When did you get your baby/toddler off the bottle?

Alisha - posted on 05/04/2010

well i got lucky with my oldest he was 10 months old and he didnt want his bottle no more so what i did was i would mix his formula in with his cereal for a few moths intill he turned a year old,but u will have to be in charge tell him over and over that he's a big boy now and only babies have bottles and if he throws a fit just ignore it and keep offering the cup and let him see you try it and then offer him a drink out of it and sooner or later he will relize that if mommy and daddy's doing it then i should be too, u know. i mean you dont gotta take my advice but i thought i was pretty good advice my friends have taken it and they said it works so i dunno.

Hayley - posted on 05/04/2010

My son was about 20-22 months old when we took him off the bottle. he was biting the nipple off the bottle and it would leak everywhere. so we went out and got sippy cups and handed him one and he was drinking from it and once he notice he was unable to bit the tip off he threw it down and threw a fit. I never gave in. I told him if wanted to eat he would have to learn to be a big boy and ever since then he has been on the sippy cup. Im my own thoughts If you feel that your baby is not ready then wait until you think he is. My sons dr. told us he should be off the bottle by 18 months i did not feel we where ready. so i kept him on the bottle until we thought he was ready and once we where done buying new nipples for the bottle. Good luck.Oh and Never give bottle and sippy and then bottle again it confusses them.

Brittni - posted on 05/04/2010

My daughter was about 17-18 months when we did. The only way she would drink milk was from the bottle and after trying to and trying, we figured out that for one, she will only drink milk if its chocolate or strawberry she will not drink plain milk. So, we still just give her the flavored milk too.. But she was really into Dora, so we let her pick out some Dora sippy cups and she right away started drinking it out of the cup!

Fiona - posted on 05/04/2010

my son was 16 months when i took him off the in the day just give it to him in the night , then when he was 18 months to took him shopping to pick his own (big boy cup as we called it ) and hes not looked back since .

Leslie - posted on 05/04/2010

We took my son off the bottle at 13 months. All we did is through the bottle in the trash in front of bub and said big boys drink out of sippys not bottles. He screamed but we never gave in. We would also fill a sippy with juice or milk or water depending on the time of day and sat it on the table he eventally took a drink. He got thursty enough and he drank out of the sippy, I know it sounds harsh but that was one of the this our dr said to try. The key here DO NOT GIVE IN TO THE BOTTLE. You will get him off of it. Let him through a fit but never give in to him. My daughter through her own bottles away at 9 months.. I have faith that you can and will do it....

Arlene - posted on 05/04/2010

My daughter who is now 2 1/2 years old Itook the bottle away from her as soon as she turned 1 year and she was fine with it. And my son who is 8 months old, I introduced the sippy cup to him at 6 months and he can drink out of it very well but I still have him on the bottle. I will take the bottle away at 1 years.

Victoria - posted on 05/04/2010

I took my son of the bottle when he was 14 month old. It was hard I tryed every day. One day i got to the point where nothing I was doing was working. So I threw all this bottles away an kept one. But it up to where i didnt see it nor did my son. I let him watch me throw his bottles away an told him he is a big boy an its time to drip out of a sippy. He didnt drink anything for the first half of the day. Then he got thirsty enough to drink from his sippy.

Sarah - posted on 05/04/2010

If you are serious about this, just throw out the bottles, get a couple different kinds of sippies, fill them with water and leave them in his reach. When he is thirsty, he WILL drink something. Seems cruel, but they're creatures of habit, and 18 months is a stubborn age. He'll get over it pretty quick once he figures out that the sippy does the trick and the bottle has disappeared. If you have another child, it is a little easier to do it earlier. I ditched bottles as soon as mine were able to hold the sippy themselves- mostly because they have handles! and they were much more...agreeable... as babies than budding toddlers!

Amanda - posted on 05/04/2010

My daughter was off the bottle at 11 months. Just started taking away one bottle every 3 days starting at 10 months. I never let her hold her own bottle or fall asleep with one and it was super easy to kick the bottle. Once I started introducing solid foods to her I would put a sippy cup on the highchair tray and within a month she would drink out of it.(about 5 or 6 months old). She never had a pacifier either. My advice would be just to throw them away. He'll cry and it will be a miserable day but tomorrow will be better and it will only get easier from their. Remember, you are not hurting your child by taking the bottle away. YOU ARE THE PARENT! Not to mention they are going to throw bigger fits over smaller things the older they get.

