold or warm drinks in the sippy cup which I kept full either in the fridge, or on a stand within their reach so they were more likely to want it instead.

Every few days I diluted it by making it 6 ounces of milk and two ounces of water and so on. Until in a few weeks they have nothing but lukewarm milky water in the bottle and before long did not even want it anymore. This worked every time with no drama, crying, fits, or asking for it later.

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Sounds like you've gotten lots of good advice. I say, go with your gut. The older a child is, the more attached they become, and the harder it can be to break a habit. Make sure whatever you decide that you stick to your guns. This is the first of many decisions you will have to make, and you will never KNOW if you made the right decision. You have to trust yourself and your instincts.
Good luck!
R.

Don't stress out too much about having her off the bottle at 1. We were told 16-18 months with my first daughter. She LOVED her BA! I started making sure she was getting more solid foods, instead of milk all the time. She would eat three fairly balanced meals and that would fill her up. She was pretty good with the sippy during the day, but it did take time and practice. She preferred the Playtex cups with the hard spout and the valve. She got a bottle at nap time (not in the bed, I would hold her and give it to her and she's falls asleep then I'd put her down) until she was 16 months. I gave her a sippy with milk and snuggled her while she sipped it then put her down like usual. It was a rough few days, but she got over it! Then at about 18 months we took away the nighttime bottle. Basically, we let her get so exhausted that she just fell asleep with out it. It may not be the ideal way to wean, but it worked for us! :) If she carries her bottle around (doesn't sound like she does though) that's the first thing to take away. You said that she chugged almost three bottles, perhaps she's hungry and that's why she's so cranky? Try offering real table foods, if you aren't already. That will fill her up more than baby food. It's all sort of hit and miss. What worked for me may not work for you. The key is consistency. If you want her daytime bottles gone, just don't offer them. She'll drink when she's thirsty. It was so hard for me, as a first time mom, to realize that. I thought she was dehydrated. Nope! Just stubborn :) Good luck and hang in there!

Hi L.,

I just wanted to say that while you should be taking your barely one year old off of the bottle, don't stress yourself so much. Parenting is not a race it is a marathon. The important thing is that you are aware that you need to transition from the bottle to the sippy cup. You are asking for help and looking for ways to make this transition easier for your child. All of the parents out there who are you have to do it this way or that way are entitled to their opinion. In the end, the only opinion that counts is yours. It doesn't have to be so dramatic. You know your child. My son who is 4 would not take a sippy cup as long as a bottle remained in our home. He hates transitions and disruptions of his schedule. My youngest who is almost 2 stopped taking a bottle around the age of one and never looked back. He could care less about schedules and tranisitions. Follow your instincts. You'll do fine.

You have gotten a lot of advice, some conflicting. So, here's my two cents :) I think it is best for children to be weaned from the bottle around 1 year. I don't think they have to be off of it the day they turn 1 though. Don't get all stressed out about it but plan on having the transition done within a few months of their birthday. My daughter turned one in November and she is now exclusively on the sippy cup. She is able to drink just fine from the sippy cup but it takes more work on my part to make sure that she is getting a sufficient amount of milk. We give her the sippy cup while in her highchair with each meal. She will drink some but then throw the cup down, etc. I will let her play for a little bit but then pick her up and give her the cup again. Sometimes I need to do this a few times to get her to drink the entire serving. She also is inconsistent as to whether she wants to hold the cup or if she does better with me holding it!

Another note regarding the bedtime bottle. I eliminated the bedtime bottle several months ago by simply moving the last feeding time earlier. That way they learn to go to sleep without the bottle as a crutch. My daughter gets her last milk at dinner time or shortly thereafter if she is still trying to finish it. She then is up for another hour so so before bed. I would suggest trying to adjust the timing of the last bottle before you actually transition from bottle to sippy cup.

Once you make the transition, never look back! Good luck!

