OT : Need tips on weening DD from her bottle

[fterie4u]

Hello,

I am just starting to try to ween my DD from her bottle. She does not seem to have too much of an attachment to it, accept for maybe night time. She has been drinking water (she loves water) out of a sippy cup for months and months now, however when I try to giver her milk in one, she won't drink it. I tried getting a different cup just for her milk, so she wouln't associate it with her water, but she still won't drink it.

Any tips or advice on how to do this? Thank you in advance!

 

[CastleCreations]

What my mom did with me, and what I did with my girls, was go cold turkey. I did it a little more humanely than my mom, I took my dd to the grocery and let her pick out a few big girl cups and some special juice (juicy juice) and when she returned home, all of the "baby" bottles were gone. (in the trash). So if she was thirsty, she had to drink from the cups. At night time, she put the sippy cup on her nightstand. (water only, for night time)
My mother made me throw out my old bottles, I think I was around 18 months. She said all day long, I would go and lift the lid from the trash and look in at the bottles. How sad...LOL. I guess the experience didn't scar me...LOL.

 

[fterie4u]

What my mom did with me, and what I did with my girls, was go cold turkey. I did it a little more humanely than my mom, I took my dd to the grocery and let her pick out a few big girl cups and some special juice (juicy juice) and when she returned home, all of the "baby" bottles were gone. (in the trash). So if she was thirsty, she had to drink from the cups. At night time, she put the sippy cup on her nightstand. (water only, for night time)
My mother made me throw out my old bottles, I think I was around 18 months. She said all day long, I would go and lift the lid from the trash and look in at the bottles. How sad...LOL. I guess the experience didn't scar me...LOL.

How old were your girls when you did this? My DD is only 14 1/2 months, so maybe I am thinking of doing this too early?

 

[alikat99]

I kind of did the same thing, right after both of my girls turned one. We gave up the bottles cold turkey. The first night, we sat in our rocking chair with our sippy cup with some milk in it, and I sat with them and rocked them. Both of them refused the milk out of the sippy cup that night, but I just put them to bed anyway. My girls never got a cup in bed until much later, and that was just water.

The next morning, I again gave them their milk in a sippy cup. They weren't really sure about it, but I can tell you that by mid-day, they realized that the only way they were getting the milk was in that sippy cup. We only went forward from there.

 

[PiperPizzaz]

My Ds did the exact same thing. Would NOT drink the milk. What worked for us was getting one of the soft Nuby straw cups. Also, are you warming the milk? Once we switched to cold (like the water/juice) he started drinking it out of the straw cup. I wouldn't recommend those cups for long though, they eventually start leaking so, just get a couple. The BEST cups are the gerber ones with the hard plastic tops. I have had them for a long time and they never leak. They are kind of a pain to clean. The directions say use a Qtip but, I use my cake decorating tip cleaner. You can get this at Michael's and such.

 

[daisy_77]

I had a major problem getting DD off the bottle. The only thing that worked was going cold turkey. It was rough for a few days. But it worked!

 

[MouseEars1973]

When my daughter was 11 or 12 months we weaned her off her bottle completely. She never was too keen on the bottle to begin with and she would see her older brother, then 3, drinking from a cup with a straw. You know those small plastic kid cups that you often get at restaurants that come with a lid and a bendy straw? She took to those almost right away and we never looked back. We totally skipped the sippy cup phase which was a total relief since those valves are a pain to clean. I think it was more her desire to mimic her brother than anything else. Do you have any slightly older children she could observe?

 

[daisyduck123]

Cut slits into the tips with scissors, tell her they're broken, & that you're not buying anymore. After she tries it, she'll hate it. We did this with DS's pacifiers & after he tried all of them with the cut tips, he promptly threw them on the ground!

 

[cl1067]

I also used the cold turkey method. My oldest was on a bottle and formula until 18 months per the doctor...she was a premie and needed the extra calories from the formula due to her small size). My other two, we did it shortly after their first birthday. They each had one day that I don't think they got enough fluid, but after that they figured it out.

The key is to not give in to them...she will eventually take her milk for the sippy. I used a gerber cup that had a soft spout to start her on. I think it made the transition easier.

