Bottle Or Sippy Cup

Jeni - posted on 02/02/2011

Alexa 12/21 , she was picky, ....i use the born free sippy cup. Thats all she likes so if she wakes up at nite then i give her a bottle but other than that all day with a sippy cup, :)

Emily - posted on 02/02/2011

the day my son turned a year old december 31st i gave him a sippy cup. when he would cry for his bottle i would hand him is cup. it only took about 3 days of him realizing he wasn't going to get the bottle to be content with the cup. anytime he asks for the bottle just hand him his cup, because as bad as this sounds, when he's thirsty enough he'll drink it out of his cup. the reason that they want us to start taking the bottle away is because dr's dont want the baby's to have bottle teeth. i was googling it, it looks pretty bad. but that's just me. if you need any advice I can help you just go to my page.

Cari - posted on 02/01/2011

Hi Jessica, I am having the same problem with weaning my son off of the bottle. He turned a year on Dec 5th! I am gonna try again in a couple days and see where this all stands lol! good luck! thanks Cari

Lisa - posted on 02/01/2011

My son turned 1 on 25th December just gone. He was still on bottles up until a week after his birthday. We tried a sippy cup which he drank his water out of during the day for his first milk in the morning but he just pushed it away. However, I did read that throughout their childhood, children adapt so quickly and forget things easily so I just bought a couple of new sippy cups and use these predominantly for the milk in morning and evening. I kept the valves in and he just started drinking.
I think it really depends on how you are as a person. Don't feel pressured to get rid quickly but you should perservere and don't give in. I'm learning all the time that our little ones will do things in their own time - but do need a push and gentle persuasion. Good luck

Samantha - posted on 01/31/2011

Hello! My daughter turned 1 on December 30th and a few days after that I got rid of her bottles completely...just went cold turkey with bottles. I bought her the soft top Nuk sippy cup and put whole milk in it, she doesn't like milk with any other sippy up so maybe if you try every sippy cup until he finds one that he likes...yes I think it will be a lot of wasted sippy cups but it's worth a shot. But also if you don't think he's ready don't push him to be ready. He'll decide one day that he won't want that bottle anymore...maybe brushing his teeth in the morning or at night too? Hope this helps and don't worry if it doesn't happen soon...somethings take a little time! I wish you good luck :-)

Katherine - posted on 01/31/2011

Same here, but my son won't drink his milk in a sippy cup either, so if he needs milk he'll get a bottle. He will drink water from one though.

Amanda - posted on 01/31/2011

I think you need to get another Dr.......... Alot of babies are still breastfeed at this age.. who cares if has ab bottle... he wont have a bottle forever... You know what right in your heart dalring lady dont let Anyone make you feel like you should change what you are doing... it is not effecting his health or development why change it ? - if you take away its effecting his emotional health and development....

Rita - posted on 01/30/2011

Rowena,

I cant believe your doctor was like that, it's not like your child is 4 or 5, Breast feeding is so much better for them and I think you are right, you know your kids better.
Good luck:)

Rita - posted on 01/30/2011

Hi Jessica,

I have 4 kids ages 8, 7 5 and 1 and I took the bottle away Some ybetween 13-16 months. Try the sippy cups with the soft top, almost like a bottle, I think Nuby had the 3 in 1 pack with a bottle/sippy and 3 different tops.
You might have to try a few different kinds, make it fun for your son, pretend to drink it ect...
Your son will be ok for now but after 18 months the bottle should be gone or you might find yourself not being able to get him away from it at all. My little one does not like the hard top sippy cups and she is still using the regualr bottle sometimes but I have her use the sippy too.
Good luck

Rita

Kim - posted on 01/30/2011

I would maybe try another type of sippy cup. One that resembles a bottle. Like the Nuby.http://nuby.com/en/nuby/cups-spouts/9661 My son was the same way but the area they drink from on the Nuby is like a nipple and now he prefers it. Good luck.

