Breaking off Bottle

I'm sorry you are having to go through this! I saw an episode on Supernanny where a set of parents were having the same problem and what they did was make the changing of the bottle to a "special cup" an event. They talked to their son and let him know there was going to be a present for throwing the bottle away. Almost like a rite of passage. After he threw his bottle away then they went on a search for the "special cup". When he found the cup, it was wrapped up just like a present. It appeared to help him transition from bottle to cup.

I would try only putting water in her bottle and put juice or milk in sippy cups. Maybe then she will associate her cup with stuff she likes to drink. Also, she is old enough to explain that she is a big girl and you could let her pick out her own cups at the store so she is part of the experience. My youngest daugther LOVED her bottle and I thought it would be a lot more difficult to take it away from her. We use the "Nuby" cups that are a lot like bottles to get her used to the cup and now she is pretty good with any sippy cup. We use straw cups for her during the day and the Nuby cup for naps and bedtime.

Ok, so my daughter is now 22 months old. I took her off of the bottle right after she turned 1. It was hard the first couple of nights, she would climb out of bed ( she stopped sleeping in a crib when she turned 1) and throw a tantrum, but she got over it. Quickly she learned that she can't have it. Like I said it was hard at first but it was the best choice my husband and I ever made. My mom is a preschool teacher and she see's daily parents coming in with their 3 year olds that are still on the bottle and with pacifiers. A lot of daycares don't allow them once they are 2, some a little younger at 18 months. My mom has also seen how letting kids have these things when they get a little older can hurt their teeth and how much of a struggle it is for the parent's to finally break the habbit. I saw what my mom went threw with some of the kids she had in her class and I didn't want to go through that. So we took her off, and it's done with. She didn't get "stressed out" or anything of that nature. She was mad, but she got over it. I suggest going cold turkey, and if you want more tips talk to your pediatrician.

the only advice i have is to just cold turkey take her off of the bottle. tell her that she is a big sister now and that she doesn't need a bottle anymore. let her scream and cry about it for a while and eventually she will understand that you are serious about this matter.

I agree with the mom that was talking about the Supernanny episode. I did something like that with my son. Play up the big kid angle-NOT THE BIG SISTER angle. Telling her she is a big sister now may make her feel like she is having to give something up because of her younger sibling and she may act out toward your son. Repeatedly tell her she is such a big girl now and introduce the idea of geting rid of the little girl or baby bottle. Say something like"Wow, we might have to get you your own cups now, since you are such a big girl" Later, tell her it is time to throw away her "baby" bottles and let her do it herself. Give her each bottle and let her put them in the trash. This made it so easy for my son to mve on and it was soooo easy for him!

What we did was give our DD a sippy cup with special warm chocolate milk that her sister was to young to have. It worked. My daughters are 13 months apart so I know what you are going thru. With the baby we stop cold turkey when she was 24 months. She did okay. Oh wait I know what we did we put water only in the bottle and toldher she can have either one a sippy cup w/milk or a bottle w/water.

Good Luck and Hope this helps,
L.

I would just replace the bottle with a sippy cup.Tell her that big girls drink out of big girl cups.If she acts like she doesnt want the cup then just act like you will give it to your son then.it is almost garrenteed to make her want it back just to keep him from having it.You can also try to take her with you to the store and pick out a cup together so she feels like it is her decision.One more thing you could try is the cups with softer lids they are more simular to bottles and she might except the change.Positive reforcment and patience is always the best a lot of children sruggle with this and it may take her a while to adjust.Dont stress to much about it.

Try giving her a bottle of water at night, it will satisfy her need to have one but she probably won't like the water enough to suck on it long. You could also give her a spill proof sippy cup with milk in it, she will more than likely choose it instead of the bottle, but with my son I only did the bottle of water because I didn't want to start another habit (cup in bed), I just wanted to break the old one.

Hi H.,
I am going to offer a different view point for a moment.
Babies use sucking as a self soothing technique. You gave your daughter's age in months which says to me that you are aware of how little she still is. I also realize that she probably looks really big at the same time compared to your 7 month old son.

If your daughter was not using the bottle to self soothe, what will she be using?

Children typically wean from the breast or bottle when their need to suck diminishes and eventually goes away. (You can't convince an older child or a normal adult to use a bottle, your daughter will eventually wean.) Your daughter has been showing you that she is not ready to wean or she would not be banging her crib. She is trying to tell you that your choice to wean her is somthing that is causing her a lot of stress. Please listen to her wisdom, she is is wise.

I wish you the best,
R.
Doula and mother of Ben 16yrs and Daniel 12 yrs

I agree with the post about letting her wean herself. my son is 13 months and uses both a sippy cup and a bottle. Just depends on what we are doing at that moment. and honestly, what's clean. hahaha

just let your baby be happy. she is not going to go to go to kindergarten with a bottle in her mouth.

If it was me, I would still let her have the bottle at least for a little while longer. The only real problem that we ever had was that we could not potty train while they were on the bottle because they drank wayyy to much to be able to make it to the potty on time. I know doctors will tell you differently, but I didn't take my kids off of the bottle until after age 2. It didn't hurt them.