Weaning from Bottle Troubles

I like the wic Idea,...but maybe put something distasteful such as a touch of vinigar or hotsauce ,..
I just put my bottles in the garbage so it wasn't an option.

Hi K. - Who is training who? I know you may have heard this before, but every time you give in to a screaming fit, it will only be worse the next time. Believe me, if you pay attention now to your son's temper tantrums, they will NEVER stop...even at 13. I would decide whether or not he is ready to be off the bottle or not. If not, wait another three months, no big deal. If you really want him off the bottle, then just take him off the bottle. Get rid of them. If he won't drink out of a sippy cup, try putting a straw in it. Drink out of a sippy cup yourself when you have dinner and let him see you doing it. He will drink when he is thirsty. In the meantime, feed him watery stuff (extra milk in the cereal, etc) so he gets fluids. If you don't make a big deal about it, he will get the idea that maybe that sippy cup is not so bad after all!

My 5 year old was off a bottle and onto a cup by 9 months old, then my 2 year old used a bottle until he was about 16 months, there is no right or wrong time to switch them just when they are ready. As long as you dont put any juice in his bottle and just keep trying he will take it when he is ready. Have you tried different cups? Maybe he just doesnt like the cup you are using, or have you tried one of those cups with the straw? I just say give him a little more time and maybe try a new cup.

I know it is frustrating, but he wont be on the bottle forever.

Good Luck!

First... calm down. It will be ok. My daughter was almost 18 months before she would even consider a cup. I was out of my mind as well. The first thing that the feeding specialist told me (yes... I even took it that far) was that it was ok if it went past a year and she was still on the bottle. She advised that around 18 months if she still had no interest, to try switchin her cup for her bottle at meal times when she ate more table food and drank less. She also suggested trying something other than milk or water in the cup. I found that my daughter loved white grape juice so I put that in the cup and offered it in between meals. And it worked. I found out later that my daughter doesn't like milk and won't drink it no matter what I put it in. So sit back, relax, and take a deep breath. If it doesn't happen by a year... the world will not end. It is a major comfort item for your son and he is realizing that he can manipulate you and he is also realizing that there is this whole big world out there and he will hold close what is familiar to him. Give him a little time before you push this. It will get easier... I promise.

My daughter is around the same age as your son (she will be a year this friday). She has been using a sippy cup since around 6 or 7 months. Personally? I don't listen to Dr's very often because I believe I know my child the best. Every baby is different, so why rush it? My sister is a nurse and has 3 children. Two of her kids were still using a bottle around 14 months of age. I too used one until I was about 1 1/2. Her kids are all advanced for their age, with her daughter being put into gifted classes, so they are no worse for the wear for taking a bottle past a year old. There is no law that says a baby has to folllow every guideline. Just like the whole binkie thing and parents rushing to take it away. Babies have a natural instinct to suck, so why force them to do something that are just made to do? Trust me, your son will be off of it soon enough. As long as he is making head ways with the sippy cup, don't deny him milk just because a WIC person says he has to be off the bottle at exactly age 1.

Hello K.. I wouldn't worry about his liquid intake as long as he is eating. I aslo agree that there is no law as to when he stops using the bottle. I suggest making the transition slow. Giving him juice, water, and milk in his cup during the day and only a bottle at night or only twice a day. Slowly take him off of the bottle. Then, when he is only taking a bottle at night and you take him off of that just rock him to sleep or go for a car ride for him to fall asleep for a couple of nights w/o the bottle. It is a hard time for both of you and my suggestion is to do it slowly. Good luck!

K.,
I am a mom of three (5, 2 1/2 and 11 mo). I remember when I had my first, everyone pressured me "you must have him off a bottle by the time he is one!". I was miserable and frustrated - I nursed him until he was 9 months, so basically I had just gotten him on the bottle when the pressure started to get him off. Your email sounds just like the way I was feeling back then. I perservered (it was not fun for anyone), but I did it - got him on a cup. Why? I don't know, I guess because all these really smart people told me I was supposed to have him on a cup by the time he was 12 months old. By the time my second one came along, I was much more comfortable with myself and my decision making - I didn't really care about the "rules" of breaking them from the bottle. My daughter kept a bottle for her naps and bedtime until she was almost two. I cold turkeyed her before her 2nd bday. I also gave her drinks during the day in a sippy, but she wasn't ready to give up her bottle. Her teeth are messed up, she doesn't have attachment issues or whatever disfuction she is supposed to have since I let her have a bottle longer. I am breastfeeding my 11 mo old now. I am just now getting him on a bottle and will probably keep him on a bottle till he is at least 18 mo (for naps and bedtime). I am not suggesting you do this, you need to do what is best for you and your son. If it doesn't seem like now is the right time, then it isn't. It is so funny when my friends and I talk about this very thing of a bottle or when we potty trained or when we took pacifiers away or any other milestone - and we have learned that just because a book or a "professional" has advise - each child is different. It's okay to relax and move slow into this. This is not something you need to accomplish overnight or by the 29th. Enjoy him and this time. Hang in there and don't put so much pressure on yourself. Your doing a great job.

I would call your pediatrician and ask if a baby would allow themselves to become dehydrated...I know that they say that you don't have to worry too much about them being hungry because they will eat when they are hungry.

Taking the above into account, I would pitch the bottles and prepare yourself for a couple of rough days. I think that if he sees that the cup is his ONLY option then he will adjust faster than you think. Good Luck!!

Hi K.!

I definitely agree that if your son doesn't want the cup right now, then just let him be. He'll start using it when HE knows it's time. Kids just know sometimes. My mom had 5 kids, and never pushed us to be off bottles by one. Some of us had bottles until we were 2, 2 1/2. And we all turned out okay!

I am very lucky. My son has been drinking from a cup since 6 months, and he weaned himself off his bottles a little before he turned one. What kind of cups do you use? My son LOVES these Nuby straw, sippy cups I only find at Wal-Mart. Because he is still sucking, it made the transition much eaiser for him.

I don't know how you feel about juice, but I give my son 100% low sugar juice diluted with water (2 parts water, 1 part juice), and he drinks 8 oz at a time 4-6 times a day. I never have to worry about his fluid intake.

Does he maybe not like milk? (Are you givng him milk or formula?) When I first gave my son milk he took one sip and handed it right back to me. I know he needed 16-24 oz of milk a day. So I bought sugar free Hershey's syrup and give him chocolate milk with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And then he's done with his milk for the day. Just some thoughts! Good luck! This too shall pass... :)

Just wait til molars come in.... haha :)