At what age do you stop giving bottles?

Shannon - posted on 03/29/2010

I'm still working on cutting my daughter off the bedtime bottle. I moved it to 30 minutes prior to bath and give her a sippy cup between bath and bed. Some nights she forgets about it and others she asks for it, but she also thinks bedtime is playtime. So, we rock for a little while then we put her in bed with some stuff animals. Sometimes she crys and others she plays quietly. Either way, I don't mind because she eventually goes to sleep. I think the important thing is to stick to a routine and only make changes gradually. If we stick to the rountine it more nights quietly putting herself to sleep than crying.

Michelle - posted on 03/28/2010

My son is 15 months and he still has a bottle of milk to go to bed, he has his bath, get him in his bed clothes and he has his bottle, we watch cbeebies bedtime shows and snuggle on the sofa! then he's in bed at 7.

Kim - posted on 03/27/2010

My son hasn't had a bottle since he turned one. He has a cup of milk in the morning with his breakfast, then one at bed time just sitting quietly.

Jeanne - posted on 03/22/2010

My twins also loved their night time bottle. At first I tried to wean them off of, starting around 12 months, by cutting their bedtime bottle down from six ounces one night, to 4 ounces a couple of nights later, etc. But when we hit 3 ounces, they just got mad that I wasn't giving them enough. So I went cold turkey and loaded them up with milk at dinner. It took a little trial and error finding a sippy cup they would actually drink milk out of, but we found a winner in the ThinkBaby trainer. It has a soft rubber nipple similar to a bottle and they took to it right away. Good luck with your twins. And if you ever get stressed, just remember, we all kicked the bottle at some point.

Samantha - posted on 03/22/2010

My 15 month old drinks from a bottle before going to bed. I was brought up like this, same as my brother, my husband, his family, and we never had a problem with our teeth. Its only if you give juice in a bottle that it rots teeth. I am in no hurry to take my babies bottle away. They need some sort of sucking comfort to go to sleep, its just nice. Having a snuggle and a warm milk, what better way to go to sleep? I think 2 is a better age for us. :)

Ramona - posted on 03/21/2010

Right now my son who was a preemie takes three bottles a day. One after breakfast, one after lunch to go down for his nap and one at night to sleep. The seven weeks that he spent in the hospital got him hooked on his bottles being warmed and he still is that way. A week ago he was taken off of formula and put on pediasure since he is underweight. I haven't tried yet getting him to drink his pediasure from his sippy cup but I will work on that.

Melanie - posted on 03/20/2010

Milk (cows) does not rot teeth, its the juice and sweet drinks that do with bottles

Melanie - posted on 03/20/2010

Hi, my son is nearly 15 months but will only drink milk from a bottle. Water he will drink from a cup!

Tonia - posted on 03/19/2010

We broke our son from his bottle starting at 9 months. By the time he was one year, he was completely broken. Our ped. told us that if you wait till after they are a year old, they have "object permanance" and know that the bottle is still there even after you take it. My son was very easy to break. We started giving him a sippy cup with meals, then gradually sippy cups through the day, and he never gets anything to go to sleep because it is not good for his teeth. I usually don't give him anything to drink after 7 unless we eat late for some reason. If I do, it is just water because he won't drink much of it. Hope this helps!

Kara - posted on 03/19/2010

i let my kids break them selves. my 3 yr old still takes one at night... and my one yr old takes one all day... i feel they will let you know when they are ready

Tarina - posted on 03/18/2010

I switched Chase from bottle to cup over a period of 2 months from 11-13 months, cups during meals and one bottle of water only at night - never juice or milk cuz of what it can do to his teeth. At 13 months, we simply packed up the bottles. He didnt fuss or cry about the changes - just dont forget to put the little plastic thingee inside the lid to regulate the flow! my babysitter forgot that once... holy crap! haha.

Lisa - posted on 03/18/2010

Emma stopped taking a daytime bottle around 12-13 months. She used a bottle at bedtime up until this last Saturday, and now she uses a sippy at night time, so she's still getting her nighttime milk. We used to use the bottle so she could soothe herself to sleep, but she stopped that a few months ago so we were just giving her the bottle "just because"...so we altered our routine, and she doesn't seem fazed in the least bit.

Natalie - posted on 03/18/2010

Hi - I have 15 month old twins who still both have a bottle at bed time. They do not fall asleep on the bottle however which did used to happen we then changed their routine and gave them a bottle downstairs before going to bed. It took time for them to get to used to this routine (approx 2 weeks) but they did eventually soothe themselves to sleep. We now have no problem at all putting them to bed. It's worth a go changing the routine / environment. Good luck!!

