Switching from Bottle to Cup

I would say gradually ween off of the bottle. I just did this with my twin girls and they would not drink the whole milk by itself initially. So, I would mix about one scoop of formula with it to start with and then over a week I would gradually make the amount less and less until it was just milk. It also really depends on what type of formula he was on. If he was on a thicker formula like the Enfamil AR then he may not accept the milk as quickly because it is not as thick as he is used to. This is what I ran into with the girls and the doctor recommended that I mix a little formula with it first. I did this with both their bottles and cups so they were always getting the same thing. Then I slowly started taking bottles away along with this. I did the afternoon snack one first, then dinner, then lunch, breakfast and then the nighttime. They still get their milk at bedtime I just put it in their sippy cups.
I would start offering more table foods, if he is willing to eat them I would slowly move him off of the baby food. The biggest problem I have is one that will eat table food and one that won't-haha, such is life sometimes. As long as he is getting protein, veggies, fruit, etc then he should be okay. I wouldn't worry about extra snacks to replace the formula. He should be getting what he needs from his milk and then from his regular mealtimes.

I would suggest one transition at a time. If you don't have him on solids yet you may want to get him on those first and then wait for the bottle. Also, you never know what life is going to serve up so you may want to hang onto a bottle or 2 just in case. My son took 3-4 months to get off the bottle. Good luck!

Relax a bit. Why are you trying to rush your baby to grow up?! He's only one! Why is one this magical age for a baby to all of a sudden turn into a toddler and give up his bottle? His bottle is his security. I would let him have it as long as he wants it. He'll give it up when he's ready. Enjoy your BABY, before you know it he'll be in kindergarten.

Please E.,just don't rush him....In my opinion , he is too little yet, let him be a baby because this is a very short period for him and yourself too! Enjoy these years with him being a baby, and let him have his bottle for a while. My 2 years and half little boy left his bottle at 2, but it was himself who chose to do it by playing with the zippy cups; anyway I took his bottles little by little. Don't stop either with the baby foods; if he is OK eating "real" food like you mentioned, is fine but be careful not to give him big pieces or chunks, or honey yet, or things that may make him to choke or feel sick. Mix Baby foods and the regular ones if you feel he is fine with it. Babies and children in general, have a time to be ready for their milestones..and it is better let them to be ready.
Take care,
Alejandra

Personally, I wouldn't really worry too much about taking his bottles away yet - unless you think he is ready. My son was about 18 months when we got rid of the bottle. We just got it down to one bottle at night for a while and then one weekend we just threw them all away. Out of sight out of mind - that theory worked best for us. He never even asked for them if he couldn't see them. As far as the baby food is concerned, I would keep him on them as long as he will eat them. They are so full of vitamins and nutrition, it really is the best for them. Healthy snacks are always good! Good luck - and don't rush him - he'll grow up too fast on his own! I can't belive mine is going to be two in a month! S.

I would say transitions are usually easier. You can start mixing whole milk with formula if he doesn't like the taste of whole milk by itself yet. Gradually increase the proportion of milk and decrease the formula.

You can still give him some bottles and use sippy cups at meal times. It's important that he get enough fluids and milk, and if going cold turkey means he isn't drinking enough, do it gradually.

If he will eat enough table food, then you can stop doing the jar foods all together, but again, if he's not getting enough, then supplement with jar foods until he gets the hang of it or until he gets more teeth. Some babies take a long time to go from jar food to table food, which is fine. It would be great to give him more healthy snacks, just make sure that they are healthy.

Here are two great articles about kids and nutrition:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030800.asp "Feeding Toddlers: 17 Tips for Pleasing the Picky Eater" It has good ideas for introducing new, healthy foods to toddlers.

and
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T040200.asp "ABC's of Teaching Nutrition to Kids" I thought this one was especially good because it teaches parents how to make learning about healthy food fun for kids. It talks about how to educate kids so that they make healthy choices on their own later on and so they know which kinds of food are healthy and why. The only thing I didn't agree with was that he suggested rewards, but everything else was pretty good advice. The article talks about referring to "grow" foods for kids. You can adapt this for his age, like letting him hold the fruits and veggies in the grocery cart, or letting him wash produce at home before meals, letting him watch you in the kitchen if he wants, talking about the colors of his fruits and veggies, etc.

