Have you tackled Potty training and bottle breaking?

Sarah - posted on 01/31/2012

OMG! You sound so much like me!!! It sounds like we have very similar children. I wish I could give you advice but I don't even know how to deal with the same issues. My 2 yr old still takes a bottle at bed, that's the only one she get now. I've tried many times to switch her over to a cup but she refuses. I can get her to drink a little bit of milk in a sippy cup some days. We use to give her a little bit of carnation instant breakfast with milk, that kind of got her to drink more milk from a sippy. I eventually started using more milk, less mix. I'm thinking about adding some back in as she's become very picky lately with what she eats. She refuses most things these days :( I'm still working on 'making stinky potty' instead of stink diaper. Every once in a while I will catch her making that face, and put her on the potty, she's gone a few times but the next day if i don't notice she will go in her diaper. I've tried the reward w/ a chocolate chip(i always said I'd never be that parent) Yeah that didn't work, just made her crazy hyper. I've now made up a sticker board, when shes uses the potty she gets to pick out stickers to put on the board. She gets 1 for pee, 3 for stinky.... she only has like 4 stickers? She still would rather go in her diaper and wait until it hurts to tell someone :( I hope you've had a better go at it than I have.

Karalyn - posted on 01/12/2012

I broke the bottle habit when my daughter was around 13 months. Then moved onto the sippy cup for about 6 months, and she now drinks out of regular glasses at feeding times, and uses a straw cup while playing or around town. We are currently in the potty training process, but she does tell me when she "tinks"... Every child is different, and breaks habits at different paces. Although I personally beleive a child should be off the botter around the age of one (my opinion) But all kids are different. Potty training on the other hand is difficult and can take a very long period of time to master... so dont be concerned with that so much =)

Erin - posted on 12/03/2011

My suggestion is try something new every two days and make it interesting like if you make sandwhiches make smilie faces on them.... and let her see how you eat.... Children mirror our habits... I have learned that with my two year old... he use to eat everything and is fussy... he still eats but its hard to get him to eat his dinner at night time... we have to bribe him and say if you want ice cream you got to eat your dinner... sometimes that works....I have made meatballs with veges in them if your child don't like veges... My son seems to like them that way...and at least he getting his veges... it hard to give your advice.... So I hope that some of my suggestion will help...Just tell her that you will only give her milk if she trys something new... I know we can't stave our children...but if she gets hungry she might eat...

Teira - posted on 12/02/2011

My son will be two in 6 days and he does not like wearing pampers, so i started potty training him. He is not completely potty trained but he is pretty close. He's been off the bottle for a year.

Jessica - posted on 11/30/2011

I took my sons bottle away at 1. And as for potty training hes not getting it yet. I tried recently but i;m gonna try in a couple more months. He doesnt care what so ever if he is wet or dirty.

Autumn - posted on 11/29/2011

my daughter will be two 2 marrow and she doesnt tell me when she has to potty she tells me when she poops but yea thats it i think the bottle was gone at about a year and 6mths maybe a little sooner not too sure i knoe pacis are soo hard and bottles to take away

Precious - posted on 11/27/2011

So you have a Sept 2009 baby. Well I have a 6 yr old, a 3 yr old and a April 2010 aka 19 month old. For my youngest, the 19mo old, well she's been completely off the bottle since 5 months old, and completely off the sippy cup and diapers since her 12th month old bday. I just told another mother my motto is out of site out of mind. Sometimes you have to do the "I'm the mommy and I said so" tactic. It hurts but you have to stay strong. If you fall back the child will know you are weak, therefore making it easier for them to keep what they want and the next time you try to break them it will be even harder than the first time. I did this with all three of my kids they are healthy, smart, and very very happy. There is nothing wrong with saying no and meaning it. Also make sure that family and friends are going along with you in this process. One thing i hate the most is people going against my motherly wishes-it make parenting harder than it should be. You need to stop cold turkey, your baby will forget about it within 3 days, out of site out of mind. That goes with EVERYTHING, even potty training. Give her panties for 3 days, offer her the potty every hour, even at NIGHT. Get an alarm clock. Let her use the potty when you and your hubby and her siblings use it. Even if she just went. Give her yummy treats while she sits on the potty and take it from her if she refuses to sit on the potty. You must be the potty!!!!