Pamela - posted on 05/04/2010

Shelly..I had my daughter put her bottles in a box so we could give them to a baby that needed them then when she went to bed i threw them away it sounds mean but it worked...I also put a little bit of strawberry syrup in her cup with her milk and she started to drink milk out of her cup..then I would put less and less of the syrup in it..now its just plain milk.. My problem is getting her to let go of the binky...

Shelly - posted on 05/04/2010

My son is 2 1/2 and still refuses to have milk from anything other than a bottle. Juice and water from the sippy cup he is ok with, but loses his mind when I don't put his milk in the bottle. He gets mad when I don't heat it up a little too. It was suggested buy a friend to throw out the bottles and let him freak out for a while, but I am not sure I am ready for it.. He has a doctor appointment soon, and I am going to ask her one more time which way to handle this. Good luck!!

Christy - posted on 05/04/2010

My son was 6 months old when I offered a sippy cup for the first time, it was the Nuby soft tip with the handles on it, after that, the sippy cup was all he wanted. But what I would suggest is maybe taking away the morning bottle and just offer a sippy cup (when he is ready he will take it) Just let him decide when, fill it up, put it where he can see it and just let him go. Then after he gets used to it then you can maybe offer the sippy in the afternoon and then at night. My two year old still takes a sippy cup of warm milk at nap and bedtime, although he does not fall asleep on it. Good luck! I know it can be hard, but stay strong!

Catherine - posted on 05/04/2010

your son at 18 mths is still takeing bottles for a reason, it is his comfort and kids need a comfort because at that age and that size the world is a very strange and confusing place, 3 bottles a day is fine a lot better than juice, he will give it up on his own, what i sugest is not giving bottles as a treat and try uice in his sippy to make it seem more fun then when he is used to a sippy then try milk, imagine if when you are scared or upset and you couldent have a comfort, we as adults can speak bout our problems have a chat and a yarn, kids however can not which is why the tent to have fave blankets, bears, dolls, bottles ect

Jamie - posted on 05/04/2010

I broke both of my kids off of the bottle on their first birthdays. I started out nursing both of them, and then I introduced a sippy cup at about 6 months, so they were both used to drinking out of them. It didn't seem to bother either of my kids to give up the bottle.

Brooke - posted on 05/04/2010

My rabbit was done with bottles by 1 year. It is ok for the little one to have a fit, just don't give in! After all you are the parent and you said no. make a big show of giving the bottles away, you are sending it to a little baby who needs them as your big boy/girl is too big now! put a good leak proof cup on the floor in reach and let the little one try to assert their authority to no avail!. It is a control thing. My 3 year old was bad about that. As soon as he knew there was no option he called down and was actually happier. Kids need to know that you are the boss! After all if you can't handle them, they don't think you can control anything and can't protect them. They LOVE to test you. Mom of 4

Michelle - posted on 05/03/2010

I have to say the Nuby soft tip cups were a HUGE help with our daughter as well... My boys were off the bottle by 1 and 1 1/2... My daughter had different thoughts lol... We used the Nuby cups till she was a little over 2 and now she drinks from what ever we give her... She still will not drink out of a traditional hard sippy cup with the nozzle that stops the flow so it wont spill... However Tuperware had some I bought that had a hard tip but were not spill proof... She will drink from them... AND if he can suck from a straw, my daughter thought it was kind of a treat when we gave her the cup with a straw in it... Hope these help :)

Elizabeth - posted on 05/03/2010

I agree totally with the previous comments. We went through this last week with my 19 month old. We used the Nuby soft tip cups to transition and went cold turkey on the nightly bottles. It was much needed since he was waking up in the middle of the night wanting more milk more often than my 2 month old. Plus, if you are having any eating issues this will help since he will not be getting the calories from the milk. It has been six days and this is day three of him going to bed smoothly and not waking up through the night. Good luck!