Tabitha - posted on 03/18/2010

my son is 14 months n he wont sleep through the day but still wants bottels all day ..and if i give them to him he just pins them than wont sleep or eat normal food..it drives me crazy lol

Chelsea - posted on 03/17/2010

my son kasen has always went to bed w/ a bottle and i broke him of the habit about 2 weeks ago. i just let him cry himself to sleep for a few nights and gave him a teddy bear instead. it is bad for their teeth.

Justine - posted on 03/17/2010

If your baby's using a sippie cup thru the day already, they should be just fine @ night:) And my opinion is give it to them before bedtime, not with them in the crib..just another habit you'll have to break (and more mess to clean lol). Once they know how to use the cup, you're in the clear! Quitting bottles cold turkey was the way to go for my girls. It seems like it might be a big thing, but once you do it, you'll think, that's it?! I've had my 15-month-old triplets off the bottle now for 3 months and we had zero problems. I know all kids/parents are different, but my #1 piece of advice is once you try something new, don't look back:) It's all about routine and keeping things consistent...good luck:)

Shiralee - posted on 03/17/2010

I stopped giving my daughter a bottle a week before she turned 1. She has a sippy cup for milk and a seperate one for water. My daughter is on full cream cows milk and has 2 a day. First one in the morning about 6.30am and one about 5.30pm. She goes to bed at 7.30pm and does not have milk to go to bed. She does take her water to bed with her.

Kim - posted on 03/17/2010

I started introducing sippy cups at about 8 or 9 months, the kind with the soft rubber tips. I'd just hand it to her and let her figure it out over time but not force it. At meal time/snack time, I'd give her watered down juice and she liked that so she would drink from her cup. My daughter was still on formula until 12-13 months so she continued to have her bottles for the nutrition as we blended more and more milk in. By 13 months, we were off the formula and only drinking milk so it was all sippy cup all the time. I also never gave her a bottle in bed, just because I didn't want to worry about choking or the mess if the bottle drips all over LOL. So, that wasn't a problem. She still gets a binky at bed times so that's another issue entirely LOL. I think that she figured out quickly she got more, faster from the cup than the bottle so she gave it up easily. Every child is different and some develop a real attachment to their bottles. The longer you wait, the harder it is. If you are ready to stop the bottles, you can start introducing the sippy cup during the day and only give a bottle before bed. Even adults have a hard time giving up something they like "cold turkey." You little one is not going to starve or lose out on nutrition if you don't let him have a bottle in the day time. Good luck to you!

Gerda - posted on 03/16/2010

My 15month old, also falls asleep with her bottle, but during the day she drinks from a straw cup, but she refuses to drink a sippy cup!

Lisa - posted on 03/16/2010

My daughter was off the bottle a couple of weeks before she turned 1. I know doctors recommend no more bottles at age 1, I took my daughter off because she didn't seem to care whether she had a sippy or the bottle. I decided it would be good to do it that way I would avoid her becoming attached. Statistics have shown that there is a time in a child's life where they are ready for the change and if you miss the window they end up latching on to it.

Kimberly - posted on 03/16/2010

I agree with Lynn S!!! My baby is still a baby! :o)

Kimberly - posted on 03/16/2010

I think it's OK--but few people seem to agree. My daughter is the same age as your twins, and still gets her bottle before bed and naps. I'd be willing to bet they will all be just fine and not have rotten teeth at any point!!!

Chevelle - posted on 03/16/2010

We made it! My daughter slept 11 hours last night- woke up happy this morning and drank her milk with breakfast in a sippy cup! Let's see if we do it again tonight! We still snuggled last night, on the couch with her blanket. Then she pointed to the door wanting to go night night... so sweet.

Auri - posted on 03/16/2010

at 13 months....

Lynne - posted on 03/16/2010

im in no hurry to stop bottles, she has one in the morning and one at night, all snuggled up like a newbie, shes still a baby and i enjoy the mummy cuddles

Chevelle - posted on 03/15/2010

Thanks Ladies, this site is helping me already! I realized with her being so good about eating regular meals, maybe I was over-concerned with her milk intake... so today I just gave her sippy's with milk with each meal and she was in bed at her normal time, 8:30 without a hitch! She didn't drink a lot of milk, but she did drink some with all three meals. Now we'll see if she sleeps all night... fingers crossed...