Rowena - posted on 01/30/2011

My daughter turned 1 on 26th Dec and she has only just started to enjoy using the sippy cup. I tried her with various differnt kinds of cups and she seems to prefer the tommy tippee sippy cup. I never bothered using bottles as she is breastfed aswell so I just put her straight on the cups although I do still breastfeed her aswell. My doctor wasnt very supportive of me still breastfeeding and told me to get her exclusively on the cups! Which I disagree with. You know your child better than anyone so you'll know when hes ready for the change xxx

Christine - posted on 01/29/2011

my lo wasnt keen either but i just kept trying and she took to it after a couple of weeks, she still has her bottle before bed but otherwise she drinks out of a soft teet sports bottle

Jessica - posted on 01/29/2011

Hey Jessica! My name is also Jessica and my daughter was born on the 21st of dec. I brestfed so I didn't really have a problem with bottles. She went to sippies easy. Although I did with my son. It was a while before we could switch him to sippies. What we did though was only give him a bottle at bedtime and the less he seen it he didn't want it. You have to stand strong, even if he throws it just leave it there and if he's thirsty he will pick it up and drink it. Just slowly take it out of the equation. Like if you give it to him 2 times a day do that for about a week and then the next week only give it to him once a day and then try every other day giving him a sippy and bottle. Hope it helps.

Cyndi - posted on 01/27/2011

My son turned 1 on Dec 2. He takes a bottle of toddler formula 3 times per day and drinks water from a bottle the rest of the day. No milk because it doesn't have near the nutrition that formula has and no juice because of the sugar content. I have tried a couple different sippy cups but he hasnt taken to any of them. I'm due with baby #2 in June so I know we will have to have him well off the bottle by then but otherwise I'm not worried about labeling a specific age as necessary to be off the bottle. My doctor doesn't have a problem with it as long as he doesn't have one while he sleeps. We'll keep trying but developmentally its not something thats high on my priority list.

Joanna - posted on 01/27/2011

My son wouldnt take a sippy either but i got him the soft top ones that kind of feel like a bottle nipple and he drank out of it with no problems!! He is fixing to be 13 months old and i still cant get him to drink out of a hard top sippy!!

Candice - posted on 01/27/2011

my daughter turned one on dec 29th. they are on to me too about getting her off the bottle but she only gets it when she is going to bed. I was told by a nutritionist today that if you give them half milk and half water in their bottle and then a sippy cup with just straight milk it should help get them off the bottle.

Lizl - posted on 01/26/2011

There are so many different types of sippy cups out there. I went through 4 before my son found one that he liked. Now he does not drink bottle at all anymore.

Amber - posted on 01/26/2011

I nursed till my daughter was 12 months and only gave her a bottle for the brief times I couldn't nurse when she got her first tooth at 10 months I just quit giving get a bottle period and if she was thirsty she's try the cup now she sees a bottle and knows its for someone littler than her! Just put some juice in one and let him try it and once he
sees its good he'll take it once he gets used to it just start giving it to him more and maybe the bottle only at bed. He'll get it!

Billie - posted on 01/26/2011

My daughter was completely broke of the bottle by 12 months. Every child is different.

Rhonda - posted on 01/26/2011

Cody was born dec17 and he has been on a sippy cup since he was 9 months. the funny thing IS he wouldnt take a sippy cup unless I warmed the bottle never mind cold milk thats a no no lol My oldest ( almost 3yrs) didnt care about temp of food he just wanted food thats so wierd the difference in babies, Dont give up! hang in there sometimes ( all the time) we just need to keep trying or switching or tweeking it a little. Kids and babies are like those really picky customers at a restaurant and your the busy waitress. just smile a serve that little person but remember YOU know whats best for them THEY DONT know yet, they just know whats normal and whats food, change is good lets teach our kids that. Listen to our elders who in many cases had like double the amount of children about 2 years no more apart in a house maybe 1/2 the size of ours and living on a 1/4 to 1/2 the income we do, their ideas or strategies might appear insane or mean but sometimes they have some true common sense and knowledge behind it, its ok to let our children cry and comfort them it doesnt make us bad or mean parents, make changes for there growth and development not when its convienent for us Good luck your doing great!! :)

Mercedes - posted on 01/26/2011

My son started using a sippy cup at 5 months and a straw at 7 months. He can also slowly drink from a regular water bottle if we tilt it for him. He prefers regular straws though.