Best wishes!
C. G.

Hi E.,
My daughter didn't have a problem switching from bottle to cup and formula to milk when she was 1, so imagine my surprise when my 1 year old son didn't want 2 get rid of his bottle. I think if what you're doing now is working then stick to it. My son is 13 months old and still drinks formula from a bottle. I did the same thing. 1 less bottle gradually. Now we're down to 1 bottle of formula at nap time and 1 at bedtime. All his other drinks are given in a cup and I usually do a cup of milk with breakfast, lunch and dinner. It seems to be working. Every now and then I'll try to put him down for a nap or bed without a bottle. Most the time not giving him a bottle at nap time works but forget about not giving him 1 at bedtime, because he won't have it. Hahaha. That's just my advice. I wanted to stop the formula but Neythanael doesn't drink milk all that well so I talked to his pediatrician who said that formula is just as good for him, especially if you use the Next Step for toddlers.
I hope I was able to help you.

~H.

Good Morning E., I personally would take it slow with the switching over. Not that he probably wouldn't do well either way. It's just he is still so young. I think sometimes they just still need that comfort of the sucking action. Our eldest son gave up his bottle on his own when he was 19 Mo's old. Our youngest kept his until he was almost 2. So every child is different. I personally would not go Cold Turkey on such a little fella.

You know your son better then anyone, so what you do is completely your choice. Our youngest Gr son just turned one in Oct. He just now has started to refuse baby food. He will eat chicken nuggets cut up very small, hot dogs, and loves mac & cheese. Has stopped wanting pasta. He has cheerios for breakfast or toddler cereal bars.
Zane also has 12 teeth. 8 front and 1 each side back molars. He still takes a bottle during the day but will use a sippy cup also. He takes a bottle for bedtime and one when he wakes up.

God Bless You, Hope you get better advice from other Awesome Mama's
K. Nana of 5

Hi E....

I think you're doing the right thing about trying to make the switches, he will still be a baby even without a bottle! It is so much easier to only use sippy cups! I think you should continue doing things slowly, don't go cold turkey, there's really no need for that at this point, that is unless he doesn't really care, then go cold turkey. Some kids have a hard time, others don't. If he doesn't mind seeing his bottles disappear, then get rid of them if you want. My other suggestion is to start mixing whole milk with the formula. You can start that today. I did about a 25% milk to 75% formula mix for about 4-7 days, then went about 50/50, etc. I think it makes for an easier transition. Also, they don't really need teeth to eat real food. Their jaws are really strong and since they don't know how beneficial teeth are yet, they'll find a way to eat! Again, some kids still eat baby food and others don't. I would just offer him a variety of things. If he's not into "real" food yet, just offer him some but don't get worried about it if he doesn't eat it. If he wants to eat what your eating, let him! Trust me, that is way easier too! We were so happy when we stopped having to prepare a baby dinner every night! ;) This is a super fun stage you're entering and I know there is a tendency to keep them a baby, but this stage is exciting too!

I gradually brought my kids down off the formula. We would lose a bottle one day and stick with that routine for a couple weeks and then eliminate another. The very last bottle to lose was the nightime bottle as it was comforting to them. I also only put formula in the bottle and only milk/juice/whatever in the sippy cup. this way they didn't associate formula with anything but the bottle and as the bottles disappeared, so did the formula. That part about no formula in sippies and formula only in bottles was advice from my cousin and it worked like a charm with both of her kids as well as both of mine. Good luck. Teaching my son to use the sippy cup was the hardest part. It took like 5 different cups until he found one he would use.

With my daughter we just went cold turkey on the bottle. She didnt like it at first but I was determined to have her drinking out of a sippy and not a bottle at her 1st bday party. I had a few sippy cups that the mouth piece was square and she hated that! We found some that were a bit more rounded but not like a bottle nipple. They worked great and I cant remember the name of them but they are an opaque cup. I have a green one, blue one, and pink one although Im sure they have more colors. We loved them and so did she.
Since your son only has one tooth you may want to wean him off of the baby food. You'll know if he does well with it or not. I would definitely keep up with the "real foods" so he gets used to them but since he just has one tooth just take note of how much hes eating and if hes struggling too much. Table food first, then do the baby food if he gets too frustrated or if you feel he hasnt gotten enough to eat. You'll quickly find out what he can and cant handle.
The bottle may be more difficult than the food issue but I would go cold turkey. If he's hungry/thirsty enough he'll take it. If you give in he will learn that all he has to do is cry your ear off and he'll get his bottle. Its tough the first week or so but just be patient and you'll see great results! Good luck!

