If I Get Rid of the Bottle Will She Get Enough?

Updated on May 29, 2008
C.M. asks from Olathe, KS
15 answers

My question is 2 fold. My daughter is 11 months. We started giving her 1/2 formula and 1/2 whole milk at bedtime (8-10 oz) and formula the other times (4-6oz) when she naps.That is really the only time she takes a bottle. Otherwise she uses a sippy cup with meals. I didn't know when I should start weaning her from the bottle and I'm concerned that she won't get enough milk if I do wean her. She is small for her age (only 15 lbs) but eats a ton at meal time and gets a balanced diet. I plan on talking with her doc at her 12month appt but I like to hear other opinions too. I also wonder if anyone has tried the "next step" formula and if it seems to be of any benefit.

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H.B.

answers from Kansas City on

When my daughter switch to a sippy cup it took her a couple of days before she was drinking as much as she had been from a bottle. Don't worry she will adjust. Pack away the bottles and give her only the sippy cup. It is just another change to learn. Like someone else said as long as her output is good she'll be fine.

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K.W.

answers from St. Louis on

She will get enough, i would not worry. I never used formula so I cannot honeslty say too much. I will tell you that my oldest stopped nursing the day he tuned 10 months and we went straight to milk(we later switched to soy due to ear infections). My youngest doesn't really like milk and he is way little for his age, but he is healthy, hardly ever sick, never been to a doctor. He eats cereal and gets his dairy from other things(mac n cheese). Size is relative, what really matters is that they continue to thrive and grow. If she ever starts loosing weight you should be concerned. My son will be 3 in Oct and has yet to triple his birthweight!

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B.C.

answers from St. Louis on

We continued with the "next step" formula for our daughter, which she continued to 2 years, she is a healthy well-adjusted 25 mo old who drinks from a regular cup and even without a sippy-top now. We started not using the bottle around 12 months, but she was really attached and didn't totally give it up until around 16 mo. She continued to take a good 8 oz in her sippy cup each time and the change from bottle to cup did not change her intake. She still drinks milk at meals getting in roughly 24 oz a day, which is a large amount of milk. Hanna also has grown over the last year on this regimen, she was in the 50th percentile for weight and 75th for length at 12 mo, but at 2 years she was 75th percentile for both weight and length.
Hope this helps in your decision-making

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E.M.

answers from Kansas City on

Hello. My son weaned himself from the bottle at 11 months old. He decided he just did not want his bottle or his bink anymore. I was a little worried about him getting his nutrients, I talked to the doctor who said as long as he is eating table food properly and getting what his body needs from them he would be fine. Definatly talk to her pediatrician though to make sure it is OK. She does seem a little small for her age but some kids have a higher metabolism so they dont gain weight like they should. (I'm jealous):) I babysit a 2 year old who is like that - she just now only weighs 24 pounds! We were so happy to get her to that point. She eats tons and tons, but we just have to make sure she is getting the proper amounts of veggies, fruits, grains, and whole milk. I have a friend who used the Next Step formula with her kiddo and he seemed to do fine with it. It came in handy when he got sick over the winter and wanted nothing but his bottle. He is almost 2 now and perfectly healthy. I would still check with her doc but as long as she is otherwise a healthy happy kid you should be fine. You could put the formula in her cup if you are just wanting to get rid of her bottle.

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S.D.

answers from Topeka on

If she is accepting the sippy cup good she is getting enough,I took my kid's off the bottle at young ages my son around 5 months and my daughter 6 months they weren't interested in the baba anymore.And they did very well with it.Just because your daughter is small for her age i'm sure your pediatrician would let you know if she suspected a problem.And at the 1 yr. check up the dr.will let you know to go ahead and start to use whole milk(vitaminD).I used the next step formula with my daughter the Enfamil kind around 9 or 10 months she liked it.

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K.P.

answers from Wichita on

If she's eating plenty of food, she'll be fine. I took my son off his bottle at 8 months because he ate like a pig. I really agonized about it at the time, but the pediatrician said he'd be fine. . . and he was.

