Confused on Quiting the Bottle and Formula...

Hello, i have four children and my children never had the bottle after a year. Except my youngest she is 14 months and still has the bottle for health reasons. I always mixed milk with formula half and half. Until they get use to it. As for the bottle they have a really cool sippy cups at walmart. They are called nubby. They have a soft top as a bottle nipple, and they still have to suck more like a sippy cup. And i would let her have it before bed. So you keep the tantrums to a minimum. And if it doesn't work from experience you may have to let her have her tantrums. I hope that help a little bit.

I would start with daytime bottles, and offer only sippy cups throughout the day, but keep nap and night bottles, do it gradual, I can not think of the last time a doctor told a BF mom to throw out the boob, I will admit I suck at getting rid of bottles but I start slow like I said then I get rid of the nap time one and over time cut back the night ones and then just make it start to disappear, if it isn't comfortable for you right know then do it slow so there is less fight about it, there will bigger issues down the road and whethter or not your DD is completely off bottles this young is minor.

My daughter had a hard time w giving up her bottle before bed. When I started giving her real milk, I would warm it up a little and then put it in the sippy cup. As she got used to drinking it, I quit warming it, etc. I also would sit w her and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (her favorite show) before bed when she had her milk. We wound up getting her her own toddler chair to sit in. So she loves to crawl up in her chair and have her "big girl" snack before bed. Hope this helps...

There is also a step above formula that is called the next step formula. Our son just turned one also and although he likes milk he to likes his bottle before bed and the next step formula still has the Dha and Ara that is found in breastmilk, which is more than is in regular milk. My son really likes it. I have tried mixing milk with formula also but have found that I feel better giving this next step to him.

Hi N., That was a tough one for me also. My oldest didn't want a bottle since she was 10 months old and just barely got enough milk. The triplets made a gradual transition to solid foods. They are 13 months now and I give them breakfast with a sippy cup of milk, lunch with a sippy cup of juice/water, dinner with sippy cup and milk. But for their morning nap, afternoon nap, and before bedtime....definitley a bottle of milk. It's so hard to know how much they eat with finger food and sometimes they are starved for the bottle, which is fine for me. They have the sipppy cups all day with water in it. The oldest and 1 triplet won't drink much from a bottle so I give them both yoghurt(4-6 oz) before they go to sleep so that way they are getting at least 4-6 oz of milk product before bedtime. Hope that helped. It is a difficult thing to figure out.

i would do a graudual change makeing the night time bottle tha last to go. switch something easy at first like her lunch time bottle to a sippy. just do it a little at a time in a sequence that works for you. just because the doc says one thing doesn't mean you have to follow the rules exactly. do what works for you. why make it a bigger deal than it really has to be? as long as you are working toward the transition i htink going at a pace that works for all involved is a great plan!

I just am getting through the transition from bottle to sippy cup with my 14mo. old. What I did was did half formula and half milk to start and would give him sippy cups during the day, and then right before bed I'd give him a bottle. slowly a altered mixing the two and just milk and he eventually he stoped taking the bottle, first during the day and then also before bed. It took me about 3 1/2 months for him to accept the transition. If your daughter is wanting a bottle with each meal, try seeing if see wants more food. Little kids are good at knowing when there done with the food, and will let you know. Just dont force it, making the transiton slow worked with my little guy.

I have to say with my daughter it was not an issue at all. I was able to take away the bottle a week later and she never missed it. However, we do use Nuby's. I think it helps with the transition because they have a soft nipple and she loves them. I never had another issue. You may want to try them rather than a typical sippy cup. Just an idea! Also I warm the milk at night so that it keeps her in a routine. I am not sure if you were doing that, but it may help too!
Good Luck!

You could try mixing the milk and formula so it tastes familiar and gradually add more milk. I haven't had to do the bottle thing, but that might help with the formula. We had one that the transition took about 4 months for doing that. We had already weaned him to a cup, but he was not about to let the formula go. GL!

Do yourself a huge favor, get rid of the bottles, cold turkey. She can form a bad habit and now is the perfect time to get her on a sippy cup/strawed cups. Both of my kids didn't even miss them, they were just gone on their first birthday. Her dependency at night is not only bad for everyone but her teeth as well. Just do it, it may be a night or two of crying, but take her to pick a few special big girl cups. She no longer needs formula but they do have it for toddlers if you are concerned about her eating. She may not seem like she is eating enough, she may graze but she doesn't need a lot. Offer #3 baby foods, cheese cubes, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, diced fruit and soft veggies, cubed meats. You would be surprised if you just throw them out...! If they are gone then they are gone.

Remember her tummy is only as big as her fist. She can't eat that much at one time. Give her health snacks and give her milk/formual mix but reduce the amount. Maybe give her 4oz at a time.