Taking Daughter off Her Bottle.

I took the bottle away at 13 months at the recommendation of my pediatrician. If she can drink out of a sippy cup she will be fine. I used a nubby cup for awhile to have the bonding time before bed. I found (as did many of my friends) we needed the bottle/cuddle time more than the kids did.

D., I had a son who didn't want to give up a bottle and what I did was to let him have a bottle but only with water in it. At the same time he was offered a sippy cup(the kind with a flow control) with milk, juice or whatever he likes in the bottle. Eventually you can remove the flow control and when he can handle that you can go to a regular cup. The key to this is to stick to it, if you even give in once by putting the good stuff in the baby bottle it won't work. Hope this helps!

i took my son off of the bottle at 18 months... but the earlier you start the better... some adviec i have is have her go to the trash and throw her bottle away let her say bye bye to it and then hand her a sippy. another thing i have heard of working is to give her something she normally wouldn't like in her bottle and some milk or something she would like in her sippy... and ya know what if all else fails take it away completely... eventually she will get the point and just take her sippy!! I am not gonna lie though it can be a long druling process so good luck!!!

Hi D.,
I have 2 boys and with the first I felt guilty taking it away so he had until almost 2 (just for nap and bedtime). It was pretty hard for him because he was old enough to know what he wants. With my second, I took it away at his 1st birthday. It was so easy, he didn't even care. I think the difference is the age. We went cold turkey with both. I got rid of all the bottles so that I wouldn't be tempted to give them one if they cried. I think the sooner the better. Good luck.
Chris

D.,

I let my daughter keep her bottle till she was 20 months old. I had her sitter take the nap time bottle away first. Then a few months later I took the bedtime bottle away. She was starting to want the bottle so I told her they needed to go to new babies. She watched me pack them up and said bye bye. The first night she asked for it I kept handing her her cup of milk. After about 10 minutes of her thowing a tantrum she gave up and took her cup and went to sleep. I did this on a Friday by Sunday she didn't ask anymore.

Some parents I feel take the bottle away to soon. I would take the nap bottle first before you try the bed time bottle. To much trama for both of you. My daughter doesn't have a blanket or special sleep toy, so I let her keep the one thing that conforted her. When she started demanding it that was my way of knowing it was time to take it away before it was to late.

Best of luck and I hope your daughter adjusts as well as mine did.

P.

I think it is fine for her to still have her bottle. If you take it away too soon, she may start sucking her thumb or some other sucking comfort thing. It could also make naptime and bedtime stressful for her if you take it away cold turkey. You could try gradually, very gradually, putting less of whatever she has in her bottle. I have 3 daughters...one wouldn't give it up, even at 3 years old until I told her we were going to send the bottle to her auntie for her new baby. That worked great. #2 daughter just up and quit nursing at 15 months, but she still had her "nuk" until we conveniently "lost" all of them. #3 held onto the nap and bedtime nursing...all of 2 minutes, til she was 3. They were all different, they all survived, and none of them sucked their thumbs. The only other concern about the bedtime bottle is what is in it and what is sitting on her teeth all night. I wouldn't worry about it at all...she is still a baby and probably still needs that sucking. Good Luck!

My youngest didn't want to give up her bottle.The 'experts' said to take it away before her 1sr birthday. I couldn't do it. What we did was to grdually change to all water. She was allergic to milk so we made the formula thinner and thinner. Eventually we just gave her water in her bottle. I don't know if you are worried about the stigma of a bottle when she is walking etc or her teeth. We were only concerned with her teeth. They say now that sucking on water for hours is bsad on their teeth too. Anyway that is how we survived and she gave it up on her own at about 2 1/2. By the way she has perfect teeth at 16. I also have never had a problem with a pcaifer. It is so much easier to stop than a thumb!

I agree that earlier is better. I started weaning my two children at around 15 months. My daughter was difficult but we just went cold turkey and after a couple days was fine. My son was less difficult, but he was about 18 months when the bottle was totally gone. They both started eating much better when the bottle was GONE!! And I was happy not to mess with cleaning them. I did buy NUBY brand sippy cups for my son and that seemed to help the transition to a cup.
GOOD LUCK!!

When I weaned my son off his bottle, I did it gradually. I started introducing a sippy cup prior to his first birthday. Took several tries to find one he would regularly drink from. Then I took away the bottle at naptime & gave him the sippy. He usually drank but not as much as if he had a bottle and then put him down. After a week of that I started taking the bedtime bottle. She will probably resist &be stubborn at first but will get over it. A friend of mine took the bottle away cold turkey and handed her girls a sippy cup instead. She said they just looked at it for a couple of days & then figured it was what they were to drink from. Good luck.

