When does bottle feeding end?

Melissa - posted on 09/30/2011

Awww I have a 17 mo old tooo he's my youngest and my older 2 kicked the bottle easy no fuss and moved on to the sippy cup at one no prob! But this one despised the sippy cup from day one now he'll drink from it but to go down for most naps and especially to sleep at night it has to be the bottle:( It makes me feel a little bad because I feel like I'm not trying hard enough to break the bottle habit because he's my baby and probably the last one. All I can say is try try again !!

Lynette - posted on 08/14/2011

I didn't want my son on the bottle past a year so he was fully weaned at 13 months. Now at 18 months he sleeps with nothing during naps or bedtime.

Andrea - posted on 08/12/2011

It's when you decide. a 17 month old can sit and eat at the table and he can handle a cup. Let him play with it, he might just love the new thing. I used sippy in the car when I didn't want any spills, and at night when they woke to drink and I didn't see anything in the dark. It was cleaner than to make a mess with a cup. I let my kids lead me but I offered choices, /ahem/ the choices I wanted them to pick ;0).

Kelly - posted on 08/04/2011

My son kinda just stopped. He wasn't drinking all his milk, so i stopped giving him bottles. That was at about 14mths. He's now 20mths and working on a normal cup... slowly. I just gave him sippy cups instead, and he never really worried about it.

Kelly - posted on 08/04/2011

My son kinda just stopped. He wasn't drinking all his milk, so i stopped giving him bottles. That was at about 14mths. He's now 20mths and working on a normal cup... slowly. I just gave him sippy cups instead, and he never really worried about it.

Rebekah - posted on 08/04/2011

I stopped bottles at 8 months. He got sippy cups of milk throughout the day until age 2, now he does cups of milk, but I do not do bottles anymore.

Allissa - posted on 08/03/2011

My daughter is almost 2, and she still takes a bottle of milk @ nap time & @ bed time. She asks for a bottle during the day, and I tell her no. I also explain to her that big girls get sippy cups during the day. I offer her different kinds of drinks, but she prefers 20 ounce bottles. I normally keep a few around and put water in them for her 2 drink throughout the day. When we go out in public, unless we are going to be gone for a long time, I bring only sippy cups. I believe in letting a child get rid of the bottle by themselves. As long as their teeth are being taken care of properly and aren't starting to look weird, there is nothing wrong with the bottle. The doctor said, "Take the bottle away between 12-16 months old." The dentist said, "Her teeth look perfect! As long as they stay how they are now, there is no rush in breaking her from the bottle." It's all a personal choice. They will ditch the bottle when they are ready!

Stifler's - posted on 07/16/2011

Offer food before a bottle is what the formula tin said when I was trying to stop Logan having 5 feeds a day.

Stifler's - posted on 07/16/2011

My boy is 18 months and has a sippy cup for milk still at nap time and bed time sometimes one at 9 am.

Erica - posted on 07/16/2011

I only give out bottle at night time , usually 1 or 2 throughout the night only drinking maybe 5-6 oz of milk, I drink pop cans usually with a straw ever since my DD saw my pop cans at 9 months old she wanted a drink. how cute! She was really good at drinking through a straw so through out the day (now she is 18 months she has straw sippy cups or let her have a swig of my sweet tea, water) DD is really happy with a sippy cup or drinking from my cup which has A BUILT in straw!

Rhiannon - posted on 07/15/2011

My son is almost eighteen months and I only give him one at naptime and bedtime and it has water in it. I talked to his dentist and doctor and they say some kids need it longer but as long as it's just water it wont rot their teeth. I'm struggling too.

Amanda - posted on 02/21/2010

I took both my daughter off of the bottle when they were 9 months (my daughter) and between 9 months and a year (my son). I don't know if anyone else said this but the key is don't give in... (do the sippy during the day and bottle first thing in the morning at as night btw) Your child wont like the sippy at first and will probably cry or throw a fit... DON'T GIVE IN.... if you give in to thiri crying then they will learn that if they cry long enough you'll just give them their bottle back.... don't do that.....