Kimberly - posted on 11/25/2011

My son is going to be 2 dec 27th. hes a very picky eater. his pediatrician said dont force what he wont eat but try to offer it every so often. he went thru a stage where all he would eat it pb and fluff, or mac n cheese with green beans. as long as they arent losing weight my dr said not to be concerned

Hope - posted on 11/22/2011

My son is almost completely potty trained, just on the underpants part! He only takes a bottle at night time before bed, besides that he wants to literally try everything we eat now...funny because he was really picky up until recently. I would say some tough loving is in order, I know mom's don't like it but trust me- like a bandaid! Just take it away cold turkey, much like you'd do with a pacifier. For the pickyness: I'd suggest letting her get involved in the kitchen a little, that's what worked with my son :D

Kelsey - posted on 11/17/2011

my may 2009 baby girl is potty trained and bottle broken

Jo - posted on 11/16/2011

We are potty training, but with mom dad and both grandparents instead of being on it we are being very inconsistent especially with overall attempts since we have individual ways and techniques very different from each other. She has been going potty since this summer/early spring but not regularily and the gparents insist on puttingher in diapers still. As for the bottle, I had it almost gone but the grandoarents gave it back and now she hauls it with her

Lynn - posted on 11/15/2011

my baby was off the bottle at 12 months except for nap and nighttime. before she turned two she stopped wanting it altogether. Now I have a hard time getting her to drink milk at all. I give her plenty of cottage cheese, kraft cheese and yougut to supplement her calcium. Kids are so different!

Wendi - posted on 11/15/2011

Swapping from bottle to sippy cup went fairly easy.Our son swapped to the soft spout sippys first went on a teething binge when we tried to swap him to the hard spout but that did not take till after he ws done growing in 4 teeth then went to hard spout and now will not take any of the soft spout unless he is just exhausted tired and then its like three sips and he is out like a light.

Michelle - posted on 11/14/2011

I had my daughter potty trained within one day. I am not big on giving my daughter sugar or candy. So when she potties, I give her 1 m&m.. She just loves this, and is happy to go potty for the treat. It has worked wonders for me, and even after one day, I just have to use pull ups at night.

Nichole - posted on 11/14/2011

my 2 year old hasn't had a bottle since he was one, but because of his developement delay [17q12 duplication] potty training is going to be late.

Jerica - posted on 11/14/2011

Both of my children were broke of the bottle at 1, my son because he ran out of formula a week before his birthday, and my daughter was a little after..maybe a week or two. I hated the sight of a child walking around with a bottle or a pacifier in their mouth-I also cut her paci down to just naps and bed..when she got in the bed, she got it and when she woke up she left it. It also helped to give them pediasure-or its cheaper equivalent- warmed up in a sippy cup. They loved it and still do. And you can choose between vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, not just plain milk. They only get one per day..usually when they wake up-they get their pediasure and I get my coffee! I think this will also help her to want to eat more solid food. Be consistent with the food. Offer it to her every time and eventually she will start eating more different foods. With m y 4-year-old we have implemented a no-thank-you-bite, so he takes one bite and if he doesn't like it he doesn't have to eat anymore of it. This has helped with him, but my 2-year-old doesn't get the concept yet lol. Also, if she sees you eating the things you offer to her, it will encourage her to do the same.

Amanda - posted on 11/14/2011

Parker was 2 on the 7th, he was off his bottles before a year because he took an interest in the sippy cup. we were already on solids and milk so it worked for us. He was off the sippy cup before 2 and onto cup cups, i have these little plastic mugs that he LOVES because they have a handle on them, wont drink from anything else! hes also potty trained.. turns out he wont pee in underware with his fave action heros or cartoons on them! He wont eat everyting, but there isnt much he wont try., He doesnt have a huge appetite though and for 26 months hes only 25lbs. we never left a size 3 diaper! Every child is different, as well as he does with everyting else.. he will still use a soother for bedtime.. not for naps, but until he falls asleep he has one. he spits it out and it never leaves his room, but its still there. In the morning he comes out and you'd never know he had one, but for now, thats my biggest losing battle!

