When Do I Wean?

My dr. suggests 12 months. My son is 10 months and I just don't think we'll make 12 months. My goal is 15 months. He will take a lil juice from a sippy but he's not that into it. He no longer will eat baby food and gets 3 meals of regular food a day just like we do now.

Hi K., I also have an 11 month old and she still takes the bottle. She does take a sippy cup and baby food too. I was always told to let them tell you when they are ready to give up the bottle. My mother had three girls and with her first everybody told her to take my sister off the bottle early. She said she had more problems with her the me and my other sister. She let us give the bottle up on our own when we were ready. She said that we just stopped wanting it around 1 1/2 to 2 years old. That's been my philosophy with my daughter and so far it has worked. She weaned her self from breast feeding at 4 1/2 months, and then she took the sippy cup about 3 weeks ago. She prefers the sippy when she is at daycare with the older kids. When she is home with me she takes both. When she is ready she will stop the bottle altogether. My advice is to let your son give up the bottle when he is ready. I hope this helps.

He should not be off the bottles. The APA recommends that 90% of a babies nutrition come from breast milk or formula until they are 8mths. 8-10mths 75% and after that still over 50% until you ready one year - at that time you can convert to whole milk. Our dr actually said that we could start weening over to whole milk at 11 months but that is b/c I want to ween slowly as I am breastfeeding.

My son is 9.5 mths and we are at 3 milk feedings per day. One first thing in the morning. One an hour after lunch and one an hour after dinner (hour before bedtime). He also has three solid meals. Once we get rid of the bottle around lunch time we will replace it with a snack. Eventually we will replace the morning milk with a morning snack too.

FYI - I said milk feedings because we have already weened off bottles and to sippy cups.

Dear K. H,

I have 12 mo. old boy twins. I know where you are coming from about the bottles, because I was at the same place at 11 mos with my boys. I will tell you what I did/do & maybe that will help you.
Since my boys did use sippy cups, but still needed formula until 12 mos. I started putting their formula in sippy cups @ 11 mos., for breakfast, lunch, and then right before bed they got a bedtime warm bottle. I will continue to do this until they finish all the formula we have purchased (since they are now 1 they really don't need formula). Then once they have finished all pre bought formula, then they will get everything in sippys & bottle goes bye bye. I never put anything but formula in bottles, so when we dont need formual anymore-we dont need bottles.

Our daily feeding looked like this (ps my babies are plump)
These servings are per child
Breakfast: soon as they get up (8:30) I give them a 8 oz sippy & let them play on the floor. Then about 10:30, I give them 1/2 cup dry cereal mixed w/ 4oz juice. 11:00 nap
Lunch: 1:00 8oz sippy cup while playing on the floor, then 2:30 or so I give them a/o 4oz of fruit, 3:00 nap
Snack when up from nap a/o 5:00, I would just give them more formula in their sippy
Supper: 6:00 they still have their formula with sippy, a/0 4oz meat, 4oz vegatable, 1oz cheese. What ever is left of sippy I put in fridge.
Bedtime:8:00 I take sippy cups with formula & pour what is left into bottles then I add whatever amount of formula to make 8oz of formula. Then i heat & feed then brush their teeth, diaper change & bedtime.

**PS I was told by nurse that the formula is good in leak proof sippy for max of 2 hours (out of fridge) This has been ok with mine, but double check with your doctor just to be on the safe side.
Hope this helps-VictoriaB

My baby will be 11 months on Feb 11. She only has two little teeth and still drinks from bottles, as well as cups. She is still having some issues with the cups as she will spill more down her front than she drinks. Some days she will have several bottles of formula, 1-3 small bottles of juice (mixed with a little water) and I try to give her 1 or 2 small bottles of 2% milk at least 2-3 times a week. She eats pretty much what I eat as long as it is small enough and soft enough for her to eat. But she does eat the stage 3 baby food as well. She normally has 3 meals a day consisting of either table food or baby food, sometimes a combination. She has fat little hands so it is really easier to hold onto the bottles than it is for the cups, even the ones with the handles. I feel that your child will know when it is time and they will let you know. However, you can always try coaxing them some as well. Good luck.

It's perfectly fine to put breastmilk or formula in a sippy cup. If he's using a cup now, then it's fine to ditch the bottles. If he's exclusively formula fed and takes a pacifier, that will help him with the sucking instinct that the bottle is satisfying. If you are part-time breastfeeding, then put him to the breast when he asks and that should help him give up the bottle. There is no limit for how long you should breastfeed, and it helps develop the jaw and proper perminant tooth allignment. And I agree the Nubby cups work great! My daughter would never take a bottle, but around 8 months she took a Nubby for water and juice. Now at 17 months she's drinking from a regular cup.

Walmart sells a sippy cup called nuby. They have a soft nipple-like lid that makes it pain free to transfer from the bottle to a sippy cup. My oldest was completely off of a bottle by 8m. She started on a realy sippy (with the harder lid) by 10m. Again, the process is practically pain-free...I'm doing it again with my now 9m old and she is also taking it very well. I caution going after 1yr with a bottle, especially at bedtime...dental issues and all that...and it is so hard for them to give up once they realize they can fight for it...do it while he's young! He might fight you the first, but make sure there are no bottles in sight (hide them all)so he doesn't think he can go back to the bottle...
Good Luck!

my ped. said the closer to off the bottle by 1 you can get the better. 1 year olds are more compliant than 2 yr olds! I breastfed and at 11mo. we were down to 2 feeds a day and at 12 mo only 1. she was completely weaned by 13mo. good luck

I have an 11 month old son as well and he is down to one bottle a day (at bedtime). I'm sure that will be the hardest one to get rid of. He takes milk and juice out of a cup the rest of the day. He's also eating almost exclusivly table food. I've always been told that the one year mark is a good time to get rid of the bottles, though of course it could take longer for some. I would try getting rid of one of the mid-day bottles to start with and see how that goes, then progress from there. Good luck!