Toddlers and Eating vs Milk bottles

Christina - posted on 01/19/2011

My daughter will be 1 on the 3rd of next month. We have found some awesome sippy cups out there! You just have to try them all. They have rubber tipped sports bottles that are great for a transition cups! They also nuby makes rubber tipped regular spouts! There are so many! With the age you son is he's not a baby anymore and has several teeth. I would be very worried for the affect long term. Even if he isn't showing any signs yet that may change later. I know a girl whos daughter a a bottle until she was 2 and now she has severally buck teeth. I can be fixed but would be best if it never happened. They way she got her to quit taking it was putting something in there yucky with the milk and tell her that the bottles are yucky now. Everytime she asked she got the same thing, and when she wouldn't drink it she gave her a sippy 'yummy cuppy' with regualr milk in it. They say that they are only suppose to have 2 glasses of milk a day at 8oz. Children do eat when they are hungry but I feel that he may not be hungry because he's replacing a meal or healthy snack with milk. If you cut those back then I'm sure he would be hungrier and in turn eat more.

A routine always worked well for our daughter. It made her a much happier baby. At 9months she was only getting 4 bottles a day. At 10 months she was down to 3 bottles a day. By 11 months she had her morning bottle and bedtime bottle but her afternoon bottle was replaced by a sippy instead. She's 11.5 months now and this week we have taken away her bedtime bottle and replaced it with a sippy. She will get a bottle in the morning (since that is her favorite of the day) on the day of her birthday but after that they are gone!! At her age she is still suppose to get 24 oz of breast milk or fromula a day and we make sure that she does we just have started to put it in a cup and she loves it! I want to remove it before she can remember even having them. Each parent is very different. As well as each child and family. I think each parent knows what is best it's just hard to do it sometimes.

Heather - posted on 01/30/2010

i was lucky and threw away all the bottles on her 1st b-day and she could not tell me what she wanted, i gave her sippy cup and there went the bottles...however you must tell her that all the bottles are gone!! sippy cups are all you have and that's it...put your foot down . weening the bottle away will just bring headaches...after a week or two the bottle will be forgotten....throw them out so they are not even in the house!! the bottle will ruin his teeth!! throw them away and then he will have no other choice. don't let him dictate to you what he wants. you tell him what he is going to get! after a week or so you will be so happy you did it! trust me! it will work...make sure you have some sippy cups available to drink from after the bottles are gone! my baby was drinking from a sippy cup at 6 months..i started with juice and then after 1 year i threw out all the bottles!! done! over!

Laura - posted on 01/30/2010

try watering down his bottles that way he not to ful from the milk..my son was of his bottle at 14 months but still has 1 or 2 beakers of milk a day the rest of the time he has very diluted squash..start by replacing 1 bottle with a beaker each day and gradually get him of them.

Sharon - posted on 01/30/2010

try putting water in the bottle instead of milk. Drinking too much milk will certainly decrease your child's appetite for food. Do it gradually over a few days though, you don't want to upset the child just help him develop better eating habits.

Carissa - posted on 01/30/2010

Thanks all for your comments. He does sleep through at night with no feeds, his teeth are great he doesn't take a bottle to bed EVER, never has, he brushes his teeth. He has only had watered down juice a few times, not really interested in it, other than the milk he usually drinks water. He can and does drink from a sippy cup when he wants.

Jessica - posted on 01/30/2010

Everyone is different and there are many sides to every story. My husband has horrible teeth and my babies do not. I agree to take away the bottle and nook by two, but that isn't the issue. The issue is the full transition from bottle to table food.

Kimberly - posted on 01/30/2010

take that bottle away, immediately. children should be off the bottle by age 1. you're setting yourself up for a big dental bill. my sister took her time getting two of her tots off the bottle and ended up having a big dental bill. one toddler has to go through life with out some teeth until his adult teeth come in. take him shopping for some big kid cups and other dishes, so he has his own special place mate at the dinner table.
on super nanny, she got a little girl to give up her pacifiers to a fairy, you could try that with the bottles. he will eat off the big kid dishes when he gives in to his hunger.

Jessica - posted on 01/30/2010

I have 4 babes, and I think around toddler age they are just too busy to worry about eating you know? From what I have read, it seems all tots go through a period of eating like a bird. I wonder if milk bottles are more convenient on the go meals since sitting down to eat cuts into explore time. Anyway, my daughter just got her milk bottles and I didn't worry about it. She will be 2 in May and is just fine. She never had an issue with weight and is well nourished. On the other hand, I have a friend that puts a lot of emphasis on sitting down and having a meal 3 times a day, no exceptions. That is her choice. I am more lax in that I will put down finger food to eat while walking by or I will share what I am eating at the time. In this way, my tiny gets oatmeal and cheese and veggies and grains over the course of her day and I know she is getting nourishment one bite at a time. I don't stress about one meal and how much was eaten because I know its okay. Another thing you should remember is that your tiny's stomach is only about the size of his fist-a couple bites of anything is going to be fine. Whatever is most comfortable for you. IMO I would just give a milk bub and if your tiny wants more, he will ask for more :)



EDIT: I should add that this is daytime meals. I really don't know how you handle night time bottles. That is a completely different subject all together. I did let my babes have bottles at night and none of them had trouble with their teeth at all; however, I would only give them milk or water, never juice--that may be the difference.

Tammy - posted on 01/30/2010

this is not easy, but you have to take him off the bottle so he will eat more. Does he drink from a sippy cup? There are some really cute ones out there and maybe you could take him to choose one himself. Does he sleep through the night or does he wake up for the milk bottle? If he does, he's damaging his teeth. Its truly a job, and its not easy but you need to get him off the bottle. Baby steps, my prayers to you