Switching from Formuls(bottle) to Milk(sippy Cup)

So many mothers think that they HAVE to give up the bottle when they turn 1. Personally, I don't feel that way. The whole purpose of most of what we do for our babies is raising them to be psychologically healthy, right? Well if they want to hold on to the bottle, then there must be something there that makes them feel secure with that bottle and as mothers we want to make them feel secure so they will grow up psychologically healthy, right? Then why take something away from them that makes them feel good and feel secure? My dr kept telling me it was time to give up the bottle everytime I took her in for a well visit. I didn't agree. She enjoys her bottle. She doesn't take it all the time. She drinks out of a sippy cup during the day but before bed she ENJOYS her bottle and sitting in her Da's lap/arms and watching Blues Clues or Jack's Big Music Show. That is her winding down time and her relaxation time and that is just something that she enjoys. We have that routine down so when it is over and her bottle is gone, she doesn't cry, she simply says night-night and off we go to bed.
She has no problem communicating to us what she wants so I figured when she doesn't want her bottle anymore, she will communicate that to us as well. It is not hurting her teeth, she is not addicted, she isn't going to sleep with t, and it isn't hurting anything. She won't drink milk from sippy cups much so what milk she gets in her bottle at night is just about all she gets, so my feeling on that is why not let her have it! The other night I tried to give her a bottle and she let me know that she really didn't want it. She watched a little tv and then wanted to get her babies and go to bed so we picked up her babies and went upstairs and I put her in the bed and she stood up and gave me a kiss and laid down and grabbed her blanket and said "night, night, mamma". I covered her up and rubbed her back, gave her a kiss and walked out.
Sometimes I think people don't give babies enough credit. They are a lot smarter than you think they are and they know what they want from the very beginning. I am an older parent and I probably won't be around when she is 30 so I have to teach her to be strong willed and to know what she wants and to go after it. The last thing that I want to do is to control her and go to my grave knowing that because I was so much in control that she had to marry a control freak just to feel safe and to live, therefore UNHAPPY. (I would roll over in my grave) I want her to be the one in control.
I think that she is weaning herself gradually anyway without me having to take it away. Sometimes she will tell us that she doesn't want her bottle and sometimes she will tell us that she does want it. If taking the bottle away from her was right then why don't I take her blanket away from her too because she will become alot more hooked on her blanket than she will on her bottle. ?????
It is your child and your life and you certainly have the right to raise your girls the way you see fit, but sometimes it helps to view and hear the opinions of others and that will help you figure out what it is you need to do.
I hope it helps. I know this isn't exactly the information you were hunting for but maybe it will put a little insight in the way you see things and make your decisions now.
Good luck.

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I know this is not a popular opinion, but you could let her keep using the bottle. Put water in it if you're worried about milk causing cavities. My pediatrician said the age at which children are weaned from bottles is cultural, and in some countries there is not pressure until the child is 3 or 4. If you think about it, in some parts of the world, children are breast fed until 5 or so. Not that I'd want to still be nursing, but my son is 3 and he still gets a bottle when he wants one. His teeth are not rotting, and he is a healthy and spunky guy.

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Watre down the contents of the bottle but put the good stuff in the sippy cup... She wont want what is in the bottle.... Because it will taste nasty to her

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I had the same problem with my daughter. I gave her the sippy cup without the plastic insert that makes it spill proof.
It may be a little messy, but she will not have to suck so hard & she should get accustomed to it faster.
Once she got comfortable drinking from it, I started using the plastic insert.
Another thing that we did is we convinced my daughter to give her bottle to one of my little cousins that was a baby.
We convinced her that the baby needed the bottle more than she did & she was fine with that.

My daughter was also a breastfed baby that used a bottle when I wasn't around. She loved her bottle which she lovingly call BO BO. Anyhow getting her off the bottle wasn't easy. I really felt bad for her because it truly upset her. At first I took it away unless it was nap time and bedtime. Then I took it away for nap time. And then the dreaded bedtime!! It took about a week to break her of the bedtime bottle. I really tried to distract her with lots of love, books and songs. She would seem fine and then just as I would leave her room she would start sceaming for her Bo Bo!!!! This went on for several painful nights but after that she didn't ask for it again. I should add she still used her bottle until she was about 16 months old. It took about four months to get her out of this habit.