Nicole - posted on 11/12/2011

My little man broke the bottle in one day on his own at 6 months old. We went to Walmart one day and I bought him a sippie cup to ty the next day. I tried to feed him his bedtime bottle and he wouldn't take it..... I had to put the milk in the sippie cup in order for him to take it and he hasn't had a bottle since. He is almost 3 and we are in the beginning to middle stages of potty training. He is doing well with pooping on the toilet, but still has to work on the peepee in the toilet. He does better with nothing on than he does with a pull up on. He still pees so much at night that we have to have him in a diaper and even that is super full in the mornings.

Sharie - posted on 11/10/2011

my daughter is 2 and a half she is potty trained fully at home and when we go out but not when i drop her off at daycare or the church nursery. i took her off the bottle at 12mos

Ali - posted on 11/10/2011

Wait, the bottle should be stopped at 1 year old. At least that's what I was told. We just did it cold turkey. lol We did get him the sippy cups made for 6 month olds and would give him juice in those a couple times a week when he was 6 months to 1 year.

Antoinette - posted on 11/09/2011

Caroline Ender: my son gets diarrhoea from fresh cows milk but is ok on UHT and powdered milk, you could try refilling a formula can with Whole Milk Powder to get your son to switch to milk - I don't know about where you are but milk powder is cheaper than fresh here.



Also as a clarification and update since my first post back in July my son (now 26mos) breastfed exclusively till 6mos then till 10mos was essentially still only breastfed as I would try him on foods and he was not interested. At 10mos he got sick for about a week and wouldn't breastfed but finally took a bottle after about 3 days (he hadn't ever taken one before then). I expressed for about a month before I was just too tired to find the time to do it (my daughter is only 8 months older than my son and I am a solo mother). He was well over 18mos before he would eat much more than yoghurt, kumara/sweet potato and banana so was perhaps a little slow on the eating front but I don't believe it has affected his development in any way..He's huge! Lol :) He was walking (more like running) at 10mos. He speaks in 3-6 word sentences in English and 2-4 word sentences in Maori (NZ native language - although like Spanish some Maori words are the English equivalent of 2-3 words).



He will sometimes go potty on the toilet if I put him there, but he's more interested in playing with the toilet paper and flushing than what he may or may not have done on the toilet.



He can and usually does drink out of a normal open cup, reserving bottles for sleep times and since July has cut his bottle intake in half to about 1litre/24hrs.



He can't dress himself, not for lack of trying but smooshing his shirt front together still doesn't make his buttons do up but it is very cute that he thinks he will :P and he can get slip on shoes and boots on by himself.



All in all I'm proud of my little man and love him to bits!

Ebony - posted on 11/09/2011

Honestly, getting her off the bottle was easy. She loves drinking out of her sippy cups and regular cups as well. We've made some head-way with potty-training once we found she prefers to sit on the toilet with her Dora toilet seat, rather than the potty. The issue we're having is actually getting her to let go of her "binky." She just turned 2 Oct. 21st and she speaks very well and clearly, so I think it's time to let go of the binky.

Becky - posted on 11/08/2011

Weaning off the bottle was easy peasy. She can now drink from an open cup but most of the time she gets a sippy cup. She just turned two when I took the bottle away. (My first born was 13 months when I weaned her off the bottle)

I started potty training just when my daughter turned two and it's going slow. Hubby not on consistency band wagon yet. She will sit on the potty for a bit each time but nothing happens....

ErikA - posted on 11/05/2011

So i breast feed both kids but Channing my 1st did get a bottle for Dad feedings he wanted to bond. Annslee wouldn't take the bottle at all so that was out of the question. So for my son when he turned 1 I just threw out all bottle and handed him a sippy cup that looked like a bottle. That worked after a few very hard days. Throwing the bottles out was more because I knew I would give in and give him one. As for potty training I was blessed both kids were done a few months after their 2nd birthday. That was because they were willing to. I started to introduce the potty at 18 months and didn't push it till they started to ask. I also didn't reward other than praising their big kid behavior. We started with before bath time going and if they woke up dry they went to the potty with a book. Some times it took 1 minute others 15. I was willing to sit and talk to them about anything and everything kids friendly. Another big thing is that friends their age were also potty training at the same time. Big part for my kids is they wanted to be potty trained they wanted big kids under pants and that was the only way they got them. Oh and when I was getting them fully potty trained I let them run around in just under pants and the kid potty was always near their play area. They always waited till they couldn't hold it anymore. The underpants only was when friends were not around... it only lasted for about a week. Good luck. As for eating habits my son is super picky and my daughter I have a feeling is going to be a vegetarian with the exception of chicken and fish. My son is 4 and still wants warm milk when he wakes up in the morning. The doctor I go to said my kids are healthy and they will eat when they are hungry. So i have 2 snack areas with in there reach. 1 is in the fridge with carrots and fruit ect. In the pantry they have crackers and nuts (no allergies thank god) They are all portioned and i never put enough in 1 spot to fill them for the day. Good luck my 2 year old is head strong and I feel for you. Do what you can and don't question yourself. You know your child and you are doing your best for her.

