I am looking for advice on how I can get my 15 month old to hold her bottle. It is really nice to cuddle with her at night while I feed her but it seems as though she should be ready to hold her bottle on her own. I know she can do it because she drinks from sippy cups with and without straws and is very coordinated. Maybe she's just not ready?? Any suggestions/advice?
Thank you to everyone for the advice. I decided not to give my baby the bottle at all last night and she was so great. She fussed a little before bed but then went right to sleep. She did wake crying in the middle of the night for her "ba ba" but after a while she gave up. She is such an easy going baby that I think it will be easy for her to give up the bottle forever. I will just now give her milk in a cup and I will still snuggle with her before bed with her favorite toy or blanket. I am not ready to give up those snuggly, night-time, special moments!
K.,
Don't take this the wrong way... but sometimes they are just lazy b/c they are usto us holding things and doing everything for them.
Don't hold it and explain to her that if she doesn't hold it then she won't have something to drink... a day or 2 of crying usually does the trick.
My son held his bottle at 2 1/2 mos. and started to try at 1 1/2 mos.
Good luck.
As a grandma my instinct is to say if she won't hold it set it down and just leave it. If she is drinking from a cup she probably doesn't need the bottle any longer. Most babies are holding their own bottles at about 6 months I think. Most 15 month old little ones understand and if she wants to have the bottle she'll pick it up and drink. This would be an easy way to wean her from the bottle.
Good Luck
Sounds like bonding. Feeding time is usually associated with love, at least for those of us who breastfeed or hold the bottle and snuggle our babies. This feels like her insurance that you won't go away. (I had a friend who use to tie her bottle to the car seat to feed her, so she could get things done.) It's ok...soon enough, she will be pushing you away, so relish these moments.
Maybe she is done with bottles. That is not a bad thing. It's easier to stop the bottle when it is their choice. Give her a sippy cup with straw. See if she takes it.
Good luck
At 15 months she's old enough to get rid of the bottle altogether. Just give her a sippy cup before bed. Start reading to her at bedtime -- so you don't miss cuddling.
A baby can be off the bottle by 12 months...maybe use this time to kick the bottle...give her her milk in the cups she likes to drink out of.
Hello K.. I'm not sure what the other moms are going to say about this, but I think she should already be doing it. IMO, she is being lazy, and I do NOT mean that in a derogatory way. I mean it in a way that says she enjoys you holding it for her, and is used to you doing so. If she can drink from a sippy cup, and a cup without a straw (is she also holding these things, or are they being held for her?) then I think she would be able to hold a bottle. It's been a VERY long time since I've been around a baby that holds their own bottle, but I seem to remember my kids grabbing for it around 6 months or so, and being fully able to hold it way before they were a year old. I am breastfeeding now, so I can't really call it, although my son (baby) does grab my breast when eating.
Sounds like she is ready - BUT she probably also knows she won't get to cuddle with you if she holds her bottle herself. So of course she chooses not to hold her bottle so she gets to hold onto you instead! ;D
Try getting her to hold the bottle at other times so she is not making a choice over holding you or the bottle. And keep up with the positive reinforcement, give her more encouragement and hugs when she DOES hold the bottle.
That she is holding a sippy cup is FANTASTIC! You might want to start with covered sippy cups, since the mechanics of getting milk from a bottle aren't quite the same as getting liquid from a sippy cup. :)
Good luck!
sue
moms club of glendale-west
Good morning K., why is your 15 month old still on a bottle? I'm confussed, if she usues a cup, why the bottle? The 3 month old in my daycare holds her own bottle. J. L
Please don't get offended with what I have to say. Your daughter shouldn't be using a bottle anymore, especially at night. You're going to ruin her teeth. If you can't ween her off, then at least give her only water in the bottle. If she wakes up in the middle of the night, try to sooth her without giving her the bottle. It'll be frustrating at first with all the crying, cuz she wants her bottle, but hang in there. I know it has nothing to do with her holding the bottle, but please stop giving it to her.
