Help! My 19 Month Old Still Takes a Bottle at Nap Time....

This reminds me of a couple I knew years ago. She couldn't bear the hassle of taking the bottle away from her son, either. Then one day her husband came home and he had just had enough of Bryan's sucking on that bottle. He opened the back door of their Nebraska home and threw that bottle as far as he could out into the deep snow. Bryan looked at it and said, "Bobble gone-gone." He never had one again.

I transitioned from bottles to soft nipple, Nuby sippy cups. My son didn't like that his milk came out faster in a regular sippy cup. Now at 22 months, he'll take either. I stopped giving him milk or juice at naptime several months ago & now we changed the routine to telling stories, singing songs, reading a book etc to relax him & have some quiet time before his nap. Put away or get rid of the bottles, that will make it easier if he doesn't see them. I got pregnant with my 2nd when my first was 10 months old, so I wanted to get him off bottles so he wouldn't try to drink the babies. He was about 14/15 months when we stopped bottles. It will just get harder the older he gets.

People worry too much. :-) Your child will not start kindergarten with a bottle...my daughter took one until 2 and a half or so. Some people criticize, but what's the real harm? In some cultures, children nurse until they're 3,4 or even 5. Just make sure you brush teeth as soon as your child wakes up, to avoid tooth decay. Other than that, no worries. I've yet to see anyone graduate high school with a blankie or a bottle.

YES - STOP GIVING HIM A BOTTLE OR SIPPY CUP AT BED TIMES.

If you are giving anything other than water his teeth will rot. If you don't believe me, discuss this with the dentist. A sippy cup will also hinder the growth of his front teeth. Best solution, let him holler and use a stuffed animal (puppy) as a means to put himself to sleep.

You're not a bad parent but remember, you are the parent, the boss, not him. It will be tough at first but it is a test of wills and the beginning to a better future where he knows you are the boss and in charge.

B.,

Taking my son off the bottle was one of the hardest things I have had to do as a parent. I am pretty sure that he still had one at 19 months. It took forever for me to make the decision I was going to do it and that was that. Although it broke my heart and trust me his crying was awful. There were many times that I just wanted to give in but my husband and I just stuck to our guns and did it. Your bagby is going to cry but eventually will give in and take the sippy cup when they realize the bottle is no more. Make sure that you put all of the bottles out of sight. I know its going to be hard and I will pray for you. It took two days for my son to give in.

You have quite alot of good responses and some that are a little too harsh. Here is my advice: if you want to keep giving your little one a bottle, then keep doing it. My only suggestion is put water in the bottle at naptime. That way you don't have to worry about tooth rot or any of that. Put the good stuff, milk or juice, in a sippy cup during the day. He will soon figure out it is sippy cup with the good stuff or bottle with water. Doesn't take them long. The hardest part is the not giving in. You don't have to take him off the bottle just change what you are putting in it. He will take himself off eventually. Don't worry about what people say. They will either say you took him off too early or too late. You can't really win with everyone, so as the other moms say, do what you think is right. You are doing great. Try not to sweat the small stuff!
Hope this helps!

If he'll do it for his dad, but when you try he fusses and you give in then be strong and don't give in. He is a smart kid and knows you'll give in if he fusses. I know its hard but you have to start young and be firm, because when he gets older he'll know he can manipulate you with other things.

My advice is STAY STRONG! Put your foot down and don't take no for an answer.

hi B.! The only thing to do is just throw away all of the bottles. Once they get used to it, they will stop wining. I know its hard! I have two kids- one is 6 and one is 9 so I have seen it all! hahaha also, my daughter was sucking a pasifier till she was 3 --we finally threw the pasifiers away because she was catching colds alot and had asthma and the doc said that germs were gathering in the pacy.. anyway.. hope this helps. It is hard for the first week or so and then it will get easier...

Sincerely,
A.

Obviously he can take the sippy cup (since he does it for Dad) and knows you are a the "sucker" (your word). Us Mom's are such softies... I'm the same way! Here's an idea that I used when it came to getting my son off the pacifier - gather up all the bottles (he could help)and put in a zip lock bag (so he can see them)and take them to another baby you know (whether or not they are going to actually use them), have him give them to the BABY and talk about how he is such a BIG BOY that he does not need BABY bottles anymore. Then when he goes down for bed/nap, you remind him that you gave all the bottles to the baby because he is a big boy... he knows and you know that there are no more bottles in the house! This worked great for giving up our paci! He may fuss a little at first (out of habit) but he will get over it quickly and go to sleep. In fact... about a week later, my son found a paci (that was stuck in the couch) and I thought for sure he was going to use it... but he said "Mom, we forgot to give this paci to the baby!" We put it in an envelope and "mailed" it to the baby (our friends lived out of town that we did the paci give to). Hang in there and good luck!

Throw Out The Bottles! When he realizes that there are no more bottles then he will move on.

Obviously, your baby and you are in a power struggle! And, the "terrible twos" are right around the corner.

Lay off the pressure, and he will eventually not need the bottle to show his "power"! The very fact that your husband doesn't have this problem shows you are putting too much pressure on the little kid.

First, please stop giving your little one a sippy OR bottle to go to sleep! Please do a google image search on "bottle rot"... that should help you get tough! WOW.

And you're not a failure, silly. He's good at reading you, and knows you'll cave - you made a kid who's smart as heck! :D

So, here's the phrase I always used: "sorry, they're all gone!" Then it's not so much a decision that mom made, but just a statement of fact. Them's the breaks, kid - do you want a sippy or not, basically. And it's important to say it cheerfully, not all sad - he'll take his cue from you (once he's done pitching a fit to see if you'll cave again), so don't make it sound like something terrible.

You decide - they can either be "all gone" just for nap time, or you can entirely switch to sippies and truly get rid of all the bottles. He's definitely old enough to not take bottles at all.

It's up to you - you have to learn to get tough with your kid, and over bottles is MUCH easier practice than over too much TV or homework or PlayStation time or curfew!

You can do it! You're safeguarding your kid and you're the MOM! Remembering that makes us ALL tough when we really need to be.

Good luck!

With my oldest we gave her a cup of warm milk and a bottle of ice cold water. The first night all the water was gone and the milk was there, the second about half and half and the third all the milk was gone and the bottle was full. We never looked back.

With my little one, not so much. She dehydrated herself before she took a sippy cup at 3.

Each child is different, do what you think is best.

no child at any age should have a bottle or sippy cup while napping or in bed. they should drink before going to bed. not only is it bad for their teeth, it is a choking hazard. if they are old enough to drink from a cup and it is all you give them, they will drink it sooner or later.

You just have to quit offering the bottle- he'll give in. If he's strong willed it may take a few days- but he knows dad only gives him the sippy- he just has to learn that's all he'll get from you too. When he fusses and gives you a hard time remind yourself you are caring for his teeth and you love him too much to waste his college money on unnecessary dental work and pain. Oh, and make sure you are only giving him water in that cup after his teeth are brushed!

My eldest had a bottle before bedtime until she was 2, when she gave it up on her own. She used sippy cups during the day & at meals.

I'd let him keep the one bottle & not stress about it.