Want to Get My Daughter off Bottle

Get a sippy with the soft spout, the texture is like that of the nipple of a bottle. Start small. Substitute sippy for bottle once a day. With my son I gave him a sippy at lunch. He got the hang of it after a while. Started that at the end of December. He turned 1 yesterday and only has a bottle when it's bedtime. Just start with once a day on the sippy. Don't fill it full, just put a little in it at first. Or give it to her empty and let her explore it. Then add some liquid and when you give it to her tip some into her mouth so she knows what it does. Then just let her figure it out on her own. Might take a little bit. When I first gave it to my son he was chewing on the handles and the bottom edge of the cup for a bit. But I kept telling him that was his drink and showing him how it goes in the mouth. Then leaving him alone to work it out on his own. Now he's doing great. Good luck.

when my (4) kids were each 11 months, they were getting about 4 bottles a day of formula (I never put anything besides formula in the bottle, I thought it would make the transition easier). At 11 months, I replaced one bottle a week with a cup of milk, leaving them with one bottle a day the week before their first birthday, the day before their birthday they got their LAST bottle, which we then threw away (no washing even) and that was the end of bottles for us.
good luck!
~J.

When my boys were approaching 12 months old I only offered water in a sippy cup at first so they could practice and then eventually put milk only in the cup. When they turned one I basically took the bottles away and only gave them the cup. They fussed for about a day but that was all. I figured if they are thirsty enough they would drink. It was a pretty easy transition for them and I was expecting it to be much harder than it was. Good luck!

I understand the want/need to try to wean her off the bottle, but think this is going to prove much more challenging than you think.

If she's on formula, the switch to milk should go fine. Although some kids do fight it, so you might have to consider doing a "gradual changeover" and mix the two until you get to "all milk".

With the going to cups thing - just keep offering her cups. With both of our daughters, getting them on sippy cups throughout the day was easy. Trying to get them to not want the bottle before naptime or bedtime was REALLY hard. We usually keep a supply of 8 oz. water bottles in the fridge, and we started asking our oldest, "Do you want water or milk (in a bottle)?" One night she picked the water, and never turned back. She was closer to 18 months at that point.

We've used the Dr. BRown's sippy cups with our 2 year old - they have handles that make it easy for her to grasp. She still wants that bottle at bedtime though, and that's the only time she asks for it. We still offer her a sippy cup first, and figure soon enough she'll choose the sippy cup or water bottle (with a straw in it).

For what it's worth....and good luck!

I got a soft spouted sippy cup and started giving it to my daughter at around ten months. Formula was the only thing I ever put in bottles. Juice water and then milk always went in the sippy cup. It was an easy transition at a year and the bottles were gone on her birthday. I think keeping the liquids in seperate cups helped her associate the sippy cup with sweeter things (juice and milk) therefore she never really fought it. It does take a little while for them to understand how the sippy cup works so keep offering it and don't give up. Put it on the tray/table at every feeding but continue with the bottles as she still needs those too.
Good luck- you will be bottle free soon!

I did the same thing with both of my girls at around 11 months. That was to gradually introduce the milk by mixing it in with the formula at first. I also used those Nuby sippy cups to transition from the bottle to the cup. I highly recommend the Nuby sippy cups. I didn't have a problem with either of my girls missing the bottle.