Hi, my 16mo old recently tried milk in his straw bottle and did well 2x, and then started to refuse to drink at all unless it is back in the bottle. I gave in, as he had a bad nap-day (as we all have had!), but don't know if you are supposed to just go cold-turkey on the bottle to get them to switch? How did you switch from bottle to sippy? And, do any of you know if it is better to go to a straw than sippy? He currently gets 4 bottles, and takes around 26oz/day. I'm afraid he'll go down to nothing if I go cold turkey and he'll just want to eat more, although he is a very picky eater now. Any advice would be great! Thanks!
Thank you all so much for your help. It is funny how all peds are so different! My ped said that the avg milk intake for a boy at 15mo is 24oz; so we were right on target. As this is the time to be weaning more; it makes since. Some kids like milk more than others. We have decided to still give him a morning and evening bottle and let him choose whether or not he wants the milk during the day by putting it in his sippy/straw cup. Sometimes he takes it, others not. Soon he will just be having water as he gives the milk up. Hopefully this will go smoothly before the next challenge starts! Thanks again!
I think you have to go cold turkey and not give in. We did give in a couple times, but at 16 months they will cry and fuss if they think you will give in. We switched from bottle to a nuby cup with a wide spout and after 3-4 days of protesting she finally gave in and drank out of the sippy cup. She drank about 16 ounces of milk per day and also eats cheese, yogurt etc.
we made the switch at 1. she had 3 bottles a day then and we switched to milk anyhow. we started taking the first bottle away and gave a sippy with first nap. after a few days, took the second bottle away before second nap and a few days later took the night time bottle away. our daughter really liked the sippy and didn't miss the bottle at all. you could try both sippy and straw and see which one your son likes more. even have him pick one out at the store.
From what I remember when my son was this age, you should not be giving your child this much milk in the day. Our pediatrician was very firm about controlling the amount of milk and juice. I think it was 12 or 16 oz of milk per day and 6 oz of juice per day. The rest of the liquid should be water. Your child should be eating regular food with you and beginning to feed himself.
My son used a sippy cup, but then we learned from his speech therapist that it was not good for his speech development. However, the straw cups aren't quite the same, because my son treats the sippy cup like it's a bottle. He sometimes asks for it in the morning and will go back to sleep. If he wakes up too early, I will go ahead and buy myself sleep time by doing this.
So, I would go for the straw cups and use them exclusively during the day. Allow the bottle if and when you think your child needs that comfort. And transition to feeding him food instead of so much milk.
I cut out the daily bottles one by one and hung on to the bedtime one for a while. Then I started to dilute the bedtime milk down until she only had water. Eventually, she didn't even want that. I recall the last three days were tough, no bottle, but she got through it fine.
She's been bottle free for over six year. :)
Stephanie
We switched our daughter from a bottle to a sippy cup at one. We just switched it. Along with that we stopped giving her formula and didn't do "feedings" any more. We did meals with milk. our doctor said she should be getting 12 oz of milk or yogurt a day, the rest should be water.
I say just go cold turkey to anything he will drink out of.
Hello
He is getting way too much in his bottles! Only 16 or so xounces in a 24 hour period, of milk. I would go cold turkey and you are the mother, the boss. Using a sippy cup for all fluids is much better for his teeth. The natural sugar in the milk sits along the gum line and causes decay. He sould be consuming most of his calories in foods, not milk at this age.
good luck!
Try a sippy cup with no valve~!!
They make them without - or you can just take it out!
May want to start with water :)
This idea worked in literally minutes, for my son who was just not getting the sippy concept ~
Hello! Nuby makes these really neat cups that are a soft silicone where the sippy part is, so they kind of still suck on the cup and it's soft instead of that hard plastic. That might be the way to start him off with. Good luck and congratulations on your pregnancy.
Lots of advice here, and there are many different opinions, just find what works for you & your baby. My twins are the same age (born Dec '07). I currently give them a bottle in the morning, then I will give sippy cups throughout the day, sometimes bottles. They are slowly getting more interested in the big kid cups, they like straw cups, but they can spill at times! To me it is not a huge deal, my other 3 children gave up the bottles completely before age 2 so I just kind of relax on it. I will leave a sippy of water in their reach so they can get it in their own curiosity and play with it, that way it is not a big change for them, they're familiar. I have tried the Nuby, although they liked it, mine chewed on the silicone spout and then it leaked.
Anyway, good luck to you! And congrats on baby #2!
D.
Hello Anne,
My daughter is 16 months also born Dec 2007. She has been using sippy cups since around 11-12 months. We went through a few different cups to find the one she likes. She likes the one with the straw. So she drank her juice & water in her cup. Then by 15 1/2 months we removed the bottle all together, cold turkey. She wasnt drinking as much so we add 1 tsp of Strawberry Nestle Quick to it and she tends to drink more and like drinking from her cup. We now removed the Nestle Quick and she continued her pattern of liking the milk in her cup :0) On her days she doesnt drink as much milk we still give her plenty of cheese and yogurt, ect. For us it worked out great.
Good Luck
T.
