The Last of the Bottles

My son, who just turned 3, has always been REALLY easy going about things when transitioning...I thought the pacifier was going to be the one thing that he freaked out about, but wanted to be done at 3 (he potty trained right after he turned 2, also moved to a big bed, dropped bottles, weaned himself from nursing...all without a tear). Last weekend, after many weeks of telling him that when he turns 3 he couldn't use the pacifier anymore, we took 5 his "bops" to build a bear and he picked one out, stuffed it, we shoved the pacifiers in, and that was literally it...he didn't even say a word about wanting one that night...That was on Saturday, and every nap and bedtime session has been just fine...my point, maybe that at 2.5 your kids will just get it, if you talk about it enough, and will be fine...I was definitely making a bigger deal of it than he did (thankfully!)

1 mom found this helpful

Hi,
I had a tough time with my oldest daughter and taking the bottle away.. I feel your pain.. It is a comfort issue.. my daughter was off finally at 2 and half thanks to help from everyone.. My dr.. said when you finally get rid of the bottle get them out of the house that way there is no caving.. we brought ours to the kids corner lady at the gym.. since she looked up to her and she made a big deal about becoming a big girl.. There will be rough nights be strong it might take a week or so.. Then we went to the dollar store wraped up presents and said look under your pillow the bottle fairy came :) she was so happy with this.. the fairy came for I think almost a week.. can't remember its been awhile.. The dr. was right after a week she could have cared less about the bottle and I wish I would of gone cold turkey a long time ago.. All kids are different my second gave the bottle up easy.. So pick a time when you are emotionally strong and your husband is on board with the plan..
Best of luck,
L.

1 mom found this helpful

What worked for my daughter was when I offered her the choice of water in a bottle or milk in a tippy cup. Of course, she quite adimantly declared that she wanted nothing but milk in her bottle, but I just kept repeating that it was not a choice, but she could have milk in a tippy cup. Eventually, I phased out the milk in the tippy cup and just went to water in that for bedtime. By then, she was old enough to understand that it was not good for her teeth to drink milk in her bed. I always said that I didn't care if my kids took those non-spill tippy cups to college with them, but now they are 15 and 13 and have not used them for some time... :) Blessings to you and yours! :)

D.,

I'm in the same boat as you. My youngest daughter turned 2 this last weekend and I'm aiming for Thanksgiving weekend to remove all bottles and hopefully the last of her pacifiers. I'm not sure if I'll be removing both on this weekend, yet I need to get rid of one. I too know that I'm behind on doing this, yet it's not as easy as it seems. I'm planning on going to the store with my 2 yr. old and having her pick out which 2 sippy cups she'd like to have and then I'll try giving it to her at night. If you hear of anything better or more efficient on this transition, I'd love to hear about it. I'm a mother of 2 girls, I'm 37 years. old and have been married to my husband for 14 years also. You're story sounded very close to home. Good Luck!!!! - S. M.-

Hi D.,
I have twin girls age 2 1/2. I had the same problem and I can sympathize with you. What we did might not work for you and your boys but it is worth a try. We went to the store and they each got to pick out their own special night time sippy cup. Then at bedtime we did our usual routine. Instead of bottles in bed though we made a big deal about our new night time cups. We let the girls help us put water in them. Then during our story time right before bed they got to hold their sippy cups and drink from them. When it was time to get into bed we let the girls put their sippy cups in the fridge. They gave their cups a hug and a kiss, put them in the fridge to "sleep" and then went to bed. They really loved doing this and for the first few nights they would cry a little and ask for their bottles but we just tell them that they have new night time cups that are "sleeping" in the fridge. I know all of this sounds a little cheesy but it really worked for us. I took a few weeks but this is just part of the routine now and they are used to it. We just got rid of the bottles so they were no longer available, I didn't want to give in to their cries.

Oh, I didn't let the girls take their sippy cups of water with them to bed because then when potty training starts I will just have to wean them off of the sippy cup in bed too!

As far as not sleeping through the night, I am so sorry. That would be so difficult. I definitly would not give them anything to eat or drink when they wake up unless they are sick. Are they waking each other up and playing?

Finally, I say do whatever works for you and your boys. Remember that is is very difficult to raise twins and you are doing a wonderful job because you care so much. Good luck!