P.S. I dont condone not giving your child a drink so if he doesnt take it at all and refuses, you can either feed him food with lots of liquids such as fruits and juicy veggies, or you can give in and give him the bottle and try again in a few days.

Keep doing what you're doing, one less a day, or even 2 days. I wouldn't ever "cold turkey" anything, as babies need that consistency. They won't notice so much, though, with little changes. Same with the food. Good luck!

When you switch from formula to milk you need to mix it half and half first so that his system can adjust easier, and so you can see weather or not your child might have an alergy. Also don't give him whole milk. That's too much butter fat for little ones that they realy don't need. Not to mention it creates too mucus in their throat. Most Doctors will tell you that 2% milk is perfectly sufficent for most all kids.

When I bottle broke my kids I first started by not letting them have anything but water in their bottle. If they wanted milk or juice they had to have it in a cup. When they stopped fighting me on that and accepted that was the way it was going to be; then I took all the bottles out of their usual place and hid them. I showed the kids that they were all gone and insisted that I didn't know where they went. Everytime one of them would ask for a bottle I simply reminded them that they all disapeared, and I couldn't find them. I think I even told them that it might have been the big kid fairies that come take all the baby stuff when it's time for kids to start being big kids. Anyways; it didn't take more than a couple of days before they didn't ask for them anymore at all. When I knew all was good with the switch I then got the bottles out and threw them all away. Good luck.

Hi E.,

With my little guys I started weaning off of formula by mixing 1/2 formula 1/2 whole milk for about a week and giving more and more regular milk and less formula until he was all regular mily. I did the same with the bottles with less bottles and more sippy cups. I kept the bottle just at night for a couple more days because he was a little more attached to that nighttime bottle but after a couple of days he was perfectly ok with the sippy cup. I know every little one is different so read his signs but I have found the more gradual you take the transition the easier it is. Just be careful not to spread it out too long, two weeks seemed about right with our guys. As far as the table food vs. baby food the same gradual worked well for me. My youngest is 15 months old with a full mouth of teeth so since your little guy only has one there may be certain items he isn't ready for but start with the softer table foods and just keep an eye on him as to what he can tolerate. He'll be eating away in no time. You can also speak with your pediatrician at his well check about vitamin supplements to see if they recommend them. Happy transitioning :)

E.,

As many have told you each child is different, so there is no set pattern. I can back that 100% I have 5 children and 7 grandchildren and they were all very different! I nursed all of my kids, and none of them would take a bottle so depending on their ages when they didn't want to nurse they went straight to a sippy cup. My oldest daughter was only 9 months old, my youngest daughter was over a year old! So it really does make a difference in the kids.

You know your son, if he doesn't mind having just a cup great, but I would suggest you keep doing what you are, one bottle at a time and he should do fine. Don't worry about a certain age being when you need to do things! Some kids need more comfort items then others. My grandson had "HIS" blanket and he didn't want ANY other blanket! They all have their little whims.

Just enjoy the time you have because they grow up way to fast as you are probably realizing already! But then the grandkids are great!!

See what feels right to you! There are so many ways to do things and you have to find what fits with you and your kiddo. All these suggestions and opinions are great to help you decide, but that's all they are (mine included!)
None of them is the "right" way...what works for you and your child is the "right" way!
It sounds like you're on a good track...I personally like the idea of making changes slowly rather than cold turkey if it's possible. I also didn't feel the need to rush my daughter off the bottle (I loved our cuddle times and it was working well for our schedule, moving, and sleep, etc.)
About a week before she turned one, I started introducing her to the taste of whole milk. She would get a little bit here and there each day, though she was still on formula.
At 1, we used up the last can of formula and it was onto whole milk (she likes it warm). After she turned one, and was comfortable drinking from a sippy cup for water or milk (or yes, some diluted juice) we started decreasing the numbers of bottles she got, starting by cutting out the "mid-day bottles). The last to go was her morning, then her bedtime bottle. She didn't seem to mind at all and was off all her bottles before her 15 month birthday.
She still gets her warm milk before bed from a cup and sleeps great. As for the foods...if he's eating what you're eating (or regular food) and will eat a variety of foods (veggies/proteins/carbs), then there's no reason to keep going on the baby food. My doc recommended we switch at 9 months, but we kept using some baby food here and there as she adjusted to all the varieties of foods and textures. I guess in general my thinking is, I don't do well with "cold turkey changes" in MY life, and my daughter seems to be like me, and so, a more gradual change seems to work better for us.
Good luck and keep up the good mothering! =-)

