Help! Getting Her off the Bottle

I agree with Katy. I used the nuby sippy cup on my son and he was off the bottle at 10 months old. I have introduced it to my daughter (8 months yesterday) when she was 6 months and she has never put up a fight with it. I first start with juice and then each month after that I replace one feeding a day with the cup. She takes one feeding and her juice only out of the cup. So weaning is much easier. I hope this helps.

With my son if he wanted a bottle he only got water in it. If he would take his sippy he could have milk or juice. He was was done with his bottle in about a week. There were of course a couple fits but he figured it out quick enough. Don't know if you've tried this yet or not but thought I would throw it out there. Hope I helped.

I had trouble weaning my daughter off the bottle as well. The thing that worked was that everytime I gave her the sippy cup, I would try to entertain her at the same time. When I gave her the cup, I also sang to her or read her a book just to keep her mind off of the whole ordeal. I would do this in a very soft voice so that my voice soothed her and she would end up taking her nap. I hope this helps!

Give her only water in the bottle and everything else in the sippy cup. Keep the sippy cups for meal times. Then try taking away the bottle completely in a few months.

I found a "sippy" that looks like a bottle...the brand is Nuby and it helped with the transition from bottle to sippy.

Hi C.,

I have a two year old boy (he turned 2 in December) and he LOVED LOVED his bottle. It soothed him for nap time and at night. He is soooo super strong willed. I tried to go "cold turkey" whenweaning him from his bottle and was told to let him cry it out. I tried it and he cried for 5 hours. I will never do that again. Listen to your gut.

I diluted his milk and by about the 5th day it was water only. Then I offered a sippy cup and he opted for that. He still drinks milk before his nap and at night, but I'm fine with it. If he has a hard time potty training we will deal with it then. I always say if he is still doing it at 18 then we have a problem. LOL

Good luck,
D.

With my son I gave him only water in his bottles for about a week and everything else I gave to him in Sippy cups. When I decided I was over having bottles I put them all in a bag and put them out of site. The next morning when my son wanted a bottle I was able to open the fridge and cabinet where the bottles once were and told him they were all gone and that was it for him. He might have asked once or twice after that but for him seeing it showed him they were really gone. He was about 15 months when I did this and he seemed to understand quite well. Good Luck!

I'm reading through these responses and wondering if you're not more confused than you were when you posted. All these children crying and unhappy. I'm always amazed that the concept of forcing a toddler child to your will seems reasonable in our society. A 14 month old does not have the cognitive capacity to be reasoned with, and bullying her by taking something she wants away is brutish. And unsuccessful, as you've experienced. You didn't say why you've decided to introduce the sippy cup for naps now instead of continuing with the bottle. Have you received a recommendation to do so? If not, then maybe stop trying the cup for now, and come back at it again in another month. I have not tried the transition cups that several people suggested, but they sound as though they've had success with them, and seem a reasonable step up plan to get your daughter moving toward the sippy cup and away from the bottle. Not all trees in the forest grow the same. Have patience with your little one. A need that is met goes away; one that is not met may last forever. The security and self-confidence she gains by letting go of the bottle when she's ready will last her a lifetime.

Hey C.,

Yes you gotta pitch them in the big dumpster right before the trash man comes. Then your not tempted to give in and it will take about 2 or 3 nights and then you'll be done. :) Good luck and hang in there.

K.

What we did was on the day she turned 1, we completly stopped it. It took a few loooong nights but now I look back and think how easy it was. And if you can't lose your sleep at night, put water in the bottle.. Good Luck!

Do you mean you put the bottle in the bed with her? I was always told not to do that because it is bad for their teeth. And practically, if you let her drink before she can fall asleep at night every night, when it comes time to potty train her it will be very difficult to keep her from wetting the bed.

As far as switching from bottle to sippy cup though... Try the brand called "Nuby"...they are probably the cheapest kind in the store. All of my kids transitioned easily to this sippy cup when they wouldn't take any other brand. I think it is because the top feels the most like a bottle nipple.

What I did with mine was when it was time to give them a bottle, I held them and gave them the Nuby instead. I also gave it to them every time they were in their high chairs and let them have it unlimited (filled with water) when they were playing. Try experimenting with different brands and see if she will take another type. Like I said, Nuby has always worked best for my kids and I know other moms it worked well for also.

You could also try taking her to the store and letting her pick out her own sippy cups (if she is able to point and tell you which one when you hold up two options). We did this with our daughter when she turned one and we had no tantrums. The bottle was just gone and she had new sippy's instead.

You could also try the Nuby line of sippy's because their tops are made of silicone similar to bottle nipples. You can get them at Walmart and they are super-cheap! Good Luck!