How to Get Rid of the Bottle

Its hard to say how to take the bottle away from a two year old, but when I toke my daughter off we just replaced it with a meal. And as far as putting her in her own bed, don't worry even though she is in another room you will hear her if she cries or needs you. I wake up everytime my daughter and son wake up.

Hi, I know how are you feeling! We had the same problem with our daughter (same age also). A friend of mine gave me some great advice and it worked in one night! We went through our usual routine of bath, stories and getting ready for bed. (We always gave her the bottle---last thing---before bed.) While she was with my husband I cut all the bottle nipples about 3/4 across the tip (to look at it, our daughter could not tell). We put milk in it, warmed it up and gave it to her. When she tried to drink out of it of course it went everywhere. We made a big deal out of it being "broken". We told her we had to go to the store right now and buy a "milk cup" because they didn't have any more bottles. My husband stood in front of the bottles (to help her from seeing them) and we let her pick out her own "milk cup". Once we had these home I put only milk in them so they still stood out from the other sippy cups. She did ask about her bottle a few times and we just reminded her they had broken. Never had any problem since.
(the drug store is a good place to replace the bottle---because unlike wal-mart or target they have a smaller selection so it is easier to "hide or cover-up" the bottle section.) Hopefully if nothing else worked, you could give this a shot. Good luck and let us know how it turned out!

As for the whole bed thing---I would love advice there also. Our daughter still sleeps in our bed and we have tried the whole crib in our room and also in her room with one of us in there with her. She has a wonderful pediatrician and her advice was to let her stay in our bed for a while. To quit trying to move her out of ours for a few months. We have decided that after December to let her go to the store and pick out a "big girl" (toddler) bed and see how that works because she does tell us her bed was for when she was a little baby! Please share your advice in that area---I am looking for the same!

Good luck and Thank you.

Hi B. when i thought that my daughter was ready to be done with the bottle i just started offering her sippy cups all the time. She for the most part at the beginning turned them away or threw them down but if you try the ones that have the soft tips and are more like the nipple feel you might have luck. I just kept offering it to her and she eventually took on to it. Oh and as far as the sleeping thing. I know that it is hard but you have to give a little tough love in this situation. Put her in her own bed and she will scream herself to sleep or until she throws up which is what mine did but i bet that before the week is up as long as you stay in some sort of a routene she will be good to go. My doc said to put them down and let them cry for about five minutes and go and check on them and tell them that it is ok not to hold them. I promise that the first couple of nights will be sleepless but she will get the hang of it. Make it fun for her. Tell her that she is going to be a big girl now and sleep by herself. Put a night light in the room so that it is not so dark and dont what so ever put a tv in there for her to watch because i tried that against the docs wishes and yeah she would go to bed but she would stay awake until past one in the am. Maybe go out and buy her a new soft stuffed animal if she does not have a fave yet so that she can have it there with her as a comfort measure. I promise that this will be hard for the first couple of nights but you will so thank yourself for doing it after all is said and done and you and hubby have your own private time together again.

Good luck
Jen

you need to sit down with your daughter and pack away all the bottles, and all their accessories. Say goodbye as you pack it and let her see you throw them away. Later go back and get them and put them in the attic or where you store stuff, but let her think they are gone. this worked perfectly with my little girl and she never asked for one again. Also as far as sleeping with you, you need to get her in her own bed. Children need their space as much as mom and dad and I have never agreed with keeping a child in the bedroom after they are sleeping through the night. you need to put her in her own bed, and if she gets out, put her back in her bed. This may make you a little crazy because she might do it several times a night, but she will learn that she needs to stay in her own room and she will eventually. Just be consistent about it and don't give in to her not even once because then you will have to start over again. She is safe and believe me you will hear her if she wakes up and needs you.

I thought it would be hard to take the bottle away from my son but a week after his first birthday he just gave it up. I did use the Nuby Sports Sippy cups that you can get at Wal-Mart and I think he thought it was a bottle because it's pretty close to a bottle nipple. Also the reg Nuby sippy he liked too! I've noticed they've worked for a lot of people. And the way we got our son to go to sleep on his own (he had already been sleeping in his bed) was to just let him cry it out. He did cry for the first week, but now he tells US when he needs to go to bed! I also used to think someone would sneak into our kids windows, but then at night I just get so tired I fall asleep and forget all about it! LOL

HI... I have a 2yr old as well...and im 25...first of all let me say dont stress over the small stuff...the bottle thing will go away ... but if your in a hurry start cutting back on how much you actually give her to drink in her bottle...my son loved his bottle... even though he waisted it really...i just let him get so tired that he fell alseep ... no bottle... now if your problem is in the morning give her a bath or something to change her focus... as far as sleeping in the bed my son is a pain...i have to put him in his room and shut the door... he watchs cartoons and falls asleep then i open the door so he can get to me if he needs to later......but in the end they all grow up... and these will be the little things

K.