What I did with both of my girls is at 11 months I took them off formula and the bottle (I was a bit anxious to not buy formula and get rid of the bottle :), my doctor okayed it first).
Start giving him milk in a sippy cup, that way he knows he gets milk in a cup and NOT the bottle ! I personally dont think one year olds need to be on a bottle. I would gradually do it over a week, then just take the bottle a way. The first half of the week give him the bottle in the morning and before bed with formula( now if your stopping formula monday then I would warm up some milk and do that instead of formula). Through out the day give him a sippy cup with cold milk. Now the last half of the week I would recommend only giving the bottle to him before bed, instead of the morning that way when its the morning after that last day he wont expect a bottle first thing. You can keep his mind off the bottle before bed thats alot easier !
Good Luck !!!

Every child is different, but with my son on his first birthday he got a spiderman sippy cup as a gift and he threw his bottle down and started trying to drink out of the cup. So I just got rid of all of the bottles right then and there and we never went back. Cold turkey is what worked for us, but like I said all kids are different. Also with the baby food we also stopped cold turkey at 1 because he was eating solid foods well. If he isn't eating well or very many healthy things then I would say ween him off, but if he is eating well I can't see why he would need baby food still. Good luck!

Make sure that you are replacing whole milk w/ the formula - you don't want to take away that nutrition from him. Also, don't go cold turkey on the bottle or the baby food. you need to slowly introduce real foods and it might take a couple of months but be patient. he'll let you know when he's ready. Start replacing a bottle of formula w/ a sippy cup of milk. I have a 13 month old (luckily she never took a bottle) but I have found a Nuk sippy cup (found at Walmart or Target) and it has a soft end and makes it easy for her to get her milk out of. You might try that one... good luck..

Keep doing what you're doing. It's the best thing for both of you! Make sure he's getting enough milk and good food, and he'll be great.

I know you have gotten lots of responses, but I wanted to share too....

When I worked daycare we had a little one who flat refused milk when she tried cold turkey... His mom started with 6 oz of formula and 2 oz milk and kept switching to a more milk ratio overa period of two weeks until he was on straight milk.... Worked like a charm.

So you mix the formula the same and then just add milk to get the full ounces you want him to have.

Good Luck & Happy Birthday to YOU Mom!!

I would put the whole milk in bottles at first and then slowly get rid of the bottles in place of the sippie cup. As to foods, it wouldn't hurt to keep him on some of the baby foods AND table foods, until he starts eating every meal as table foods.

Just my opinion :) MOther of a 19, 18, and 15 year old.

I'm a firm believer in the Golden Rule..."Do unto others as you would have them do unto you..." That's not saying I'm hugely religious...just how would you like to go Cold Turkey from every comfort that you have ever known? Probably not a pleasant thought in your book so why on earth would you do it to him? You may think you are going to make it easier on yourself, but you are just setting him up for anxiety and distrust...if you took away the bottle and the baby food all at one time what is next? He doesn't know that you aren't going to do it again. Catch my drift? All I'm saying is to put yourself in his shoes...you may not think he understands what is going on but at a primitive level he does...keep 'em sweet!

I went the cold turkey route with my kids but once you make that decision you have to stick with it or you have lost that battle for a very long time. Mine only fussed a few nights at bedtime but after 2 days we were done with the bottle completely. They were introduced to the cup for mealtimes from 4 months old though so don't know if that helped out with them not fussing too much for a bottle when it was time to give it up. I also fed them table food at around a year but still would use baby food during breakfast and lunch as I didn't really eat a lot for those meals but the baby would eat what we had for dinner most of the time if it was something safe that wouldn't be a choking hazard. You can get a little food chopper at the store for under 10.00 and it works great for chopping up meat in little tiny pieces for them to eat.