How Have You Weaned Your Child off of Bottles?

As soon as they started holding their bottle (6-7 months) I started giving them water in a cup to get them used to it. Then as soon as they were weaned off of formula (12 months) the bottles were taken away and everything went into a cup.

G.,
I stopped giving my son bottles a little after he turned one. He absolutely loved his binky so he held onto it until about 2 1/2. We gradually took it away from him to lessen the blow.

I just started by putting the milk or formula, depending on when I started, in a sippy cup and let them have fun with it. Eventually, they all caught on. I don't remember how long it took. I think it was different with each kid. My youngest took the least amount of time. At 10 months old, she just didn't want that bottle anymore. Hope this helps.

Congrats!!! I was in the exact same position as you a year ago. My daughter turned a year in April and her brother was born July 6th. What I did was I gave my daughter a sippy cup all day with Milk or Juice. Then at night before bed I still gave her a bottle. We did this for about a month. Then in June we started to try the cup at night. I remember being worried that it was going to ruin her routine. I would hold her and rock her when I gave her the bottle. So, instead of the bottle one night I gave her the cup. I still held her and rocked her, then put her to bed. If I remember correctly she took to it right away. By the middle of June I remember sitting with her on the couch instead of holding her and rocking her, since I couldn't do that when her brother came. So, after a few nights she was fine with it. I was glad I did it all when I did because her brother came 3 weeks early and she was offically a big girl. No more bottles and mommy didn't have to hold her before bed. When her brother came she knew that the bottles were for the baby and not for her. She would even go as far as to try and give her brother a bottle...to help out. When she was a year and a half we also stopped the binki. We cut the tip and told her that her teeth broke it. After about two days she got fed up with it because it didn't work anymore and threw it in the trash herself. It was hard at night the first two weeks but she never looked back. Her brother takes a binki and she has never tried to take his and use it. Again, now she knows that the binkis are for the baby. We'll be starting all this with her brother soon, he turns one in July. Enjoy it, having mine close together like you I realize, more I think, that they grow so fast. I hope this helps. Good Luck to you, and a safe delivery.
C.

At around 1 year old, switched my son to sippy cup all day and 1 bottle in the evening. Kept the bottle for a couple more months, and then just stopped. Our son didn't seem to care whether it was a bottle or a sippy cup he was drinking from.

At 2 and 1/2 he still has the binky for naps and bedtime. He loves it soooo much that neither he or I are ready to give it up! I know we should give it up...probably by closer to 3 years old, though. I have heard people say to give up the binky definately before age 1 b/c their memory is shorter and the habit isn't formed yet.

my son basically weaned himself off bottles. he did not like them anymore so we tried sippy cups and they worked well. try the playtex ones,they are spill proof and leak proof. they also have handles on them. try the sippy cup first and then do the binky or you may have a cranky kid on your hands. just put his favorite drink in the sippy cup and give it to him.

Congratulations on your growing family.

When weaning my two children off of the bottle we eliminated one bottle a day over the course of a week or so, starting with the middle of the day bottles. The child would get a bottle first thing in the morning, then the sippy cup for the next one. We replaced more bottles with the sippy cup. The last bottle to go was the night bottle. We had a routine -- bath, story, bottle and lullabies. We kept the bath, story and lullabies, but replaced the bottle with a sippy cup.

Neither child seemed to notice the bottle gone. At first when we would see a baby with a bottle, my youngest would point to it and look at me. I would just ask her if she was thirsty and wanted a drink from her cup. That seemed to do the trick.

We didn't use a binkie so I don't have any advice for you on that one.

Hopefully this transition will not be as hard as you think it will be.

With all my kids I took away one bottle at a time, replacing it with a sippy/straw cup. I did the least important bottles first (not wake up or bed time bottles). At first they didn't take much from it, but when they got thirsty they would drink from it. That seemed to work for my kids. I have a friend who wasn't able to do it this way so when her son was 18 months old she went cold turkey. It took a day of being thirsty but then he got the message. If they're thirsty, they'll eventually drink from it! I think the sooner you do it, the easier it will be.