Megan - posted on 05/03/2010

My husband and I exposed our daughter to sippy cups before we took it away for good, but then when she turned 1, we quit 'cold turkey'. This method worked for us, but we were consistent. She didn't have a choice. If you think you can do this, you have to be consistent (as with everything else you do). If you give in once, then the tantrums will continue. The tantrums may escalate (technical jargon is called an extinction burst, I teach early childhood special education) but you can't give up or in when they do, because then the tantrums will stay at that level. It's not easy ( I have to remind myself of not giving in for many other things!), and what worked with my daughter, may not work for every one else, but it's worth a shot! Good luck!

Faith - posted on 05/03/2010

i just got my 2.5 yr old off the bottle, he was taking it at nap and bed time. i used the Nuk transition sippy top that fits onto the nuk bottles. the first time he kept refusing it, but i sat next to him and kept offering it, after 10 minutes he took it and has been using it for a week. i dont see much a difference between using a bottle or a sippy cup tho.. if they still want a bottle, let them have it, they are only babies once..

Bridget - posted on 05/03/2010

My daughter weaned when she was 13 months. We used the advent bottles mostly so we just bought the transition sippy tops for them and swapped out the nipple for the sippy tops. She took the transition really well. She fought it the first time or two but when we didn't give in and give her a bottle she drank from the cup.

Lana - posted on 05/03/2010

I stopped my 3 year old from the bottle at 11 months old. I started out by giving her everything in a cup during the day and a bottle at night before bed only. After a couple of weeks of that i started giving it to her less and less, and she thought about it less and less, so by the middle of her 11th month she was totally done. I had her pick her sippy cup which she drank out of easily because it was "her own"!

Danielle - - posted on 05/03/2010

Why bother taking him off anyway? He's obviously not ready. My child took a bottle until he was almost 2.5

Just because your pediatrician "recommends" it doesn't mean it's the gold standard.

You're the mother, go with your natural instincts. Why put you and your son through the aggravation of removing something he still wants and needs?

I say let him have the bottle until he tells you he's done with it, and he will let you know when he's all set with the bottle.

Cathy - posted on 05/03/2010

I tried at 14 months, took away all the bottles but the night time bottle. My son hates the sippy cup and after 3 days of misery I gave up! Now we are just about at 17 months and I am going to try again. He gets 3 bottles a day and I also offer him a sippy cup which usually gets thrown on the floor! UGH! I am not looking forward to it but this time I am going to have to go cold turkey I think, if I can handle it. My daughter, my first was not as hard as this to break away from the bottle....

Ashley - posted on 05/03/2010

My son refused the bottle at 7 months. i never gave him anything xcept formula in it and he thought he was big enough for food and juice at 7 bmonths, never took it again. He also took himself off baby food at 9 months. He tried to grow up too fast and is now 2 years old thinking hes ready for school!

Vette - posted on 05/03/2010

When my daughter turned one year old, I took her bottle and never gave it back--but she never asked for it either, I don't know what would have happened if she was really attached to it, but she never cared for milk even from infancy. She was only taking 4 ounces of milk when we took the bottle, of course she ate every 2 hours. At around 6 months old we had started giving her a sippy cup with juice and water, and she did well with that, and I guess she just kept with the sippy from there.

Samantha - posted on 05/03/2010

i think the rubber topped sippys are a great way to transition from bottle to sippy...m daughter has been off the bottle since she was 1 and she is now 2....grab some nuby sippy cups and try that

NITA - posted on 05/03/2010

I was really blessed...my little guy was off the bottle & onto a straw cup by the time he was 8 months old. Luckily, i did not need to try anything funny to get him off.... he was just so fascinated with the cup. Maybe you could try a bit of aloe powder which i did use for him at 1 year old to get him off the pacifier, which worked wonders.....or a fancy character cup which might interest him:)
All the best:)

Mira - posted on 05/03/2010

I got my son off the bottle when he turned two. He was fascinated with straws then, so I tried removing the nipple part of the bottle and let him sip the milk out with the straw. Then he gradually transitioned to drinking from a cup which took probably two months. I remember my girlfriends used to make a joke that I was a 'bad mama' for depriving my son of the bottle. Well I guess it was one of the best things I've ever done, because I have a niece who's almost 5 and still drinking from a bottle at bedtime. My sister is having a hard time getting her off it.

Jackie - posted on 05/03/2010

My son was off of it few weeks after turning 1. He had been using a sippy cup for about 5 or 6 months except when getting ready to go to sleep he would have his bottle or if sick and things like that. I never left the bottle in his mouth when sleeping though took it right away so to not get rotten teeth. It was easy to take away at 1 since he only used it couple times a day. The earlier you start on a cup more often and then the sooner you take the bottle from them the easier it is because they haven't hit the age yet with having little bit of attitude when they don't have something they want.

