Help Weaning from Bottle - Fullerton,CA

Do NOT feel pressure about it... ALL Pediatricians tell parents this, about the bottle.

Me, I just went according to my son. Yes, at 18 months old, they CANNOT understand our "adult" logic about it, nor excuses for it.

My son weaned from the bottle around 2 years old... I would only give it to him if he asked, and if he "remembered" about his bottle. I only brought it out for sleep times. If he woke and wanted milk/bottle, I did.

But on his own, my son just lessened his "need" of it. Then my son would accept it with water in it... for me, I found that my son just liked to 'twiddle' the nipple of the bottle... it is a soothing thing for him, and he'd 'cuddle' the bottle. But he has his lovey too ....so then gradually the bottle became less and less. My son just likes to hold something when he sleeps. Then I just started to tell him "put away" now (his bottle) and he'd go and put it on the counter himself.

So I just took a laid-back approach to it. I told my Pediatrician I would do it in MY own time, and my son's. No biggie.

Don't feel 'intimidated' by it, and your Pediatrician's orders. They all tell parents this.

In other cultures, kids have their bottle well into toddler hood. It's not a big deal for them.

The concern would be tooth rot. So, I'd use "Spiffies" tooth wipes on my son. http://www.spiffies.com/ And it's REALLY great.

Each Mom is different... I don't feel its such a big deal.
It's a GRADUAL thing, to wean from bottle or breast. They both have 'nipples' and so a child naturally likes it.

All the best,
Susan

S.,

My son self-weaned himself at this age and honestly, even though our Pedi said it was time to wean him, I explained to him I was going with my gut and letting my son guide me on this one. I made sure to clean his teeth well after bottle time and by the time he was 18 months old, he was able to get enough food from his daily meals that he was simply not interested anymore.

One thing you can do, is begin introducing a transition object...like a blanket or stuffed toy. When my son would get sick he would get used to me laying with him and hold him, and so when he got better I was stuck in bed for hours. So, he and I purchased a 'lovey' as some people call it, but we call it his 'dino buddy' and we'd cuddle with the dino buddy and instead of me overtime he would be okay with the dino buddy for comfort. Now, at 2.5 he only uses it on bad nights...but, you could start with replacing the bottle with another item and that way you won't lose the cuddle time.

Also, with my son, on some nights he has snack before bedtime and this is usually crackers or apple slices with a cup of milk...so, we read a book and cuddle and he gets a cup of milk still. Just find creative ways to replace the bottle if you are really ready to wean. It's a process though and won't happen overnight...you may want to start with one, like the nap one and work up to all bottles. But, just find what works for you and don't worry it will be fine.

I was so surprised when my son pushed the bottle away the first time, and kind of sad but as they get older our kids start to tell us what they need and what they don't...just following the cues is key. I love my cuddle time with my son, and it's really important to me so, don't worry you can work it in!!

Good luck and don't despair!

what i would suggest for him is to only give him like 1/4 of the milk in his bottle to drink for a nap and put the rest in the cup so if he wants more its in there. its normal for little ones not to always want to drink milk out of a cup because they get used to drinking only juice and water out of them. dont give up! the dr gave very good advice about having your son throw the bottle away because it lets him choose to be done (i threw away my paci as a baby and my diaper when i was done with it). i would just offer him milk more often in a cup and only water in a bottle also because it makes the bottle less fantastic because hes not getting milk. i personally introduced a cup to my daughter at 6 months old. she drank out of it a month later and 3 days later she was off the bottle fully (i wanted her off the bottle before she got teeth and it happened the week before they popped in :)). they bottle becomes a huge comfort thing like breast feeding and thats ok but then again as they get older you have to start worring about baby bottle tooth decay and other things. i hope this is helpful and i think as long as hes fully off the bottle by 2 he should be ok :). good luck

I got all three kids off the bottle by age two, but I took only one bottle away at a time. I am such a wimp =] and LOVED the cuddle time with the kids. So when we were down to the last bottle I started reading to them while we cuddled, then when it was time to let them know that there would be no more bottle at this time, but we would still sit and read together while they had milk,water, or juice out of their 'special' cup. I took them to pick out a 'special' cup that was only used at this time. It took about 4-6 months to completely wean them each of the bottle, but again that has as much to do with me as them. So I started making a different 'habit' that worked great for both of us and took some time with the transition period. But in the end it made the weaning process a time of love and not stress, and it was successful for me and the children. CUDDLE as long as you can, my kids are now 9,4,3 and the cuddle time gets less and less every passing year. God Bless!

The doctor is right! When you wean your child from breastfeeding, NEVER give him the bottle!! That's the worst you can do. The child becomes more attached to the bottle, and not only that, but it takes more time to prepare, and not so safe, as in germs.

Hi S.,
I put the sippy cups in the bottom-most drawer in my kitchen, and I ask my daughter to pick out a cup. She likes to do that, and will usually pull two out of the drawer.

I have to agree with the previous poster: my daughter is definitely eating more now that she isn't filling up on milk.

She had her last bottle Saturday afternoon. It's still a battle; last night I tried to give her a sippy cup of milk after dinner, and she threw it on the floor and had a fit. She's drinking a lot more water, which I don't think will be a problem as I think she'll go back to milk in a few days when she realizes the bottles aren't coming back.

Your 5 am bottle will be the hardest, but maybe don't go cold turkey? Make that the last bottle you get rid of, and see if he'll take a sippy cup instead.

Good luck.