As for binky, I went cold turkey with my twins when they were 5 months old. It took a couple days of crying but then they forgot about it. I don't know how this would work with a 12 month old.

G.,
Congrats on your upcoming production!
The way that I stopped the bottles with my son was at first, for a few weeks, only sippy cups through the day and a bottle before bed. Then when he was used to that--wasn't such a big deal--I just went cold turkey with the bedtime bottle & handed him a sippy. I told him the bottles weren't clean and gave him the cup. He never blinked. And never looked back!
As for the binky--I did it by the book and just stopped using it a 6 mos. My son wasn't super-attached to the pacifier anyway and it wasn't a big deal at all. So I can't really say that at 1 it will be that easy. Can you replace it with a special blanket or toy for him to snuggle?
Maybe do O., then the other... stop the bottles, then stop the binky the next month. I've also heard of people having their kids leave the binky for the Binky Fairy who takes them for babies that need them and replace the binky with a special toy or surprise. Good luck--you may get protests, but he will be just fine.
Oh! O. more unsolicited piece of advice for your son--I would not consider moving him out of his crib to make room for the baby. Use two cribs. I took my son out of his crib at 2 and even THAT was too soon! You don't want to have a demanding newborn and at the same time be convincing your 1 year old to be staying in his room all night! Good luck to you!

G.-
Here is what worked for us. When my oldest (now 10) was a year old he refused the cup and wanted his bottle. Then one day, I was watching a friends kids who used sippy cups. I handed them their cups and my son his bottle. He threw a fit because he wanted to be like the other kids. Maybe you could have a play date with some kids who use cups so he can see them using it.

My daughter (5 in June) used a passy(pacifier). We gradually started only giving it to her at bed times. When she asked for it we told her she had to go to bed if she wanted it. She quickly learned that it was more fun to stay up and play with her brothers. The night before she turned 3 the passy fairy came and left her a small present. She never looked back.
The passy fairy worked for us, maybe a bottle fairy would work too.
Good luck, and congrats on the new baby too.
K. U.

My son loved the NUBY brand sippy cup becasue it has a silicone spout so it is more like a bottle, but it is a "big boy cup".

G., I went cold turkey for both of my children. they both had been using a sippy cup a little bit before they turned one and then after I just got rid of the bottles. I told them that someone elses baby needed them because they were to small to drink from a big boy/girl cup. That really worked for me. We did not use a binky but my sister did and she found with her three kids that getting rid of it earlier rather than later was better. She went cold turkey with her kids also with the binky. She cut off the nipple part and let them discover for themselves that it did not work anymore. After a couple of days it was all good. I hope this helps. Good luck and congratulations on your second.
L.

With my 5, we tried different techniques, but at the end of the day, cold turkey worked best. It can be a rough few days or week, but it's worth it not to drag it out for weeks or months. With the bottle, the docs always told me over the years that if a child can hold a cup then they don't need a bottle. They won't drink as much at first but they'll catch up once they give in to the cup.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat

I recommend just going cold turkey. We went from bottles to Nuby sippy cups because the sippy part is still silicone...it made for an easier transition. After a couple months on the Nuby's (and biting the nipples apart) we went cold turkey on those and then moved to playtex cups, we had no problem.

Best of luck!

M.

Hi G., I am a mother of 2 children, 4 and 14 months, when i was pregnant with my son, 14months, my daughter had the binki. the way we took care of it was just get rid of it!!!! she cried for about 3 or 4 nights, and then forgot about it, every once in a while she would ask but eventually she just stopped. and with the bottle i just cut it down from 4 to 3 to 2 to 1 then none. it took me about 3 to 4 weeks to get her off the bottle and a 2 weeks to get her completely off the binki!! good luck!

good luck with that one!!! i have four kids--three of which all had binkies at the same time. i tried to wean, and i was successful, but when i had the next, the older child took from the baby!!! he's only one, give it time. maybe your newborn won't even want one and you'll have an easier time. i'm just sharing my experience with you--the sibling always "swipes" the binky from the baby. once you are determined to wean them, i always told my little ones that i gave them to santa claus or the easter bunny in exchange for candy or toys...hope this helps.