Help her throw them away. If they are gone neither of you will have the choice. One day, I didn't even tell my daughter, I just got rid of them. I went to the Dr for her 1 yr old check up and he fussed because she was still on it.He said that it could cause her problems with her teeth. I didn't want that. So I just threw them out.

Maybe you could take her to the store and tell her that she gets to pick out some new cups (after she helps throw out the bottles). Let her pick out the sippy cups that she wants. That way, maybe she will not feel intimidated, but excited. Involving her in the buying process should make it easier. Kids just love getting new things. My daughter went straight for Dora. And we have been bottle free ever since.

Good Luck, I hope that all goes well.

I'm trying to get my daughter off the bottle as well. SHe's 17 months. Those Nibby bottle/cup things have helped with her. She still has to have the morning bottle & one at bedtime, but I just put water in that one. It seems it's a security thing. I'm gradually doing it. SO, I give her a nibby, but she gets mad at first. SO, I tell her well, thats all there is, so it'll be here if you change your mind, and after less than 5 minutes she wants it. Her Dr. said the last bottle is gona be the hardest though....My daughter has always slept with us as well, but in her crib. I plan to move her into her room in another week or so & I plan to sleep in her room for the first week or two, so that she knows I'm there & can gradually get used to it. I think it'll be harder for me, because like you, I worry about anything & everything that could happen. SHe still wakes up at least once or twice each night crying & I pick her up & then just lay her right back down & she goes right back to sleep. She knows I'm there & that's gona be the hardest adjustment, but I just couldn't seperate from her :) Just an idea to give it a shot..?? Maybe you could get a daybed to keep in her room or Futon so that you can sleep there for at least a few hours & then go back to your room...Good Luck!

I think that the most important part of this situation is once you make the decision to take it away, you have to stick to it. Your daughter will adjust, but it will get harder the more times you give it back. Try giving her a sippy cup with a soft "nipple like" top on it and give her the same thing that is in the bottle, and the same way (ie: hot, cold). (nubi's are great) Hope that helps!!!

First, start by offering her everything she LIKES in a CUP!
If she wants a bottle, water it down! Eventually, it will get to the point that the bottle is full of ONLY water (which won't hurt her, as long as she gets a balanced diet elesewhere), but she will probably begin to dislike it WAY before then!

As for the BED situation, try a sleep-over! Her friend will probably want to sleep in the bed. Put one at the head, one at the foot. (parents have to be "sneaky" sometimes!) Once you have ONE successful night, you can refer back to it every other night! You might have to substitute a teddy bear at the foot of the bed for a while. Good Luck!!

as far as the bottle, simply throw it away. you will have some crying but it wont last. as far as sleeping in her own bed, i wouldnt recommend doing both at the same time. after the bottle battle is conquered, work on getting her to sleep in her own room and bed. maybe start with naps and stay in there with her for a few..each day stay less and less...do the same with night time when you feel you both are ready for her to sleep all night in her room. it may exhaust you for a few days or so but in the long run, you will be giving her that little bit of independence that makes kids so wonderful. good luck with all.

My daughter will be 2 in November and she had slept in a crib when my husband and I first brought her home from the hospital but as she has gotten older she has been sleeping with us. To get her in her own crib and back in her room we moved her crib into our room and put it at the end of our bed. She would fall asleep in our bed around 8-8:30 and then once she was asleep we would move her into her crib at the end of our bed. She would wake up in the middle of the night however I would just pat her for a few minutes and she would fall right back to sleep because she saw she was still in our room. We did that for about 1 month and then we just moved her crib back into her room and the whole process worked for us. A lot of parents just put them in there rooms and let them cry. My husband and I just could not do that:) Good Luck.

Bottles can be a means of security. Try putting only water in the bottle, and offer other drinks in a sippy cup. Eventually she will see that the good stuff comes in the cup, and give up the bottle.

When it was time for my brothers and I to come off the bottle, my mom got a glass bottle and "accidentally" dropped it, being careful, of course, not to hurt anyone. But she said this was a very visual and concrete way to remove the bottle, because now it was "broken".

As for the bed, I hate to tell you this, but you have a fight on your hands. I was always told to NEVER let my daughter sleep in my bed or I would have a hard time getting her to stay in hers. I didn't listen, and I let her sleep with me just once in a while when my husband was out of town. Well, just a few times was all it took for her to cry EVERY NIGHT to come to my bed. The only thing that worked was to be very consistent in saying NO, no matter now much begging, pleading and crying she did. She's almost four now, and she is just finally going to bed on her own without much of a fight, but she still sneaks in sometimes during the night. Sometimes I don't even know she's there until I wake up the next morning, but I take her back to her bed. Again, just be consistent and persistent no matter how hard it gets, and after a while she'll be the one to give up. Good luck!