No More bottles--Just Sippy Cup!

My pediatrician was always pretty adamant about only having milk in a sippy cup and formula in a bottle. I found this was actually a good thing. Your daughter may not like the real milk right away so when you do start her on it, I'd just put a small amount in the cup each time (maybe 1/4 of the cup). You may find out she really likes it. While she figures out the milk/sippy thing, don't forget she can get calcium in many other ways i.e. yogurt,cheese,broccoli,etc. so you really won't have to worry too much about her nutrition. If you are still concerned, you can give her a multivitamin every day to make up for what she might be lacking.
M.
mom of many

1 mom found this helpful

Good Morning SH: it is 2:30 am here in Calif.. I am the mother of 5, I have raised several foster children and the grandmother of several sweethearts, so I give this advice with tenderness.
Your little one will be just fine. Make sure that you keep in mind your little one has a tiny tummy and doesn't need that much all at once. We always started at 9 months with a cup just for them to get used to it and by a 13 months were pros at it.
If you are giving her milk ( make sure it is whole milk not non fat or low fat) and water with juice from time to time she will get everything she needs. Just keep finger foods and healthy foods for her and if she is eatting table food that is GREAT! I really believe that a child should be used to eatting along with the rest of the family and it is so much easier when you are going somewhere. Please enjoy the adventure of parenthood there is nothing like it and turely I know it is the greatest thing I have accomplished.
Nana G

When I transitioned my little guy at 15 months, I eliminated all bottles except one in the morning (while I was still waking up, too). Jack had no problems with it. He definitely drinks a lot less milk, but did increase his solids intake on his own.

Remember, too, that the exceptional weight gain that happens during the first year slows down drastically now--largely due to less overall caloric intake (fussy eating habits of toddlers). So don't worry!

I'm still working on that morning bottle (on my pediatrician's advice to stop all bottle feeding for the sake of his teeth) and am thinking that I just need to do it cold turkey one of these mornings.

I would transisiton slowly. Put her formula in the sippy cup and slowly over a week or so dilute the formula with whole milk until it's full milk. Take one bottle away every ohter day from her regular bottle routine until you are all done with them. Both of my boys were off bottles completely within a month after turning 1. They loved being big boys with big kid cups.

Good luck
K.

She should use the same sucking action as she did with the bottle, so really shouldn't be an issue. My son didn't have any issues with this. In fact, once I saw that he was doing so well I just got rid of the bottle all together. Really shouldn't be nervous about this. It is part of growing up. You can find the sippies with a soft top, so it will be easier on her gums. Good luck!

SH

I am in the process of transitioning my daughter who will turn 1 at the end of the month- I'm assuming that you have already been giving your daughter the sippy with water or juice during the day to introduce her to the cup- if not start there-

what I've been doing is giving my daughter an 8 oz bottle in the morning and one at bed time, but during the day she is getting only her cup- I started trying this a few weeks ago and it did not go well but suddenly last week- she just started taking the cup with no problem- the best secret seemed to be just keep offering it- keep trying.

I give her water or juice with lunch but the rest of the time she is getting formula in the sippy and will usually down a five ounce cup in about 20 minutes- it does take her longer with the cup- mostly because she stops to play with it. Next I will have her drop the morning bottle and give her a cup with formula/milk with or before breakfast. The bedtime bottle will be the last to go- mostly because I'm not ready to give up that time yet :)

Hope this helps

I got some of the trainer cups by born-free, sippy cup in style, and the nipple is shaped like a cup but in the soft form of a bottle. My son loved his bottle so I was worried, I brought these home and bottle was a thing of the past. Worked for us, also I started giving him food when he was hungry instead of the bottle and doing the bottle after his meals. We give him a 4oz bottle when he wakes up then breakfast an hour later, then some more milk later in the morning. GOod luck

At a year her main nutrition will come from food, not a bottle of formula or breast milk. You will start giving her whole milk, rather then formula or breast milk. We started using the bottle as "snacks" and feeding table food for 3 meals. Right before she turned one we started using the nubby sippy cups which have a soft top like a bottle. Once she turned one I used those rather then a bottle for a couple days and then just let her use them for water around the house and gave her an actual snack (fruit, crackers, etc). I really didn't make a big deal about the change and neither did she.
Best of luck and congratulation on making it the first year!
C.

We just tossed the bottles and used a sippy - our son was already using sippy cups at day care so we knew he could use them. If there was no alternative we couldn't backslide to a bottle. He didn't even notice, I think he liked using the same kind of cup as the "big Boys".

Try one of the sippy cups with the soft nub. I can't remember what they are called but they have them at Babies R Us and Target. That way she is getting kind of the same feeling but just a little different.

T.

She will be fine even if she does lose a little bit. At 1 she should be primarily eating solids and no longer needs 3 8oz bottles of milk a day. Finger foods are usually something they like. Give her cheese and yogurt instead of all the milk although she can have some in her sippy cup.

I suggest being firm and loving.Know that you are doing what's best for her health.It's not good for her teeth and her iron (if I remember right).My daughter is three now, but I had went to a class back when she was 6mths.
Hope this helps:)

I transitioned from the bottle to a NUBY sippy cup. It has the soft nipple like a bottle but looks like a sippy cup. The hard plastic on traditional sippy cups are very different feeling then drinking from a bottle, so the NUBY helped bridge the gap for us. I think you can get them almost anywhere, I know I bought them at Rite Aid.

Good Luck,J.

Hi!
I have one thought on this because my sister just introduced the sippy cup to her 10 month old son. On and off it has been there, but he only wanted it when he refused his bottle. SO, we put one oz of liquid in the sippy cup and let him have it. Sometimes he chews on it, sometimes he drinks from it. What we also found was that when her sister in law bought him one with handles that were covered in a no slip/easy grip rubber, he liked it better and was more willing to drink from it. We also put a small mouthful into a regular cup and he slimes it pretty well and drinks some. But it was more experimenting. He still uses the bottle a little bit, but more and more he wants the cups now. I think you can't just change her overnight- put both out there with a little food in each and show her how you use a cup and get her interested in how it works and that fact that there is food in it.
I hope this helps!
-E. M

Go straight to the straw cups- they drink more and the experts I have talked to have said it is a longer suck and therefore better instead of teaching them to short suck.
That being said, while you wait for her to learn the straw, *(usually babies pick it up pretty fast especially if you show them), I used the nuby cups that have soft silicone spouts. They were the easiest to clean.
Good luck :)

My son did not get off of the bottle until he was about 16-18 months because he loved the bottle so much. I tried to wean him off the bottle at 1, but he just wouldn't take anything else and so I gradually started taking bottles away during the day and he was only taking a bottle before bedtime. During the day, I was giving him sippy cups, but he wasn't really drinking much. Then I found that he liked drinking through a straw so I started using the sippy cups with the soft straws attached and he loved them! Since he got off the bottle, he did lose a little bit of weight, but I wasn't concerned (neither was his pediatrician) because he was eating table food.