Sheree' - posted on 02/21/2010

try offering him whatever you give him in a bottle in a sippy cup. if he still wants a bottle offer one at night before bedtime. my daughter pretty much stopped herself at 15 months.

Kimberly - posted on 02/21/2010

my son is 17 months also but i found it to be easyer to take away the bottle by giving him a sippycup and not even letting him see the bottle. You know what they say..."out of sight, out of mind."

Berre - posted on 02/19/2010

Try the sippy cups thats top is similar to a nipple of a bottle when trying to weene him off the bottle and only give him the bottle if you must at night that might make the transition easier but ask your dentist or pediatrician about when to stop the bottle be careful if he is on the bottle to long it can cause tooth decay.

Julia - posted on 02/19/2010

I started giving my little guy only water in bottles, and milk or juice in sippy cups. That seemed to work.

Maggie - posted on 02/19/2010

JUST DO IT! Make him use a sippy cup, take him to pick out the one he wants and then rid the bottle from his sight!

Kendall - posted on 02/19/2010

I start the transition around 9-ish months. Getting the sippy cup out around 6 months for them to play with and then giving it only around 9 during the daytime between bottles. By a year, they're off the bottle and using a sippy cup. It was hard to wean my first, I was more upset about it than she was!

Enjoli - posted on 02/17/2010

He is or should be eatting enough, too where he is only having a bottle at night. And you should be careful with giving a bottle to sleep, it could very well rot his teeth! Buy him a "big-boy" cup & give him his cup in place of the bottle during the day. Don't allow the cup to have the same comfort/characteristics as his bottle. Before you know it, he will only want his "Big-Boy" cup! Now, grant it, with removing his bottle from his daily routine, he will need to eat more during the day. But you wont have the worries of a bottle! :*)

Michelle - posted on 02/17/2010

my daughter was off the bottles at 18 month. we took the bottles put them in a bag then said bye bye to them then put them in the outside bin. she hasnt wanted 1 since.

Ellen - posted on 02/16/2010

Yep that's what I did It works.

Ellen - posted on 02/16/2010

Well my doc said to have my children off bottle by the end of 12 mths. because it is bad for their teeth. I slowly weend her off the bottle, to just bed time ( i know that is not good either but I had to work in the morn.) then replaced bottle with tippy cup which is really a glorified bottle in disguise! lol. finally by the time she was mabye 2 or three she was drinking from a cup. not as easy as it sounds but the sooner you can get baby off bottle, the better.

Amber - posted on 02/16/2010

age 1! At around that age you should be changing to a sippy cup, but working on a real cup..

Gwen - posted on 02/16/2010

We gave up the last bedtime bottle at 15 months.

Kisha - posted on 02/16/2010

If he can drink out of a cup better than you its time to take the bottle. Try giving him a cup during the day. Only give him a bottle at night and see how that works. I broke my twins that way 3 weeks ago. When i threw away the bottles the oldest ont had a fit when he saw them go in the trash. But, as soon as he was ready to drink i gave him that cup and he's been happy ever since

Jasmine - posted on 01/27/2010

i got my daughter off the bottle by 9 months. and started using the sippy cup.. theres those begginner ones you can find at walmart. and i just used that and helped her feed with that. and soon she was able to do it on her own.

Bridget - posted on 01/27/2010

My daughter was super easy to break. When she turned 1 I took her to doc for her check up & they said to start giving her a sippy w whole milk. So thats what I did & she had no prob w it.

Michelle - posted on 01/24/2010

the reason the ped says they want them off the bottle by the time they are a year old is because of their teeth...they really dont even want then drinking from sippy cups...take the bottle away now it will be easier now then when he/she really needs to be off it!!

Alicia - posted on 01/24/2010

my daycare provider put straight water in her bottles and before we knew it she was off the bottle BUT, like the other kids Im reading about below, she didnt want milk out of a sippy... she drinks it now but we have to make it chocolate or strawberry milk in her sippys.... its a give and take.

