Bottle Weaning - Collegeville, PA

T.,

I didn't see the other responses but maybe you could just replace the bottle with a sippy cup.

M.

A few weeks before my son turned two, I just started givinig him a sippy cup whenever he wanted a drink, but still allowed the bottle for nap and bedtime. Then, I exchanged a sippy cup for nap and lastly, for bedtime. He turned 2 on August 26th and I recently started making him drink his cups of milk while still seated in his highchair and not while in his bed. This way, he will not continue to be sleeping with some milk possibly still in his mouth, which is horrible for their teeth. He adjusted just fine to everything. At first, he told me "NO!" and refused the sippy, but once he realized that he wasn't getting the bottle, he took the cup. Oh, I also told him it was time to throw away the bottles and let him put them in the garbage. If you get rid of the bottles, you will not have anything to fall back on in a weak moment. I agree with the mom that said it was probably harder on her than her child. Good luck! It will be fine. :)

My twins loved their bottle so much that they refused the sippy cup. I had to go cold turkey on them. It took less than a day for them to realize that if they wanted something to drink, it had to be from a sippy cup!

Hey T.,

My son is 2 1/2 and still has a bottle in the morning/night. Some days he doesn't, depending on the mood and I am the only one he asks. He doesn't walk around with it or hold it on his own, it is just me and him on the rocker for a few minutes while I feed him is bottle. It is his only comfort thing. Neither of my kids had binkies, blankets, stuffed animals nor sucked any fingers/thumbs. My daughter held her own bottle at 9months and wanted nothing to do with it by 15 months. She is way more independent then my son. So I do not stress over it and let him do his thing. If he wants it he gets it. I think once we are in a different routine and he is going to preschool things will change. It is the same as those mothers who nurse their kids at 2 1/2, 3, 4 yrs old. So you do what is best for YOU and your son. Everyone is different!
I also know this is my last "baby" so I too am not pressuring him to not have a bottle. I pick my battles with my kids and this is one I will not have. He deserves the chance to let go of his comfort thing on his own. Now when he is 3 yrs. old my decision may be a little different, it all depends on him and me!
Good luck!
J.

Follow your mom instincts. If you feel he isn't ready, don't push it. I don't see a problem with it. It gives him comfort, and it is limited. (he's not walking around all day with it hanging from his mouth) As long as his teeth are brushed I would let the little guy have his baba until he's ready to let it go.
With my son I started offering an option between juice in a cup or the bottle in the morning. More and more he wanted the juice. We slowly changed his routine that way until he only got the bottle by request. We still give him one if he asks for it (he's 2) but I don't anticipate it being a traumatic event when we tell him there's no more bottle.

T.,
It is long over due. Brushing teeth should be the last thing in his mouth before bed at this age. I had more of a hard time than my son did but I did it at 13 months due to all the teeth he had and we want to teach good oral hygeine in our home. Personally I started with the bed time bottle because of the milk laying on his teeth the longest at night. I replaced it with water in a sippy. He has been using a sippy since 3 months (lucky for us!) so it was not foreign to him at all. It took a few nights of tossing around after our beditme routine and him realizing no bottle but he was not attached much to it and never cried for it. I kept one bottle on hand but then realized that I kept using it as an excuse so one day I just threw it away in the outside trash so I couldn't dig it out...lol. He was just fine and now he gets his final drink downstairs before bathtime and the routine. Brushing his teeth is the final step before we exit the bathroom. I made it fun by letting him pick out his own tooth brush in exchange for no more bottle.
Good luck... and your huby is right! >:0)
Christina

Wow! I dont feel so bad now! I have a 24 month old who takes a bottle at nap time and bed time and I dont know how to get her off of it! She is my only child. It sooths her when she goes to sleep and esp at night time, my husband and I just want to relax and take the easy way out and let her have it but obviously at this age, she needs to get off of it. Let me know how you make out!
K.

T.,
I think I had a harder time getting rid of my son's bottles than he did! When I finally decided to do it--he asked where his bottle was but I said "we had to give them to babies who need them" and he never batted an eye! LOL
I would eliminate the morning O. first--give him a sippy with his milk and then eventually do the same thing with the nighttime bottle and add a snack with it so it seems different than just getting a bottle. You can still warm up the milk a little with a sippy sup. Or use a cup with a straw--he may think that's really cool! Good luck.

I would offer a sippy cup for a week at meals, then take the bottle away cold turkey. If he already uses a sippy or something other than the bottle, then just go cold turkey tomorrow morning. Talk about what's going to happen so there's no surprises. Offer a cup at each meal and snack time. There will be fits but this will pass very soon. If the bottle is for comfort then offer a stuffed animal or something to replace it. Don't give in to the fits. You're the parent and the one in charge. *grin*

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/harrisburgpachat

Hi T.,

Here's a web site:

http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/eating/toddler-bottle....

Hope this helps. Good luck. D.