Advice on Weaning 1 Year Old off the Bottle to Sippy Cup

I weaned both of my babies off of the bottle right around their first birthdays and it was a piece of cake (no pun intended!:) They were taking 4 bottles a day at that point - one with each meal and one just before bed. My first baby actually refused the bottle completely, 2 weeks before his first birthday. So I never had to try to wean him, we just went straight to milk in sippy cups. But with my 2nd baby, I had a little plan: I replaced one at a time starting with the mealtime bottles. Instead of the formula in a bottle, I gave him milk in a sippy cup. And I waited at least 4 days between each "dropped" bottle before dropping the next one. The bedtime bottle was last. We always read a book to him while giving him that last bottle, so we just continued the same bedtime routine with no bottle and he never gave us any indication of missing it. I think we might have given him a sippy cup, but I can't remember now!

However you decide to make the transition, be prepared - my babies never drank as much from a sippy cup as they did from a bottle. It really concerned me with my first, but I think it was just the transition of getting used to the sippy cup. The intake did gradually increase. I just kept the sippy cup around constantly and offered it a lot in hopes of getting them to drink more. They must have been getting all of the liquid they needed - they never showed any signs of dehydration and they are still growing healthy and strong a couple/few years later.

Don't worry - I think the younger you wean him off of the bottle, the less traumatic it will be. It was no trouble at all with mine (though my first doesn't really count since he refused it himself). Good luck!

It took me about 3 weeks to finally get my 1 year old of the sippy cup completely. I just started of gradually changing one of the bottle feedings per day to sippy cup, then 2 of the feedings, than 3 etc. Eventually by the 3rd week he was off the sippy cups completely.

I started of by changing to sippy cup 1st on his morning feeding because I knew he would wake up very hungry. I also left a sippy cup with water laying around where he could easily get to it.

It took me a while to find the ones he liked. He seemed to like the Playtex (the very colorful ones) and the Nubby sippy cups the best.

Don't worry as long as you stay with it he will eventually get used to it. It may take some time but be patient.

One thing - he did seem to have some reflex issues at the beginning (I think he was not using to having such a fast flow) so keep this in mind also.

weaning a baby off a bottle is like weaning a baby off of breast. A child naturally likes milk IN a bottle, because it is like a nipple ie: the Mom. THAT is why MANY children/babies will not drink milk from a cup.

Slowly is the key. NOT cold turkey. As Deanna Leigh said.

Now, to prevent tooth decay, I use "Spiffies."
http://www.spiffies.com/ It's a tooth wipe that cleans the teeth and helps prevent decay and cavities. You can do it in conjunction with brushing teeth, afterwards. It is a great product. I use it for my son, because brushing teeth with him is more 'fun' than efficiency at this point. So I use the Spiffies tooth wipes to ensure greater teeth health.

Some parents dilute the milk in a bottle... and then put 'real' milk in a cup. Then that way, the child rejects the diluted milk in a bottle and realizes the 'real' milk is in a cup. It's a transition. You try and change the 'habit.'

Next, some just ONLY give milk in a cup. But some babies will not take it in a cup....thus they can go for days without drinking any. Thus, not getting daily nutritional intake.

It's hard. With my son, I just distracted him, and only gave it to him if he asked. Then gradually, I would just sit a cup of milk next to him and not make a big deal of it....and just acclimated it to him that way. Then gradually, he'd reach for it. And then I made his 'bottles' more scarce. Or, I'd just put water in the bottle (thus lessening the teeth decay potential), and he'd be happy with that. With my son, he just liked to hold it... and twiddle the bottle nipple. It was a comfort gesture for him.

each child is different. But.. keep in mind, you don't HAVE TO take away the bottle in one swoop, or even RIGHT now. It is gradual. ALL Pediatricians, at this age, say to take the bottle away. Many parents don't... some do. So don't feel bad about it. Really. Other cultures, are different too... and sometimes only at a certain times is a bottle 'allowed.'

All the best,
Susan

My son is 9 months old right now and I just read in Baby 411 that between 9 and 12 months old a baby should start to use a sippy cup. Our son can hold his bottle on his own, so we are now ocassionally giving him a sippy cup during the day with water in it so he can get used to it. Being that your son is a bit older, you may want to be a bit more aggressive in the number of times you give it to your son to try, but not sure if cold turkey is right for any of you. You don't want him to get so frustrated with it that it becomes more difficult for you to teach him. We've also started just setting his sippy cup on a low table or where he can crawl to get it. Babies are naturally curious, so perhaps if you set it out for him to take the lead, he will naturally start drinking out of it - babies love cause and effect toys and this is similar. You may find that cold turkey is just right for him, he may not mind at all.

I do not agree that cold turkey is the best. You can wean off slowly and he'll be just fine. Took our son about 4 months. Personally I think cold turkey is more traumatic and not necessary. Good luck!

Right now is the best time. If you let them go past a year on the bottle they become too attached and it will be a lot harder to switch them to sippie cup the longer you wait. I would buy a variety of straw and sippie cups and see what your son prefers. The spill proof straw cups are cool.

Cold Turkey for anything is not fun...imagine being an infant, and not being able to express your frustration and confusion.