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L.D.

answers from Topeka on

You being a nurse you dont have to be told that their little tummies can not handle whole milk until at least a year old, but since you have already started. I used the advanced formula for 2 months beyond a year for my 17 month old, he liked it and i felt that he was getting enough of all that stuff since at that point he wasnt eating enough table food to be healthy. she is small since they are to triple birth wt by a year also. hope all is well

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S.H.

answers from Kansas City on

C.-
You should be fine to change all of the daytime bottles to sippy cups. Also, let her drink as much as she wants during meals. In place of the afternoon bottle, change it to a snack with a drink. If you have already introduced the whole milk and she is ok with it, put that in her sippy cups. Just don't forget the water and juice for the sippy cups - all liquid counts.
I have an 11 month old also, and that is what we did. Over the course of 1-2 months we dropped all but the bedtime bottle. She still gets that, but I've noticed that she is only taking about 2oz per evening now.
Try 1 change about every 1-2 weeks. That gives her time to adjust and you time to see if she really needs the formula.
Good Luck!

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M.G.

answers from Kansas City on

I think if it makes you feel better giving her "next step" you should but it sounds like you are doing a great job with meal time. I use to be worried about my daughter getting enough milk also but I was told that I was giving her too much milk and that would fill her up and she wouldn't get enough nutients because it would cause her to get full and she wouldn't eat her food. Now I just make sure she eats a balanced meal and she can have as much or as little milk as she wants. Hope this helps.

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S.J.

answers from St. Louis on

If she is eating well and getting a well balanced diet she will defenitely be getting enough nutrition. I felt the same way when I weened my son. You just get used to that being his only source of nutrition and to just take it away seems horrible, but she will be just fine.

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K.J.

answers from St. Louis on

We've been using the next step Good Start for our 14 month old. I think it seems to help me feel reassured that he's getting enough. He usually eats fairly well at one of the meals a day, but not all. We are doing the schedule of morning, one nap and bedtime. He doesn't seem to want to drink the formula out of a sippy cup either, so we're still on the bottle.

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M.T.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi C., my daughter just went through this transition a couple of weeks ago. She unfortunately was eating really little at 11 months, so we worked hard from 11 to 12 months to increase her diet while decreasing her formula intake. We focused on giving her a lot of water during the day and she was drinking about 16-18 ounces of formula daily. The week before her 1st birthday we got rid of the bottle and gave her formula in the sippy. No problems. A couple of days after her first birthday we switched from formula to milk in the sippy. No problems. I'm sure other kids don't transition as easily, but it worked for us. She now is drinking about 12 ounces of whole milk a day. Our Dr suggested 12-18 ounces, plus water. Our Dr also told us the next step formula is more a marketing gimic and not much more than regular formula. It's worth investigating though if it's something you'd rather use. Milk is much cheaper though :)

HTH.

M.

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V.C.

answers from St. Louis on

NUBY sippies are the best. My son was not big on sippy cups when he turned 1, but these are easy to drink from and he still drank tons. I wold ask the doctor about next step only because she is so little.

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M.W.

answers from Kansas City on

In my opinion she will get enough. I have taken all of my children off of the bottle at 1 year and all were fine. My youngest is like your daughter and very petite. They were worried about her for the first 1 1/2 years because of her size, but now realize that she can't keep weight on because she NEVER stops moving. She eats more than my other two but just is going to be a little one! I think since she is already doing a sippy that she will just start to drink more from her sippy cup once the bottle is completely gone. It took all of my kids a couple weeks before I really felt they were drinking enough from their cups. But I think it took that much time in order for them to realize they weren't getting a bottle. Good luck! Oh, I never did the next step formula for any of mine, so I can't help you there. I would just start weaning her and wait to see what your doctor says at the next appointment.

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T.R.

answers from Joplin on

just put the milk in her sippy cup. if she isn't getting enough it will quickly be apparant...low urinary output, sunken fontanels and eyes, no tears, but if she does well with a cup and eats a balanced diet i wouldn't be too worried. never did the next step thing...think it's kind of a rip off. i'm a peds nurse and i've never heard our dr's endorse it, either. good luck!

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