When Do Babies Drink Soley from Sippy Cups & Not from a Bottle?

Dentist will tell you the sooner the better - The bottle is bad for their teeth as it pushes them apart. Anything you can put in a bottle you can put in a sippy.

She should be on a sippy cup or straw cup by now (my youngest never took to the sippy cup and went straight from the bottle to a straw cup).
As my pediatrician said to me, just don't offer the bottle. They may refuse to drink for a couple of meals, but they are not going to let themselves go thirsty. When they are thirsty, they will drink out of the cup.
Also I agree with Mandy, there are much better alternatives for milk than Soy. I give my son rice and almond milk and they don't have the hormones that soy has.

Hi I.,
You are going to get a lot of differing advice on this, but I personally think there is no harm in letting her have the bottle until age two as long as it is limited like you describe. I did this with both my boys...They started drinking from open cups around age one, and we use the sippys on occasion to prevent spills, but they have never been the type to tote a sippy around with them. They drank milk from a regular cup at meal times, and had one eight ounce bottle of milk at bed time until age two. Neither of them would drink a full eight ounces of milk from a cup, and I knew how important it was for them to have that milk fat for their brains until age two, so I let them keep the bottle for their evening "snack." Then at age two, we went cold turkey on the bottles. For a few days leading up to it, I let them know it was coming, and then it was ba-bas in the garbage, and that was that. They did ask for the bottle a couple times, but I just reminded them that they were gone, and they were okay with that. I think at age two they are better able to understand. Of course, their milk consumption went from eight ounces at bedtime, to about two ounces with their bedtime snack, but I was okay with that once we made it to the two year mark.

Also, you might want to do some research and reconsider your choice of soy milk for your daughter. While soy can be a healthy alternative for adults, it is not really the best option for the developing bodies of little ones. Almond milk, rice milk and coconut milk are all better alternatives. When my younger son turned two, along with the bottle went the milk, as we heard that eliminating dairy could help his eczema. He now drinks the unsweetened almond milk. Also, since your daughter is under two, make sure you are supplementing her with good fats for her brain since she is not getting enough fat that she would normally get from whole milk. From birth to age two, fat is so important in their diet for proper brain development.

I have an almost 15 month old son and he still gets morning and nighttime bottles... sippy cups the rest of the day.
I can't remember how long it was before I phased these out with his sister (now 3.) I just know I'm not ready to give up our morning or night cuddle time.
When you're ready, phase one out... the least favorite first... (I chose mornings with DD.) We got up, went downstairs and had breakfast and a sippy cup. The nighttime bottle lasted longer. I LOVE that cuddle time!
So... whenever you're ready, I guess is my answer.

T., 39
Mommy to Katelyn, 3 and Matthew, 14.5 months

I completely agree with Mandy H on at least 2 points.. You are going to get a lot of differing advise and it is perfectly okay for your daughter to have her milk in a bottle a couple times a day until 2. I have 4 children the oldest 16 years and youngest a girl 16 months.. she too prefers to have a bottle of milk before bed, I always offer her a cup first and sometimes she takes it and other times she points to where she knows her bottles are.. she NEVER takes 8 oz in a cup so I see no harm in indulging her with a bottle, her getting the nutritions her little body and brain needs is a huge plus! If you offer the cup first, your daughter will slowly prefer the cup.. worked with my first 3 (all boys), they were all completely weaned by about 20 months, and it was at thier pace not a text book standard. And to show that there is no development delays caused by allowing them to keep a bottle until age 2.. my oldesr is on A/B honor role as a Junior and my 10 yr old is reading on a 10th grade level in 5th grade.. =D good luck and God bless!!

My son's daycare required him to be on a sippy cup at 1 year. We transitioned him over to a sippy cup during the day, but still kept his bottle at night for another week or so after going full time with the sippy cup. He now drinks soley from a sippy cup & has for about a month (he will be 14 mos old beginning of March). The times of his milk have not changed, just the way he drinks it. We still hold & rock him at bedtime when he gets his milk in the sippy cup, then put him down.