Weaning is a process, and takes time. I let my son self wean from the bottle and he did a great job with the transition. At about 14 months, he stopped taking the bottle at night and by 18 months he was over it all together. What I did was make sure that after his bottle feedings I would clean his teeth to make sure they weren't getting gross. Also, at around a year I started offering the cup with mealtime and made the milk/formula about food and less about comfort.

Our kids are very smart and know when they need something and when they don't. It's just a matter of us being able to understand and meet those needs. My son's Pediatrician asked me if I felt comfortable weaning, and when I explained my thoughts, he backed me up. I think what you have to do is go with what works best for your child and not worry about making changes based around the people around you and what they think or feel...it's not about us, it's about the baby now.

Evaluate what you think your son needs now, and what will work best for him. If you take it away now without transition you are going to open the door to a whole world of other potential issues...like sleep loss and crankiness!

With any process just be patient and be consistent, and it will happen in time.

Good Luck!

Cold turkey ? He's not a smoker, druggy or an alcoholic.
It will be much easier to take a few bottles away at a time, he needs to replace the milk with people food, so he needs to eat instead of drink, this week start with 2 or 3 bottles depending on how many he drinks a day, at meal time give him a sippy cup with milk. Then next week take some more away, where if he is use to one when he goes to bed make that the only ones. Then work on those last, come up with a new bed rutine until he forgets about bottles then change the bed rutine again. Once you offer him more table food he will cut back on the bottles. My son weaned himself, didn't even remember to ask for one one day I thought he would remember the next day but he didn't.

It's easier then you think, but be strong if he refuses to eat table food and just want's a bottle, don't give in. He will not starve to death in a few hours, but you don't get a bottle until you eat the table food. He might cry for a while but soon he will give in and realize he's not going to win this one. Good luck! J.

Well We introduced the sippy cup to my son when he was seven months, to get him familiar with it. At exactly 12 months we took the bottle from him, there is no easy way really, you just have to do it. From what i understand and found to be true, after 48 hours its smooth sailing. Try getting a sippy cup with a softer lid but you want to try and keep anything that could be confused with a bottle away from him like really soft nipple like sippy cup lids etc.... Good Luck

We went cold turkey with our twins at a year and it worked just fine. They never used the bottle for comfort--only for food. Most parents are the ones who are traumatized, not the kids. I PROMISE your son will drink a lot less out of a cup than a bottle. Don't freak out. This is totally normal. Your son needs to be taking in the majority of calories from food now, not liquids. Remember, your overall goal is to have him eating like a kid not a baby. We took the bottles away and really had no trouble at all.

My pediatrician gave us the same advice. I have to say that I was reluctant at first. Now I am so glad that we followed her advice when I see the battle some of my friends are having weaning some of their older kids off both the bottle & the pacifier. We started with the sippy cups that have straws. My daughter had trouble lifting the cup up high enough to drink, but was facinated by straws. I started w/ sippy cups in the morning & left the nightime bottle for the last transition. The first few weeks that we transitioned to the cup at night felt very awkward, but overall, she took to the cup like a champ. Good luck!!

Happy birthday to your baby! Our little guys is now 14 months, and 2 weeks ago we got him off the bottles completelly.. I wouldnt do it cold turkey.. with ours, we had been giving him water in the 7 & 9 month sippy cups since he was 8 months on.. If you havent started.. dont worry.. Just start by giving him his water or juice in there with when its his snack time.. When he's not starving or agitated.. we slowly kept on giving the sippy cups & one day we tried with the milk which he took.. It wasnt an overnight thing.. there are several other helpful tips in "What to expect the Toddler Years" book too. Good luck! He'll be just fine.. :) S.

Start introducing a straw. Some of the sippy cups out there on the market are just the same as a bottle as far as their oral motor skills and muscles needed to drink. You are only socially advancing them that way. Introduce a straw and there are all kinds of freedoms with that, including all the great no spill straw cups out there! Let me know if you need any tips on introducing the straw. I have several kids on my caseload who have had great success transitioning to the straw!

Why dont you try water in the sippy for awhile until he gets used to it? I like the born free sippys because my son loves the spouts, he's been drinking from them since 6 months. Once he gets used to it then start replacing his bottles with the sippy cups.
Also, i think i would get the opinion of a pediatric dentist on the subject, see if they feel the same way about the teeth issue.

K.,

Your husband's right.. I know that sounds bad, saying that the guy is right... But he is.

That's what we did with my daughter. I hated the idea, but we got rid of all the bottles.

When your son asks for his bottle tell him no, to use his sippy cup.. Eventually, he'll understand.

Have you gotten rid of the pacifier, yet? That's another cold turkey item. Unfortunately.

K.

Just as others have listed, we transitioned from a bottle to a sippy cup gradually. First we only gave her a bottle first thing in the morning and after dinner. Then, we eliminated the after dinner bottle and lastly the morning bottle. She transitioned very well, although I found she drank better from certain sippy's than others. I experimented with about 4 different designs and found one that she seemed most comfortable with. My feeling is the older they get, the more difficult and attached they become. My daughter does great with a straw sippy as it's a novelty for her (like a juicebox). I highly recommend these as our occupational therapist says that sippys with a spout tend to weaken the tongue that's important for speech. A straw requires the use of muscles that help to prepare for speech. And, as someone else mentioned, there will be a significant drop in the amount they drink out of a cup. Don't worry so much as the food intake increases, their need for milk as their main nutrition decreases. I hope it goes smoothly for you!

