My daughter is 18 months old (15 months adjusted for her prematurity) and we need to break the bottle habit! She drinks from cups without a problem, but milk comes only from bottles. We've tried to put milk in her cup but she takes a sip and then throws it and gives us this look like "I know what you're trying to do and it won't work." She needs milk, I know that, but how do I get her away from the milk bottle?
Throw out all the bottles. Have her help, if you want. But when they're all gone, she'll have to drink milk from a cup. Be prepared for a battle, but be patient and in a few days she'll probably start accepting the cup.
You're wise to do this now. Drinking from a bottle past one year old has been linked to increased tooth decay. Not fun for anyone!
Throw them away, let her watch you put them in the garbage bag, have her even help, seal the bag and say "bye bye bottles" take it to the curb. Be matter of fact, if she cries it won't last long, just remind her what a big girl she is now. She will get over it. She knows you will cave and give her a bottle. Not only is it bad for their teeth is a habit now. Take her to Target or somewhere like that after you do this have her pick out some fun strawed cups. If she refuses sippies it is mainly because she knows you will give her a bottle if she resists. A day or two without milk will not hurt her, she will be fine. Even a week without milk will not hurt her. Just make sure she is getting her dairy (for calcium and Vitamin D) from other sources like yogurt and so on. You have to stand tough she will recover. Both of my kids LOVED strawed cups, easier on the teeth too by far. Both of my kids waved bye bye to the bottles on their first birthday and never asked for them again.
Good luck.
Try diluting the milk with water. She won't like the diluted version and stick with the full strength in a cup. By the way, I had HELLP syndrome also and had a healthy 4lb 100z baby girl 5 years ago. I'm so glad yours is doing well. Good luck with the bottle thing..
I had the same problem with my son. I took a big trip to my in-laws over spring break and "forgot" to bring the bottles. I told him I forgot to bring them and apologized. I was sad with him too. I made sure we were gone close to a week and that my husband threw away all of the bottles while we were gone. When we got back home he asked for the bottle again. I pretended I didn't know what he was talking about. He was a little mad, but he had already been without it for a week by then so it wasn't a very big deal.
I agree with these other ladies. Throw them away. When I did it I found a bottle nipple that was torn open a little and told my son that it was broken and we had to throw it away. He understood and was on board. When it was time for bed and he wanted a bottle I reminded him that the bottles were broken and we had to throw them away. The first couple days and nights were hard but he is 4 years old now and loves milk (from a sippy cup). Good Luck!
I had the same problem with my son and we tried EVERYTHING! I tried the Nubys, I tried taking him to the store to pick out his own cup, you name it. He was over 2 when I finally had the courage to throw away the bottles and go cold turkey. I was also worried about him missing milk because he has always been on the thin side, but I decided I had to do something. He was upset for a few days and he did refuse to drink milk for awhile. I made sure that he was eating plenty of fruits and vegetables to make up for the lack of fluid. After awhile he seemed to just forget that he loved the bottle so much and started asking for milk in a big boy cup. He's now 3 and healthy, drinking plenty of milk. It's the only way that worked for us. It's kind of like ripping a band aid off. If you can get through the initial pain....it's not really that bad.
Young chidren still are soothed by the sucking reflex, sometimes until they are up to four years old. If you want to take the bottle you have to teach her a new way of soothing herself, or you need to give up for now and try again when she is older. Personally, I recommend the later. I know everyone else here says go cold turkey, but at what expense to her emotional stability? Why stress her out, or yourself for that matter, over such a small issue. There's no reason to make her grow up faster then her natural process. They're little for such a short time anyway.
Good luck in whatever you decide.
J.
Just take it away cold turkey. When we were dealing with that (same issues... dd would use a cup, but not for milk) our Pediatrician told us to take it away and it would be fine if she didn't get milk for a day or two. Offer her only cups and no bottles at all... in a day or two she'll get that she only gets cups now and will drink milk from them just fine. =)
Toss the bottles. If you're worried about calcium intake for the few days she'll throw a fit then extra yogurt, cheese and calcium chewables are in order.
Don't put up with a kid that throws food either...that's messy! GL!!!
What I did with my kids...is COLD turkey...Dont even have the bottles in the house...toss em...And no need to do it while shes around because she may feel that she is being punihsed. Toss them then you wont be giving yourself the easy way out and give her one on her request. She will be over it in a a day or 2. Stick to your guns. At 18 months old theres no need for a bottle or a binky....Good luck
J.
Diluting the milk in the bottle sounds like a good idea. This way it gives her the sense of control to make her own choice. If she throws the bottle or the cup then don't give it back to her. Be sure to start this early and show her that there is a negative consequence for a negative action.
I had a very difficult time taking the bottle from my oldest. I was at my cousins and she offerd him some milk. She brought it in a cup and he cried. She said, that is all we have take it or leave it. She gave me a look, like dont go get his bottle. I bit my tounge and he took the cup. I threw out our bottles the next day. So, it took tough love for me and my precious little boy... but it worked. Good luck, i know how hard it is.
Hi K....I have a 2 year old who had the same issues. We started taking her bottles away and exchanged it with the "Nuby" sippy cups. It had the same material as the bottle nipples. I disappeared the bottles after she got used to it during the day time ( I interchanged the nuby cup with the regular sippy cup) there was not an issue, after a while she took the sippy cup at night and still does. Hope this helps!!!
I am in the exact same position! I'm scared of the weekend that we actually decide to go cold turkey but I guess they'll eventually give in when they get hungry enough. Good luck!