Lisa - posted on 11/03/2011

my son was born september 17 2009 i had him off the bottle at 10 months he never really took a binky but potty training is gunna be the worst.

Caroline - posted on 11/02/2011

My son Luca turned 2 on the 21st and I am having a hard time getting rid of the dummy and bottle....I also had the idea in my head that I would chuck the both by the age of one but he got really sick around that time and the only way we could get him to eat/drink anything was with a bottle....he is really smart, talks in full sentences in both English and Spanish, he can tell me exactly what he wants and although he understands that his dummy is for sleeping only and he is not allowed to play with it in his mouth or try and speak with it, he runs into the house from Nursery school or being out and jumps into bed to have his dummy....I feel so awful wanting to take that little comfort anyway from him! Its not like he is going to walk down the aisle with his dummy in his mouth...bottles, hmmmm he asks for one when he wakes up in the morning and when he goes to bed at night, who am I to take that away from him?? My Paediatrician says he needs half a litre of milk products a day, he hates cows milk and begs me for formula...he even tries smuggling it in the shopping trolley....bit stuck really???
Potty training I have read and come to believe must happen when the child is ready and asks you to assist them to do it, never around a big chnage like a new sibling, a house move or the start of school or nursery. My son understands what the toilet is for, he likes to stand with his dad and pretend to wee, or sit on his potty, and he tells me when he is doing a wee or poo in his nappy but refuses to use the toilet and if I take his nappy off he will pee on the floor! Any suggestions??

Danielle - posted on 10/29/2011

Yes, I've tackled it.She's been off the bottle for a few months, and it was super easy, sometimes she'll lay with a tipsy cup, now we just need to break her from her binky habits.

No potty training yet, your baby girl is still probably not ready to use the potty and she'll break the bottle soon, just give her tipsy cups full of warm milk.

Melissa - posted on 10/28/2011

My suggestion is to tackle one thing at a time. I would start with the bottle. It is in my opinion that if you keeps giving her the bottle shes gonna keep asking for it. My kids personally were off the bottle the week before/ after they turned one. The longer you let them have it the harder it is to break. I understand your worry about her being nurished, but its not healthy for her to still have a bottle. So if she goes without something to drink, so be it. If she gets thirsty enough, she will try a sippy cup! Call me mean or what you want, but with my kids they either eat the food I have made them or they will be hungry. Eventually they will eat what is on their plate because they won't get anything else until they eat their meal. Kids even at a young age know when they are going to get their way from their parents. But as a parent we have to stand our ground so we can keep them healthy and happy. Having a bottle still is not healhy for her teeth, her emotional development, and Im sure is not helping her to have an appatite so she will eat her meals. Please don't take this as criticism, I am only telling you what I have learned with my kids. She will cry, but you have to be strong and see the bigger picture. With my kids, I learned my lesson early on about giving milk without a meal. If milk is given between meals, they won't eat their supper bc milk is very filling. I would suggest waiting a month after she is off the bottle before trying to potty train, to give her enough time to adjust to not having a bottle. I've found it makes the transition easier. Good Luck!

Ashley - posted on 10/27/2011

My son is 2 years old and my daughter is 8 months, Jacob was off the bottle at 10 months he saw his cousins with a sippy and he wanted it. Addyson is following in his footsteps and prefers a sippy cup. Jacob now only uses a proper cup and is completely potty trained. I do not agree with letting children hang on to bottles/ pacifiers for long after a year old because it is harder on them in the long run. However EVERY child is different and do things in their own time forcing anything will be more detrimental.