My advice is don't fight her about it. She knows what she needs. In other places kids aren't expected to give up a bottle for another year. Some kids are still nursing and need to suck for comfort. She'll give it up on her own when her needs are met in other ways. Both of my kids dropped their bottles one day and never wanted another one. Try and figure out what the bottle offers her in the way of security, comfort or relaxation and find ways to provide those. Does she have a security blanket or lovey doll? Does she have a favorite musical crib toy that she falls alseep to? Do you cuddle her and sing to her even when she doesn't have a bottle? Does she have a favorite bedtime book? Older babies need security items to help them cope with the fears and anxieties that come on during their second year.

Try a straw cup. Like the Playtex ones that close up. My daughter always wanted to drink from my fast food drinks so she thought it was great when I gave her a cup with a straw. That was how I transitioned her from the bottle. I put her juice in the sippy and the milk in a straw cup. Hope this helps!

Hi -- Have you tried a straw cup? My 11 mo. son didn't get the sippy cup -- too hard to learn to tip the cup up to drink. He figured out the straw cup in seconds, and loves drinking from it. There's a great straw cup with two handles on the sides and the straw flips up when you slide the door on the top of the cup -- it is very nearly drip and leak proof. Good Luck!!

I am going through the same thing. I started out giving the sippy cup for lunch and dinner. It was tough but he finally got the hang of it. I have been giving him an AM and bedtime bottle only Today was the first day I actually was successful at not giving a morning bottle. He got up and went right to cereal. Next is the bedtime bottle. Also, try putting water in the bottle. That has helped for some..........It didn't work for me but it may for you. I just found that if you give it time and don't take it away all at once they will eventually be bottle free. They don't need as much fluids so once I realized that it helped me.

With most kids you just have to be persistent about this. None of them WANT to give up their bottle, so it's a real struggle. You just don't want her to end up like Tom Cruise's daughter, sporting that bottle at over two years old. I know someone that still gave her child a bottle at 3 when they were at home, so if you let them guide you then you might never make the transition.

My suggestion is to try several different types of sippy cups. My daughter preferred the type with the soft clear spout at first. Then she liked the ones with the straw. Now, she'll take any type. I actually like the disposable ones most, because if we lose a top or an entire cup then we haven't lost much money to replace it.

Also, do that transition a little at a time. She may not drink much the first few days, but eventually she'll catch on and give in. She's not going to let herself thirst to death. Plus, at this age you don't have to be quite as worried about how much they're drinking, especially if it's during a transition period.

To transition her to the sippy cup start by giving her the sippy cup at meals and continue to give her the bottle for naptime and bedtime. Slowly start to change over to the sippy cup all the time. Eventually they all give up the bottle. Some just take a little longer than others to make the transition. Relax. There is no hard and fast rule that says they have to drink only out of a sippy cup at age one.

Eventually I would just hide the bottles and say, "Whoops I can't find the bottle. Let's use a sippy cup this time." We would make a big production out of looking for the bottle and not finding it. "Is the bottle in the cabinet. No it is not in cabinet. Is the bottle on the counter. No it is not on the counter. Is the bottle in your bed. No the bottle is not in your bed. Is the bottle in your toy box. No the bottle is not in your toy box." I would involve my little on in "looking" for the bottle so that he would understand that it was gone.

I would eventually say, "Can't find it. Guess the bottle is lost." My kids would always say, "OK mommy sippy cup." You are always looking for something with kids--their shoes, their favorite toy, etc. They understand the concept of it being lost at that age. Then it is not a power struggle and it is not like you are being the bad guy and taking it away. The bottle is lost.