Hi L.,

I am very by the book as well and was also told about having kids off the bottle by 1 which I did do. When I have a goal in mind, I usually start a month early in case it takes some time to transition. For my son, I tried a few sippy cups before I found one he would take milk from, it was the Born Free transition cup, the sippy spout was softer but tough like a sippy. I got it at Babies R US. Luckily this worked fine and the bottles went bye bye before he turned 1. (I think it was a week or 2 of trying cups) I think gradual is okay obviously until you can find a cup she will take, but keep trying! The longer you let her drink from the bottle, the more routine it becomes and the harder to transition. I have a few friends with the same struggle and eventually their kids switch, some just take longer than others, that is why I like to get a jump start early before my goal date! Good luck!

I haven't read any of the other responses, so I'm sorry if this is repeat info, but my doctor directly contradicted yours. My son has been on the sippy since 6 months, but his ped. said she'd like to see him completely off the bottle by the time he's 15-16 months. She suggested we begin weaning at a year, but not to rush it and not to worry. He does not take a bottle to fall asleep, so I don't envision having too much trouble. I wouldn't worry about rushing the weaning process as long as you're making good process.

You gotta take the bottle away cold turkey. All the way out of the house! That way you wont fall back on giving her a bottle and she won't see them and won't hold out for her bottle. The first few days she may not drink as much, when she realizes that's the way she is going to drink she'll use the sippy cup. Goodluck!

Maybe she is getting frustrated with the sippy cup - have you tried drinking out of it yourself? My son had trouble getting any liquid out of most brands of sippy cups, they are just too hard to drink from! I love the Platex, stage 2 or 4, they are easy to drink out of but don't leak.

It isn't that big of a deal to have her off by her birthday. An extra month or so isn't going to hurt her. The biggest issue is her teeth. Try to brush her teeth after her night time bottle. Making sure she gets the nutrients she needs is more important.

That said, have you tried a straw cup or a regular open cup? She might like those better. Send me a message if you want some tips on getting a kid to take a straw. My first one had to be taught how to do it. The second child just knew what to do on his own. They make a large variety of straw cups for kids.

Try Take and Toss cups, they don't require a lot of suction but do leak (so I don't let my kids out of the kitchen with them), start there and move on to Playtex. Good luck

Hi, L.! I have three kids, one of whom just turned 2. I used the soft, silicone lid sippy cups, not the hard plastic type. I also used the soft straw sippy cup, and we've never had a problem. She is probably more likely to use something that is softer like the nipple on her bottle, rather than the hard plastic type of sippy. Just be consistent... it always pays off! Trust me! Merry Christmas and good luck!

hi L.....Congrats on being a mommy :) i have 3 boys, ages 5-18. 1yr old is not too young, but i didn't even try to break my boys of the bottle til they were 16-18 months. my 5 yr old was alil older. And they have no teeth/gum problems, or any other bad effects from being on the bottle. as for how?? My 1st lil boy spent the night over grandmas house when he was 16 months old, and grandma didn't have a bottle..and it was that easy. my 2nd lil boy had an older brother, and 3 older cousins (all within 1-3yrs older) to learn from...My last lil boy took longer, and i was on my own this time, but i think it only took a couple weeks to be free and clear, and i slowly did it. So i would wait til she was at least 1 1/2yrs. well GL :)

Hi L.,
I had the same issue with both of my girls. I was told the same thing as you & did the same things. They both gave up the bottle when they were ready, NOT when they turned 1. As she get's older, she'll eat more & not need the bottle to fill up as much. I always offered a sippy each time my girls ate & always had one sitting out for them (keeping whatever they had ~ H20, milk, juice, etc. fresh). They finally started drinking when they were thirsty & started taking bottles less. It happened naturally ~ they both gave up naptime bottles, then a.m. bottles, then the nighttime bottle. Actually, our youngest got a little cold when she was about 16 mo. & had a stuffy nose & didn't want her nighttime bottle (so that was kind of an easy one). There are lots of different ways to get her dairy ~ yogurt, cheese, milk in cereal, oatmeal, etc. I totally don't believe in the cry it out method, it's just mean & let's face it, it's not like she's gonna go to Kindergarten using a bottle! Trust me ~ I've been teaching elementary school for LOTS of years & have never seen that before! Good luck!

My son couldn't figure out how to work a sippy cup either. Some of them you have to suck really, really hard to get anywhere. We've had success with the take 'n toss cups with straws. We filled it up (insert straw after you put the lid on or you'll have a mess!) and then gave it to him. We had to put the straw in his mouth and squeeze the cup to get some to come out the straw. After we did that a couple of times he started to figure it out.

