Getting Rid of the bottle...ideas??

One night, we decided it was time and she was ready!

That's the key, in my opinion. Being ready. If you think he can handle it.

We threw all the bottles in the garbage (or wash them well and put them away if they were the pricey ones). It was difficult for about a week. Maybe 5 days, and it seemed like a week. We knew we had to be strong. It was worth it though.

With the help of some soft music on an inexpensive CD player, and a back rub or 10, we got there.

Sometimes, when you're ready, you just have to take the bull by the horns. :) Good luck K.!

One Friday night after my daughter turned 1 years old I took all of the bottles bagged them up and put them away. The first night was hard, she cried alot. A couple things that helped us was not giving in no matter what, playing her favorite music at bed time and putting a spill proof sippy cup with a little water in the corner of her bed. This allowed her to take a drink if she needed.

When my son turned 1 I just stopped giving him the bottle. I told him that if he wanted milk he could drink it from a sippy cup but I made it clear that the bottle was not an option. It only took 2 days of whining before he got the idea, and he loves his 'big boy' cups. If he cries and makes a fuss for the bottle I would set him at the table with a sippy cup of milk.

At 17 months he really doesnt need a bottle anymore. Of course, if you dont mind him having one you could give him one. I dont think it will hurt anything unless you are letting him sleep with it in his mouth. I would go with yours and your childs needs and not pay much attention to the docs advise unless he can give a legitemat medical reason why your son cant have his bottle. But if you do want him off it, I would suggest saying no, being firm, and never giving in. If you give in once because he is sick or having a bad day or whatever, then you will be back at step one. Take him to the store and let him pick out his own big boy cups ^^

My kids were a bit younger, but one was VERY attached to her bottle. Here is what I did: She liked her bottle warm, so I offered her a cold bottle vs a warm sippy cup (she was still drinking toddler formula). If yours drinks his bottle cold, then maybe you could try offering a bottle of water vs a sippy of milk. Once I got her on the sippy for about 2 weeks, I switched the sippy cup to warm water with honey in it, gradually reducing the amount of honey once she had accepted that. I then switched to cold or room temperature water, which my pediatrician said was perfectly fine to sleep with. I hope this helps! I know it's a very difficult time!

Hi there. I got this idea from WIC and it worked for my daughter and I had her off the bottle before her 1st birthday.

Water down your sons milk in his bottle (gradually at first, say 2 oz water the rest milk) After a day or two add more water and offer him a sippy with ALL milk. I only had to go to 4oz water 4 oz milk before my daughter wouldnt take the bottle and took the sippy. Also I dont know if your giving him juices or not but dont offer him juice or water at all except in the sippy. He should get the idea :) Hope this helps!

Have you tried using a soft tip sippy cup? Sometime they will take to that instead. Maybe put only water in his bottle for a coupe of days, then offer a soft tip sippy cup with water in it at naptime. Now be prepared, the will be lots to fussing, fit throwing and begging to have his bottle. But you have to stay strong! If all else fails, take it away and replace it with a few minutes of snuggle time, maybe read him a bed time story. Out of sight will be out of mind within a few days! Best of luck!

i too am 29 and have a 4 yr old and an 18 mo old. and with both my kids, they just woke up one day to a sippee cup. no bottles in sight. he was 18 mo and she was 16 mo when i did it. it was hard the first day or so, especially when trying to go to sleep. but after about a day and a half they were fine. i tried just doing naptimes, but that was too hard and he didn't understand. it sounds harder than it really is. she whined and was moody, but she did fine after that first day. i really suggest this way, and trying putting something good in the cup once or twice just to make them a little happier about having to use the cup. he should get it after that first day. good luck!

My son was 18 Months when my dr. finally said he needs to be off the bottle. We just took it from him. One thing that really helps with the transistion is they have sippy cups with nipple like spouts on them for the kids to drink out of, so its supposed to help transistion. We just took his bottle from him and gave him sippy cups. He cried at bed time and at nap time for like a day but after that he was fine.

When my daughter was 20 months, I offered to let her sleep with me for naptime and told her that she would have to sleep with no bottle if she wanted to sleep with me. She thought about it and agreed. I laid with her and rubbed her back while she fell asleep. We did this for three days and then I put her in her crib and let her cry this time. That's what it took to break it for her. Each time she asked about the bottle, we told her that she was a big girl now and the "Baba Fairy" had given it to a new baby. This gave her an answer she was satisfied with and was a bit gentler than "We threw it away."

Well, I've been trying to break my daughter of the bottle too. So far she only takes it at night when she goes to bed. When I give her milk during the day it's in her sippy cup. I usually give her a binky at nap times so that she still has something to soothe her. You might try giving him a binky if he uses one or give him something to cuddle with at nap time. It will probably be kind of hard at first but eventually you'll be able to cut out the night time bottle too. If that doesn't work than you might have to go cold turkey. Put all the bottles away and tell him that he doesn't need a bottle anymore. Don't give him the bottle unless he's crying with no way to comfort him. I think if you completely tak away the bottle and when you put him down for naps or bed he may just cry himself to sleep at first but eventually he'll get over it. And don't feel bad because he won't remember what you did with his bottles. You might even try letting him throw away a bottle so that he understands that he no longer needs the bottle. Just a few suggestions.

Hi K.,

Well, I just want to start off by saying that most pediatricians suggest a generic protocol in raising children. I think they assume that what is the "ideal time" to get a child off the bottle will be appropriate for everyone. But it's not. I would say that you should do what feels comfy for you and your son. If he is not ready to give it up, and you think it's OK, then let him continue with the bottle. I weaned my daughter off the breast at 16 months, and she went straight to the bottle. She is now 18 months old, and she still has a bottle at naptime and bedtime. I know she enjoys it, and it's her comfort at bedtime. But if you feel that your son needs to be off the bottle now, then I would suggest just gradually giving it to him less often, gradually weaning him off of it. There are no magic solutions. You just have to do what works for you and your baby. Take care.

K.

I would gather up all the bottles you have and throw them away! It will likely be hard for a day or two, but just keep giving your son a sippy cup instead. I recomend throwing the bottles away because then there is no chance that you can give in. I know that when I'm trying to break my son of something, it is sometimes easier...even if I put whatever item it is in a hard to get to place...to dig it out and end the screaming. When I weened my son, I absolutely did not give in. Not even once. And things were fine in about 2 days! Good luck!