Help Weaning from the Bottle

I thought this was going to be the worst thing I could ever do to my daughter. Turned out it wasn't bad at all. I started giving her 1/2 whole milk and 1/2 formula at 12 months. She never liked milk by itself.....to this day she will not drink it at all (unless we are talking about Ovaltine.....lots of it) and she is six. Anyway, her bottle was like her pacifier or special blanket it was her comfort when she went to sleep. After 13 months she got the bottle only at nap time and bed time and I did that for about 2 months. At 15 months I started giving her the milk/formula in a cup at those times and she was fine with that. I did make sure she had a something to hold on to, like a blanket or a stuffed animal. I really lucked out, I thought it would be a huge ordeal but she was fine with it. ( :

Hi A.,

Firstly, good luck with this new transition. You are about to hit the most fun times of your life. (My opinion, of course! I loved every stage, but, OMG, my dd is 20 months now, and WHAT A BLAST WE ARE HAVING!)

Secondly, it only took 4 nights to actually get my dd off the bottle, but we didn't start 'til she was almost 15 months because SHE HATED MILK! I know, hard to believe-what baby hates milk(?!), but I was determined not to let her drink milk from a bottle, only to find I had a strange one who hated milk altogether. (She loves it now, though.) Anyway, I tried several kinds of cups before settling on one, so don't waste a ton of money on one brand until you know which is the best for her. We ended up settling on the leak-proof straw cups instead of a sippy. It makes eating out a lot easier, too, because she can drink from a cup with a straw instead of only a sippy. The 4 day weaning explanation is not meant to sound boastful, because we practiced with different cups since she was six months old, really. I just wanted to give you some possible positive viewpoint on the bottle weaning process--it may not be too brutal.

Just remember to stick to your guns. No matter how much she begs or protests, NEVER give her whole milk in a bottle. Once is all it takes to get that manipulation thing going, and that is even harder to 'wean' than the bottle alone. ;)

Also, I gave (still do) my dd a cup with no lid when she is in her highchair. I used to remove her shirt to avoid staining, then let her practice drinking milk, formula, water, diluted juice, etc. from an open cup. Really helps for the future, too. She feels like such a big girl when she drinks from an open cup. What an easy way to maintain that 'good-guy' image with your dd. I am always looking for positive reinforcement techniques for my angel, and this one is REALLY easy.

Hope some of this helps. :)

Hi,
I am having this same difficulty as well. I read somewhere that if you put something boring like water in the bottle then your baby will realize that the good stuff is in the sippy cup. My problem is that we have not found a sippy cup that my daughter will use yet so the search continues...

Go to wal-mart and get the sippycup out of the big bin in the isles (looks like an hourglass shape and has silicone (squishy) sippy part. it's soft like a bottle, I think the brand is NUK, but not sure. they are like 2.33 a pop. make the switch to ice water and ice juice- the ice makes it ecxiting. as far as when and how- well that's up to you. My first child was 11 months, my second was about the same, but number three? she was 17 months and made the transition quite nicely- don't be in too much of a rush- its not like she'll be in preschool still taking a bottle. do what is good for you and baby- it may be later than you expected but that's OK- some kids can let it go right away, and some aren't ready- just no bed with bottle if you can help it now that the teeth are coming!

A.,
I am not going to lie to you, it is not going to be easy. It will take tough love. Start giving her a sippy during meals, formula is good to start with, ( it is familiar ). Then slowly progress. At first she may think it fun, new, and exciting, but she will want to go back to her security. Remember you have to train her, not have her train you! Bottles cause tooth decay, so the sooner you get her off it the better!
Hope this was helpful.
C.

Hi A.,

I am almost finished with the weaning process with my 15 mth old little girl. She loved her bottles as well but it wasn't as hard as I had expected. At 12 mths she was getting three 8oz. bottles a day (morning, 3pm, night) so I dropped the morning one first and gave her more of the breakfast foods she loves (fruit, cherrios etc.). She hardly noticed we dropped it. I also started giving whole milk at breakfast in a sippy cup that she could drink pretty much all morning since at first she was spilling a lot of it. The 3pm bottle was a little harder but I found giving her a sugar free pudding or little Toddler fruit chews or any type of favorite snack helped her forget the bottle. I also give her another cup of whole milk with her snack. I am down to 6 oz of formula at bedtime now and I am going to wean her completely of the night bottle within the next two weeks. At this point, I know she doesnt need the formula but it somehow made me feel better knowing she was weaned off slowly and was able to get used to her sippy gradually. Hope this helps a little-good luck:)