Anyone taken the bottle away yet???

Michaela - posted on 03/17/2009

My daughter was one on the 9th Feb and she still has a bottle. She also has a sippy cup and I also give her a cup without a lid on so she can try it (with me holding it of course).

I wouldn´t worry about giving the bottle up just yet, they are still babies after all. Introduce a sippy cup and try to do both, so its not a shock when she does give the bottle up.

Dena - posted on 03/17/2009

I started w/ putting juice and water in sippy cups to get my 12 mth old used to it. After a few weeks he was just fine drinking his whole milk out of a sippy too !! Every baby is different...Try warming the sippy cup in a sink w/ warm water, my son was the same, didnt like how cold it was but after a few weeks he is just fine w/ it. W/ the transition of whole milk- I used 1/2 next step formula and 1/2 whole milk and slowly more milk til he would drink a whole sippy w/ it. Seemed to work well for us ! Hope this helps !! I definately am no expert !!

Leia - posted on 03/16/2009

Alexis is 13 months. She's been completely off the bottle since the beginning of January. She was down to three bottles at the beginning of December. I started by replacing the mid-day bottle first with a sippy cup with milk. When she was taking one cup a day easily, I replaced the first bottle of the morning in the same method. That took me my two week Christmas vacation. Then, in January, I had a four day weekend and decided to see if she would fall asleep without a bottle. I gave her a cup of milk and put her to bed. She went to sleep with no problem, and we haven't looked back since. Alexis doesn't wake up during the night unless she is sick and then doesn't demand a bottle to get back to sleep. I think that one of the things that made taking away her bottle easier was the fact that I got rid of her pacifier in November before we attempted to wean from the bottle. Hope you are successful. We are so happy now that bottles and pacis are gone!

Angel - posted on 03/16/2009

My son turned 1 February 21st and I had him bottle broke at 10months. I just started giving him the big boy cup with every meal and he never had a bottle at bedtime so it was easy. He is also the youngest of 4 so I think that helped he likes to try to do everything his sisters do and the kids at daycare. Just stick to it and some kids take longer than others!

Narelle - posted on 03/15/2009

Hi, My daughter Tannah still has one bottle at night before bed. She was 0ne on the 16th. I have been meaning to take the bottle away but she just really relaxes with it and enjoys it so much. She only drinks milk or water but doesnt really care what its in. I just changed her bottle for a cup and luckily she was fine. i do take the chill of the regular milk. I think that they are still only little and as long as you both are happy do what works for you. My first daughter Bella finished havind a 'before bed' bottle at two. She is nearly 8 and sh is fine.

Good luck. :)

Katie - posted on 03/15/2009

I told myself the same thing. My daughter wanted nothing to do with a sippy cup the first time we gave her one at 10 months. So we tried giving it to her again later, and all she would drink out of it was juice or water. By the time she was 12.5 months, all she wanted was her sippy cup. But we had been giving her little tastes here and there of whole milk so she knew what was coming. For a while there we had to warm the milk up a little bit, and then let her adjust gradually to the coldness of it right out of the fridge. But now, she's 13.5 months, and hasn't had a single bottle in about a month. and no formula at all either. It was hard at first, but she adjusted rather well. I know I didn't offer any good advice, but I wish you the best of luck!

Stephanie - posted on 03/15/2009

hey my daughter still has a bottle (cows milk) before bed and first thing in the morning. i just put it in the microwave for about 20 or 30 seconds before. she loves it after giving her cows milk for the first time she had a formula and she doesnt like formula now i suppose thats a good thing. kaci doesnt get on very well with a sippy cup all the time it comes out too fast for her so she ends up spiting it everywere.lol

Julie - posted on 03/14/2009

hi, i think whatever works for you is fine. my boy only has his bottle of milk in the morning and he loves it, he stopped himself  having the one before bed when he was ready and dinner was enough to carry him through until morning. maybe try knocking an oz off the bottle every few days so shes getting used to having less? have you tried heating the milk up for her? may work...

Sara - posted on 03/13/2009

My daughter actually took herself off the bottle for the most part, she gets one bottle a day and that is before bed. Otherwise milk/water are in her sippy cup. We did have a problem with her drinking the milk when we switched from formula to whole milk but our pediatrician said to switch to 2% since we have switched we have not had a problem with her not drinking milk. For her night bottle, I warm the milk just a little for about 15 seconds but during the day it's cold milk from the fridge.