Kaci - posted on 10/27/2011

My son Abel will be 2 in January, he has been off his bottle since his 1st birthday we planned on taking the paci away too but a mouth injury put that off a couple months but as soon as he healed it was bye bye paci i found it easiest for us if all the packs and bottles were thrown away. That way I couldn't give in and it was no problem. I have a feeling potty training will be. Lil difficult dice our boys not a big talker and doesn't seem to notice when he uses the bathroom but it will come in it's own time.

Katherine - posted on 10/25/2011

Danielle Warner you could have done without the criticizing, it's not nice to say 2 year olds look weird with a bottle.

Katherine - posted on 10/25/2011

Elizabeth, I have been trying to ween my child off the bottle since before one, because medical professionals told me they have to go, stop giving them to her, just throw them away. Every time I went to the dr they acted like I was a bad mother for not getting her off of it. She stopped the formula at 12 months though. My daughter drinks from a cup, but she still wants a bottle about 4 times a day. I have had so many women look at me in public like I am a bad mother for giving her a bottle. I finally threw away her bottles and guess what she ended up dehydrated and in the er. My daughter is 25 months now and still takes her bottles, especially when shes tired. She is fully potty trained, no diapers and no accidents in the day time or night. She speaks full sentences and can count and say her abcs. I am proud of her, she is very smart and if her bottles are the worst thing she does, then so be it. It is frustrating at times but she is so well behaved that I don't mind too much anymore. She will be done when she is ready.

Antoinette Lewis-Clarke, totally good point. Some women do extended breastfeeding, is that wrong if a bottle at 2 is wrong? Thanks for bring that up!

Marji Franklin, my daughter has horrible eating habits also. She may only eat one thing a day and I don't consider her portions to be a "meal". She also has limited things she likes. I know it is frustrating but if she is growing good then try not to be worried. What I do with my daughter is take something she likes, for example she loves mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, yogurt... stuff like that. I put extra fruit in her yogurt, and with the mac n cheese I do things like add tiny bits of broccoli that she doesn't notice. With the mashed potatoes you can mash up just about anything else and put in there. Also if she is under weight or something, try adding a spoon full of sour cream to her favorite meals. You can add it to just about anything! Also my daughter started on her own asking for cheese before she goes to sleep, nap or bedtime and it fills her up like a milk or formula bottle would. With the potty, we went out and bought her a doll that pees. That is how she started going on the potty. Then make sure you let her see you go pee too. Poop takes longer to get them to do though!

Karyn - posted on 10/23/2011

Wow sounds exactly like my daughter. She is 26 months and still wants that bottle! I can't get her to go to sleep without it and the same here, she asks for it 3 or 4 times a day, when she is home. When she is at daycare or with her father she doesn't have a bottle at all or ask for it, until of course she comes home. Her eatting habits are terrible too. She eats very few meats and veggies, she loves her fruit but thats about it. Very picky! but the dr said she is totally healthy so i'm not going to worry too much right now. I wish you luck!!

Maegan - posted on 10/23/2011

My son Hunter will be 2 on the 12th. He also still has to have his milk warmed. not interested in potty training

Maegan - posted on 10/23/2011

My son Hunter will be 2 on the 12th. He also still has to have his milk warmed. not interested in potty training

Carly - posted on 10/23/2011

god i feel so ucky. my daughter had her last bottle on the night before her 1st birthday and we have never looked back. she did look longinly at my friends younger kids bottles for a while but now she is not bothered by that at all. she has just started to get me a nappy and brings me the wipes to get her bum done and i think this is her telling me its dirty/wet but she doesnt verbally say much about it yet but some times i get a mumbled "bum" she was 20 month on 22nd oct. she has been fussy about her food the past few days but think she has had a bug as she normally eats like a horse and i cant get my food for her stealing it normally. hope you find some solutions soon!

