Breaking of Bottle

Why not just toss them out? Maybe a week beforehand you could start telling her, "Next week we're going to give the bottles to the baby fairy!" or something silly like that. Then when the time rolls around, just have her put them in a special gift bag and go put them on the porch for the fairy. Maybe it's an out of sight out of mind thing?

I wonder if she's hungry.

It seems kind of sad to me that the word people use for this is "breaking." Like you're in a conflict and you want to break her spirit.

Maybe it's different when you breastfeed.

I don't know your reason for braking her of the bottle, but I too was a bottle mom. I also used formula - didn't breastfeed. If you truly want her off of the bottle you're going to have to stand your ground & make sure every last one of them disappear. She won't see them & you won't have them to give to her. I know it's hard, but if you really want her off the bottle, one or two (maybe a few days, but I doubt it) of her gagging and vomitting and she will quit. If you're breaking her because of the sneers & remarks of society or because of the they have to be off the bottle at year rule (they've came up with in recent years) I say to heck with them all! If people can breastfeed until a kid is 3 years old, I say by gosh my kid can suck a bottle as long I allow them to! Hope things work for you!

Well your going to have to be persistent on giving it up, Trying the one day at a time is reminding her that she can still use the baby bottle the story telling is a good idea but cut to the chase and put them all in a sack while telling her the story or whatever you tell her they are going and offer her a new sippy cup (big girl cup).Let her cry, she will I can only assume or give them up,this will last a few day's but don't give in.If you truly want her to stop using the baby bottles.Don't hide them or save them toss them in the trash.And no more fuss

I would give her the bottle and only allow water in it,maybe after a while she won't want it.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's not like she's a 3 year old walking around the store with a bottle in her mouth. My SIL is going through the same thing right now with my 18m old neice and she's all worried about it because she's not off the bottle yet but I think it's just one of those things where all kids are different. If she's just wanting it to go to sleep then I wouldn't stress too much about it yet she's still little.

My little one is just over 2 years old and I don't think he'd understand at all if I told him a fairy was going to come take his bottle away... he's not able to comprehend a concept like that!

The bottle is a source of great comfort to him. It's part of his routine and a small simple one at that. I am in no hurry to take it away from him. He doesn't take a bottle at any other time, just one 4 oz bit of happy tummy comfort before bed. We rock, he finishes his bottle and I take it from him and tuck him in to bed. (he doesn't fall asleep with it)

I just don't see a reason to make it an issue yet. If your daughter will go to bed without issue and sleep thru the night - if only you oblidge her a bottle before bed - why take that from her? She's still a baby!

Don't stress over it! Find what works for you and your daughter - if that's a bedtime bottle, so be it!

T.

Make your daughter a part of the process of getting rid of them. The fairy idea below is a good one. I told my daughter that baba's were yuck-yuck and had her throw them in the trash. Then, when she whined for one, I told her that bottles were for babies and she was a big girl. It is tough. We had some tough days, but it will work. Good luck!

My daughter is 18 months old and I just stopped her night time bottle. It was hard and she still wants one, we went to visit her newborn cousin and my daughter cried when they got a bottle for the baby. So she is not quite over it, but I got rid of all the bottles. My husband and I got into a fight b/c one night she wouldn't go to sleep and he wanted to give her a "little" bottle. So to make sure HE doesn't give in to her, I had to get rid of them all. She's doing much better. Give it time, be strong and good luck.
By the way, my son was no problem giving it up, I just gave him cold milk in the bottle and he didn't like it. He was 12 months and 1 week old when he stopped on his own. Thought I would have an easy time with the 2nd, nope.

My daughter is 18 mos and still wants the bottle to go to sleep. I threw them all away but one, and I put that one away. When it came time for bedtime she wouldnt go to sleep I gave her a sippy cup and she wouldnt take it. She stayed up until 3am crying until she finally cried herself to sleep. Did it agin for 2 more days and she had no naps and didnt go to sleep again until 3am. I am also in your shoes. I dont know what to do any more because I cant stay up until 3am until she wants to go to sleep.