Katy - posted on 03/12/2009

try nuking the milk in the microwave for a couple seconds. if its about 6-8 oz. try it for 15 seconds. my son still drinks milk from a bottle and doesnt like how cold it is either, so i place it in there for a couple seconds and he seems to do okay with that. hope that helps! as for the transitioning, there are still kids who have their bottle at the age of 2 for the morning or night and they say that is okay for them cause its a sense of comfort and security still. like a security blanket. dont feel bad that she still wants a bottle, even when she isnt feeling good, its a comfort thing, not bad parenting.

Pauline - posted on 03/12/2009

I'm still nursing my one year old.  She's never taken a bottle (I wish she would) but does drink out of a sippy.  She too doesn't like cow's milk, although drinks expressed breast milk in her sippy cold.  She will sometime drink cow's milk if it steamed.  You could certainly warm up the milk for her.  I'm curious why you feel so strongly about ending the bottle?  If she is only drinking from it at those times, I bet she'll give it up on her own and if not that much shouldn't be harmfull for her teeth (you could always switch the before bed bottle to water to address that concern). 

April - posted on 03/12/2009

My son didn't seem to mind when I just packed them all away and didn't give them anymore. He got weaned off the pacifier at 11 months, and bottles and formula about 11 1/2 months and he transitioned fine. We did have to try an array of sippy cups to find one that he would use though, and finally settled on the Gerber graduates for a few months. Now at 13 months he'll also take the Nuby ones too.

Shaunna - posted on 03/12/2009

My girl is 13 months now and has been off the bottle since 11 months. We hadn't planned on having her weaned this early, she was just done with it. Sometimes I think you have to follow their lead a little. We do struggle to get her to drink whole milk though. The doctor said to mix half formula/ half whole milk in a cup for her until she gets used to it, but she doesn't like the taste of her formula anymore either, so we struggle to get her to drink the minimum 8 ounces of milk in a day.

Tina - posted on 03/12/2009

When my daughter was 11 months old I started mixing regular milk with my breast milk so that she could get use to the whole milk.  When she turned a year old I quit breast feeding and we also just took away the bottle.  We put her milk in a sippy cup but we do still warm it up a little bit so it is not cold.  My daughter will not drink cold milk either.  For my daughter getting off of the bottle was more of a out of sight out of mind thing.  When we put away the bottles and she could not see them anymore then she was ok going to the sippy cup.  It was actually a pretty easy transaction.   I was kind of surprised at how easy the transaction was.  

Christine - posted on 03/11/2009

my daughter hated the bottle so she never took it she never took a pacifier and didnt suck on her finger makes me so glad she only takes cups with straws and nothing else she is a little diva

Mindy - posted on 03/05/2009

Quoting Becki:

We really wanted to have our son off the bottles by now, too (he'll be 1 on the 28th) but he wants nothing to do with sippy cups! He doesn't understand how to use them. He just tosses the cup around like it's a toy and laughs if anything leaks out on his high chair tray. I have also been concerned with, but our doctor told us to just keep offering the sippy cup and he'll eventually understand how it works. I agree with everyone, cleaning and preparing bottles is no fun!

I now use the sippy cups with the straw in them.  My daughter loves them.  She hated the sippy cups that you had to tip up.  Playtex makes the ones with the straws and they are BPA free. :)

Angie - posted on 03/01/2009

My son was off bottles totally by 11 months. Instead of giving him a bottle in the morning or before bed, we'd just hold the sippy cup for him. We started giving him his formula a little cooler each time until it was cold, then we gave him 1 ounce of milk with 4 ounces of formula and kept mixing in more milk until he was totally on milk and no more bottles were gone by then. We are still fighting the pacifier a little, but almost done. I really wanted that gone by year, but I guess one battle at a time is enough.

Maxine - posted on 02/28/2009

Hi there! I dont see a problem with them still drinking form a bottle in the morning and at night! My plan is to let her stop driking from the bottle gradually. Also my daughter has never been fussy about her milk temp, so i have no problem giving her whole milk if its all i have to give her. Though remember formula milk has got a lot more iron and other vitamins and is so much better in that way than plain milk! Try warming the cows milk up to make it closer to her normal bottles temp, or mixing it with some formula, so she gets the familiar taste with the new tatse!

Danielle - posted on 02/28/2009

My daughter was 12 months a week ago and she no longer has a bottle. She never had water or juice in a bottle only ever in a sippy cup. She had breast milk from a bottle up to about 11 and a half months and then I gradually (one feed a week) started giving her cow's milk but never from a bottle only from a sippy cup. Try different types of cups my daughter will only use certain cups for milk but will use any type for water during the day. Heat up the cow's milk if she doesn't like it cold my niece still has warm milk at bed time and she is 4 year old.

