Switching from Bottles to Sippy Cups

I switched both of my boys off of the bottle at 12 months. They had a littel trouble getting the milk out of the sippy cups, though. The Nuby sippy cups worked well for them as transition cup. They have a soft top that is similar to a bottle nipple. I believe both Taget and Wal-Mart sell them.

It is funny because my son went through this also at daycare. He went cold turkey and we didn't have an issue. You can offer the water but just not often. Most of the time offer the milk.

Hi, My youngest son also would not drink milk out of the sippy when he was younger. I prepared him for the "bottle fairy (which i said was elmo, which was his fav. character)" and told him that the bottle fairy was going to take all the bottles to babies that needed them. I also told him he was a big boy and big boys drink out of sippy cups. So i had him help me put the bottles in a bag and also told him that the bottle fairy would leave him a special suprise when the fairy picked up the bottles. When he got his special surprise, he was thrilled. The bottles were gone and never brought back no matter how hard it is. I do not remember the age he was, but i believe he was closer to 2. As far as the milk, my son too did not like milk, this concerned me so i spoke to my pedi. He said to continue offering it and other "dairy" products, yogurt, cheese, icecream etc. Which i did and will get the calcium that he needs. Also, i would offer orange juice with calcium, use margerine with calcium. he still doesnt like milk so i substitute and he is 3. good luck

I would go cold turkey. It's okay that he doesn't drink juice. As a matter of fact my doctor prefers my son to not have juice even if it's 100% because he'll just fill up on that and not eat food. If he has no choice but to drink milk from the cup then he'll have to do it. I would still offer the water the same way you do it now. Nor more than you're already doing it.

M.

We never did a comfort bottle at night. We feel that milk/formula is for nutrition and not for falling asleep so you might need to read an extra story or something at bedtime. This is also good if you brush the kids' teeth before bed it's easier to say no night bottle. We switched both of our kids over to cups when they were 12 mos from the bottle. We went from formula in a bottle to milk in a cup pretty much in 3 days for each kid. It was a little harder for our 2nd - he was also a little stubborn about not drinking the milk, but it was the only thing he offered so he figured out he had better drink it. The same thing happened when we switched him from whole to skim milk. He didn't drink as much every time but he got used to it and did not become dehydrated. It takes a lot to be dehydrated.
I say go cold turkey and deal with a few not so perfect days - you'll be fine - all of you.
good luck!

we tried two things with our daughter that worked very well. Offer water in the bottle - he's expecting milk and won't like it. We also bought a "special" milk sippy cup and I made a big deal out of it. And that cup was only for milk. My daughter was stuck with the sippy cups being for water and bottles for milk - so we had to retrain that.
Good luck!

Have you tried using the Nuby sippy cups? I started my son on these around 10 months and got rid of the bottles and he seemed to like how they resembled the nipple of a bottle. They might work, assuming you haven't already tried them.

We got rid of the bottle with both mine at 12 months. My son decided at that time he was not going to drink milk either. We just made sure we gave him enough yogurt, cheese, etc. and the ped. was fine with that. He will definitely drink when he's thirsty, and I'm willing to bet that once he sees the other kids drinking put of a sippy, he will do the same. My kids eat and drink very different for me at home, then they do at daycare (much better at daycare). The teachers say all the parents say that, and the kids just do what they see the other kids doing. I wouldn't worry to much. It took my son until he was 3-1/2 to start drinking milk at home, but come to find out, he drinks it at school...

On the other hand I do have a friend that gave her daughter sippy cups during the day, and a bottle of milk each time before bed until she was 3. Her pediatrician told her to get the milk in her any way she could (different my my pediatrician). But she wasn't eating as much yogurt, cottage cheese, and other cheeses my son was.

I wouldn't worry to much. Do what you feel is right. Just watch his fluids, and he'll come around at home. If he does end up drinking juice, try the calcium fortified OJ.

Good luck.

Just tell him that bottles are for night night only and give him sippy cups. I wouldn't worry about it too much. He'll drink when he is thirsty. Just give keep giving it to him. He'll probably have a sippy cup of water all day, so I don't think he'll get dehydrated and if he likes milk, he'll start drinking it out of the sippy cup. Give him milk with his meals and water the rest of the day. He'll get used to it and in no time bottles will be gone. :) We still use bottles at night but sippy cup the rest of the day and my son is almost two. He just will drink it in whatever I give it to him in, but it did take a little bit to get him to get used to it.

Toss the bottles. People make this change so much harder then it really needs to be. If you only offer him the sippy cup and there are no bottles in sight he is not going to make himself go thirsty he will drink from the cup. Another thing is he really doesn't need milk. Calcium and vitamins A and D can come from many different foods if he will eat cheese or yogurt that will help so as long as he has a generally good diet I wouldn't really worry about him drinking or not drinking the milk.

Besides the comfort factor, he might prefer the faster flow of a bottle. I found my son was frustrated "sipping" his milk. I can't say enough good things about Nuby's. The one with no handles seems to be the fastest, there is also a sport sipper that has a nipple-shaped top. Maybe experiment with a few, my son didn't get the straw-sippy concept, but I know kids who love those & the novelty could help. Good luck with the transition!

Go cold turkey. It's the easiest way for both you and your child. I think it gets confusing if they get the bottle sometimes and not other times. So if you don't give him a choice, he'll come around. My oldest switched over in one day no problem, but she was 18 months. My twins switched over at 15 months and it took about a week for them to get the hang of it. Just make sure YOU are ready to do it and I would put the bottles away, in the attic, the trash, get rid of them so the temptation is not there. We use the gerber sippy cups.
My girls are not juice drinkers either. I would still offer the water as well. Good luck!