When Do I Stop Giving My Baby Her Bottle and Formula?

I have not read all your responses so I may repeat what others have said. I have 4 children so I have definitely "been there, done that". I have always listened to the pediatrician and read many magazines and articles, so I think that I am well informed on most issues.

The first thing, is that your child needs the nutrients in formula till 12 months old. After that you should switch to whole milk till 24 months and then to 1% or skim. You may hear that switching now won't hurt or you may try it and say she is fine. But, do you want to risk it? Formula has different nutrients than milk, for brain development, etc.
It's not all about diarrhea.

Second, I always started introducing the sippy cup at 6 months old. Once my children were able to use it sucessfully and consistantly with no problems, that's what they used all the time. My thought was, why use a bottle when they can use a cup? It gave no chance to get attached to the bottle. They never even missed it. I have witnessed many other children get attached to the bottle and it can be VERY hard to break. I've also witnessed it cause baby bottle tooth decay in other children.
My advice is to switch if you can.

Good luck with whatever you decide!!

I don't think there's any harm in trying a sippy cup or small regular cup for the formula. I've always been told that their little tummies won't handle milk well until 1 year, so I'd hold off on that for a few more months. By June you will not be buying formula! Good luck!

A sippy might not be a bad idea to help her transition. I would keep her on formula, as milk is not as filling or nutrient dense. Formula is made to be part of a babys diet for at least the first year. Milk is only able to be digested properly after a year of life and lacks all the "goodies" that a reapidly growing child needs. As far as quantity of formual, I would contact your Ped if she is not drinking any formula during that day. She can get dehydrated by not taking in any fluids other then what her foods contain.

Hi T.,

A year old. Talk to the baby's peditrician.

Good luck. D.

My daughter is 9 mths & uses a sippy cup. I think it is good to switch around 9-10 months because it makes an easier transition. I would not switch to milk yet. They should not have milk until 1 yr, not just because of allergies but because formula has all the nutrients a developing baby needs.

This would definitely be a good time to try to move your daughter to a sippy cup. She might take to the formula better in the sippy cup.

Don't start the regular milk this early. Your are not supposed to introduce regular milk until your child reaches 1 year. The reason for this is that children prior to one year of age are more susceptible to developing a milk allergy because there tiny little stomachs aren't developed enough to handle the regular milk.

Maybe try formula in sippy cup til 12 mo., then switch to milk. (Most formula is milk-based FYI)

Dear T.,

Ok, so i read over all of the posts and I wanted to give my opinion, only my experience for that matter. I breast-fed and supplemented with formula both my children (now 6 & 4). The were on a bottle briefly, until about 5 months old and then had any fluids other than breast-feeding in a sippy cup. I think your daughter is indicating to you she is willing and interested in trying a sippy cup. It was our decision not to have bottles bacause I could not stand to watch a baby walk around with a bottle hanging in their mouth (just my own preference). And I did not want food/ milk to become a comfort issue.

About the whole milk verses formula thing. Both my children went to whole milk at 10 months with my pediatrician's approval.

In my humbly opinion, I feel the formula companies are selling a product and their main goal is to sell that product to you as long as they can, a very expensive product I might add. For example, Nestle went into third world countries and marketed formula to the locals in guise of helping the locals with nutrition and the mothers stopped relying on breast-milk and began relying on formula. This was a difficulty because third world countries often have unsafe drinking water and unsanitary conditions and language translation issues. So the formula caused problems in mixing quantities, using unsafe water, and preparing unsanitary bottles. Google "nestle formula third world" and you can read up on it.

And for those who say babies tummies cannot handle milk; all formulas except soy-based are made from milk. Our mother's generation used to home make formula with carnation dried milk. So if your infant has had regular formula, they have been exposed to milk. And this is not a newborn tummy, this is an almost 10 month old tummy which has been eating all types of foods. As my pediatrician said to me, "there is no magic change that happens from a 10 month old to a 12 month old tummy".

Along the nutritional side, if your baby is eating a well rounded variety of fruits, veggies, and meats and milk (via my pediatrician) they are getting everything they need without the formula. And if your child had a milk allergy, it would already have developed and pronounced itself by now. And if you are really worried, why not give an infant liquid vitamin over giving formula. It is much cheaper!

Again, only my humble opinion. But I wanted you to have one opposing view to all the other posters who had kindly replied to your request.

Talk with your pediatrician, do your research, and then follow your gut. No one person knows all; they can only give your their educated opinion.

Humbly,
ann m.

Hi T.! Both of my kids were the same way. They ate everything and really wanted little to do with a bottle. I gave them their formula in a sippy cup until they were one, then gradually weaned them over to whole milk. I think they need all of the fats and extra nutrients in formula when they are still that young. I always felt more comfortable switching to milk when my doctor gave me the liquid vitamins to start. You are so lucky to have a good eater. Take care!

Babies need formula until they are a year old to get all the vitamins they need. She might not want the bottle threw the day cause she is feeling up on food. Its seems like she is eating alot of jar food in a day.maybe try cutting back on some.

I would put the formula in a sippy cup. she still needs the nutrients from it. do not do milk until she reaches a year old. my son stopped taking a bottle at seven months and did a sippy cup with formula and soy milk. when he was a year old i started doing soy milk. when he did whole milk he got diarreha from it. he still likes the soy milk and he is almost 20 months old. make sure she is getting enough calcium. at this point you could do yogurt. i would start her off with the yo baby yogurts. they have a lot of the same ingredients that the formula does like the dha. when she reaches over a year old you could do the regular yogurt. good luck, sounds like you are doing great.