Amber - posted on 02/26/2009

My daughter drinks our of her sippy straw cup now, she mostly gave up the bottle on her own and prefers the straw cup. You can try warming up the milk a little at first and gradually give it to her colder and colder until she is used to it right out of the fridge. I would try to offer her the sippy cup with formula in it in the morning instead of the bottle if she doesn't take it at first dump it into a bottle but still every day offer her the sippy first. Good luck

Leslie - posted on 02/26/2009

I warm the whole milk just enough to take the chill off. It seemed to help. Also, we would mix formula and milk and slowly decrease the amount of formula.

Becki - posted on 02/26/2009

We really wanted to have our son off the bottles by now, too (he'll be 1 on the 28th) but he wants nothing to do with sippy cups! He doesn't understand how to use them. He just tosses the cup around like it's a toy and laughs if anything leaks out on his high chair tray. I have also been concerned with, but our doctor told us to just keep offering the sippy cup and he'll eventually understand how it works. I agree with everyone, cleaning and preparing bottles is no fun!

Jayne - posted on 02/25/2009

My daughter Zoe is still having a bottle on a morning and one before bed. I give her water from a sippy cup at mealtimes and sometimes still give her water from the bottle during the day. I find sometimes its easier from a bottle because she drinks so much water that she is still thirsty after drinking from the cup...as she hasn't mastered it properly yet!! I have decided not to worry about it too much and just do things gradually at zoe's pace...At this age, its not that urgent to get them off the bottle.

Sarah - posted on 02/25/2009

I had Sydney off the bottle completely about 2 weeks before her first birthday. I just decided I was finished cleaning them every day. I put her milk into a sippy cup and it took her probably 15 minutes to figure out what to do with it and we've never looked back. She's never wanted her bottle again after that. As far as not liking milk because of how cold it is, I warm Sydney's milk up in a measuring cup for 30 seconds and then pour it into her cup. Sydney's doctor told me that she is supposed to have less than 20 oz of milk a day so she gets an 8 oz cup of milk before nap and an 8 oz cup of milk before bed.

Kisha - posted on 02/25/2009

My twins take the bottles in the morning and at night. Other then that they use the sippy cup. They were weaned off formula with no problems. My son likes the whole milk better and my daugher is on Pedisure as she is tiny. I am determined to have them completely off the bottles within the next month or so

Candice - posted on 02/20/2009

At my son's school they no longer offer bottles after 1yr. In turn, at school they started to minimize the amount of bottles/formula and replace it with a sippy cup. In addition, at home we started earlier around 9-10 months only giving him a bottle to go to bed at night/then replaced it with a sippy cup after a few nights. By 11 months we were able to pack away all the bottles. At school even if he make a sign for a bottle (when he sees the smaller infants get a bottle) the teachers give him a sippy cup and he is content.

Aimee - posted on 02/20/2009

my daughter still has bottles but we've started using beakers during the day- i found the more expensive the cup the more likely she wont have it! have u eva tried getting juice out of the non-spill cups yourself!!!! its bloody hard!

so i picked up the cheapest ones i could find which doesnt have a valve n the milk jus comes pouring out....brilliant! I tried being tough and not giving her milk and juice apart from being in cups-and she jus wasnt drinking, so i backed down and put it in a bottle- the health visitors went nuts at me!!

but each kid is different and your kid will do everything in their own time!

luckily i'm not concerned about my daughter going onto normal milk cause when i was out the ova day i ran out of formula milk n i jus nicked sum out of my mates fridge n gave it her- 6 oz gone in 10 mins....but i actually think the cow and gate growing up milk would probably be healthier for my daughter...

Amy - posted on 02/20/2009

Hi. My daughter sounds pretty similar. We do 2 bottles/day. Morning and Night. We do whole milk and warm it a little by putting the bottle in a glass of hot water. She really loves those two bottles and asks for them, so I figure it's okay to keep for now. During the day all drinks come from a sippy. Good luck!

Melissa - posted on 02/19/2009

My twins will be 1 a week from today and are still on bottles. I tried to wean them off about a month ago but they both got colds and fluids were important so I backed off. I'm planning on starting again on Monday but am not really worried if they don't, my goal is by 18 months. As for milk, they took to homo milk right away but I warm it slightly to take the chill off and am gradually heating it less and less. Hope this helps!

