Weening from a Bottle Advice

Have her give the bottles to the bottle fairy! Wrap them up and put them outside at night (hang from a tree, put in a basket, whatever) then in the moring the bottle fairy leaves her a big girl sippy cup! You have to get rid of ALL bottles! This works great for pacifiers too!

You should try the Nuby sippy cups with the clear rubber top. The rubber top is similar to a bottle's nipple, and my daughter adjusted very well to it when we weaned her from the bottle. Good luck!

It is time to redirect her. Nothing to eat or drink away from the table, what I mean is meal time, snack time should be at the table and when she is done thats it. No walking around with a sippy cup or snacks. If you think she is thirsty sit her at the table and let her drink. Nap time and bed time try reading her a story or a book with shapes, colors, or numbers or animals something she likes and she will get use to going to sleep without a bottle or drink. And don't forget she has had it for 17 months and she won't want to give it up without a fight, but just be firm and don't give up. And giving her a drink of water after she eats is a good thing, it washes out her mouth. Good Luck!

A.

Are you giving her that bottle at bedtime and putting her to bed with the bottle? If so, you will have to find a way to wean her from that habit of putting her to bed with the bottle. The sugars in the milk will break down the enamel of her teeth if she is allowed to keep the bottle in bed with her all night and to be able to drink from it. It may be a comfort thing for her to have the bottle and don't worry she will give it up when she is ready.

With my son, I simply just took the bottle away after a few weeks of getting him to drink from the sippy cup. Put her milk in it, she'll drink it if she's thirsty.

What I did when I took my son's pacifier away... I took it, and I told him that I had to give it to the babies who needed it. This was easier for me because he goes to daycare and sees babies with them. I'm not sure if she is around other kids, but if she is, you can try that.
Or maybe when you take her to the doctor, have the bottle's bagged up, and tell her you have to give them back to the doctor because she's a big girl now, and he has to give them to a baby who needs bottles. Good luck!

Well my dd was a little over 2 when we finally got the bottle away from her. I did it on a saturday afternoon for her nap. Just didnt give her one. She actually did pretty well, cried a little for it but went to sleep. She asked for one a few more times and than that was it. So you could try just going cold turkey! Good luck!!

try giving her the milk in a sippy with a soft spout 1st...like a nube cup. that's how i got my daughter to change over. once she got the hang of the soft spout one(she still thought it was a bottle casue the nipple was soft like a bottle), then i gradually began putting other drinks in the cups with hard spouts, then i started offering her milk in the hard spout cups too. if you do it gradually, then it's not so hard. my dauhgter didn't like cow's milk at 1st, but now she loves and doesn't care what kind of cup she gets it in. as far as the chocolate, i wouldn't do that every mornign cause she's gonna start getting used to it and expect it all the time and not wanna drink plain milk. milk flavorings have a lot of added sugar in them so it's better to limit those to every once in while as a special treat.

If they nestle cocoa is working then do that all the time..or find something else that would work.Pretty soon you will have her off the bottle and drinking out of a cup specially when she see 'big girls' like mom drinking out of a cup...good luck
S. B

weaning a child from a bottle, do it in the sign of Pisces, Capricorn, Aquaris, or Sagittarius. Start with Capricorn and go down, you shouldn't have any trouble but do it cold turkey and don't give in.

Hey A.! If I was you I wouldn't even offer her the bottle. I would just hide them and tell her there is no more bottle. That is a big girl! I know it will be hard for few days but she will adjust.

I agree with some of the other posts. 1) The nubby sippy cups with the soft tips are excellent for transitioning. 2) It sounds like she is fine on the sippy cup, just doesn't care for the milk. I would recommend trying the soft tipped sippy cups first, then seeing what happens from there. Good luck!

One important thing to Remember: Don't switch back from cup to a bottle when you decide for sure this is it for weaning her off the bottle: if you are getting frustrated. This will only confuse your baby and make the weaning process even longer. When feeding from the bottle, always hold it yourself. I never let my daughter hold the bottle, and weaning was a snap. I learned this trick from my mother who did the same thing with myself and my brother. We were also weaned quickly and easily.