Beccie - posted on 03/15/2010

Same here, my 15 month old still has 1 bottle at bedtime. He drinks from cups throughout the day, and has done since he was about 6 months old, but has cows milk in a bottle as part of his bedtime routine. He will have that, then have cuddles for 10min then bed. I keep wondering if I should stop it now, but then I think I dont see anything wrong with it if it is the only 1 a day they are having, and if they will take a cup through the day. I will probably stop this when he is about 18months, otherwise he may get too attached to it x

Sarah - posted on 03/14/2010

Chevelle - Sounds like my daughter. She has never had a pacifier but the bottle seems to be her comfort thing, but I only give it to her at night. Where my son has his pacifier and his blankie and could care less about a bottle. So I guess at long as my daughter wants a bottle at night I am ok with that.

Jessica - posted on 03/14/2010

Laci stopped using the bottle at 12 months, she only took a night time bottle. Then, she got completely off the night time bottle shortly after that, then relapsed and went back. By the time she was 14 months, she was completely off the bottle. She still has to have a sippy of milk before bed, so there's not much difference.

Chevelle - posted on 03/14/2010

My daughter (15 months) drinks water or juice out of any kind of sippy/straw cup, but will not drink her milk except from a bottle! I only give her a bottle in the evening and try different sippy cups at breakfast and lunch... she'll take a few sips, but that is it. If I give her a bottle she will drink at least 6 oz. If she gets enough milk, she sleeps all night... if not- she's up in the middle of the night and only a bottle will do (she pushes away anything else). I guess I just feel like eventually she will grow out of it? It's not like she walks around with a bottle- she just prefers her milk that way. She has never used a pacifier either.

Cherie - posted on 03/14/2010

i stopped giving my son a bottle since he was between 9 and 10 months. he's 15 months old now. he started his sippy cup a 6 months and now only gets milk from it. he gets juice from the toddler cups made with a straw

Angel - posted on 03/14/2010

If your little one(s) don't want a sippiy you can always try a streaw cup like I did...Domanic wouldn't take a sippy cup either but loved the straw...he always saw mommmy and dadddy with drinks that had straws so I guess he felt like a big boy! ♥

Amber - posted on 03/13/2010

my son started at 9mnths with his sippy during the day bottle at night now he is almost 15 mths and only has his sippy

Lori - posted on 03/13/2010

I stopped on my daughters 1st birthday and she never looked back but of course I slowly transitioned her slowly with the sippy cup and with jars of food and cereal.

Becky - posted on 03/13/2010

My son threw his bottle away at 1year. He had been drinking out of a sippy cup since he was 7 months old, I also have a daughter that just turned two. He only had the bottle at night until he turned 1 and after he threw two away,they all went away.

Christi - posted on 03/12/2010

we stopped on his first birthday. he was already using sippy cups for juice and we just completely stopped him on formula and bottles on his first bday. the bottle fairy came and he got all new sippy cups.

Shannon - posted on 03/11/2010

I quit the bottle at a year, just gave her a soft top sippy and she was just fine with it. She still takes it to bed and Now I am trying to gt her to go to bed with nothing, NOT EASY! I think with baby number 2 I won't get into the habit of letting him take a bottle or cup to bed and avoid it all together!

Megan - posted on 03/11/2010

I took my son off at a year old, replaced the night time bottle with a sippy cup. It took him a few days to get use to it.

Lots-A-Smiles - posted on 03/11/2010

Mine's 14 months and she still won't take milk in her sippy cup...she'll throw it on the floor..but w/ a bottle she'll gulp it down in no time...I want her to get her vitamin D supplement for now, so if I have to do it w/ a bottle, bottle is what it's gonna be...

Sarah - posted on 03/11/2010

Well see I have the bad habbit of putting them in their high chairs with their last bottle and that is where they fall asleep and I put them in their cribs sleeping! I know bad habbit!

Angel - posted on 03/11/2010

My dec. 2008 baby Domanic never used a bottle, breast to a straw cup, but I think the same thing I was told will work for our situation as well.

Basically if the bottle or breast is used at this age to help them fall asleep they are still seeking comfort and relying on it to soothe them to bed. It's important to try breaking this habit asap. I would try feeding the bottle about 10 minutes before bed but then take it away when you actually lay her down...she will scream and cry for what may seem forever...that's okay though...she'll learn to fall asleep and soothe herself this way. The god news is that they learn within a week! Good luck!