Betty - posted on 05/03/2010

Hey Suzanne,

My boy is almost 18 months now and I started changing the morning bottle 2 months ago. In the morning, he can have yogurt, grits, fruits, baby cereals or any other things that he can chew.
For the one in the afternoon, i give him baby snacks like "betterfood" or "hipp".
I made him switch one meal after another. Right now, he only take one bottle before bedtime. It help him sleep better but I will also have him stop that one.
Take care

Belinda - posted on 05/03/2010

My son was almost 2 when he stopped having his bottle. He was only have 1 a day (at night, after dinner, before bed). 1 night I went to give it to him and he didn't want it. The next night he didn't want it. I didn't offer it to him for a few nights, and when I did again he didn't want it. It was easy for me because he weaned himself off it.

Lyn - posted on 05/03/2010

I took the advice of the mums here and hid the bottles and just offered the sippy cup saying my twins were big boys now and dont need the bottles.

Louisé - posted on 05/03/2010

Suzanne, my girl is 23mo's and still on bottle. She drinks out of a cup and a straw sippy cup, but she wants her bottle when she go lay down whether it's to sleep or just time out. I let her be b/c I think dr's and other people are making to big deal about this. My pedi is fine with her still on the bottle, they will throw it away when they're ready. There's lots of kids at our day care that still take a bottle to bed and most of them are 3yrs, the older ones aren't taking bottles anymore. I also believe as one lady said, it's cruel to take their comfort thingy away bottle, pacci or blankie. Good luck with whatever you deside, just remember your his mom and a mom always knows best :)

Amber - posted on 05/02/2010

I think doctors make WAY too big of a deal about this. I had my bottle with milk at bed time until I was four and I NEVER had a cavity until I was 16 and started drinking soda pop. My husband too had his bottle at bedtime until he was three and he still at 26 years old has NEVER had a cavity. I think it's more about how much sugar they have during the day. Parents let their preschoolers have pop and even too much juice (or juice in a bottle - big no-no), and these are the kids who have teeth problems. My daughter is almost 2 1/2 and she still takes a bottle to bed (1/2 milk 1/2 water). Her teeth are perfectly fine, and I'm not at all worried about it. When I was a kid my pediatrician told my mom not to worry about it either. He said, "She won't take it to kindergarten with her," and I didn't. I told my mom I was done with it at 4 and it wasn't a problem at all. It is cruel to take away a child's comfort object whether it be a blankie, a stuffed animal, pacifier, or bottle.

Jenny - posted on 05/02/2010

My son was well over 3 and my daughter was 2.5 when I got them off the bottle. They had a hard time and refused milk in a sippy or a regular cup so I let them have it. They never had bottles before bed etc and they have great teeth. I don't think it is that big of a deal they will give it up when they are ready. We had no trouble transitioning b/c they were ready.

Sara - posted on 05/02/2010

i had my daughter throw her bottle away herself and that helped a bunch. if your child still throws a tantrum just ignore it they will soon realize they are not getting it and will settle for the sippy cup you might even try an open cup you'll have to assist but that might work too.

Katie - posted on 05/02/2010

My son was 12 months old when we started using a cup, which was also when he went from formula to whole milk. He is now 2 1/2 and shows no signs of being interested in potty training. I think kids do things on their own schedule and wouldn't stress too much.

Sonya - posted on 05/02/2010

I just took it away when my son was 18 mths. we told him he was a big boy now. He wined for the first few nights, but was fine, it's better earlier because they get more attached as they get older. Just keep offering the sippy cup with milk and when he realizes thats the only option, he will take it.

Heidi - posted on 05/02/2010

I started taking my sons bottle away about 15 months except for at night. I used to leave a sippy cup on the coffee table until he was thirsty enough to drink from it. Now I am thinking about getting him off of a sippy cup, 2 and a half year old now, except for riding in the car.