Your baby may need some extra comfort and attention during this period, so be prepared to give them the extra attention they need to help them overcome the transition phase. You may want to introduce a blankie or stuffed animal These should include extra attention and affection, as well as special games, toys and books. for her to comfort herself but as you do this you said she only takes two bottles a day, gradually take one bottle a way at a time and replace it . Make a family policy that your baby can't walk around with her drink or play with her bottle. This will make it clear that he needs to eat at regular meal and snack times, rather than always holding on to the bottle. Follow similar rules yourself so you don't send mixed messages. if your daughter gets thirsty at night, keep a spillproof cup of water nearby and offer it to her in lieu of a bottle when she wakes. The nighttime bottle is often the most difficult to lose, but doing so is important. I hope this helps
C.
www.momstakeaction.com

Hey A.: It sounds like to me that she is not having a problem taking the sippy cup, but drinking straight up white milk. I nursed my son for 14 mths, he would NEVER take a bottle, so when I offered him a sippy cup, he foresure thought it was foreign. I used those Nuby soft sippy cups and he too was not crazy about reg. milk. Before I became a SAHM, my background is dentistry. I worked 8 years for a dentist and probably 1/3 of the practice were children. I too, gave my son Nestle Powder Chocolate Mix with NO SUGAR ADDED. My son is 3.5 and still gets his chocolate milk that way. As long as you practice good oral brushing, I would not worry about giving her a sippy cup before she goes down for nap. The key is not to let her fall asleep with milk in her mouth, this leads to rotten bottle mouth syndrome, meaning the milk just sits on the teeth and plaque already present of the teeth plus the sugar content equals and acid causing tooth decay. The benefit of milk out ways the risk, meaning she is getting nutrients and calories of the milk and as long as there is some good brushing going on then all is good. I brush my son's teeth morning and night and he has 2 hygiene appointments with no cavities. So bottom line, if she will take chocolate milk from a sippy cup then give it to her, just remember to brush her teeth at the approiate times. Then you and her daughter will be bottle free by her 18mth check up.

I starting weaning one bottle at a time at 15 months. (she just turned 16 months) I first took away the morning bottle and gave her watered down milk in her sippy cup. (just a splash of milk at first)She too, hated milk in the cup. I slowly added more milk to the water every few days. I waited a week and a half before taking away her afternoon bottle. She didn't like that one too much, but only fussed for a few days. I replaced her bottle with a book and her sippy cup. She refused the cup but still went down after a little fight. (she sometimes will drink her milk while I read but I don't push it) I then waited 2 weeks till she was more comfortable going without her other two bottles and was getting used to the book routine instead of the bottle and then I took away the night bottle. That went better than I expected. She cried the first night, but not too long. She understood when she sat with me and her book that it was bedtime. She sometimes fights a little to go to bed, but I figure that's normal. Life is too much fun to sleep. By this time, we've stopped adding milk to her water and she's drinking straight milk. She doesn't drink as much as she did when she had a bottle but I supplement with yogurt and cheese.(per my dr's advice) I offer her her milk in the morning and with every meal and before bed. She gets her water after her nap and after her snacks or when we are out and about. It seems to be working well. I hope this helps! I think the phasing the bottle out is the best way rather than cold turkey, but you know your child best and it's a personal decision. I also must tell you, that I never gave my daugher her bottles. She never held them, walked around with them, went to bed with them BECAUSE I was trying really hard for her not to get attached to them. Perhaps that is why the weaning from them was easier than I expected. I really don't know. It could be because my kiddo just adapted well. Good luck!

My pediatrician told me that how long kids drink a bottle is cultural--in Europe, it can be to 4 or 5 years. My son, who is 3, still has a bottle about 4 times a day. We put 1% milk in it to keep the calorie count lower. The bottle seems to calm him down, and he stays well-hydrated with something other than juice. So, one option would be to let her keep the bottle.

