Weaning a 12Month Old off of the Bottle

Sam was off the bottle before he was on milk per pedi's instructions for tummy issues.

I did it ONE bottle at a time, starting with lunch. Then it was breakfast, then the bedtime. We used the Nuby soft nipple cups so the transition was easier.

We did this over 3 weeks at 12-13 months.

We switched to milk at 15 months.

Hi N.
You're probably going to get quite a few emails on this, against taking the bottle away so early. Your baby will only be a baby for so long. It is natural for a baby to want to suck. It's natures way to sooth them and feed them.
Believe me, she's getting enough nutrients as long as she's not eating junk food, empty food. Hopefully she's getting lots of fruits, veggies, and protien and milk. But why are you wanting to get rid of her bottle? If she's at the table at mealtime, that's ok to give her a sippy cup with the meal. But when traveling like on a plane, you will want that bottle to help sooth your baby. And a bottle of water at bedtime isn't bad. But you do want to make sure they don't fall asleep with a juice bottle or milk bottle too often when they have teeth, because they will get rotten teeth. Probably start the dentist routine when she's like 3 or 4 or so. If not, at least you start by giving her a toothbrush.....oh, I'm off on another subject. GOod luck
T.

Long before my son's first birthday, we found a cup he liked (a straw one- he couldn't figure out the regular sippy cups) and right after his birthday, the bottles were gone. Period. He didn't have a choice of one or the other because there were no bottles in the house. We have a bed time routine that doesn't involve drinking right before bed, which will make it soooo much easier down the road when we potty train. I do have to mention that he is not much of an oral person so it was an easier transition than it might be for other kids-- he isn't a thumb sucker, never took a pacifier, and doesn't put toys in his mouth much... I know every child is different, but with all 3 of my kids the bottle was no longer in the house anymore once they had a first birthday because I knew the older they got the harder it would be. I also NEVER once heated up milk ever (I'm sorry but I just don't get it why people do that. The idea of warm milk grosses me out!)And I mentioned here recently on another post a battle I won with my son over milk vs. juice--- he pitched a fit because he wanted juice but I think he hasn't been drinking enough milk, so I stuck him in his room to finish out his fit and when I went in to check on him he put his hands up and said "milk?" When people say their child refuses to drink milk from a cup I wonder how hard they tried and how easily they gave up.

When my daughter turned 12 months, her doctor said to switch her to whole milk. I asked about weaning her off the bottle, and the doctor told me to wait until 15 months, because there is already so much change going on at 12 months. So, I gave her whole milk in a bottle in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one just before bedtime. I think between the 3 bottles, she got 17oz per day. Also during that time, I would try the whole sippy cup thing. She never caught on to the sippy cup in general because she had learned first to drink from a straw. Well, then at 15 months, I just stopped the bottles one night, and she never complained. It was easy for her to give up at that point. I was also worried about her not getting enough calcium, so I made sure to feed her yogurt (Yo Baby yogurt) and I also bought a bottle of the enfamil liquid vitamins for baby. I kept trying different sippy cups, then I finally found the right one. She LOVED the sippy cups with the straws. Munchkin makes one that costs about $2.50. Once I introduced her to those, it was only a short amount of time before she was drinking her milk regularly from one.

So, don't worry too much. I think it's probably just a matter of trial and error. Just try to give her started liking other dairy products just in case she won't switch over. Hopefully it will be as easy for you as it was for me.

Good luck!

It sounds like you are doing well and your baby is adapting to the changes. As for her refusal to drink milk from a cup, it's probably because she is preferring juice from the cup, which is understandable. She is used to getting milk from the bottle, but cups are for ice cold water and sweet juice in her mind. You don't have to worry about her not getting enough nutrients fromt he milk if she is a good eater. Many people belive that milk is for baby cows and we don't need it. Spinach has tons of calcium and iron, pluc many other cancer fighting anti oxidants. You can get a bag of baby spinach and chop it finely and add it to your daughter's spaghetti sauce, she'll never know, pour that over whole grain enriched pasta ( the smart taste ones have a whole serving of calcium in each serving) and she will be full of nutrients. You can also make whole wheat pancakes and add sweet potatoes and pureed carrots to one, and spinach and pureed corn ( for sweetness) to the others, she will enjoy eating orange and green pancakes. you will be amazed how many veggies you can get into your kids via a pancake. Even my older kids still love rainbow pancakes, plus they are subtley being introduced to the healthy flavors of fruit and vegetables. In time, she may decide to drink milk again, but it really isn't necessary. Also, yogurt has all the benefits of milk, plus the benefits of healthy bacteria for her immune system and digestive system. You can make it for half the price of yogurt in the store with none of the sugar. She will like the taste of yogur with pureed bananas and maybe a little strawberry with no sugar needed at all. www.howtomakeyogurt.com is a great resource. It's fun and cheap ( about 25 cents per 8 ounce cup) . Good luck, don't worry, the next feeding battle o come is the food strike where they only eat about 12 cherrios a day, that's frustrating.;-)
-A.
Oakleaf, Orange Park, FL

At one year when we were transitioning from formula to milk, I just used the bottle for formula only. Milk, juice was in a cup. When the formula was gone, the bottles were gone. That worked pretty well for both of mine. Good luck to you in whatever you try.

Hi N.,
If you are only worried about the nutrients that she may be missing by not drinking the milk, I would suggest that you read some info on some alternative health sites to see another side of that issue. As parents, we get to make up our minds about what is best for our children. I would nover want to overstep that boundry with anyone, but I would encourage all mothers/fathers to do their own research about health from some alternative sites.
Google the following for a start:
Dr. Mercola
Mike Adams
Timothy Long
Janet Hull

There are more and they all have free newsletters that you can sign up for on email.
Even with alternative health pratictioners, you have to study and look for common threads and cautiously try things, but it could be a real asset to you to see these viewpoints.

