I Got Ride of the Bottle, But...

I am no doctor, but the calcium and vitamin D in yogurt and cheese will go a long way in replacing what you are losing with no milk. My boy is almost 20-months-old and he has yet to start with milk. We really push other calcium sources, and our doctor does not seem too upset by it. He has always refused anything but breastmilk, and was weaned a couple months ago. Just make sure that he is getting a lot of those other calcium sources, and also plenty of protein.

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Hi A. - Here's a thought, why not get rid of the bottle all the way? He knows that you are giving him a bottle in the evening, so he might be confused that you are not giving it to him during the day.
Also, my younger son did not like milk, and I was pretty worried about it too. When I took him to the Dr. they asked if he was eating cheese, yougurt, blah blah...and he was, he loved it, so the doctor actually said not to worry. It's not Vitamin C that they are worried about, it's Calcium, and there is an orange juice that also has calcium added into it. I think it's Minute Maid. I gave that to my son as well. And if I remember right, the whole reason the drs. want children drinking whole milk is for the Fat in the milk which helps in brain development. So, as long as he is getting other milk products, you should be fine.
Maybe have your son go with you to the store and pick out a "special Sippy" that he gets to drink all his drinks from. That might encourage him also. Good luck, but know that your son is normal!!
L.

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A., at 14 months your son doesn't need a bottle any more at all. At this stage it is just habit and he will keep protesting and wanting milk in his bottle until he realizes that you are not going to give in. Giving him bottles in the evening is sending him mixed messages. I have 5 children and weaned them all at 12-13 months. Cold turkey is best but give a good substitute. I saw one response recommended the nuby sippy cups. I used them on my kids and they all loved them because it gave them the soft top like a bottle. (be careful they are not totally spill proof) Giving him other things such as yogurt, cheese, etc. is a good sub for milk. Also you can add chocolate syrup to it. (just enough for the taste) it is sugar free and it will get them to drink their milk.

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Everything takes time. My 6 year old son sees a dietician from Childrens' Hospital in Seattle. He had a stomach tube, couldn't eat when he was a baby-he has a long medical history that involved him being on a life support machine, couldn't drink out of a bottle, couldn't suck, etc. He's fine now. But when he was learning to eat and drink, he wouldn't touch milk. He ate alot of yogurt, string cheese, different cheeses. When the dietician asked me how much milk he drinks, I told her he doesn't like milk and re-evaluated his list of what he does eat (a list that I provided for her). She saw that I had yogurt and cheeses on there, and she said, "oh, he's okay with his calcium because he's eating yogurt and cheeses". Yogurt, cheeses, cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, these are all dairy products that have calcuim. Don't worry about him not drinking milk in a tippy cup, just make sure he eats more yogurt and cheese (with some juice so he doesn't get constipated). I'm sure you have a great Doctor, but if a Dietician from Childrens Hospital (someone who specializes and has a degree in Nutrition) told me yogurt and cheeses was fine, then don't worry about the milk right now. He is transitioning from a bottle to no bottle, and that is a big change for a little guy.
Also, I've learned-when you are anxious for him to do something like eating or drinking something, he won't want to because he feels your anxiety about it, and in an almost rebellion way (your son being the rebel), won't eat or drink it. This happened to us, I was so desperate for him to eat and drink. After 6 months, I decided to sit him in his high chair, give him the food, snacks, or whatever, and then walk away (to the kitchen, doing dishes or something). I kinda let him do his thing, as I was doing mine, and then he just ate or drank.
Let him drink whatever from his cup. My 6 year old now loves milk, mostly plain, but loves his chocolate milk too. Another thing that worked for us, was I used to put a tiny bit of chocolate syrup in his milk, and he would drink it.

Be patient, Good Luck!

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Are you trying to give him milk in a little kids plastic cup or a sippy cup? My daughter when we weaned her from bottle would drink anything but milk from sippy cup but would drink milk if I put some in a little plastic kids cup. Hey worth a try.

She still prefers juice over milk and sometimes to get her to drink more milk we give her chocolate milk. But what we do is take regular milk and had just a tiny bit of chocolate which is a lot less chocolately than buy straight chocolate milk but she still likes it better and drinks more that way.

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A.,

It sounds to me like your son is confused. He gets a bottle at night, but no other time. He may be holding out, waiting for the bottle during the day. Try going without a bottle all together, he's old enough to not need one anyway.

Until they are two years old, children need the fat in the milk, it helps their brain growth. I get that bit of information from my mother in law, who has a degree in early childhood education.

My daughter is 14 months old too, and prefers chocolate milk to regular milk (like her dad and brother). She will take a day and a half to drink a 12 oz cup of milk, but will down the same amount of chocolate milk in about 30 minutes to an hour or less. So now I keep both types of milk stocked, just so my family will drink milk.

Hope this helps,
M.

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