Turning One

I switched both my kids to sippy cups when they were a year old. My pediatrician was very insistent about that. I'm glad she was because my sister was still struggling at 2 to get her kids off a bottle. I do have a confession though. I was not ready to give up the bottle so I would still give them a bottle at night so I could still get in my snuggle time..Good luck to you.
L.

Hi S.,
I don't think it matters what anyone says, trust your instincts. If you think it is to soon to give up the bottle then don't. My girls like a bath and a story at night but, your girls might prefer something else. Why do they have to quit the Gerber food, it may be less exspensive to but, like I said before trust what you feel.
J.

Hi S.,
I have no answer, because the very same question is on my mind:). Thanks for asking it.My baby girl will be a year in Jan.also. I can't wait to see the answers.
L.

Good morning S.! As far as the eating your girls will let you know when they have had enough. They will either turn their heads or push your hand away or start to get fussy in their highchair.

I started around 11 months transitioning over to milk so by the time my daughter was a year she was on milk. I also used those nuby sippee cups you can get from target. They come in a two pack. They have a silicone nipple so the transition went without a hitch for my daughter. She is 18 months old and I still give her milk to drink in it while she is sitting with me in the living room winding down before bedtime. My thought on that is I am taking advantage of any loving I can get from her since I know she won't want to sit on my lap forever :-( Hope that helps. Let us know how it goes.
J.

My 16 mo (preemie age 12mos) daughter does different things to let me know when she's full from tablr food. She turns her head away, starts to fling it everywhere and wants to get out of her high chair. Basically you'll know if they are not interested when you put food to their mouths and they don't take it. As far as the sippy cup with her, we gradually would give her one once a day for a couple months, and then just this month I started giving it to her cold turkey. She's doing great. Maybe start slow with te sippy. As far as bedtime maybe a light snack crackers and a little milk in the sippy right before? My daughter still has a paci so thats how we made up for the bottle.

Hi S.,
When my twins turned one in August we went right to sippy cups w/D Milk. We did do a month transition from formula to milk (a little more milk/a little less formula per day)and by the time they were 12 months they were on just milk. The sippy cups were no big deal to my kids. We just switched and that was it. I would recomend a rubber like "nipple" on the sippy cup like the NUBY brands. (warning..mine did not last long when washed in the dishwasher top rack)

As for food...you will know when they are full...and you can still use gerber food too. I still give my kids the fruit when on the road becasue its so easy.

As for bedtime. We just started pushing the last feeding a few minutes earlier each night. Now the twins have the last milk sippy with dinner about an hour before bed. We give them baths right after dinner and put on PJ's and relax/play till bedtime.
Hope this helps. Good luck and take care!
K.

usually when they're full they won't eat any more just like us.i gave my son bottles at bedtime and sippy cups at meal times or throughout the day.

They will stop eating when they are full. My son sits there for a long time now at some meals, sometimes at least a 1/2 hour and I just let him sit there and eat for as long as he still seems to be eating. But, as soon as he starts playing around, I get him down. And, sometimes, it will seem like they barely ate anything. But, they always make up for it at another meal or throughout the week. At this age, they are just interested in so much more than eating. Just make sure you are offering at least partially healthy foods, and it won't matter if they eat a ton either. Of course, it is hard not to give the chicken nuggets and fries, etc. I still give my son the Gerber Graduates stuff too(at 16 months), and I also now give him a snack in the morning and afternoon alot. Just crackers and juice or something like that to make sure he is getting enough. And, of course, the milk is still very important. I went right to a sippy cup when I changed to milk and had no problems. I am not sure if taking it so quickly was what did it, but it worked. I still give him a sippy cup of milk when we watch cartoons before bed to make sure he is nice and full. Don't worry, they will eat when they are hungry for sure. At this age, it is amazing, they pretty much stay the same weight and just shoot right up! They really look like toddlers and they get so fun! Enjoy!

Just because your girls are 1 year old.. nothing has to change immediately.. and you certainly cant change everything at once.

you can transition them from formula to milk by gradually adding more milk and less formula to each bottle. start by adding 1 oz of milk and the rest formula.. then after a couple of days add 2 oz of milk and the rest formula.

Once they are on whole milk start eliminating bottles.. Again do it gradually.. if they normally get 4 bottles a day.. eliminate 1 bottle in themiddle of the day.. Keep the night time bottle that is the last bottle to go.

I wouldnt get rid of bottles until your grils are drinking enough milk out of a cup.

You do not stop gerber food just because the child is 1 year old. Are they able to handle the #3 jars of gerber dinner with pieces?? then try to give them soft food to pick up and eat. Canned fruit and veggies. noodles and rice well done chicken... Kraft cheese crumbles is and excellent finger food. You might still want to give them a jar of baby food - if they dont eat very much at the meal. It takes a while to transition off of baby food and bottles there is no hurry.

A mother of a 2 year old and a 5 month old. All I can say is that you are going to have to try different things. I would suggest not to give milk in the bottle. My husband and I actually introduce the sippy cup to our son before he even turned one. So when he hit one the bottle was long gone. As fas as food good, you child will let you know if she is hungry or not. You will be able to tell by how they are acting, espically since they can't really talk yet. Like with out older son he is not a really good eating but we know he needs something to eat when he gets crabby. Good luck! D.

My daughter is almost 18 months old and there are still some Gerber foods she likes. She loves the Crunchies - zesty tomato. She will eat an entire can if I let her.

She is just starting to get off formula per our dr. She was a preemie and our dr. thought we should wait. I have been slowly introducing milk (Soy) at dinner time. I put the milk in a sippy cup. I still haven’t found a soy milk she likes. She can tolerate dairy, but milk it too strong for her. She has been on soy formula since she was 2 months old.

For bottles, I have been slowly cutting them out too. She may have 2 - 4oz. bottles during the day – always one at nap time and then an 8oz. cereal bottle for bedtime.

They will let you know when they are full. If they continue to gain weight or stay the same, I wouldn’t worry. Some days it seems like my daughter ate more than us and other days I wonder if she ate anything.

If you are not sure if they are hungry or not offer healthy snacks like fruit or yogurt in the evening. My daughter often has a snack at night. That also helped cut out a bottle.