Good Luck!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Both of my boys were able to give up their bottles at 12 months. We started by giving them water and diluted juice in cups. When they had the hang of using the cup, I started putting their milk in it and neither had a problem with it.

You might try different kinds of cups to see which your DD likes best. There are some cups that have nipples on them so they seem more like a bottle. Maybe she needs that first before easing into a sippy cup. I also found that my boys liked using a straw. There are several cups with a straw built in that pops up (just watch for chewing if they have front teeth). Also, a cup with handles is easier to hold.

One thing that I think helped is my boys never held their own bottle. We always held them and the bottle when feeding them. When they got a chance to hold something, it was the cup and they took to it right away.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I guess I am in the minority here. I didn't make my kids give them up until around 3 years old. My oldest was about 2.5 and my dd was 3. My youngest ds is 20 months old and still going strong. They like them for bedtime. They drink out of cups all day long. I personally don't see any problem with it. None of them have teeth rotting out of their heads or have them growing in crazy directions. When we did get rid of the bottles I would offer a cup before bedtime instead of the bottle. I would tell them to try this first and see how they feel. They always fell asleep after the first few sips. They also don't like milk in the cups. Only water. I would try just offering the cup instead of the bottle. If your dd wants water then give it to her. It's not bad for her. Good luck!

 

[MSSANDRA]

Well, My guess is that I am a little older than most posters here as my "baby" is at drivers ed right now! We are however now helping to raise our DN that is 7 mo old so I am back in the loop.

I find myself so much more laid back in things this time and find that I have so much more confidence to make my own decissions on what is best for the baby.

What I would do is ask myself WHY I think that now is the best time to wean my child. In the past, teeth decay was the #1 reason that doctors advised to get the child off the bottle ASAP. Teeth coming in crooked was a close second. The reality now however is that most dentist will tell you that the new spill proof sippy cups do MORE damage to teeth than bottles. The placement of the spout in the mouth directs the liquid directly behind the teeth causing a huge increase in cavities in young children. Parents are also more likely to put liquids such a undiluted juice, soft drinks etc into a cup that they would not put into a bottle. Teeth mis placement according to most dentist is not a huge issue till about three.

If your child has a lot of ear infections, getting rid of the bottle has been shown to decrease those but feeding in a more upright position can also help there as well.

The important thing is to treat both the bottle and the sippy cup as a source of nutrition rather that a soothing tool or a comfort object.
The milk or formular should be treated as a food and fed and then the teeth cleaned.

Always holding the child for a bottle is very important and can be a great tool when weaning. most toddlers tire quicky of being held in a baby posititon. Also offerening nothing but milk or water in the bottle and offering the occasional diluted juice in the cup can help encourage the child too take the cup too. There is also NOTHING wrong with going the cold turkey route as long as you can stick to it and not cave. That just makes it so much harder. My point is just to make sure that you and your child are ready to wean and you do not feel like this is a first birthday rite of passage.

Good luck!!!

MsSandra

 

[Mouse House Mama]

MsSandra that wasa great post!

 

[fterie4u]

Thank you all very much for your advice! I am trying to ween her from her daytime bottles since she does not seem to have a string interest in them, however she does still need the milk. She loves her sippy cups, especially the straw ones, however does not like them when there is milk in it. I only give her water in the sippy cups, no juice. She loves water, which is great!

I think I will try this weekend to see what she does if I don't give in and give her the bottle, except for night time. She is almost 15 mionths old, so I don;t htink I can do the throw the botles away and pick out a sippuy cup thing because I don;t think she will grasp the whole thing. Believe me, I am amazed at how much she understands, however I think this might be too much.

Anyway, thank you again and any more advice is appreciated!

 

[reginaastralis]

I can't remember exactly when we took Julie's cup away, I think we started with a sippy at 10 months, but I know the only way to get her to drink her milk out of it was to warm her milk first. She's never liked cold liquids, so this could be something to try.

And, I believe it was the Supernanny who said they won't let themselves go thirsty. This was the little girl who was nearly four and would only drink out of a bottle for bedtime. We leave a sippy for Julie out with water still, but she can only have juice or milk at dinner ... no sippy. Another poster was right that sippies are horrid for their teeth.