Renee - posted on 05/02/2010

I think that my son has been exclusively on a sippy since a little before he turned 1. We had been experimenting with it for a few months because Micah surprised us at around 8 months when he showed he could drink out of a kids' cup with a straw while we we out to dinner. I read somewhere to substitute the sippy at non-crucial times like midday feedings instead of the 1st or last bottles of the day. So, by the time he turned one, he had been drinking out of the sippy a few times a day, so we stopped all bottles, but kept up his same drinking schedule. My daughter, who is now 4 months, has proven to be a totally different, more particular child than my son, so I'm sure I'll have to throw my expectations out the window and start from scratch! LOL. Good Luck!

Michelle - posted on 05/02/2010

My son was done with the bottle @ a year. I basically told him hes one and a big boy now. Took all the bottles and hide them competely ("out of sight, out of mind"). He always HATED the sippy so he drinks from a straw which is SOOOOOOOO great because he can take it into adult hood and he loves it because mommy does it too! Soo its a win win and I never have to ween him off a sippy because he never started on one. Going places is a breeze because everyone has disposable cups with straws.

Jennie - posted on 05/02/2010

As soon as my kids were 1 I just simply took it away. Fortunately I had no problems. One thing to try might be to only offer a sippy and that be the ONLY choice. Eventually he will take it. Try taking the valve out of it because it is a bit more "work" than a bottle.

Jennifer - posted on 05/02/2010

the way i got my daughter off the bottle was at easter time, i told her if she left her bottles in the kitchen the easter bunny would take the bottles for the baby bunnies and leave her a special suprise (which was a big easter egg and a special cup) she happily did that and hasnt had or wanted a bottle since

Carrie - posted on 05/02/2010

I am a mother of 5 children and I took the bottle and pacifer away at 1 year on their birthday. I think you should take it away cold turkey and only offer the sippy cup. Be strong since they will cry for a long time because they know you will most likely give in and give them the bottle. I put my twins to bed with a no spill sippy cup with water in it and give them their last milk cup at dinner. It might even take up to a week for your child to change his habit but he will as long as you don't give in. Put the bottles away where he can never see them or throw them away if don't think you are strong enough. You are the parent and they are the child. You are the one who makes the rule. The longer you wait the harder it will be for them to give it up. So right now, 1year it take a week of crying but when they are 2, 3 or 4 it will take that many weeks (2,3, or 4) of cryilng. If they have no choice but a sippy cup then they will use it. I hope this helps, it worked for me and the kids in my home daycare. Just remember it is what is best for the child.

Alexandra - posted on 05/02/2010

To get my daughter off her bottle, when she was about a year I limited her to only at bed times and when she woke up. It didn't take long to switch her to sippy cups with warm milk at those times. I think she was fifteen months when she was off bottles for good.

Kerri - posted on 05/02/2010

Both of my kids were off of the bottle right before their 1st birthdays cold turkey but they had to have Nuby sippy cups with a soft slicone spout or a NUK learner sippy cup with a soft silicone spout. They both started using the hard spouted sippy cups at around 16 months. Try offering your son one of the cups that I mentioned above.

Danielle - posted on 05/02/2010

my son was six months. tried it one day he did fine so the bottle was gone except at night and by 8 months it was totally gone. binkis were gone by ten months.

Karla - posted on 05/02/2010

My son is still getting a bottle before bed and he has just turned 2 this week, i am just going to wait till he weans himself off it unless it is the next 6 months i will try then!? i dont know how to take that off him though? i have alwasy been told they will throw it away themselves when they get fed up with it?

Virginia - posted on 05/02/2010

Cold-turkey! I took my daughter off the bottle at 18months. Picked a morning and decided that was it, no more bottles! She was fussy for like 3 days but after that she was good to go. I just felt that offering it to her at certain times of the day would counteract the progress we made the other times. I hope everything works out for you & your son. Good Luck!

Stephanie - posted on 05/02/2010

Well I took my son off the bottle at 23 months and to this day he will not drink milk at all. Anywhere. Everyone talked me in to taking his bottle early on and as a new mom i tried. After we took it he developed night terrors and started hurting himself. I just gave it back after 3 days. I couldnt stand to watch him hurt himself. Well few days after that he bit the nipple off and spilled milk all over himself. I told him it was broken. He never wanted one after that.
I say wait till your baby is ready. The sippy cup is just as bad for there teeth as a bottle so dont stress it. Take care of your baby and ignore everyone else. He wont be on it forever. Good luck.