Nicola - posted on 01/24/2010

To be honest children are diferent in everyway they will come off bottles at different sstages i mean take a look at my daughter she prefer's bottles a;; the time at the moment coas of teethign but her younger cousin( Kristian) prefers sippie cups at 9months of age he wont take bottles but then by 9months kym was off baby food and having our food blended down for her so there is little bits in it for her to chew and even tho my daughter is 9months she will coem off the bottle when she is ready not before and plus i prefer her on bottles as teh sippie cups she tips upside down and shakes it so the liquid comes out of it to look as if she has drank it all

Christine - posted on 01/23/2010

My youngest is 15 months old. The pediatrician told us that by the time she was 1 she should be off the bottle. On her first birthday we gave her, her last bottle before bed. The next morning we gave her a sippy cup and that is what she has used ever since. She never cried for the bottle and now is even drinking out of straws. She loves Juice boxes!!! Keep in mind every child and pediatrician is different. Good luck!!!

Megan - posted on 01/23/2010

It's basically up to you... slowly take one bottle feeding away and replace it with a sippy cup of milk, not juice. Only serve milk in the sippy cup to start. When you have it down to only 1 bottle a day (usually the night time one, save his favorite bottle time for last), replace it with water. Offer the sippy cup first and then if he still wants his bottle, only give it with water. He will probably diminish the amount of milk he drinks at first, my pediatrician said that was normal and totally okay. After he gets used to the cup, he'll pick his intake back up to where it was. But it's important you start before he gets too old. The older he gets, the more attached he'll get, and the harder it will be for him to change over. Good luck!

Jeri - posted on 01/23/2010

My son James is 16 months and I have stop giving him bottles but its up to you when you want to stop giving him bottles

Nicole - posted on 01/22/2010

With both my kids, I started sippy cups around six months when they started eating. I put water in the sippy and formula in the bottle. When they got closer to a year, I started eliminating more and more bottles and replacing them with sippies. By one, they were both off. You have to experiment with different sippies until you find one they like. I found that the ones that are for the oldest child are best because the others are too hard for them to get anything out of. I didn't discover the Nubby until I was trying it with my son and it's great because it's similar to a bottle nipple so it's a good first step. Heads up though, they leak when your child turns them over or squeezes the nipple so I got off of them as soon as I could. I never put milk in the bottle and my 16 month old has never had juice. My three year old has it as a special treat only so they both drink only water and milk. My dr. said to only offer water in the bottle if they are having a hard time giving it up and eventually they would rather have the sippy with something they like rather than a bottle with water. I'm not in favor of having kids grow up sooner than necessary, but I am in favor of making the transition as easy on them as possible so I suggest the sooner the better. He's probably already gotten very attached at his age.

Elizabeth - posted on 01/22/2010

I have 3 kids (4, 3, and 10 months) my oldest two were off the bottle by the time they were 1.....I intend to have my baby off by the time she is 1 as well....continuous sucking in babies is one of the biggest leading causes of ear infection....This is the main reason as to why my children by the age of 3 months were taken completely off the binki.

Jessica - posted on 01/22/2010

He will have a bottle as long as you give him one.

Casi - posted on 01/22/2010

I started training mine little by little to a cup when they (2 boys) were 6 months old. They were off the bottle, one at 10 months and he other right at a year. I also breastfed to a year with both, so they perhaps didn't have the attachment to a bottle that an exclusively bottle fed child might. Starting sooner than later will be a less painful transition. Try juice (I like Mots 4 Tots....it's not that expensive and it has A LOT less sugar. I even do half juice/half water to dilute even more. My kids are 2.5 and 4.5 and I still do this). You'll be surprised- if you are consistant w/ weening down the bottle you'll probably have it eliminated all together in 4-6 weeks.