Kim - posted on 01/25/2011

I started my boys on sippy cups at 8 months. At a year I took them off of bottles and they didn't even miss them. Just keep offering your little man the sippy cup. I used gerber sippy cups for transition from bottles, they liked them the best, now they use anything i give them. Now they use anything I give them. Don't give up.

Davia - posted on 01/25/2011

We moved James (born 12/21) over to the sippy cup right after the first of the year. In the beginning, he didn't drink any of the milk we gave him in the sippy cup until we switched the kind of sippy cup we used. The Nuby Gripper sippy cup came with 3 different spouts (one that was like a nipple, a regular sippy and a straw). We started with the nipple first and then switched it out two weeks later without any protest.
My husband is a dentist and he says that for the most part bottle don't do damage UNLESS you let babies use them for longer than 2 years. After that, they can cause permanent spacing issues that can affect tongue placement, speech issues and decay. However, he also says (as well as my pediatric dentist brother-in-law) that delaying switching over to a cup makes it harder on the baby and the parent because developing preferences are a big part of becoming a toddler. So I would say you should be firm and don't be surprised if he doesn't drink a lot of milk to begin with, he'll soon understand that if he wants milk, the sippy cup is the only way he'll get it.

Jules - posted on 01/25/2011

I took my baby's bottles away recently, you just can't give in. It took all morning but I just kept offering the sippy and eventually she gave in and took the sippy. We have not had a botlle since, and no melt downs form getting the sippy either

Jennifer - posted on 01/25/2011

I was very nervous about this transition as well, but we had a very successful transition. So I will share what we did because my daughter would push her sippy away if it had milk/formula in it also and would want her bottle. The first thing I did was go to Target and buy the cheapest two handled cups they had (they have a silicone top and come in green/pink, pink/purple, and blue/green I think) she took to these easier since the material her mouth was on was the same as her cups. I then heated the milk in the cup for about 10 seconds in the microwave so it was not freezing cold and offered this to her instead of her bottle the night before her 1st birthday...very much to my surprise she took it and has not looked back. After a day or so of warming her milk we offered it to her cold and she drank it with no problem so we no longer have to take the chill off of it either now. Good luck with this everyone!

Kaara - posted on 01/24/2011

with my youngest son i started introducing sippy cups at about 6 months old, but he still takes his milk from a bottle.
my eldest son used his bottle as a comfort device till he was 4. he was only allowed to have it at bed time and it settled him down and he went to sleep with no problems, he decided when he was old enough to not use it any more. i have no problems with my eldest sons teeth, i just encouged him to brush his teeth morning and night usually when ever he had a bath so what ever mess he made could be easily cleaned up.

when you get right down to it if YOU dont feel that YOUR child is ready to give up the bottle dont push it, they will when they are ready.

Heather - posted on 01/24/2011

When my son was 12 months old we started using straw cups all the time.... he had a hard time with the sippy cups, LOVES his straw cups! He kinda treats it like a bottle but he can drink out of our cups when we are out! makes it soooo much easyer.... and his straw cup is no spill! i got them at walmart! best thing i ever bought for him!

Lorelle - posted on 01/24/2011

Why do the Drs insist that the babies be taken off the bottle at one year old?

Shandi - posted on 01/24/2011

I was told it's better to take the bottle away at one year old. My daughter was born in december 2009 too. She started taking a sippy at around10 months. We're starting her on straws soon.

If you find you're having trouble, they say repetition is key, just keep trying it. Or don't let him have the bottle, when he decides he's thirsty enough, he will drink from the sippy. Sounds cruel, but it worked for me

Kellie - posted on 01/24/2011

Don't you love all the struggles. We to are fighting the bottle cup transition. She drinks water out of a cup great but milk only a few sips and then she's done. As she is only 16 pounds at 14 months, I can not afford for her to not drink her milk/formula mix. So, she gets her bottle. She does not sleep with it in her mouth usually so I am not worried about her teeth. We have tried many brands of sippies. Dr. Browns, avent, nuby, playtex, gerber none have helped. We just keep trying. She only gets them before sleeping or if horribly fussy(hungry) and does not have free reign with them. As I have found with all things so far it will get better and she will switch when she is ready. Heck she fought the bottle til she was 9 months old. She still only drinks 4-5 ounces at a time.
So, I say just keep trying and it will happen. There are worse things.