Kim - posted on 02/19/2009

My son is 12 mos also... and the pediatrician told us to try to wean him from both formula and the bottle.... it's really tough b/c that's what we use to get him settled down before nap and bedtime. What I am trying for now is before naps, i make a sippy cup (the ones with the straw that comes out of the top) with about 5 oz of whole milk, and a scoop or so of formula- warmed up. He likes it! So, i am just gradually going to phase out the formula. Probably keep the bottle at bedtime for a little while though.... I just can't take that one away yet!

Ashley - posted on 02/18/2009

i did the same thing you did my son gets his bottle before bed and in the morning and he drinks out of a sippy any other time during the day. i actually kept my son on a next step formula because my son had the same problem with it being so cold plus it has more nutrients in it then regualr milk does.

Elizabeth - posted on 02/18/2009

My son only gets his bottle when he's not feeling well or has had a bad day, otherwise he takes the sippy cup with whole milk.  He's always been independent and the tippy cup makes him feel like a big boy rather than a baby so I think that's partly why he's partial to taking the sippy cup.  I won't completely take him off the bottle until he's 18 months, but wouldn't be surprised if he does it himself before then.  My doctor always says that they will tell you when it's time, but set a reasonable time period - ex. 18 months and even then the child should only be getting it before bed.  I also only have one of his itty 4 oz bottles for the middle of the night if he's really not sleeping well, otherwise he only gets a pacifier to  sooth him back to sleep since my doctor suggests that a child should be sleeping through the night by one year.

Good luck!

Sylvia - posted on 02/18/2009

my son will be 1 on the 28th and i too wanted him off  bottles by 12 months but it is really hard!he too still needs a bottle at nap time and bed time but he is starting to drink water and juice from his sippy cup,but he will not drink milk out of the sippy cup!when i started to give him homo milk he too did not like it cold so i just warmed it up a bit and now he loves it!he seems to prefer it over the formula,but his system still is getting use to it so i dont give him as much as he'd like!

Julie - posted on 02/18/2009

Hi Kasey, My son is pretty much the same, we do manage to have a sippy cup with our breakfast and with our lunch, we have juice in between, but the night bottle is still firmly in his grasp, and is going to be a hard one to pry away from him. I am not overly concerned at the moment, i think if we get to 15 months an he is still clinging to it i may start to get concerned.

I haven't even started to think about regular milk yet, we are using cow and gate 1yr plus milk, which is a good as. I wont worry about that just yet either. am i being to laid back about this?? My eldest was fully weaned off milk by a year, i am not to fused with Curtis though, in his own time lol

Dawn - posted on 02/18/2009

I felt the same way i wanted Alanna off the bottle by 12 months.  But now i see that she still needs it for naps, bedtime, and 1 or 2 still through night.  I put her on homo milk at 9 months just warm it up that worked for me.  I now think that closer to 18 months i want the bottle to be gone 12 months is a little early

Kasey - posted on 02/18/2009

Quoting Silja:

My twins have a bottle of formula in the morning and last thing before bed, and also a bottle of juice for overnight when needed.  We also give bottles on car rides and when out, it is just easier. But during the day they only have sippy cups (with watered down juice or - just started- some milk). With the milk, I usually let it sit in the cup for a few minutes so it isn't ice cold from the fridge, but they are used to their juice cold so they don't really mind.

 

I am not worried about them having bottles at this age... if they still want them by 1.5 or 2 years, I'll get stricter but for now, whatever works  :)

Thank you. I guess I won't get worked up over it and just let her gradually take her time with everything.  -Kasey

Silja - posted on 02/18/2009

My twins have a bottle of formula in the morning and last thing before bed, and also a bottle of juice for overnight when needed.  We also give bottles on car rides and when out, it is just easier. But during the day they only have sippy cups (with watered down juice or - just started- some milk). With the milk, I usually let it sit in the cup for a few minutes so it isn't ice cold from the fridge, but they are used to their juice cold so they don't really mind.

I am not worried about them having bottles at this age... if they still want them by 1.5 or 2 years, I'll get stricter but for now, whatever works  :)

Logan - posted on 02/18/2009

My son will be 1 on Saturday and we've just started trying to get him to drink his milk from a sippy cup instead of a bottle and it's not going well. He will drink water out of a sippy but he wants his milk in a bottle. We are going to keep at it and hope it will get easier. I think we may just have to refuse to give him a bottle.