Well, I was an older mom too and I let my daughter (now 23 years old) have a bottle until she was 5 or so. She only wanted a little water in a bottle after she went to pre-school. I figured she would give it up before prom....and she did. I think if your little one likes it and needs it, what's the harm. It may give her some relaxation....and don't we all need that. C.

I'd be REALLY cautious about milk at bedtime. Perhaps you could switch to water. With my daugther I noticed she hugged the bottle more than she actually drank from it. It was just comfortable because she was used to it and she didn't care what was in it. There are a lot of different styles of cups that will make your transition easy when you are both ready. You may also want to discuss it with your pediatrician or consult a speech therapist or occupational therapist through your local school district or health clinic to see what they recommend as far as a next step cup. I have heard recommendations to avoid sippy cups because extended use can contribute to speech difficulties or a lisp and can increase the occurrance of ear infections - most prefer a straw, some a sport bottle - not my area of expertise, but definately worth looking into.

hi D. try giving her a favoriate toy or stuff animal to sleep with in stead of the bottle and if you feel she is ready to get off the bottle then u take her off but don't listen to others because you know your child better than anyone

Hi there! I have an 18 month old and a 3 yr. old and we are expecting our 3rd in August. I was very strict with my first and had him off the bottle by 12-13 months. He had no problem with it, but I'm having a much harder time with my daughter. I am much more lax with her seeing how she is or 2nd. She has no problem with a sippy cup, but goes to sleep much better with her baba. Maybe it's from bieng too exhausted to fuss with it, but it doesn't bother me much and she goes to sleep good with her bottle. I just make sure to brush her teeth frequently. Hope that helps!

We have a beautiful 18 month old, too. My husband is 45 and I'm 35. I was also told slim chance of children with my health. I am having the same issue. We are trying to get her off the bottle at 18 months old also. My mom says to feed her Gerber jarred food before bed/nap. Ours likes the banans. Hide the bottles so she won't see them, give her a sippy cut that won't spill instead. We're still trying also. Any advice on thumbsucking?

Have you tried switching those bottles into the sippy cup but still cuddling. I found with my daughter's last bottle to give up, once I just switched it to the sippy but still held and cuddled her she gave it up nicely and then about a week after the switch she was ready to not even be held any more she was about 13-14 months at the time. Good Luck.

Hi there,
Have you tried sippy cups with milk in them? With my 2 daughters i just one day took the bottle away and gave them a sippy cup with milk in it. worked like a charm! as for being picky, they do go through spurts where they wont eat much one day and then eat alot the next. is it certain foods she wont eat?

Dilute the contents of the bottle slowly over a couple of weeks (adding a tablespoon more water each day) until it's only water, then you won't have any reason to care that she's taking a bottle to bed.

Most kids this age are 'picky' eaters -- not because there is anything wrong with them, but because their growth has slowed dramatically (they'll usually hold their weight from about 11 months until as old as 4 years), so they simply are not as hungry. They can easily hold out for the 'good stuff' if mom's fretting about getting anything in. Knowing that it is normal for their appetites to evaporate and for them to appear to survive on air makes it possible to stay sane and still only offer healthy choices. Because they will eat nothing but chocolate yogurt if they can convince the big people to supply it continuously. 15mos should not be making their own grocery-store choices yet.

You may find that she wakes in the night hungry to eat without the bottle. There are lots of calories in bottles, so removing the calories may indicate that a lot of her food is still eaten through the night. Be prepared to offer her another (small) meal or two through the night if you're serious about no bottles.

my experience with taking my duaghter off the bottle.. we got it down to 2 bottles a day..she had lost interest in bottles and we couldhave taken them away at about 15 months.. then I had my second child.. and she wanted the bottle again. So we continued.

then she just had the nighttime bottle.. and she started taking less and less milk from the bottle. if she wanted one i gave it to her but I didnt offer. By 2 years she had totally weaned herself off the bottle with no problem. I wouldnt worry about it. Your daughter will stop when she is ready. Tehre is not big hurry.

I think 15 months is young to take away the bottle. I also think 15-18 months is a very difficult age.. It gets easier once they start to talk more.

When I took my sons off, i just put them all away. When they asked for it, I took them to the cupboard where they were stored and showed them that they were "all gone". It worked all four times. Let me know if it works for you. L. S.

My daughter was about 13 months when I completely took away her bottle. I was going to do it slowly taking one bottle feeding away at a time letting her get use to it but I found with my daughter it was easier to just completely take it away at one time. I think it's harder on us the parents then it is on them. Good luck.

D.
When we were taking my daughter off the bottle we did the same thing as you and did it slowly getting her down to only one at bed. We tried everything to get her off of them and nothing seemed to work until one day at Walmart I found a sippy cup that had a nipple type soft top on it(made by Nuby). It helped us out alot. We still had some troubles but not near as many.
As for the picky eating my daughter is the same way. We just continually put a little of everything on her plate and make a big deal about mommy and daddy are eating it and it is sooo good. It doesn't always work but we have finally gotten her to try pork chops and chicken that way. She didn't eat it but she tried it.

