I started about a month ago transitioning my daughter from bottles to cups as she had turned 1. She is down to 1 bottle in morning and 1 bottle at night with sippy cup during the day (she doesn't take the milk well from a sippy during the day but will drink plenty of water from them--go figure!) Since she drinks 8-9 ounces from each of the bottles and not well from a sippy of milk during the day I am concerned how to start eliminating the bottles. Do I just give her a sippy of milk in the morning and hold her like I do with a bottle? Do I just keep trying that every morning till she realizes she won't get a bottle in the morning so she needs to take the sippy? And then start doing that at night too? Or do I just give her the milk in a sippy with breakfast and not when she wakes up like I did with a bottle? I sound so naive about this but... I AM naive about this. I really don't understand how to do it and ensure she is getting enough milk during the day. I know you can substitute with cheese and yogurt during the day but I would still like her to get enough milk. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
I did and still do what you suggested- I switched to a milk sippy in the am and pm, but still hold her while she drinks it. I like the quiet time together, to be honest! It took a few days for her to really accept it.
I use the Target (Circo) variety of the Nuby, a soft spout sippy, when I give her milk, and a regular hard spout one for water. I prefer the Circo soft spout because it is SO much easier to clean than the Nuby.
N.-
We started by giving our daughter sippy cups with meals. And we had to try a couple different sippy cups before we found the one that worked. So I would always keep them as an option for her. If you are concerned that she is not getting enough fluid, go back to the bottle a bit more. You are doing great. These things do take some time. Don't get down on yourself or think that you have to have her on a specific schedule to get off of bottles. You are not naive either, it's a good question. Good luvk, I hope it works!
E.
I have just went through the same thing with my now 14 m.o. Not that all children are the same, but this is what I did with almost NO troubles.
One night he just didn't have a bottle before bed. Instead, i gave him a transition cup. I used his same nUk bottle, but with the transition top (at walmart). He got that every night he went to bed from then on.
As for during the day.. we had to try about 20 different cups, no lie. Eventually he decided on the nUby ones (also at walmart, and the cheapest there). They're almost like a silicone nipple, but with a spout instead of a nipple. Still lots of softness around the spout for their lips. They leaked a bit after being used for awhile, but not too badly.
After about 2 weeks of those, we worked our way up for soft spouts, to semi-soft spouts, and now he is using toddler hard spout cups no problem.
I think it is easier for baby to go from different spouts than to only get a bottle at certain times of the day. It's less confusing and teaches them to drink from a spout no matter what they're drinking. My advice is to stop the bottles all together, if your baby will allow it, and try a trainer soft spout cup. Good luck!
Hi N.,
Your daughter sounds exactly like my son four months ago. When he turned 1 I was also uneasy about his getting less milk. After cutting out the bottle mid-day we took away the morning one and then about a week or two later the bedtime bottle. Like your daughter he also drank water just fine out of the cup but not milk and also like your daughter was getting about 8 ounces from the bottle and barely anything from the cup.
Here is what we did. In the morning and then bed time we offered the cup just like the bottle. He sat on a lap and kept the same routines. Eventually he got better at drinking milk from the cup but it took a few weeks.
In the beginning I started giving him yogurt for breakfast to make sure he was getting the protein and calcium he needed. Now, that he drinks more milk out of the cup I don't worry so much. He LOVES cheese so between daily portions of yogurt, cheese, and milk I am not too concerned and have accepted he isn't getting as much milk as before.
I think the hardest part is getting your mind around the fact that with the introduction of table foods they get their nutrients from a variety of places and our focus on liquid can decrease. I know it was hard for me to grasp. My doctor told me that after the 1st birthday liquids should be used for thirst not hunger anymore.
Good Luck
Hi N.,
I feel the same way with my 13 month old daughter! She'll take a few sips here and there of milk from the sippy, but won't drink it as much as she does the water, which she loves! I do give her cheese and yogurt, but want to get rid of the bottle altogether, which makes me nervous about disrupting our bedtime bottle routine, but I suppose it can't go on forever! :) I've found that warming the milk is a bit easier for her to take, so I'm going to try that this weekend instead of her morning bottle - just warm milk in the sippy. I've taken out the afternoon bottle too, and will probably stop the nighttime bottle in the next 1-3 months. Obviously the warming will have to stop soon too, but I feel like - everything in moderation.
Good luck with everything!
It took a few months and a lot of wasted milk for us too. Eventually she decided she would use the Nuby straw cups - which are a pain to clean!! Her pedi said not to worry if she doesn't drink a ton of milk. Find calcium elsewhere until she does. Good luck and be patient.
hi N. you will notice her milk consumption will go down. my 17mth old likes to drink milk out of a straw so i bought the straw cups they have throw away one and other insulated one too. it takes a while to transition the nightt one is always the last and every kid is different..... my daughter loves her binky so if she gives it up by 2 1/2 i'll be surprised ...... as far as other milk products cheese yogurt you have the right idea her diet is going to start branching out to other table foods that are rich in calcium too ie broccilli green leafy veggies. mother of 13 11 8 and 17mths all very good healthy eaters K. d
This may sound crazy, but try a different sippy for her milk. Sometimes they just want that difference. When we started giving our daughter a sippy we used the Nuby cups for milk (well at that time she was still on formula). Once she got that down, we started giving her water in a different style cup, either one that had a harder top, or a smaller cup all together. The only resistance we got in the beginning was because we didn't realize that the Nuby cups we had weren't working and we had to cut the holes in the top (they weren't cut all the way through when we got them, they just looked like they were). We also had a couple cups that she absolutely refused to use. So sometimes it's just trial and error, but if your daughter is using cups now, keep it up. Just keep putting milk in the cup and eventually she'll drink it. Don't give in too quickly or she'll realize that she can make you put it in a bottle again.