Amber - posted on 10/23/2011

It was really good to hear that a lot of people haven't potty trained I was worried because Rafe hasn't started yet, he'll sit there but not too interested in it. The bottle and binki were gone at 1 year because its horrible for their teeth and I'm not going to risk it for the world, but otherwise I think we've mostly hit all of our milestones =)

Tonya - posted on 10/22/2011

the potty i have not got it down yet need help there but with the bottle I have I broker her out of that at 6 months I let her drink from my cup and showed her how with some hlep and she loved it because she thinks she is big like her sis

Leanne - posted on 10/22/2011

I haven't had the chance to experience the breaking habit with kids, my son cut himself on everything on his own. last time he had a bottle was when he was 8months

13322 - posted on 10/20/2011

I gave my 2 babies no options they were off of the bottles when they turned 1 and the other was 10 months older I woke up one day and said to my husband and said that our daughter is 1 and she is done with the formula and now its time to be done with the bottle and now its time to start the drinking from a cup so we went and got straws and dixie cups and juice boxes and now they refuse baby stuff grandma's house only has sippy cups and they throw fits if grandma makes them drink from baby cups they are big kids like their big brother and siste. Yes there was a few days of crying for the bottle and I had to stay strong and we did and I am so happy we did I see my niece who is 2 and still on the bottle it looks weird

Nikki - posted on 10/19/2011

I broke my son Logan on his 1st birthday, bc I was nervous that if I didnt he wouldnt stop using the bottle. What we did, was we went to target and bought a sippy cup that looked like a bottle and had a half nipple, and it worked! it is made by nuk, you should try that and just see if she goes for it.. Im still working on the potty, my son turned two October 1st.. good luck

Alison - posted on 10/19/2011

My Son is 2.5 and I took his bottle away from him when he was about 16 months old. The Pacifier was a bigger deal and that was just 3 months ago that I took that away. Potty Training is starting in the right direction. He will pee in the potty if you take him in there and he has started to tell me when he is dirty, so it can only go up from there!!

Ella - posted on 10/15/2011

My twins are 21 months and neither of them will stop drink their "bubbas" on the other hand one is a boy and ones a girl so my little girl zoey is potty training now but her brother is not!

Ella - posted on 10/15/2011

My twins are 21 months and neither of them will stop drink their "bubbas" on the other hand one is a boy and ones a girl so my little girl zoey is potty training now but her brother is not!

Leigh - posted on 10/14/2011

i have a july 2009 baby and she is almost fully potty trained bedtime and naptime are our hardest! and she was bottle broken at 10mths. shes moving on to big girl cup now! and she is addicted to waffles and hotdogs!!!! she loves salad to but only if im eating it! my advice is start warm milk in sippy cup! thts how i did mine! goodluck!

Kristin - posted on 10/12/2011

My daughter turned two in July and she was drinking out of a sippy cup but she liked the bottle better so I just took her bottle away one day and got all of them out of the house she was upset but she forgot all about it in a day or so, I think it was the best way to do it out of sight out of mind.

Fayette - posted on 10/12/2011

Jared is 2 and does not drink bottle anymore, but i struggle to potty train!! he refuses to sit on the pot!! hehehe

Tomashia - posted on 10/11/2011

dont worry some babies are picky eaters. its best though that you switch her from bottles to sippy cups and even if she might not eat certain foods still put it on her plate. Sometimes if you mixed the foods they like with the foods they need they dont even notice that their eating it. My son loves juice and rice, but wont drink water or eat broccoli.... so i always dilute his juice with atleast half water and mix rice and broccoli together.... he never refuses and it makes me happy he is getting what he needs... i am still struggling with potty training but what i have been repeatly told is to not force them because they will potty when they are ready and make it fun... i hope i helped some what... and try not to get stressed out

Sarah - posted on 10/11/2011

give her a sippy cup they are basically a glorified bottle. My son eats poorly too but you need to do whats best for your little girl. Having a bottle at age two can really mess up a childs teeth. As for the potty that is something that will come in time. My son knows how to use the potty but he chooses not to because he doesnt want to. Thats not something you can force her to do. And when you break her of the bottle throw them all away so nomatter how bad she wants one you cant give her one because if you do you will go back to square one. When she gets thirsty enough she WILL drink from the sippy cup she just doesnt want you to know it

Jenny - posted on 10/11/2011

We havent tried potty training yet, but we have gotten rid of the bottle shortly after she turned 1 but she still likes her warm milk in a sippy cup at bedtime. Sometimes she wakes up still 2 or 3 times a night