Good luck.
J.

Try buying sippy cups by "NUBY." They are sold at CVS and Walmart. They have the rubber nipple aspect, but a wider spout to introduce them to a sippy. This worked best for my little one. 15 months is definitely not too young to wean. You might find that your daughter will start eating better once she is drinking less milk. She will have more of an appetite for solids. The longer you wait...the harder it gets!! Good Luck

Mom of 2 boys!

Just a few ideas and such...i had my daughter off her bottle by her 1st birthday. Have you tried sippy cups at all? The only one to break her from that in my opinion is to just give her the sippy cup at bed time, when she knows thats all she has, she will use it and adjust in no time.
The eating, my daughter is picky as well. I find it more helpful to sit at the table with her with the same foods and show her how i take a bite and tell her how good it is and that will get her interested in taking a bite as well. My daughter is 22 mths old. Hope this helps

D. --

Only method I know is painful to YOUR ears for about 3 days/nights. Give her a glass of milk at bedtime & only a few minutes to drink it, and put her to bed with no bottle.
Make sure she is otherwise clean & fed and okay.

She will cry about 3 hours for the first night. About 2 hours next night. About 1 hour or less third night. After that, you are done with it. Make sure you put the bottles away where she can't see them or be reminded of them.

Tell her, gently, that she is a BIG girl and big girls don't use a baby bottle anymore. Reinforce that with telling her how good she is, etc., before she goes to bed WITHOUT that bottle.

It worked with my 2 sons & 9 grandchildren.

You might want to buy yourself some earplugs!

D.

D., I had a really hard time getting my son off his bottle also. I would put just water in his bottle and juice or something he really liked in a sippy cup. He hated drinking water out of a bottle so he would choose the cup. After a little while of this he would realize the bottle had "yucky stuff" while the sippy cup had the yummy stuff. It only took a couple of weeks for him to not want the bottle at all. Hope this helps. R. R.

Our pediatrician gave us a great way to get rid of the bottle (not necessarily the feeding!) Put water in the bottle - not milk! Put milk in a sippy cup - offer the sippy cup first. Your child will probably not want it and will cry for the bottle - so give it to her, with only water. We did this with my son - he grabbed the bottle and started drinking, realizing immediately that this wasn't the good milk - so he switched over to the sippy cup filled with the good milk. Then he sucked on the bottle a couple more times and then finally switched to the sippy cup for good. It only took that one time for us to be done with bottles. He naturally weaned himself off the feedings after that.

My oldest just gave his bottle up at 8 mos. and drank everything from a sippy from then on, my second and third had theirs until they were almost two. My daughter gave hers up on her own but my baby would not let go, he was so attached to it. I hid it from the DR. cuz he said I should take it away cold turkey and I felt bad. But I ended up doing that anyway about a week before his 2nd B-day. He was biting the tip off and spilling it out, so I just said thats it, no more baba and took it and he cried and sat in the chair all day and I felt horrible, he looked so broken hearted:( But he woke up the next day and asked me for it and I said no remember you chewed it up? It was a couple of sad days but he never got another bottle. I did buy the Sassy brand sippy cups with the latex nipple to help him get used to drinking from a cup and he liked those better than the hard ones if that helps. Good luck and be strong those puppy faces and broken hearted looks are hard to turn away from!

When we waened our son off bottles I changed him over to a Nuby sippy cup (Nuby is the brand) They have a soft spout that is shaped like a sippy spout. We just started making his formula up in those sippies. He took right to them and we never had an issue with getting rid of the bottle. Then after he was really comfortable about those sippies we introduced regular (hard spout) sippies and he did great with those too. It made for a VERY easy, stress free transistion. We bought the Nuby sippies at Walmart. (Our son was 12 months when we got rid of the bottle. Not sure if the age will make a difference.)

As far as being a picky eater, I think its an age thing. My son wen/is going through it and my nephew, who is 13 months is just starting to hit it too. My pedi told me its perfectly normal and they wont starve so keep trying to encourage new foods.

Good luck!

At her age they still believe whatever you say. I did this at age 2 with the pacifier for my son. Pick a day and tell her all over the world it is " fly the bottle day" because now she is old enough to use a big girl cup. Buy a dozen balloons and tie an empty (light) bottle to the end and let her release them. To her, seeing it fly away is the reality that it is gone. Of course hide or get rid of the others prior so when she comes back in she does not see any. Then reward her buy taking her to pick out a few new sippy cups. This works great with pacifiers but I am not sure about a bottle. It's worth a try. Good Luck!!