She's a little young, my daughter's school starts at 18months, and there are no sippies allowed. They drink out of the little paper dixie cups. Not great for the environment, but great at teaching kids to drink. You could put her milk in that, then the bendy straw ... and make sure to stick with the rule "drinks only at the table" and she might catch on that way. I agree with the above poster, it's so much easier to skip the sippy stage. That's what we're working on getting out of now, and it's a pain!

 

[maxtomsmom]

What worked for my second DS was telling him that the bottle fairy needs the bottles back so she can give them to a new baby boy somewhere far away. She will give him special presents (in his case a pillow, which he wanted for his crib he it worked! a toy truck and a sleeping buddy). He got these gifts because he gave up all his bottles and she was so proud of him. He was around 18 months. We got rid of all the bottles, threw them away outside so he wouldn't see them. It worked and yes, he did ask about his bottle for about 3 days. He cried once, but we got his special gifts to help comfort him. We tried not to make an issue of it. My older son offered sips from his cup to show him how cool it was to drink from a real cup.

 

[brergnat]

I went through something similar with my second DS. He is 15 months now, but around 13 months, he started playing with his bottles more than drinking anything from them. He began squirting the milk out, etc. So, I decided it was time to give up the bottles. Milk in a cup was an issue for my oldest DS (who is now 3 and STILL won't drink milk straight...I guess he just doesn't like it...he eats a LOT of yogurt and cereal with milk). Anyway, with my second DS, I just had to keep trying new sippy cups until I found one he liked. I went through about 7 different types. He FINALLY took milk from the First Years Take and Toss cups, which I thought was GREAT. No valves to wash, easy to clean, and I don't feel bad tossing them if they get gross. I was shocked he liked this cup, since my oldest won't even drink water out of those...but it seems like the shape was just perfect for his mouth and he does very good holding it himself and not spilling it.

I would say, just keep trying a new type of cup until you find the "magic" one for your child. My son will also drink water out of a cup with a straw or any other type of sippy, but with milk, it has to be the Take and Toss cup or nothing. He seems to like milk, though, unlike my oldest son.

I also started just giving him milk with meals and then putting him to bed without anything except his blankie. He very quickly learned that he could fall asleep without a bottle or cup of milk beforehand. Occasionally, if we have a very early dinner, I'll give him a sippy of milk in the glider right before bed (I do brush his teeth afterward, though).

 

[Bethany]

I didn't read the other replies but here's my 2 cents.

My oldest 2 used a bottle to fall asleep until they were 2 yrs old. Trying to wean them before that time was a pain in the butt because they were just not ready. They needed that suckling sensation/comfort to fall asleep. At age 2, though, it was a breeze!

My youngest is now 18 mos and is breastfed. I don't plan on trying to wean her until she's 2 at the youngest.

I wanted to add, that with my first child it was much easier for her to say goodbye to her "ba ba" because she had the newborn brother in the house and I told her "bottles are for babies, and you're a BIG girl now". That was very effective.

With my son, I just remember taking all of his bottles (this was just before he turned 2) and putting them in a plastic bag and hiding them. He asked once or twice for ba-ba, but that was it. Out of sight out of mind for him (I kept them hidden in the house rather than throw them away "just in case" he wasn't ready).

Not really sure how I'll do this with my youngest when she's 2. Not like I can take of my breasts and hide them. LOL!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Not really sure how I'll do this with my youngest when she's 2. Not like I can take of my breasts and hide them. LOL!

Well, since I breastfed 3 kids and will also breastfeed our 4th I can tell you that I can hide my breasts. I simply take off my bra and tuck them into my pants! Then it just looks like I have muffin top!

 

[DonaldsDaisy]

I just came across this tread and wanted to thank everyone for all the great advice. I have been giving my DD(9 months) the sippy cup for a few months now. She wants nothing to do with it. It either gets thrown at me or dumped. I just took her for her 9 month check up this week and her Doc said she should be off the bottle by a year old.

The thing is she prefers drinking from a straw better then anything. She will sit there with the child cup that has a straw(like the ones from the Disney Store) and sip from it. She has been doing it for months. When I told the doctor he said stick with the sippy cup. I guess I'll keep trying!