Hi D.,
I wish I could remember the exact name of a verrrry useful book that I used to guide me through this change. I too have twins. I think it was, Pacifiers, Blankets, Bottles, thumbs and Teddy Bears. It was a book explaining why they are ok, useful and a natural part of growing up, and how saying "good-bye" to these are also a natural part of the process.
I was a preschool teacher and I am a counselor and the language in the book really appealed to me. It was so respectful and really acknowledges how children who may not have a lot of language, still are capable of understanding and needing advance warning. It talked about talking about, growing up and how they are growing and changing in so many ways. "You didn't always know how to walk, but part of growing up is learning and changing and now you can and we are so proud of you!" Like that. Then it talks about how you start 3 days before you are going to make a change talking about the change that is coming, in this case, "saying good-bye to bottles" and hello to a big boy/girl sippy cup for milke before bed. You acknowledge that saying good-bye can be sad and that's ok etc...
You might try to go on line to see if you can find the book.
For us, we did this with both pacifiers and bottles and it worked so well. When we said good-bye to the bottles and put them all in a bag to put outside, they thru themselves down on the floor and sobbed, for, get this, less then a minute. And I think it's because we were prepared to honor that and we sat next to them, saying, I know, it's sad saying good-bye.
Of course, you'll find your way, this was a way that worked really well for us.
Good Luck,
Mary

Hey D.:

I didn't have this problem because neither of my kids took a bottle very well...but my friend had to wear her son off the bottle at about the same age. She watered it down a little more every night until she was doing 1 oz of milk to 3 or 4 oz of water and he just started to refuse it. He does take a binky, so having that probably hepled with the transition. She never did the cold-turkey thing with the bottle, and he seemed to transition off it just fine.

Good luck. I hope you get to sleep through the night soon. My daughter wakes up almost every night...and on the off chance she does sleep through, I'm up because I'm worried about her:)

Hi D.! I just got my 20 month old son off his nighttime bottles a couple weeks ago. It was very hard because he LOVED his bottles!! I just put a little bit of pediasure in with his milk, it makes it a little sweeter, for the first few days and that seemed to work. I put it in a cup with a straw and he would suck it right down. I think because he was excited about the new taste, he didnt really care that it was in a different cup. I hope this helps!!!

Never an easy thing to do. My daughter just turned 2. At 18 months, we transitioned my daughter from milk in a bottle to milk in a cup and then at 22 months to water in the cup. I told her during dinner that "tonight was cup night at bedtime." And explained to her that big girls drink from cups at night time. Of course she asked for bottle, but I just was tough and said no. The next night she never asked for the bottle. I know I was lucky. Then when we switched from milk to water, I told her at dinner again, tonight water only at night night. She asks for milk everyonce in a while, but for us that worked.
I think if you gradually transition and tell them about it, it will go smooth. And consistency is best. They are smart and if after 30 minutes you give in, they will remember that and the next time they know it only takes 30 mins for mom or dad to give in.
So try doing water in the bottle first for a few weeks or month and then transition to cup. It might make it a smoother process.

Oh please let me know how it goes. I have a 2 1/2 year old and he was in the hospital for awhile at birth and got totally addicted to that binki and mostly at night he has to have that bottle. I up in arms of how I am going to break him of either.oh the fits for the binki lol.. don't know if I can do that.. he's a lil red head. and the temper to go with it. lol. but mostly he's been through alot medically. and I let him have what he wanted for comfort. my mistake I suppose. God bless you working with two of them. good luck. please let me know how it goes.

Hi D....
one thought about it being thanksgiving weekend..
your regular bedtime schedule might be different over a holiday weekend, which would make the bedtime routine harder. either start this weekend, or better wait until the week after to avoid possilbe meltdowns.

just a thought.
best of luck with the transition.

Perhaps you could try letting them have their milk in cups while you read stories, and then get into a routine of the last thing before bed being brushing all the milk off their teeth, and saying that their teeth don't want to "swim" in milk during the night anymore. They want to be bubbled up with toothpaste right before bed instead. Even make a little chart to hang near the sink for each child to put a sticker on once the milk is all brushed off and the teeth are heading to bed clean and fresh.

