No more bottle and juice?? Ahhhhh!

Karen - posted on 08/18/2010

I rarely do juice and if I do I give them orange. Too much sugar anyways. I would keep cutting out the juice, adding more and more water. As for the bottles, get a cup and leave it out as the only option. Eventually he will probably just give in and grab the cup.
Maybe gather all the bottles and have him help you "throw them out", say bye bye bottles. That way he gets the idea that they are gone and now he has no choice but to use a cup.
Just read about the night time part. If it is only at bedtime in the middle of the night and you take it away after he's done (never leave it in the bed) then I really don't see a huge issue with that. He will grow out of it after getting used to using cups. Not the end of the world lol. But juice I would cut, I don't even like giving my older girls juice. Give them an apple and a glass of water, much better than juice ;)

Randi - posted on 08/17/2010

Thank you so much for the support! So many people cringe when i say i still give him bottle in middle of the night. I decided i know him best and it doesnt bother me getting up for just 10 min in middle of night so I will continue for a while longer. I cannot just let him scream, its not in me :) Its nice to hear someone else on my side.

Dawn - posted on 08/17/2010

Randi - I am sure your son will out grow his nighttime hunger and his eating habits with time!! If I was in your situation, I would say "to hell with it" and keep giving him that bottle at night!! Only you know what battles to pick. When my son was 8 months he would wakeup at night wanting to play so I let him be up for 2 hours each night for what seemed like a LONG time!! I had a girlfriend who thought this was the worst idea, because I was "teaching" him to wakeup at night...but letting him cry in this situation was not an option for me....sure enough he started sleeping through the night again!! He still wakes up early and as much as I would like to sleep, I know I need to adjust! Sorry that example is a bit off subject but its the point anyways :) I have been giving my son Carnation Instant Breakfast for 2 servings of milk since he turned 1.....he doesn't have a problem drinking that!! Maybe you could try adding something similar so he enjoys it more?? We add it for the extra calories and vitamins since my son is small, but I don't see where it would be bad for non-underweight toddlers. :) Hang in there!!

Randi - posted on 08/16/2010

Thank you so much everyone!! My babe is like your kayci, will use a sippy cup all day but the second i put milk in its no way! I did try water in middle of night and he would eventually fall asleep only to wake with those screams that reminded me of those hunger screams when he was infant. He is a terrible eater! Wish i could feed him more for dinner. Oh boy! Praying he will just grow out of it :)

Jayne-Marie - posted on 08/16/2010

We started with giving him as much to eat at night as he wanted (for dinner). By the time he had dinner he didn't want his bottle any more, he was too full. So we used the out of site, out of mind. I don't think he cried for it once. As for sleeping we did controled crying and never looked back. We now have an 18month old that eats with us and sleeps from 8pm till 7:30am. It takes time and not every child is the same. You do have to have to pick something and stick it out. Good Luck!

Kayci - posted on 08/16/2010

My Daughter doesn't usually have problems with juice. Occasionally she will have a blow out diaper but not that often. I only ever do Apple Juice or the V-8 Splash juice that has the one serving of fruit and one serving of veggies. I too am having a hard time getting my daughter off of the bottle but only for milk. She will drink out of her sippy cups for her juice or what ever else I put in there but NOT milk. She will only drink out of her latex sippy bottle nipples that I have and I can't get her off of those and I don't have the umph to hear her scream for another 4 days (when I stopped nursing it took us 4 days to get her to take a formula bottle). Good luck!

Dawn - posted on 08/16/2010

No, my son doesn't usually wake in the night and hasn't woken for a feeding in a long time. I would say to try and get him to eat more before bed and try a water bottle when he does wakeup, then try and substitute a pacifier for bedtime?? I also recommend getting rid of the other bottles before you eliminate this one. Sounds like you have a few changes to make, so take it slow...for both your sake :) :)

Kim - posted on 08/16/2010

I cut my son off at a year with bottles too. We gave him juice in a sippy starting at 8 months, then took the bottle away at bedtime at a year. But we took it when he was sick, so he fell asleep and stayed asleep easily without it. Felt bad, but used it to an advantage. He was still waking in the night, we just replaced the bottle at night with the sippy. As for juice, my son doesnt drink it. but not because the doctor, his little body does not handle any kind of juice. except diluted koolaid, or crystal light stuff. We keep trying to put fruit juice back in but the diapers keep telling us to stop trying, no matter how diluted we make it.

Randi - posted on 08/16/2010

Do your kiddies still wake at night?? That was the first bottle i was attempting to squash and ater 4 nights for screams i gave in to my exhaustion. He uses them to sooth before nap and bed and he seems starved in the middle of the night.

Dawn - posted on 08/16/2010

Well, I took the bottle away after my son turned a year with no problems....jsut cut back to 1 then none. I am thinking about getting rid of the sippy cup soon. We drink juice and don't plan to stop... I would say my son drinks between 8-12 oz a day...broken up between many servings. I tend to give him a 2/3 juice, 1/3 water serving in the morning and then give him 1/2 and 1/2 throughout the day, with icecubes too, so that dilutes it more. My son will rarely drink plain water and I am not really looking for another fight!! We use 100% Apple or Grape juice only, no cocktails or blends. I also shut-off juice in the evening and give a sippy of plain ice water with dinner and after...if he is REALLY thirsty he will have a few sips! I guess I would talk with the doctor about their concerns and seak a middle ground, amybe it is just the amount or type you are giving. Good luck!

Katherine - posted on 08/14/2010

We haven't even thought about getting rid of bottles. My Son has juice too. It's funny because my doctor recommended juice to help with his constipation. Luckily he likes water too.
I have found that I worried about too much during the first year of his life why worry about the bottle. He likes it and it soothes him at bedtime.
Eventually I will get rid of it but for now there are bigger things to worry about. When I do I will probably do the cold turkey approach.

Alysha - posted on 08/14/2010

Put your foot down! If you think you are going to give in get rid of the bottles and get some ear plugs(they don't cut out the sound completely just enough so that you don't lose your mind) I was trying to switch to the cup slowly but she would have none of it so I cut her off and after about 24 hrs of crankiness she gave in and we never looked back. Think of it this way, would you rather 1 day of crankiness where you can distract them at play group or outside or would you like to try doing this for months?