Rafaela - posted on 01/23/2011

I'm going through the same thing, My girl turn 1 dec 19th and on her 1 year check the peditrician told me it is time to say bye bye to the bottle, I have bought all kinds of sippy cups, but she refuses to take them, I'm not planning on stressing over this, I'm gonna wait until she is 18 months to take the bottle away

Rena - posted on 01/23/2011

hi, my daughter turned 1 on dec 23 also, my dr has encouraged us to use sippies more. being that this is my 3rd child i have started using sippies that have the soft nipples. she seems to have no problem with those. everyonce in a while i will give her a bottle at night but she has transistioned well..Good luck... Just remember he is your child you know him best and every child is different. he will be ready when he is ready. But just remember it is not gonna hurt him if he cries. when he gets thursty he will take the sippy. my son was that way. (1st) child. it will work it's self out

Simone - posted on 01/23/2011

i still use bottles but one has a soft spout instead of a teat for water/ juice and the other is also soft tipped for milk shes 13 months now and excepted the change

Charlotte - posted on 01/23/2011

my baby still has his bottle for milk but has a sippy cup for squash and water. i tried introducing his milk in a sippy cup at breakfast time but he wasnt interested. however i think all baby still need their bed time feed in their bottle for a long time

Christina - posted on 01/22/2011

my doc is doin the same my lil gurl is 13 mo but havent took it away yet my spouce said to just throw them away so im not tempted and in two weeks she will forget about it but my granny says i need to do it when the moon is pointed at the knees so i dnt know either i usually only let her have a bottle at bed time and sippy through out the day

Kristy - posted on 01/22/2011

We began using the Gerber cups stage 1 and 2 when she was 5 months old. Now, she prefers no handles and she likes drinking water from a straw ( I believe those are Nuby) and her milk from the Playtex stage 3 cups. None of the ones we have used have leaked but if it is of concern, the Playtex have a snap lock on them so you know they are sealed.

Ashley - posted on 01/21/2011

you may actually need to try several different kind of sippy cups. When we first transitions our twin girls now 13 months we used Born Free sippy cups. They have a soft nipple like top. My girls would only drink out of these until we slowly started introducing other cups. Nuby is another favorite.

Jeni - posted on 01/21/2011

ive introduced the sippy cup to my 13 month old daughter and she takes it on occasion. Althoughshe has been ddealing with some nasty ear infections ove3r hte past few weeks. She dosent seem to want to drink milk out of a sippy ether. But i do offer it to her a few times a day with 1 cup juice and a=other with water. Down too 2 bottles a day. Slowly but surely.

Jessica - posted on 01/21/2011

Lorraine we use Avent.....have you tried them?

Lorraine - posted on 01/21/2011

hi there, my son was 1 on the 16th dec, and he is still drinking from his bottle, he will not drink from a sipping cup, I actaully can't find one that doesn;t leak, I gone through loads ,but they all seem to leak at the top and he gets so wet. if you know a good one let me know

Doneisha - posted on 01/20/2011

My son Edris turned 1 on Dec 16. I have been giving him the soft sippy for about 4months,but only with water and juice. But I do let him drink half a bottle of milk at home. But we have successfully excluded the bottle from day care. Take your time, every child is different and it is our job to nurture, not torture our children. You may be surprised he will throw it down when he's ready.

Vanessa - posted on 01/20/2011

I started giving my son a cup with just water in it about 5 months. Then started putting his milk in his cup.. He at first didnt know what to do with it but I am so glad I took the bottle away before he became too attached. Good Luck!

Jessica - posted on 01/20/2011

Thanks Ladies For All The Good Advice!!!! I Have Been Warming His Milk Up A Little In His Sippy Cup And He Is Starting To Take To It. I Haven't Went Cold Turkey And Stoped The Bottle But He Is Doing Better Then Before.