Just stop giving her the bottles. She may act out when she wants it, she may not. If she does, let her cry, don't give in. Try juice instead of milk, she may try the sippy cup then.

Your daughter is old enough to understand the difference between her bottle, and a sippy cup, and is probably already associating a morning sippy cup with a chocolaty treat. I would try weaning her off of her 1st bottle and only offer a sippy cup of milk, telling her that she may choose to have the cup, or not have a drink. Im sure it will not make her happy, but if she is thirsty she will take it. Then do the same for the second bottle. Dont change your mind and switch back, she will understand that if she throws a tantrum that she will get her way. I weaned my son right at a year, and it was a little hard to stick to it, but he caught on quickly. Good luck! And only offer chocolate milk for an extra special treat.

My son doesn't like the taste of plain milk either. He wouldn't drink it with chocolate or strawberry syrup. I bought some Danimal smoothies and poured one in his sippy cup and about the same about of milk. He loves it!!! That's the only way he'll drink it now. He still gets 6 oz of calcium just half of it's in the form of yogurt. His pediatrician says the smoothie is much better then the syrups anyways.

I gradually took my son off the bottle. First it was just in the morning. Then about a week later I switched the bottle for the sippy cup at nap time. It was a little hard at first, but really not as big of a deal as I was expecting. We still kept the bottle at night(the only bottle). We did this for about 3 weeks-until he was really ok with milk out of a sippy cup. Then we switched the night time bottle. By that time, he was so use to drinking everything out of a sippy cup that it didn't even phase him.
Good luck. Hope this helped.

Ok. Everyone line up for the firing squad.

You're letting your daughter control your parenting instead of vice versa. She's definitely old enough be on the cup but isn't because that's not what she WANTS, not because she doesn't know how. When did what a baby wants become what's best for them?

Throw the bottles away. Get her up one morning when not a whole lot is going on in the day, explain that bottle fairy came and took the bottles because she's a big girl and there was a baby just born that didn't have any and needed them. Then show her the empty spot in the cupboard where the bottles used to be. Offer her everything from a cup from now on. And I would definitely not put any more chocolate in her milk.

You've already trained her to expect to get what she wants as long as she knows the right was to tweak you. That's evident in that she's still on the bottle and getting cocoa in her milk, no less. Now you'll have to go through the laborious and unpleasant process of un-training and re-parenting her. There are going to lots of long, drawn fits, probably screaming and crying. But she's not hurt, her feelings aren't hurt and you aren't a bad parent for doing what's best for her. Just keep reinforcing there are no bottles, show her the empty spot again, say you can't get them back from the bottle fairy and she wouldn't want to take them away from a baby that needs them and if all else fails stick with NO! Stick to your guns (resist running out to buy another bottle) and after a day or so she'll get the idea and you'll be surprised how much it WON'T bother her. After a week she should be drinking from a cup like the other kiddos.

Good luck!

I would go cold turkey with the bottle. They have many different sippy cups out there that can make the transition easy. When I was weening my son from the bottle I started with the silicone toped sippy cups. The tops are like a sippy cup top, but are soft silicone when the child squeezes the top the openings spread and the milk, juice, etc... comes out. If you haven't already tried this you might start there. Get a couple for those before nap feedings and work your way from them. Once she sees she doesn't need the bottle for comfort then she will be fine. Also make sure you have her sitting up when she drinks. It would also be good to have an assigned place for drinking such as the table. She is 17 months old and she will be okay she just has to learn that the routine has changed. Good Luck!!!

Can't help you there. My little girl is 20 months this month. She doesn't need a bottle but she likes it before bed. That is her relaxing period and she loves to lay in my lap and have her bottle and fall asleep. I probably won't do that much longer as I can see that she is beginning to not relax as much and not falling asleep as easily. But I like giving it to her and as long as she likes it she will get it for a little longer anyway. I can tell she is beginning to wean herself off of it and that is the best way..... I think

A., When I broke my son from the bottle, I removed all of the bottles from the house. I allowed him to see that the bottle cabinet was empty and I told him all gone. When he ask for a bottle I showed him the empty cabinet and said all gone, and gave him a sippy cup instead. I gave him a sippy cup the same times he would usually get a bottle for a month and then cut them down to less often. If the bottles are there it is more of a temptation for you to give a bottle and for you child to want it. Good luck. My son was broke from the bottle at 12 months. Once you take it completley and do not give in, within a week your child will be asking for a cup.