Try using Nesquick mixes (strawberry or chocolate) to mix with the milk ... I didnt even try weaning my son off the bottle - one day I just threw them all away and switched him to a cup ... most kids will drink out of anything as long as it has something that they like in it ... my son didnt like whole milk at all so a friend told me to try mixing Nesquick or other flavored powders in the milk and see how he took to it ... and he loved it! Now he is always asking for milk (and its been about a year)

Nuby makes a sippy cup that has a "nipple" type spout that worked great with my son. I use that one for milk and then a Nuby straw one for water and juice. It takes time and some trail with different cups. My son doesn't care for the Gerber one, I think it is because of the hard plastic spout. Good luck

Hi,
I've read a few different responses here about the importance of milk in a baby's diet and I want to commment to clear some confusion. It is very important for babies to drink WHOLE milk (or the formula designed for toddlers)from 12 to 24 months of age becasue they need the FAT content for proper brain development during that year. Yes, they can get nutrients from other places easily, but whole milk readily provides the right amount of fat. They need about 16 ounces per day (give or take).

Why not continue the bottle with milk until age two? Use it only at home, and only for two, eight-ounce servings of milk per day -- one in the morning and the other before brushing her teeeth at bedtime. By age two you can probably transition to a regular cup (with lowfat milk) and skip the sippy altogether. At that age, it will also not be as important to make sure she is drinking enough milk, as she will no longer need the fat content and can get calcium, etc, from other places.

Personally, I wouldn't use a chocolate mix, but if it is the ONLY way you can get your baby to drink milk, then it's worth the little bit of extra sugar.

I started by substituting one bottle a day with a sippy cup. If it didn't work, my son got the bottle. And just kept after it day after day until eventually he'd use it. Then eventually was totally off and using a sippy.

Hi N.! I am battling the same thing as you.
Everyone told me to make my baby go cold turkey from the bottles. They are STILL babies! And babies develop at different times! Your little one might not be quite ready just yet. Mine isn't! It's okay! There are no set rules!
I was obsessing over her trying to drink from a sippy. I have backed off for a few weeks. She gets her milk in a bottle and she will now drink out of a normal plastic cup (granted a lot of it goes everywhere but she thinks it is fun!) and she will drink water out of a sippy cup with a straw.
some good advice I did get was to not give too much attention to her bad drinking habits. If she doesn't want the sippy, don't fuss, just take it away and calmly say, "OK, you're not thirsty right now." Try again later. And of course, always praise the behaviour you want.
I tried to make drinking out of the cup fun..... just put a little bit of water/milk in at a time as they will spill it, but persevere and you'll be surprised! My little one likes to do things herself..... not sure if your daughter is the same way!
Good luck and let us know how you get on!

I just stopped flat out using the bottle with both of the kids and gave them the soft tip sippys. My oldest daughter took FOREVER to transition from that sippy to a hard top sippy, but her cousin (my second kid) transitioned right through the soft ones to the hard sippys almost immediately.

My oldest is now almost three, and though she has been drinking out of a straw for probably about a year, we are just now letting her drink out of the side of the cup. Mostly cause she used to ALWAYS spill it and it was just one more mess to clean. She learned how to drink out of a cup in the bathtub though so the mess was contained. Soon, she probably will be able to leave sippy's behind altogether.

Now I do know a mom that has a kid that has been drinking out of a cup since she was 1. She has to keep track of the cup though at all times cause the kid would spill it. It helped though that the two older kids would help her.

Hi N.,

Does she drink juice and water from the cup, or does she just hate the cup? We had to experiment with several different sippy cups before my son would accept it. Then, we just took bottles away from him entirely so all he was offered was a cup. We didn't do this until he was about 16 months because he had a baby brother brought into the house at 13 months, and we thought this in combination with taking away his bottle would be too much. Still, we were somewhat concerned that he would see his brother with a bottle and refuse the cup, but he didn't. Sometimes they're just not ready when we are...

As for refusing milk, this is pretty common. My son drank tons of milk, but started refusing it a couple of weeks ago. I read quite a bit about it, and it seems that they only need 2 or 3 8-oz cups of milk (or the equivalent) per day. In fact, more than this can be detrimental to their health because it can affect the uptake of iron. Between age 1 and 2 is a crucial time for iron deficiency, which is a common cause of childhood developmental problems and can also negatively affect brain function and a host of other things.

That said, my son LOVES yobaby yogurt, which you can now get with fruit and cereal added. This type has DHA and 45% of daily iron requirements. My son will also eat cheese cubes, cottage cheese (especially mixed with fruit or applesauce), and milk with his morning oatmeal. So, I would suggest that you try some of these milk alternatives (although keep offering milk in the cup!!), toss out the bottle entirely when you find a sippy cup she really likes, and think about waiting a little longer if she's telling you she's not quite ready. She'll be fine! Happy Mother's Day!

N.,
They have formula for older kids now that have all the nutrients in it. It's for older kids. My daughter just turned one on Sunday and I give her both. We are keeping her on the powdered milk(formula) until our vacation is over (may). As long as she is eatting good I wouldn't worry too much. I only give my daughter her bottle at nap times and night time as well. You know that are like we are...we don't always like change. Just keep working with her. Maybe you could try 2% and then go back to the whole. Remember there only little once. Don't rush it. Good luck!

K.

With both of my girls I weaned them one feeding at a time and they were both completely off the bottle right before they turned 1. Neither of my girls drank milk very well in the beginning but now they both love it. As long as she is eating okay she will be fine. If you're concerned about her dairy consumption you could always give her some yogurt or cheese.