Kristy - posted on 01/20/2011

We began sippy cup training with water at 5 months and it was still challenging to get rid of the bottle. We began at 9 months offering formula in a sippy. She would sip a little from it and then push it away. We did this for 3 more months slowly taking away one bottle feeding at a time. We were down to just two bottles a day (first thing in the morning and at night before bed) Then we just took away the bottle all together. I made sure to implement the complete transition when I was off Christmas week. The nightime/dinner feed was a a slightly easier transistion, but it took several days for her to come to terms with getting her milk in a sippy in the morning/breakfast. She fought quite a bit, but once she realized that the bottles weren't coming back, she lost her fight, LOL. Now, a month later, she drinks both water and milk from a sippy cup and does just fine. I am glad we pushed her to give up the bottle; life is much simpler.



I want to mention that we give her water from a straw sippy cup and milk in a regular sippy cup. We use Playtex stage 3 for her milk. We also serve her milk room temp or at least with no chill to it. That helped us make the transistion a little easier.

Serree - posted on 01/20/2011

We started formula in sippy cups for our twins at 10 months starting with one in the afternoon and working up from there. They turned 1 on 12/9 and we stopped bottles all together on 1/1/11. Just start slow and he will get there soon. Good Luck.

Kristal - posted on 01/20/2011

Hi Jessica, I'm going through the same thing. My DD turned 1 on Dec. 1. I introduced the sippy cup to her at around 7 months. She took to it right away, but will only drink water out of it. She won't even drink juice from it, so she doesn't get juice. I tried 4 different sippy cups and one sippy with a straw. She gets 3 bottles of whole milk per day. The child care center tries every day at lunch, and I try on the weekends at lunch. Warm, cold, room temp. nothing works.

So, I said I'm not going to stress. I'll keep trying until about 15 months, then we'll stop cold turkey.

Ann - posted on 01/19/2011

we started a sippy cup with water around 6 months just to get used to it. when a year hit, it was no bottles, only sippy cups....she hasn't complained one bit. i would make the transition now and have a couple unhappy days instead of waiting until your little one is older - it might only be more rough the longer you wait.

Nicole - posted on 01/19/2011

We are struggling with the transition to bottle, too. My DD turned 1 on 12/29 and she is on whole milk but will not take it from the sippy cup. She will take water or juice/water from the sippy but has no interest in it with milk. I am happy she's taking the milk and will try keep trying to working on the sippy cup over the next few weeks. I was really beating myself up over this at first but then I realized she needs time to adjust and somethings just don't happen over night. Every child is different and this milestone just may take us longer. I stopped putting pressure on myself and a ticking clock on it - I will continue to help her grow and change and I know we'll get there when she's ready. Good luck to you! :)



PS - Also wanted to mention I give her the milk at room temperature which I think really helped with the transition ( because she was used to that temp with formula). I just sit the bottle out for about 30 mins before I give it to her or I will zap it in the microwave for 10 secs to take the chill off. It's not hot or even warm, but it's not ice cold and I think that made a big difference.

Candice - posted on 01/19/2011

I got my son off the bottle at 11 months and he uses a straw cup. BUT the past few night I've pulled a bottle out again to get him into bed at night. We have a lot of trouble getting him to bed before 10pm-11pm...so this week I am trialling giving him a bottle at bed and he's been in bed between 6-8pm 4 days this week! Maybe it was just a comfort thing. My mum works in childcare and I asked her about the bottle thing today. She said it's fine and normals for toddlers to have bottles when they turn one. By 2 they should be off in for sure..but she said for the next few months should be fine.

Joanie - posted on 01/19/2011

Don't get to stressed - he will change over eventually. Sometimes it takes several tries with different kinds of cups - try the cheapest first. Also have you tried a straw? Just a juice box - give it a squeeze so he can get the taste and he might get the idea. My 13 month old drinks from a straw most of the day, but has a bottle to settle for sleep. We both enjoy the cuddle time that comes with the bottle before bed so I happy to continue it for a bit longer. As long as he isn't sleeping sucking a bottle he will be ok. He'll get sick of it soon enough.