Advice on Taking the Bottle Away

I found it was easy to spend a really active day with my son, and then right before before bed I just sat him on my lap, in a reclined position like you would with a newborn, and just started talking with him. I made him talk and talk and talk about every thing, until he fell asleep. WITH OUT THE BOTTLE. Do not even get one out to make for him. If he wants a drink just give him so water in a juice cup.

This may come across as funny but what i did with my son was this .. (my sone is name sean ) Sean thow the bottles in the trash we're a big boy we dont need them ok and he thew them away never had a problen since lol and trust me sounds mean but he got it lol!

does your son take a sippy cup at all?? then cold turkey is the way to go.. although, having a newborn in the house may make that hard.. maybe a bribe of some sort - give him a sticker for each night he doesn't take a bottle and then after 5 nights, bake cookies or do something special. good luck

I know this sounds harsh, but believe me it's the only way to do this quickly. Just throw them away. At 2, he will understand you when you say he's ok and he can still have a drink, just not in a bottle. Try giving a spill-proof sippy cup instead. At first he will cry a lot and refuse the cup, but if you stand your ground, in a few nights he will be drinking from the cup. The key is not to give in once you've done it...which is why you should get the bottles out of the house, so you're not tempted to give in. He may be awake later at night for the first few nights, but things will settle down and he'll except it in time. And it won't take as long as you think...just a few nights. Trust me, it really is the quickest way. And in a week you'll be thrilled!!!
Let me know how it goes...

Hi I am a mom of two. Both of my kids were broke off the bottle by the time they were one years old. I went cold turkey and put all milk and drinks in a cup and if he wanted it they would drink it from the cup. I started to put water in the bottles so they had something to drink if all else failed with getting them to go to sleep. I would give him a four ounce bottle of water and a cup of milk when you put him to bed. If you c that the cup bottle is empty on the first night than put water in the cup and no bottle. if the cup is empty than there is no need for a bottle or give him a empty bottle with his cup. I hope this helps
J.

i gave my son a sippie cup with milk at first the slowly watered down the milk untill it was just plain water and then he no longer wanted the cup to go to bed.

S.,

Dump that bottle! Falling asleep with a bottle in his mouth can cause bottle caries, which is a rotting of the back teeth. Even milk has sugars in it that sit all night long on his teeth, inviting bacteria to feast away. A sippy cup or straw cup is not a better solution, because it still leaves him falling asleep with a drink in his mouth.

I know you can't throw them out. I know it's going to be hard to say there are no more bottles when you have a new baby in the house, and he sees her with one. Does he have a lovey? Another comfort object might help him feel secure going to sleep without his bottle. My mom told my little brother when he turned two that he had to leave all of his bottles under the Christmas tree for Santa to give to the little babies who need them, and that he would be left toys in return. He did it, opened his new toys then next morning, and whenever he asked for one, my Mom would remind him that he "traded" them to Santa for all of his new big-boy toys.

There is s sippy cup made by nuby, they are a soft cup spout the is a little similar to the bottly nipple we used those to transition my son, you can try that to start. They are sold at walmart and just about any other store

My son liked a bottle of milk for bedtime so i first switched out one ounce of milk for water, the next night two oz. and so on until it was a bottle of water he took to bed at night - then i waited until he was three to take the bottle away completly, by then i could just tell him....bottles are pain in the neck...heres your Poland Springs bottle of water!

dear S.,
does he take the bottle during the day?

Hi S.-
I don't have experience with this as my son weaned himself off of the bottle at 20 months, but I do have a suggestion. Will he take a sippy cup? Nuby makes one with a soft silicone spout or you could try a straw cup. Maybe throw the bottle away (i know easier said than done) and give him a sippy cup instead. I know it's not so good for the teeth if they go to bed with milk, so maybe try to get him used to milk in a sippy cup during the day and switch it to water at night. Good luck!

We told our kids that Santa needed to take the bottles to give to other children and left them out with milk and cookies...It worked although they still have milk at bed but in a cup..I thik its more my fault and habit more than anything else..

Well you asked a question I should of been asked, Thank you for this! My son just turned 3 and at night he asks for a bottle at times. Some times I am strong and say no way and other nights I will give him one cause he will fall right asleep. I have tried a sippy cup or just telling him NO! I am going to follow your question so i can get help as well.

Good Luck!

Hello there, I just went through the same thing. My son just turned two last Sat and was still taking the bottle to bed. He and I went to Target and made it a big exciting trip to go get a night night cup. I allowed him to pick out any cup that he wanted and that night we threw all his bottles away and he went to bed with his cup. It has now been 6 nights and I have had no problem. I just kept praising him and telling him he was such a big boy and it worked. Hope this helps a little..and good luck!!

I just went through this with my daughter this summer. I started out by giving her a bottle of milk before bed and only offering her a bottle of water during the night if she woke up to ask for one. I did this for 2 weeks, although she only asked for bottles 2 or 3 nights. Then 2 weeks later I stopped giving her a bottle before bed, she has been drinking everything else out of cups and sippy cups anyway for sometime now. She had a hard time for 2 or 3 nights but then nothing. I did this for 2 weeks and then it was time for the pacifier. I thought this would be the hardest but it wasn't bad at all. Good luck.

When my kids were younger,Itook their bottles away gradually. I replaced it with a sippy cup.I would put juice in it,not milk.I told them that it was the big girl thing to do.Now they sleep with water beside the bed.

okay...S.. obviously this is important to you. right?? i never worried about the bubbies. if my babies wanted a silly bubbie i gave it to them. they grow up sooo fast and its over before ya know it. i would just relax. brush their teeth or wash them with a face cloth. thats what i did. my little ones love their bottle!!! and its better then them sucking their thumb. thats where my michael was headed. seriously. my older boys were not an issue and they just grew out of them. i never made it an issue. it wasn't all that important to me. but to them it was. so i let it disappear when they were ready. i didn't want to stress them out. my michael however was a challenge. and still is. he is a sucker all the way. i use to think that it was something parents were doing wrong like not nurturing their children but i was wrong. its just something that every child or person is different. don't stress it. watch their teeth. are your teeth soft?? my boys are fine and they loved their bubbies...i cut it down to one before bed. then they grew up. boo hoo. thats my story...good luck

Hi S.,

All kids are different and their response to having their bottles taken away will differ as well. In my experience, the bottle is a habit and a comfort. When my twins turned 26 months old we replaced the bottles with a half filled sippy cup of milk for a week. Then we replaced the milk with water. Now, they can take it or leave it. The important thing to do is to make sure your son doesn't see it as a punishment, especially since his sister will (presumably) have a bottle. Stressing that it's a big boy thing might make the transition smoother.

hi S.!! my son is going to be 18 months old...i ask his doctor and he told me to just throw it away. he said the first few nights will be tough but they will get used to it. my son actually didnt even miss it at all. good luck!!