Keep enforcing the sippy cup. Anytime she wants to drink....give her the cup. THROW the bottle away & say NO more. I know it's harsh but you can mess up her teeth the longer she sucks on the bottle. Good luck & God Bless!

What worked for me was only allowing my daughter to have water in a bottle. If she wanted milk or juice she would have to use a sippy cup. I did not tell her she could not have a bottle but when I offered it I would only offer it with water. If she indicated she did not want water I told her she would have to have what she wanted in a cup. It worked for me. It did not turn her away from water but just reinforced the cup.

Have you tried letting her have a bottle with just water? My son stopped taking a bottle at 18 months but by the time he stopped it was about 3 ounces of water. Of course, not in his bed but just before bed. If you can switch to water or do it more gradually it might be easier on both of you. I don't believe in letting a child carry a bottle around until they are 3 but I also don't believe in a rigid rule that they must give it up at 12 months as some pediatricians do. Sometimes some kids need a little extra time with this or that and unless it is harmful I think giving them a little extra time is fine. Of course, follow the rules as far as not letting them go to sleep with the milk in their mouth or taking the bottle to bed as that can contribute to teeth problems and ear problems. Take care and good luck.

It was a long time ago for me - but I thought my son would still be taking a bottle at night well into his school years. My son was very active, and very stubborn. He was the oldest - his sister was 17 months younger. When she arrived, he wanted a bottle too. It relaxed him at night, and he went to sleep easily, when he had his bottle. Because of tooth decay, I had switched to sugar free drinks at night. The problem the 8 ounces of drink going to bed - was bed wetting. I actually led him to the bathroom before I went to bed, so that he could empty his bladder, and be dry in the morning. But that is another story. You will ask yourself some day - "Why was the bottle such a big deal?" It was a part of his bedtime routine.
We lived in an area with woods in the back - and a rainwater creek next to and behind our backyard. Raccoons were regular visitors to our trashcans. So taking advantage of what I had, we started talking about why the raccoons came to our trash cans every night - they needed food for their babies. Stands to reason that they also need bottles for their babies. We made a big ceremony of tossing our bottles into the creek for the baby raccoons. Both of my children did the tossing. Yes, I did keep two stashed away for for emergency. But it is important that they were part of the decision. If she is not ready to give it up, let her have it. My kids were almsst 3 and 4 years old when we did the ceremony. Sixteen months is still a baby - ask yourself "why" is it so important to get rid of the bottle ? Sucking is still important for her. Drinking from a "sippy cup" is still sucking. Take her to the store with you and show her the cups. Let her pick out her favorite one for bedtme. That could start the transition, to start a new bedtime routine. We all have our bedtime routines, think about how you would feel if someone came in and said "You have to change your routine.

I'm sure you realize this but the reason she is screaming for the bottle is because she knows if she keeps it up, she will get the bottle.

Toss all the bottles away and keep offering her a sippy cup.

Good luck.

I can remember the days when you did not brake the child till they were 18 months so don't worry. Many waited because of the sickness situations. Just give her a large cup of milk before bed. Then when you take her to bed she is full and will not need a bottle. But first she needs to be told how big she is. How much she has grown in her life. You can do this with photos or just talk. Let her throw the bottels all out! Tell her she is a big girl and needs to take care of getting them gone so she can be as big as she can be!!! You may want to get her a big Girl presant, like a new dress or something for her room that she thinks is great. You know your child. Make her feel good about being a big girl. When they are gone you must be the big one and let her do what ever she wants to do and maybe sit with her and ask her if that made her feel better? Tell her it did not look like she was being her big self and if she wants to do it again tomorrow she can but the bottles are gone and we can not change that. Be very cool about the whole thing. But stick to it and it will be all over before you know it. Then PRAISE HER a LOT!! (Just an old Grandma and mother of three that babysits a lot!)

I had the sasme problem breaking 18 month old son of the bottle because I had just had his little sister he thought that if she got one he should too so when she got hers at night and thats the only time he wanted one was at night so i gave him one with formula in it every time he wanted it and with in three days he didn't want a bottle any more Try that and see if that works.

i know it may sound a bit harsh but i agree... toss
em out! that's how i've done it. good luck