I've heard some people try putting just water in the bottles and saving the good stuff (milk, juice, whatever) for the cup. It might help as an incentive without risking dehydration if she won't drop the bottle habit.

And, in general, I wouldn't stress about getting rid of the bottle by one. There's no magic about being 365 days old that makes a bottle inappropriate all of a sudden. If it's stressing you out, put it aside and try it again in a couple of weeks. She'll figure it out -- it's just a hard transition.

I started by offering both - gradually increasing the amount of milk in the cup, and decreasing - watering down the milk in the bottle until my son's bottles were only water. Start with the least favorite feed - for him it was his lunch bottle, and gradually work up to a second, third, etc. until you've dropped all bottles but the favorite feeding. Keep in mind that kids tend to drink less from the cup than the bottle. Good luck :)

My kids were closer to 18 to 24 months, I think. DD #2, especially loved the bottle and we had to sort of force her to use the cup. She was walking, talking, able to walk to the sink and throw the empty bottle in the sink...that's when I thought....She is big enough! I think 1 year is awfully young.

I went through about 10 different kind of sippy cups over a months time to find one he took fluid from and then at 1, took all bottles and any sign of them away. Cold turkey. He did awesome. No attachment issues there.
On the other hand, he was a breastfed baby for the most part. I had weaned him from that at 9 months, and he wasn't really attached to the bottle. We started learning from the sippys at 9 months. At 12 months he was drinking from his sippy fairly well and Bottles were put into a box and bye bye!

When my son turned 1, i sat down and tried to explain that the bottle he was using was for babies and he was no longer a baby, but a big boy, so we attached the bottle to a ballon (filled with helium) and he sent the bottle up in the sky to another baby. That was fun for him to do, and after his 1st birthday he never went back to a bottle. I even let him slip, a couple weeks after turning 1, he got sick and I gave his bottle back, but guess what, he didn't want it, so i guess he understood a bit what I was saying. Hope I was helpful!

Have you tried small Dixi cups? Maybe she just doesn't like working with the valve. Lots of kids never use sippy cups at all. Give her small amounts at a time and help her learn how to use a real cup.
Or, put the lid on a sippy but don't put the valve in so the liquid comes out without much work.

I disagree with the Moms who say you don't need to do it at a year. We went cold turkey with both kids, and neither of them ever had a bottle again. Both of my kids were like your daughter and had no interest in sippy cups initially. Our son literally wouldn't take one until the bottle was no longer an option.

Have you taken her to the store to let her pick out the cup? You can put a few in front of her and give her the option. Our daughter was slowly introduced to sippy cups at day care last year before her first birthday as her new class would not allow bottles. She did great. If you don't give them the option, they'll adapt. She already has learned how to do it - she just needs to learn how to do it differently.

Continue to experiment with different kinds of sippy cups, each kid is different. Some our son hated, our daughter loves.

I would do it slowly. It doesn't matter exactly what month the bottle is gone, just that it is! the Munchkin silicone spout cups worked best for us. They were close the the silicone nipple of a bottle, but still not a bottle. They are also the easiest to keep clean to me. The Nuby ones were a nightmare to clean inside the spouts.

I also agree with watering down the milk in the bottle slowly and constantly offering the cups.

I started offering the sippy at 5 mos. to my kids. 1 was a bottle baby and the other 2 were breastfed with bottles from the sitter. My first was the hardest to break. I noticed like you, that they only took a small sip from the sippy and I figured that it was because the sucking action for the sippy and the bottle/breast are so different. So I took the valve out the cup for the first little while until they got the hang of it, then I put it back when they could use the cup. Once they figured out how to use the sippy they wanted it exclusively. My middle daughter weaned herself entirely from the bottle by 7 months. The sitter was irate, because she could no longer sit and hold her with the bottle! My youngest was weaned by 10 months. I also put juice in the sippy only. It was a sweet treat and if they wanted it, they had to work for it from the sippy. Try loosening the valve or take it out, so the liquid flows from the cup, they show her how to hold it and take small drinks, she'll get the hang of it. Good luck.