J. I know you want to have your child drink out of a sippy cup to get rid of the bottles but you have to remember she is only turning one. She will let you know when it is time to give up the bottle completely. I have a 16 month old son who will not give up the bottle either. Instead of trying to make her go straight to the sippy cup give her the bottle in the morning and at night and a sippy during the day. Once she is used to drinking out of the sippy during the day you can slowly take away the morning bottle and then the night bottle. Treat it as a process. I have been doing well with my son with this he still takes the bottle morning and night but sippys all day long...

Hope this helps.

Will she drink straight from a cup? I know that's messy, but you can start offering her a cup (with you holding it), while she's in her high chair. Maybe she'll drink a good amount that way, and then you can offer her the sippy cup too.

How about completely putting away all the bottles and only offering her a sippy cup? She'll get used to it and probably even forget about the bottle after a few days.

You might also try a different sippy cup to see if that helps. My 9 month old likes Nuby - the nipple is soft like a bottle. My friend's baby (12 months) drinks really well from a sippy cup that has a built-in straw instead of a nipple.

Remember that she doesn't need as much cow's milk as when she was drinking formula. Offer her juice and water as well. My baby's Dr. said cow's milk is overrated. There are other sources of calcium (other dairy as well as broccoli and leafy greens).

I made my 12 month old switch cold turkey. If she even saw a bottle she would not drink out of her sippy cup. I had to try about 7 different types of cups before I found a couple she really likes. She like the Avent kind and the kind that has a straw that goes all the way to the bottom of the cup (don't know the name brand). I also started her on Pediasure they have Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate, though we have not tried her on the Chocolate yet, she absolutley loves the other 2 flavors. If I can't get her to drink whole milk without fail she will drink that stuff. Best of luck to you, I know it's tough :-)

Someone told me that the best thing is to try different styles of sippy cups until you find one your daughter is happy with. My suggestion would be to try the Nuby brand - 10 oz. Easy Grip No-Spill Sipper with soft silicone spout (also called the Gripper Cup with soft silicone spout).
The nipple on the sippy cup is more like that on a bottle. It might make for an easier transition. If you are concerned about plastics, check out: http://thesoftlanding.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/which-nuby...

Also, if there is a valve in the sippy cup you are currently using it probably makes the flow too slow for your daughter (not getting enough). You could try removing the valve and see if she gets more milk that way, and then maybe she'd be happier and more likely to use the sippy cup.

Good luck!

When I was switching my son from a bottle to a sippie cup, it was bad, but it didn't last too long. I went out and bought different types of sippie cups and found one he liked. I know NUBY makes a siipie cup the resembles a bottle and it comes with 3 different types of nipples in the pack. One of the nipples is very similar to a bottle. It made a great transition cup. Maybe you should try that one first. I think it cost about $6 or $7. I know it worked for my son.

I would use the bottle to get her used to drinking the milk by slowly lowering the ratio or milk to formula, once she is drinking just milk for at least a couple weeks I would buy the Nubby sippy cups first since they are the most like a bottle. Start by offering her the sippy cup at nap, no bottle. Once she takes the cup at nap for a couple weeks I would do the same for bed. The only problem is they have a tendancy to leak. And I would use the same cup for the milk that way she knows it's always milk in the red cup, water in the purple cup. I did this with my son. It took a while but I promise she wont use one forever.

I had a similar issue when switching my daughter at 1. I found what worked best (for her) was to mix the formula and milk together and place half in the sippy cup and let her finish it off in the bottle. I slowly increased the amount of milk in the mixture and decreased the amount of the mixture I put in her bottle. Eventually she was getting straight milk from her sippy. It took almost a full week, but she was bottle free by her 1st birthday. Hope this helps. (I also found that there were some cups she wouldn't or couldn't use, you may try experimenting with different cups)

use the Nuby brand http://www.nuby.platformtwo.com/index.php?option=com_cont... check out that link )i hope it works) and you can see the cups. they have a plastic soft spout like a nipple from aa bottle, but are more like a sippy cup. worked like a charm for my two boys! good luck!

my son, like his father, is a big fan of Status quo too :) we just kept giving him the sippy cup and when he got thrist/hungry enough, he drank it. Just keep at it. DON"T give her another option and when she's thirsty enough, she'll drink it :) It only took my son about a day or two to really get the hang of it. He gave up on beign stubborn ina few hours :)

My son had some trouble transitioning to the sippy cup too. We found these disposable cups that come with straws. They're made by "The First Years" We found them at Target. They DON'T leak, its great, and he learned how to drink just fine out of them and then eventually moved on to the regular sippy cup!

