When to Which to a Cup and No More Bottles

Hubbys family is right. You don't even have to wait the month, she's already on the sippy. Start eliminating the bedtime and the morning bottle. If someone makes a sippy cup with only 1 or 2 holes, buy one and use it for the car rides. She's ready mommy; you're probably not. They do grow up fast but you'll enjoy the extra free time not having to prepare the bottle. You can always hold her during that morning sippy and cuddle to keep the closeness.

It's actually pretty painless to get them off the bottle around one. The ped. told us to start cutting the nipple a little, I guess so the need to suck is gone and put water in the bottle instead of milk. My kids were all off in a couple days, and my daughter quickly stopped getting up in the night for a bottle when I gave her one with water in it. I think it was harder for me as a mom to see my baby not like a baby! I showed her a bottle the other day (she's 15 months) and she looked at it and started giggling, like mom what is that?

Is the bottle a comfort or security to the child?

I have ran a DCFS licensed daycare for 5 years and have 3 children of my own. Lots of children have passed through the daycare. I had a daycare baby that drank juice from a sippy cup at 6 months and a daycare child who at 2 still has her bottle at naps. I leave it up to the parents. To the two year old it is a comfy/secure thing. Some children have a blanket, a baby doll, etc. I would suggest taking a soft animal or doll and giving it to your child while she has the bottle. Then if it is a security thing, it will make the transition easier. I think around the age of one is a good age to stop the bottle. The longer they have it the harder it is to break. Good Luck. Don't sweat the small stuff. Your child will not go to kindergarden with a bottle.

I would find out why it's currently recommended to get babies off the bottle at age one. The reason may be because prolonged sucking at bottle nipples is bad for the placement of teeth. If so, go from there. If she uses the bottle just for drinking a few times a day, perhaps it is fine to make the transition slowly. The medical recommendation may be one of those general recommendations to discourage bottle-using for babies who have bottles in their mouths all day long.

We always stopped using them at 1. We too only put formula in bottles, so when we stopped formula when they were one we stopped bottles. It went smoothly for all 5 kiddos. You care about the bottle more than she does. She really will not care if you switch to only cups right now. Good Luck.

I was under the assumption, from our pediatrician, that if a child stays on the the bottle for too long (after one) that it will develop into a habit and the transition will be very difficult to a sippy cup. Our ped. told us to start giving our son a sippy cup with juice or water at 6 months while he was still on the bottle. Since your child is only taking a bottle three times a day I would give a sippy cup in between bottles. Especially with summer coming your child will probably get thirsty in between bottles so maybe try a little bit of water in a sippy cup. You want your child to get use to the sippy cup and how it feels/works. Then I would switch out a sippy cup for one of the bottle times. Good luck!

I started giving my 4th child a cup w/straw @ 10 months & never looked back. I feel if they don't take it at first, keep offering it. I don't give both regardless if it's just one a.m. bottle or p.m. I just don't, nor I let my child walk around with her cup. She gets snacks/meals & her cup in her high chair to promote that there is a certain place that we eat & not just all over the place.

Just a tip, if you do decide to do a cup w/straw, pour the drink in, cover WITHOUT the straw then put the straw in. This helps so that the liquid doesn't shoot up the straw as you are closing the lid.

She should be off the bottle by age 1 and it is much easier to do if you start around 10 months as they aren't as set on drinking from a bottle. Start giving her milk in a sippy cup when she is pretty thirsty, so she will really want to try. It does take a little bit for them to get used to. I experimented with a few types of cups, one of which looked very like a nipple and others were the avent ones. In the end, it was the avent ones that my little girl liked best. All her bottles were gone before she turned one. You might also like to get a few books that lay out what to do when. What to expect the toddler years is good. so is the American Academy of Pediatrics book on care 0-5. Most of these things are laid out there based on medical recommendations. Good luck.

We quit giving the bottle before she turned 1. She's been using a sippy since about 6 months, but at about 11 months we totally got rid of the bottle. She really didn't care whether she had a bottle or a sippy, so at that point, we just got rid of the bottle all together. She will let you know if she will let you know if she's not ready, but it sounds to me that if she's only taking a couple of bottles a day, she's ready for the transition.
GOOD LUCK!

Every kid is a little different, but the goal is around 1 year to get rid of the bottles. My oldest was down to 1 bottle at about 11 months and shortly after she turned 1 we took the 1 bottle away :) My younger girl will be 1 on Tuesday and hasn't had a bottle in over a month!
I think a good goal is to go from formula to milk in a glass not a bottle :)

In years past babies would be nursed until 18-24 months old. I think that shows that they were made to suck until around that age. I know what the current thought is (one year). But really, who comes up with these guidelines? Don't put too much pressure on yourself or your baby. Make the decision with daddy, and don't let anyone else pressure you.