We didn't have the bottle issue here, and even though I nursed my son until he was two... it didn't end up being the right before bed session as the last one to go, like everyone told me it would be! For the last 7-8 months of it, it was the first thing in the morning nursing and that was it. However, we did have the pacifier issue. And from the time he was 14 months old and on, it was ONLY for sleeping. So, I know how difficult it can be to break such a comforting pattern that these children get used to, but it can be done!! There will be crying, there will be begging, you will feel like they hate you, etc, etc... but stay strong and DON'T GIVE IN! (This will come in handy as they try to get their way in the future.) The pacifier thing for us, took a few nights, but once we'd made it a week, I knew it was gone for good. (And he still talked about it and asked where it was afterwards, but he also knew that he was a big boy now and pacifiers are for babies.) Definitely bag those bottles up and have them way out of sight before you jump in, or it will be torture on them! Good luck...

Kim

maybe one thing you could do is give them their bottles earlier (pick up toys, bottles, then jammies) so they are not quite as coupled to bedtime. Once they can get into bed without the bottles, take them away from the earlier time slot?

Soft tip sippy cups! Walgreens sells one kind two in a package, for super cheap! I accidently bought them thinking they were just regular sippys when I was transitioning my son and they are now the new thing. He only gets them at night, (suppose to atleast!) and we only put water in them. He definitely prefers these over the hard tipped cups. Talking to your children and letting them know what is going to happen will make all the difference. It will give them time to prepare.

When I got my kids off their binki I gave them some control over it. I told them in advance when it would be happening and then on that day we had a formal good-bye time where my kids gathered all their binkis and threw them in the garbage and said good-bye. This didn't prevent them from asking for them later, but it definately minimized the tantrum I was expecting. My reply to them was 'remember you said good-bye to the binki?'

Heya~
Breaking bottles with my oldest wasn't too hard - it was his sister that had me pulling my hair out. So we made a party out of it. The avent bottles turn into sippies so I got some of those and we traded for bottles and I had her throw the bottles away. We made the pj's and pouring milk our nightly ceremony. I very much involved her in the process. You will have to stick with it, because if you give in even one night they will pry for it every night thereafter knowing they can get you to cave. Trust me it happened to me. You do need to be careful with sippies too...at this point bottles or sippies at night can cause teeth to grow in wrong. We broke my daughter when she was a year and half and by two she was just having a cup of water before bed (doctor said milk on freshly brushed teeth can cause really bad decay). Just stick to it - you can absolutely do it!

D.,
One thing that might help is to switch to water before bed. My son could have milk until it was time to get ready for bed, then after he brushed his teeth it was water only. Water "tasts better in a cup" is what I told him. He was also about 14 months old when I took the night time botte away and was probably much easier than what you'll be faced with.

If you can, you might want to purchase special night time sippy or straw cups for them. That might help with the transition too.

Good luck to you. F.

On a few of nanny shows I've seen that they 'send' the bottles or pacies to babies who need them. In return the bottle fairy leaves a gift for the generous kids who share so well. Or my sister is letting her daughter 'buy' something at the store with her pacifiers. Like trading them in for something they really want.

maybe start implementing bath time and story time. that always helps my son. we do bath then jammies and story. they might like the snuggle time. we have a rocking chair in my sons room and we rock while we read his story then i usually sing to him for a few mins. that might relax your boys enough to make the transition easier. GOOD LUCK!

Not sure that I have any great ideas to make this "easy". But I would say, stick to your guns! Actually get rid of the bottles, that way you can't cave in. And don't offer other beverages instead, that's just going to encourage a habit that I'm sure you know is not a good one. Maybe tell them the bottle fairy came and took the bottles to babies who really needed them. And then maybe come up with some sort of alternate "big boy" comforting item they can have instead. A little stuffed animal or something... Good luck!

Talking about it now with your little ones is awesome. Its always surprising (and a bit humbling)to realize how much they understand what we're telling them while we're thinking they aren't getting it. When my son was a few weeks from turning two, we started talking to him about putting his pacifier away once he was two years old. Three days after his birthday it was gone! He'd done it on his own without us really realizing it. We'd been anticipating a tough time since he was never without his binky, but it was pretty smooth. Maybe starting a tooth brushing game (if you haven't already) will take the place of the milk time before relaxing.
Good luck!