Good luck! J. D

I had the same problem with my daughter. She didn't need/want the bottle any more, but wasn't all that skilled at using the sippy and I was worried about her not getting enough milk. If you still need to use a bottle for a bit, you could try just giving her one at night to make sure she's getting the milk and then using the sippy for milk, juice and water during the day. Once she's one, you can just make sure she's getting enough calcium, protein and fat from her table foods and not worry so much if she's not getting enough milk, as long as she gets enough liquid throughout the day to keep from being dehydrated. My daughter is now off milk completely at 14 months b/c of an intolerance and I just make sure she gets calcium fortified snacks and lots of protein in her food. Don't worry, it takes a little while for them to get used to the sippy but once they do it's okay.

Hi J.,

Our daughter didnt adjust well going from bottle to sippy cup initially. We eventually tried different styles and jackpot.....she went cold turkey. It took a couple of different ones, but bottles are a thing of the past. And now, for the most part she will use any sippy cup.

Good luck!

you may have to give in and give her a half bottle of milk after she finishes at least half of the tippy cup. good luck:)

Hi Jennifer,
My son only drinks his milk from those flip-top straw sippy cups. He associates that cup with his "milky drink". Our situation was a little different as my son wouldn't drink COLD milk- warm milk was fine with him but not logical for us. He still will not drink plain, white milk and we have to put mix in a little vanilla carnation instant breakfast. (He is a demanding, "spirited" child, too). :)
I would suggest you try several different kinds of sippy cups until you find the right one. Over time, she will become more flexible as to what she will drink from. When she asks for a bottle, give her the cup. You will have to hear an earful, but after a couple of days, things will get better. Just be diligent and persistent. Good luck!

You didnt say which kind of sippy you are giving her. I have my son on right now the nuby sippy with the soft spout. If you are trying a hard spout sippy maybe she doesnt like the feeling in her mouth especially going from a bottle nipple. If you are using a soft spout sippy, have you put formula and/or juice in it? Maybe doing 2 things at once is too much for her. Be persistant and dont give in too quickly. Just a couple of thoughts i had. Hope you figure it out!

I weaned my daughter off the bottle twice. The first time she was 14 months old and it was actually very easy. I basically just took the bottle. Then she got sick and ended up in the hospital on IV fluids because she was so dedydrated. So guess what, the only way she would drink any fluids was in a bottle. So I gave it back. when she got better I tried to wean it again and had a very hard time. It took months and months to get it from her. Mainly because everytime I did someone would say "Oh let her have it, she's still a baby, it is not hurting anything, poor little girl, give her what she wants, blah blah blah" So when she turned two, I said enough. I found some drinks at Wal-Mart called Belly Washers. They come in a three pack and have apple juice in them. They have different character tops like Clifford, Toy Story, and Pirates of the Carribbean. They are techinally not bottles, but she has to suck on it to get the milk out. I bought those and told her they were big girl bottles. So I was able to get her to drink Milk with those. The funny thing was, she had been drinking juice out of a sippy cup since she was one year old. She just would not drink milk through a sippy cup. And she still won't. She will turn 3 years old next month and she still will not drink milk in any think but those Belly Washers bottles. OH, and she won't drink cold milk. I have to warm it before she will drink it. So, what do you do. Sometimes in order for her to get what she needs I have to do a little compromise. I just keep telling myself that she will go to kindergarden drinking COLD milk in a cup. Good luck!