My son is three and still takes a bottle before bed. We had almost had him off, but he regressed when my daughter was born 9 months ago. I think it should coincide with potty training and beginning to get them ready for night training. You don't want them to have milk right before sleep when you begin training them for nighttime. Personally, I dont see the bottle at night as a very big deal, but Im sure you will find many responses that disagree. Do what you think is right for YOUR child. Every child is different and lets go in their own time. Good luck.

we started the sippy cup around 9 mos. at one year we threw out all of the bottles.

I think each baby does things at their own age. My daguther, I broke her of the bottle at about 14 months but my son wasn't that interested in the bottle, so I broker him at about 9 months. Each child has its own need, so I think when you feel your child is showing that she is getting bigger & only using the bottle to nurse then it may be time. Good luck.

The day after my son turned 1 I packed up all the bottles and bought sippies. For his morning and night time bottles I use sippies with the silicon top so it's kind of the same feel - easier transition. Hope this helps!

Tammi is right on. Get rid of the bottle if she's able to drink from the sippy cup. There's just no reason for it anymore than she's used to it. Make the sippy cup a big deal and she won't want the bottle anymore. Anything my son can do to make himself feel like a big boy at 16 months works for us.

ASAP since the bottle can mess up her teeth.
12-13 months is usually the time to start.
Take Care

I.,
All kids are different when it comes to getting rid of the bottle. I have a cousin with an 11 month old who only drinks out of a cup. I have a 15 month old who still uses a bottle, but only for milk. It depends on when your daughter is ready...
H.

Most people phase it out between 1 and 2 years. I know people who took the bottles away on the kid's first birthday. They asked for it a couple of times, but within 3 days, it was like they never had a bottle. Their attention span is pretty short, so it doesn't take long for them to forget. On the other hand, if you both enjoy it as part of the bedtime routine, I don't see any harm in continuing. I am breastfeeding my five month old, and if she is still interested I plan to breastfeed her in the morning and evening after 1.

The only "don't" here is not to let her take her bottle to bed because it's bad for her teeth.

The longer you wait to take the bottle away the harder it will be. All 3 of mine were off the bottle by their first birthday. As long as they know how to drink from a cup, what is the point of keeping them on the bottle???

12 months is when the bottle should be phased out. You say she is drinking from a sippy cup during the day but a bottle first thing in the morning and night. The reason she is drinking from the bottle is because you keep making it available to her. IF your desire is to get her off the bottle then why keep offering it to her when you know she can take th sippy cup well? Throw the bottle away and put her soy milk in the sippy cup. It's that easy. Good luck.

We took the bottle awayfrom my boys on their first birthday. we didn't phase it out, just took it away and we all survived and they did better with it than I thought!

At one year you should start weaning from the bottle. Take small steps at first. She may be ready to do it on her own. Offer the milk in a cup instead of a bottle and see what happens.

Hi I., if she is doing really well with her sippy cup, you can start weaning her now off her bottle, just make sure she has her milk intake during the day, cheese yogurt and milk. My first daughter was 9 months old andMy 2nd daughter was 8 months old and wanted nothing to do with her bottle anymore, but every day i made sure she had her servings of milk. My other 2 children after her stayed on the bottle well after 2 it drove me crazy, i think they just used it to pacify themselves because they didn't have pacifiers like my 2nd daughter. What you can do is see if she will start drinking milk from her sippy cup, unless she already has drank her milk from them, if not tell her that her milk is going in her cups and tell her what you are doing and then if she likes it you can do away with morning bottles. Night time might be a different battle, she might enjoy that bottle before bedtime. Good Luck and let us know how everything went
S. mom to 5 beautiful children, 17yrs,9yrs,7yrs,3yrs,and 16mnths Check out my sons journey at www.liamlockhart.com

It my case it depended on the pediatrician. I was still doing the morning and night bottle with my first until she was almost 3. I didn't think it was a big deal until we switched doctors and she made my 1 year old give it up. So they both gave it up at the same time. It wasn't a big deal when it went. They just sit and drink the milk from the sippy cup now. I guess those will have to go soon...

My daughters went to just a cup at 11 months and 8 months, but I think most people do it between 12 and 18 months.

She just turned 1. It is more important that she drink her milk than that she use a sippy cup --and she does that already. Don't rush her out of babyhood...it doesn't come back.