KAREN - posted on 01/22/2010

When you decide your child is ready! Some kids are very attached to the bottle....and at 17 months I would imagine that he is very attached...the longer you let him have it the harder it will get....I took the bottles away from both of my kids at 1 year...I simply packed them up and threw them out..and introduced the sippy cup...my son had a harder time than my daughter...Than again like anything else...they won't be doing it forever so at this point maybe you should let him throw it out...when he is ready...just like with potty training and the pacifier....I think Everyone is in such a hurry to make their babies adults that they are always in a hurry to get rid of anything and everything that makes them feel comfortable.....think of it in the long run.....Have you ever seen a 5 year old with a pacifier, bottle or a diaper on??? Hope this helps!

Tamara - posted on 01/21/2010

My son is 16 months, i just started putting milk in a sippy cup. he did ok with that. he wont even take the bottle now and its been 4 weeks.....

Samantha - posted on 01/21/2010

My daughter has just stopped using a bottle and she's 27 months. We took all the bottles (and the formula...we don't drink cow's milk) over to a friend with a 4 month old baby and now she drinks soy milk from a sippy cup. Explaining how she's too old for it was helpful. I really wanted her to be part of the process because she just loved her bottle!! Her eyes would roll up in delight when she had one, but enough is enough and I'm glad it's over with.

Brandy - posted on 01/21/2010

once they start real milk, give a sippy cup an make sure its colorful

Courtney - posted on 01/21/2010

I had to just take away the bottle away all together... I felt mean doing it because she LOVED her bottle, but, she got thirsty and whined, i kept offering the sippy, she would not want it and say "baba!", You just have to be strong and not give her the bottle when she really falls apart. Like my doc said... its harder for the parent to go thru with major changes (switching to a bed, no pacifier, no bottle, potty training, etc). She eventually was thirsty enough and took the sippy. Good Luck!

Deb - posted on 01/21/2010

mine was all broke by a year old once they was old enough to know to tip the bottle up to drink from it I started sippy cups I did find to try different ones With the last I used a sippy that had the cap simular to a nipple but a little different It was the only one she excepted at first Shes turning 2 soon and drinking from a cup now

Amber - posted on 01/21/2010

Try to take it away now!! The sooner the better. My oldest was on the bottle til he was THREE! It was a nightmare, but the longer I waited the harder it was. With my youngest, as soon as he stopped drinking formula, the bottle was gone and he moved "up" to sippy cups. He never, ever gave me a fit over the bottle! Just enforce sippy cups as much as possible and hide the bottles as much as possible. If he sees it, he's gonna want it.

Fee - posted on 01/21/2010

everyone has different stories, just go with your gut instinct. As long as he is healthy and happy, and having his teeth brushed there's no panic to rush him off the bottle., mine is 19mths, still takes 3 bottles a day, but mostly for sleeps, she isn't a big eater, very fussy, so we're happy she is getting the goodness from her toddler formula.

Melodie - posted on 01/20/2010

Our pediatrician suggests that you take them off the botte and use a no spill cup by their first birthday.

Zoe - posted on 01/20/2010

the advice i have is at this age (17 months) they should be getting no more milk than a pint, my son only has a bottle at night with his milk as hes tired and doesnt want to drink from cup, he also gets milk in the morning but thats out of a cup, i tried getting completely off bottles a few months ago and he wasnt having any of it, at least its only one a day now, try to only give him milk in morning and evening and water or juice the rest of the time, and not to much milk. hope that helps

Michelle - posted on 01/20/2010

they usually say to have them off the bottle at a year old...the bottle doesnt do great things to the teeth when they start getting them...with my son i got sippy cups that had a soft top on them so that way it wouldnt be to much of a change...they sell them at walmart in the baby section they are called NUBBY sippy cups...you dont want him to be dependent on the bottle because after a certain age they look at it as a comforting thing rather then a eating thing...thats what my doctor told me

Morgan - posted on 01/19/2010

one day i just took my daughters bottles away and gave them sippy cups and showed them how to use them. after a day of learning how they never cried for their bottles again. they were 15 months old when i did that and i never had any problems.

Michelle - posted on 01/19/2010

When they are big enough to drink from a sippy cup...sooner than you think :)