Hi K.,

I gave my daughter her first sippy cup at 7 months with water in it. Gerber makes a nice cup with two handles that is very lite and easy to clean. I helped her the first couple of times and then just made sure to have the cup with water near her when she plays. Now she drinks juice, formula, and water from her cup and is getting ready to move on to a regular cup. Just take it slow and let your little man get used to the idea. Good luck!

I put breastmilk in the sippy cup and that seemed to be enough fir my first son...I slowly took away the bottles he had too...it seemed to be ok. The nightime one was the hardest.

-M

I've been going through this same thing myself - my son is now 14 months. I don't like the cold turkey method either, so here's what I did. Since he'd just weaned himself from nursing at 1 year, I waited another month to start weaning his bottles. At first I cut out any daytime bottles and only gave him a large bottle in the morning and a large bottle before bed. During the day he can drink water or milk from the sippy cup. After he adapted to that (a few weeks later) I cut out his morning bottle. When he'd start searching for it in the morning, I gave him yogart and fruit instead so that I can be sure he's getting enough dairy. The rest of the day he still drinks water and milk from the sippy cup- but he's much thirstier without his morning bottle so I have to be sure to give him plenty drink during the day. And without the morning bottle he is drinking much better out of his sippy cup. I think he was a little resistant to milk in the sippy cup at first but is used to it now. I just started to wean him from his nighttime bottle. I give him half in the sippy cup and half in the bottle and will continue to give less and less in the bottle until I can take it away altogether. I'm hoping that will only take a few weeks as well. So far it's been working. Hope that helps. Good luck.

You know your baby the best, if you think that he can handle a few days off wanting it...not to mention the whining you will have to endure. Then go for the cold turkey. If you thing that this will some how traumatize him Then start replacing times where he would get the bottle with an easy sippy cup. They are all different, so try the cup yourself first. Just make sure he can get the liquid with out much trouble. I'm sure he will resist, but if he is hungry enough, he'll eat. Tell him this is all you have , take it or leave it. Believe me, they get over it quick. It's not that big of a deal......just do it and deal with it. Good luck!

I hate to say it but your husband is right? Cold turkey is the best way to go AND the sooner the better. The day my twin boys turned a year old was the last day they received a bottle. GGOD LUCK!

Everyone has given good advice. Just wanted to share that I had success with the Nuby cups (with spout, not straw). I guess it feels sort of like her bottle, so she accepted having her milk in there instead of a bottle - but it took time, persistance, and patience! She also uses Gerber cups for water - I use the Nuby's at nap/bed times since they are more like a bottle.

Your baby is only 1, so yes, it's a good idea to get him started with cups, but don't stress over it.

Good luck!

I had the same problem. I tried the whole cold turkey thing and it was miserable for all. My son likes to drink from my bottle of water so we actually started there. Once he started drinking from something other than his bottle he was comfortable with the sippy too. My ped started in on me at about 9 months making me feel dumb that my kid was still on the bottle. She actually looked down her nose at me!!! My son was 18 months before he was done with the bottle and he's just fine. Kids do stuff when they are ready not when you want them to! I think most peds are a little uptight about that kind of stuff anyway! I just figured that he'd surely be done with the bottle before he started dating!

Hi K.,

I started weaning mine off at 15 months. She breast fed and had a bottle that I weaned her off of. The thing about it, is they like new things. I would start in the day time. When you give him a meal, give him a sippy cup like a big boy, mum drinks from a cup and he can to.
Mine wanted to. Although I made a mistake and gave her apple juice which produced really bad diarrhea, and I was stumped for a while why she had such an upset stomach, whoops!
Anyway, by the time she was 18 months she was completely off. The night time was the last to go. But I believe if you do this gradually you won't traumatize him. There is no reason to upset him, he's a baby. I have 2 and they both have lovely teeth. The reason why teeth go bad is because of those mums that put sweet thing in the bottle, and let the kid walk around all day with it. Just stick to milk until he's off. He's only 1 years old.

Good luck.

A.

I say do what works for you and your son. When he's awake and thristy give him the sippy cup. Reseve the bottle for when he is really tired and may need the comfort of the familiar. Also the act of sucking is a comfort so the bottle provides that better than a sippy. That may not be an issue if he sucks a pacifier or his thumb. Try to give him the sippy 1st every time if possible, but if it doesn't work or he's not getting enough nourishment go slower. He won't start Kindergarten with the bottle so don't stress it too much.

K.,

You'll just need to introduce the big boy cup and also spend a little $$$ trying to find the one he likes best and that doesn't leak.

We went with the ones that have a big wide soft nipple type b/c we found that he'd bite the ones that are made of hard plastic materials...

Good luck and remember to try different ones until he's comfortable with it and it also doesn't leak...

C.