I recently wrote in asking for help to get my 13 month old daughter to take the sippy cup. She was rejecting milk entirely from a cup or bottle. Then I tried vanilla soymilk by Silk. She is now taking that. Eventually I will transition her to cows milk. It might be worth a try to put soymilk in the sippy and see if she'll take that. It is sweeter than cows milk. They also have a very vanilla flavor especially for kids.
L.

You could try putting all of the bottles away and never offering one again. Unless she has to have formula due to Dr. advise or poor growth she only needs about 14-20oz of any liquid now. At her age all of her nutriants should come from foods. Too many liquids can cause more harm to her digestive system. My kids all were underweight and very picky eaters so we gave them Carnation three times a day in a cup. Try the straw cups first.

She may not like drinking from a sippy cup. Try giving her milk in a small cup. I used the caps from the bottles when I started my child on a regular cup. Either that or a clean medicine cup. It is something "new" and your daughter may get excite to drink this way. A word of advice though, don't put too much in there. The first couple of times it will all go on the bib. As for the bottle, I just stopped taking them out of the cabinet.

Dear A.,

Some little ones need a bottle longer for comfort.
I am the mother of five grown children, but still keep
in contact with homeschool moms, for mutual support,
so that is why I signed for this list. I am the grandmother
of four, including 9 month twin boys.

I know that pediatricians have lots of reasons to take a toddler off of the bottle, but you are the mom, and if you see that the bottle gives your little one comfort, then let her have it, even until she is two years old.

Some time after their second birthday, our toddlers "kissed their bottles" and put them in the trash. That worked with some, but if you do that and she cries non-stop for a day or more for her bottle, then she really wasn't ready. Give it back to her and ask her to tell you when she is ready.

I know this is not "modern" advice. But you would be surprised, I know moms with big families and they have learned to wean, potty train, etc., when their child is ready. And EVERY child is ready at a different time.

I hope this helps.

Grandma J..

Hello A., I am not sure how to ween from a bottle as my oldest was breastfed and my son is only 6mos old and still needs his bottle. But I would like to advise you to stop putting the nestle coca powder in your daughters milk. First off that isn't healthy in my opinion, and second she is not going to drink regular milk because she is always going to want it chocolate tasting. First stop that, and then try maybe heating up whole milk in her cup, maybe she would prefer it warmer like her bottles. Good luck
T.

Hi. I have twins. They were weened from the bottle at 12 months. We used the sippy cup with the soft nipple to transition and never used a bottle again. When it was time for nap or bed time, we read them a story and put them down in their cribs.
My suggestion to you is, if you're using the sippy cup some of the time, then use it all of the time. Try reading your child a story before nap or singing a song in stead of the bottle. If she cries, comfort her by letting her know that she's not a baby anymore. Offer her a little water or a little milk from the cup just before bedtime. It may be difficult for a couple of nights, but stick to the new rules and she'll adjust.

Use the Nanny technique and have a By By Bottle Party. Wrap them up in a pretty package and "give" them to another baby .Put something yummy in her cup for a while. You will be surprised how quickly she will forget about her bottle.

Hi A.,

My son just turned 18 months TODAY! Last night I asked him at bedtime if he was ready to be a big boy and throw his "baba" away. I opened up the closet door, asked him to throw it away, and he did so I gave him LOTS of praise and then put his milk in his cup and he went to bed just fine! I was sooooo proud of him! He is a big helper and like to throw things away for me and all I had to do was ask. He was more than willing, and even said "bye bye". I hope it's this easy with your daughter.

Take care,
H.

P.S. Nap time went over very smooth today and he hasn't asked for it at all!