Don't feel bad! Sucking is natural for young children and induces the calming reflex which helps them go to sleep. I hate to say it, but I don't think cold turkey will work. Maybe you should try weaning the amount i.e. gradually putting less and less in the bottle. I have heard that children naturally wean themselves when the time is right. I have the same with my 2 year old, bottle to go to sleep and one or two in the night and I breastfed until around 20 months! All kids are different and unless it is a big problem you may just want to go with the flow. If it makes them feel secure and relaxed that is a good thing. One thing you know is they won't be drinking out of a bottle as a 10 year old and it will all work out just fine, this is just a moment in time. Good luck.

Don't talk about taking them away, just do it, today! At 1 they should be able to drink from a sippy cup, no more bottles. You can still have a night time ritual without the bottles. They will scream and pitch a fit beacause they are old enough to understand what you are doing. Get rid of all of them so you don't have any available to cave when they cry.

Also, if you give them anything when they wake up in the middle of the night they will continue to get up. The best advise my mom ever gave me was do not feed a toddler when they get up, whether it is because of teething or being sick. So we only did tylenol and a pedilite pop when they did wake up. That way they won't continue to wake up to eat when they are well.

I don't want to offend you, but I have three kids and have gone through it myself, but you just need to be strong.

Good luck!

First of all, if you are giving them their bottles outside of their beds and then brushing their teeth, then let go of ALL the guilt. If they are being put to bed with the bottle, then schedule a dentist appt ASAP. As long as it is not rotting their teeth, milk before bed is not in itself a bad thing. Many kids have a bedtime snack to fill their tummies before going to bed. A sippy cup might be a good way to change it from a baby bottle to a big kid snack in your mind, but you mentioned you didn't like that idea. If you just don't think they'll go for it, then give them both a bottle of water and a sippy cup of milk... both at whatever temp their milk usually is. If you just want to eliminate it altogether, then you could cut back by one ounce every day or so. When you get to 4, 3, and 2 ounces, do it for 3 or 4 days instead of decreasing it again in 2 days. Whatever point they start getting mad that it isn't enough, keep it at that level until the night they don't care as much. You could also give them their bottles while they are in their highchairs so it takes away the comforting part of drinking the bottle.

Either way, good luck, and remember to look at the big picture. If you spend too much time worrying about the little things then you don't enjoy the ride as much and it is over way too fast... as I am sure you are seeing.

Hi. What if every night until thanksgiving you starting adding water to their milk, a little more each night, until it was mostley water. Maybe they would not want it by choice or could switch to a sippy cup of water. Just a thought. God bless you and your family.

Hi D.! I totally understand the anxiety that goes along with breaking the bottle habit.
What I did with my son is, about a week before I was going to take his bottle away I started telling him what a big he was and that big boys don't drink bottles. I tried not to harp on it or sound condiscending towards him, just matter of factly. I told him when he was ready to throw his bottle out to let me know.
Everyday I would ask in passing if he was ready to throw it away, most times I would get a no. Once in a while I would get a maybe..lol. Finally, one day, I was in the kitchen and he came in and threw his bottle in the garbage. I asked him if he was sure and reminded him that that meant no bottle at nap time or bedtime. He said ok.
I praised him A LOT. Later that day we went out and he got a special big boy cup. (no lid) We have been bottle free since then.
I will say though at nap and bedtime it took him about 2 days to adjust. We started reading books before bedtime and that helped. I told him how proud I was of my big boy and most times that would settle him down.
Hope this helps. GOOD LUCK times 2... lol.

K.

Maybe try taking away MILK at night... start switching to only water in their bottles until the final day! They may not like it and not even need to take anything to bed. And on transition day send them to bed with a sippy of water, just in case the security is in... having something... I hope that makes sense. And make sure you toss ALL the bottles in the morning the day of... so they don't even catch a glimpse of them all day, out of sight out of mind! Good luck!

I had my daughter go with me to pick out a new nighttime only sippy cup. Then told her that we were going to give the babas to the little boys and girls that dont have any. I saved the sippy for only night time and made up a fun and silly song & dance when I filled it up and gave it to her.
It was for from easy for a few nights, but it worked itself out.
Have strength and remember that no matter what they do or say they still love and and will live without the milk in a baba... ( I had to keep tellling my self this. LOL)