Hi M. B:

Your daughter and I are born on the same day--MAY 10. As a Taurus we can be very stubborn. (a little humor there)

This is what worked for my son. Keep in mind that infants (toddlers) don't adjust well with too much change. You just transitioned her from breast milk or formula to whole milk. I think that one change at a time is best. Let her chug away with the bottle for now. The sippin' cup should be used for juice and water by the time she reaches 1 and a half (if possible) but don't push her too hard. By the time she is 2, you can pour the milk in the sippin cup because she will have understood that liquids of all kinds can be drunken from the cup. Then see if she still wants the bottle. If she still hollers for the bottle at age 2, give her a little more time and let her drink the milk from the bottle only, but not the juice or water.

Also, when she truns age 2, start giving her straws to drink with. But for now, she is only "11 months" so let her keep her bottle.

My pediatrician suggested to ween from the bottle between 15 & 18 months. But my kids are older and things change so often. I have heard recently that they are now recommending 12 months, which I think is too young. But that is just my opinion.

I recently had my 3rd child and am nursing exclusively... I don't know if he will ever take a bottle (right now he is not interested in one).

I say do what works for YOUR child because YOU are the parent and seriously ask you family to curb their comments. It makes parenting SO hard when you have "back seat drivers" (if you know what I mean).

Good Luck with whatever you decide!

My doctor said to stop the bottle after 1 year, so I think that it is fine that your daughter still gets a bottle. He was getting 3 bottles a day and I weened one each week. The first week after he turned one, I weened the afternoon bottle. The second week I weened the morning bottle and the third week I weened the bedtime bottle. He never missed them. (I did though). Also, many of my friends waited later to ween their children from the bottle and it was much harder, so I'm going to do this same thing for my second son when he turns one. Hope this helps!

If you can get her off that bottle by age one you will be doing yourself a huge favor. The longer she has it the more attached she will be come to it and it will be very difficult to get it away from her. We took the bottles away from my son at 1 - he went right to a sippy with no problems. My daughter is almost 11 months and she is good with a sippy, so her bottles will be vanishing very shortly!

We got rid of the bottle at one. right before my son turned one the doctor brought it up but I wasn't sure he'd be ready. He was. It was so easy. I think when the formula/breastmilk is done the bottle should be too. I really don't think they are too attached to it yet, so it's best to do it now before they reach the point where it is a fight, you know? good luck. If you are having problems with getting rid of the bottle, just get rid of one bottle at a time until they're gone. :) good luck

She is at a perfect age to take away the bottle for good. Sounds like you may not be ready? She will be fine.

We were also told by 1 she should switch. We waited till we felt she was bit older and stopped it cold turkey when she turned 2. No teeth problems or other horrors that everyone warns u about.

Hi M.:

At our son's one year check up with the pediatrician, the doctor told us not to give him another bottle. So, we didn't. It worked perfectly. I think the age is ideal. Any older and it will get more difficult, we were told.

Best of luck to you!
M.

My son is 15 mos. We stopped the bottles two days after his first birthday. Honestly he didn't seem to miss the bottle at all. We started off with a cup that has the soft spout. It's made by nuk, they were pretty expensive (around $6 for one cup). But we just did it cold turkey, nothing gradual, all the bottles got put away for good. He did act like he wanted one at the baby sitters when he would see the baby get one, and then he would just get really excited. The sitter just gave him and cup and he was satisfied. At home it was never an issue.

Hi M.,
I would definetly start the sippy cup now. I had all of my 3 girls off of the bottle by the time they turned 1 yr old. I started the sippy cups when they were around 10 months just to learn how to hold it, sip from it, etc. I also started them out of 1/2 juice, 1/2 water so that they would be interested in it. I would start her soon because after 1 yr old the health dept. and my pediatrician said they need to go due to the teeth issue. If they stay on the bottle to long it can damage their teeth coming in and their gums. Good luck!

After Connor's first birthday we just never gave him another bottle. It didn't even phase him. He was used to getting sippy cups anyway.

Our rule is that ONLY breast milk/formula goes in a bottle. All other drinks (water, cow milk, etc) go in a cup.

Hi,
It's sounds crazy early, but a 1 year old should NOT drink out of a bottle anymore. Mine is 8 months and I have been introducing a cup at meals just to practice...I am sure you can go a bit past one with no problems, BUT my friend who ignored this tip has a 3 year old that refuses to drink milk out of anything but a bottle. His teeth are all messed up from it too. I would just start having her use a sippy cup with formula/milk in it when you usually give her a bottle and go from there. Hope this helps and good luck:)

I never felt any pressure or in any hurry to switch. My kids have perfectly healthy teeth. Just to add another perspective!

Our Dr. has always told us they should be off the bottle completely by 1 year. We've done that with our 2 oldest and plan to do the same with our baby when the time comes. Sippy cups are so much better to clean and fill too! :)