Hi J.:)
With our oldest we took away the bottle on his first B-day and he was just fine.Our youngest however liked his bottle VERY much.He would drink a little from the sippy during the day(we introduced it when he was 8 months old), but mostly wanted the bottle.On his first B-day I too took away the bottle and he was left with Munchkin straw cup(they are on the safe list by the way).Those were the hardest 3 days ever.He was soooo cranky and MAD, he had to drink from the cup because he was thursty, but he was so stinking mad:)I almost gave in, many times.At this age it does not take a long time to establish a new habit, if you stick with it.Our God daughter will be 4 in Oct and she is still on the bottle.Parents say they could not see her upset for couple of days , and that she will give it up when she is ready.Well her 4 top front teeth are complitly rotted and she still says "I am not ready".
3 days was totally worth it for us:)

I wasn't sure from the heading on your post...do you put formula in the bottle and milk in the sippy cup? My daughter liked milk OK but preferred formula at first, so I would mix the two in her sippy cup to help the transition (maybe 2 oz formula and the rest milk). I think not offering another option is also good advice, and also making sure the sippy cup doesn't require too hard of a suck to get anything out. (Try it yourself!) :) I like the Nuby sippy cups; my daughter's had the best luck with those.

:) K.

Both of my girls were practily throwing their bottles at me around 10 months wanting a cuppy, but here is an idea. Nubby makes sippy's with silicone spouts that feel much more like a nipple, maybe you could try transitioning with one of those style cups.

What worked best for me were Nubby sippy cups. They have a very soft and flexible spout and they only cost about $2 each. You can find them anywhere, but Walmart carries them. Nuby does make other sippy cups with hard spouts, but I would very much recommend the soft ones for transitioning.

Hope this helps.
C. Daniel

Hello! My kids had the same problem. When my oldest daughter turned one she just could not drink well from the sippy. I felt it was more important for her to get enough milk each day even though it was from a bottle. I continued to practice with the sippy cup (we had to the Nuby with the soft silicone spout, i guess b/c it felt more like a bottle nipple) and between 15-16 months she was drinking great from the sippy so I was able to then drop the bottle with no problem! Of course now she can drink from any kind of cup! The same thing happened with my now 1 1/2 year old. She finally got the hang of it between 13-14 months! Hope this helps! Just do what feels right for your baby!

I used to put a sippy cup on the floor with my sons toys when he was playing. I put juice in it so he would learn to like his sippy cup. After he decided that the sippy cup was "cool", we started to put milk in it. Eventually he forgot all about his bottles because we would make a big deal every time he drank out of a cup.

Hi. My son was the same way,would not drink milk from a sippy cup but would drink anything else from it. What we did was give it to him in a regular cup and told him he could only drink it in the kitchen since it was not a sippy. The best time we did it was when there was a cartoon on that he really liked. When he wanted milk ,he had to drink it in the kitchen. Then finally he said he wanted it in a sippy so he could watch his show and have his milk. I hope this will help a little.

Try putting a little apple juice (and a lot of water) in her sippy. Once she likes that ok try putting her milk in her sippy.

I had the same issue with my son when we switched. How about trying a sippy cup that looks like a sports bottle? also they make some that have a lid that is soft like a bottle so its easier to get liquid through it but its still spill proof. Thats what we had to start my son on.

hey jennifer! there is a book called the baby whisperer solves all your problems! it is a wonderful book! alot of my friends and i use her methods and techniques for our babies! she does tell you about what to do for that situation though. i haven't read through that section yet! you can get a used book at amazon.com for like eight dollars or so. at the book store they are like forty! let me know how it goes!

My son wasn't completely weaned from the bottle until he was 13 months (he's 16 months now). What we did was put some milk in the sippy cup and gave him the sippy cup when he wasn't crazy hungry or thirsty to try out. If it's the milk that's creating part of the problem, then give the baby a chance to wean from formula to milk in a bottle, then start on the sippy cups. Two shocks at once will definitely make it difficult to wean to a sippy! Good luck!