Ending Bottle Feeding?

Question

Hi Moms. I have a questions regarding bottle feeding. My daughter is 13 months and eats table food all day, with 6 oz. of juice (max) and water. Before her afternoon and evening nap she has an 8 oz. bottle of whole cows milk. But, she will not drink cows milk in a sippy cup. Should I end the two bottle feedings and attempt to offer her the milk in the sippy cups gradually at naptime? I heard that it may not be good for her at her age to have a bottle before bed is this true? Also, is it time for me to stop the bottles and if so, can someone please give me step by step guidelines on how to do it. I really don't know. This is our first baby and I welcome all suggestions. Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi i am a mother of a 5yr old and a 13 month old,here is my advice,no more bottles.It is bad for her teeth.It took my 13mth old a month before drinking whole milk.I offer it to him in sippy cup at least once a day.He just started drinking it a few days ago, and only drinks it w/ovaltine in it.You can try that,it is loaded in vitamins and both my kids love it.She still may not take it for a few days but if she is getting calcium from yogurt and cheese every day,she doesnt have to have the milk until she is ready.Just offer it to her anyways.

Answer 2

I don't think you should rush with getting rid of the bottles just yet. However, if you're anxious to just do it and get it done with then I would suggest using a sippy cup. (This is what I did with my first child, for some silly reason she "had" to be off bottles/breast at 12 mths exactly. I just gave her a sippy on her birthday and that was it.) Needless to say the first week or so was hard. With my next kid I just looked around for a more comforting sippy, like the ones with silicon spouts. Then I would offer the sippy, but he had one bottle a day at bedtime until he just stopped wanting them (around 18 mths). With my third child I forewent the whole sippy cup thing and just started him on 4 ounce child size tumblers.

I would put 1/2 an ounce of liquid in the tumbler and help him drink from it. I'd teach him to hold it with two hands and how to tip it back etc. I'd only use a small amount of drink to eliminate a lot of the mess/clean up after his spills. And he'd only got the cup at meal times (if he wasn't drinking from the cup he had a bottle) until he mastered it with no spills for a month or so.then I just began giving him drinks from the cup whenever he was thirsty. You can do this just about any way you want. Consistency is the key.

Answer 3

try hiding all the bottles and telling her they are all gone! Keep trying the sippy cup throughout the day. She is using this milk in a bottle as a pacifier for her nap= put water in it instead if you can;t bring yourself to hide the bottles. They love the sucking for nap time!! My nephew was the same way. I did take my sons away right at a year- and gave him a sippy cup for the nap. Every child is different though, so don't beat yourself up just keep trying! try the nuby brand= it is soft like a nipple they tend to do better with the change over. if she needs it over night make sure you give her water!! No milk at night= this causes "bottle rot" meaning rotten teeth. I work for a dentist and have seen this before.- very sad! Good Luck!

Answer 4

What i did with mine (started at about 11 1/2 months) was bought these sippy cups that have like a silicone tip (like a nipple is made of) But is shaped different. They liked those because they were soft. I wouldn't give her a bottle at bed time either. It isn't good for her teeth! She might not like the fact of no more bottle but you have to be persistant! Fortunately my kids had no problem. I let them have normal little cups at age 2 1/2. Sippy cups are especially good for car rides!

Answer 5

i have four kids and all kids are different if she is eating good and taking her vitamins then i dont see why she needs a bottle besides the comfort factor,maybe you can get her a sippy cup that has a silicone spout for an easy transition and make her drink it at her high chair before she goes to bed that way she can distinguish drinking is to be at meals snacks,ect.you can make a big deal out of her drinking out of the new sippy cup by taking pictures and praising her alot.when it was time for my kids to give the bottles up i told them that the new little babies needed them now and we would give them to them and they got to have these exiting sippy cups(of course for a couple months i kept a couple hidden just in case) but having drinks in bed can cause tooth decay because of them falling asleep and having the sugary substance in their mouth.did you know milk had sugar in it too?i didn't know that until my dentist told me.the name of the sippy cups with the silicone spouts are called nubby's and walmart has an off brand that come in a single pack for a dollar a piece i hop this helps and good luck!

Answer 6

It is okay to still drink from a bottle as long as she brushes her teeth. Milk will cause her teeth to decay if she drinks it and then goes to sleep. If she needs a bottle to go down, use water. My daughter was breast fed so I did not face the problem. My brother however just threw the bottles out one day. He told the kids that the bottle collector had come because they were to old for bottles. It worked if for no other reason the stores were closed and they had no bottles that night. My sister tried to wean her kids slowly, it was pretty rough. Both approaches worked and all my nephews and nieces turn out okay. Good luck I am sure you will do fine.

Answer 7

Hi, let's see... at 13 months old I wouldn't be in such a rush to get rid of ALL the bottles yet but my advice is for when you do : set a date (a birthday or first day of a month) and talk to her gradually about it. Tell her what a big girl she is becoming and that soon the CUP FAIRY will be coming to change her last bottle into a very special BIG GIRL cup. Both of my children were excited about this concept and when they awoke on 'that day' they found a brand new little cup with handles and their name on it on the kitchen table waiting for them. They never asked for a bottle again!!! I used the same theory for their soothers too!!. Good luck!

Answer 8

I would suggest doing like you said.. milk before naps ONLY in the sippy cup... I also reccommend getting the sippy cup I listed below... it is cute and has a straw built in and she will love it, both my kids took to it easy and you can get it from walmart, it is rubbermaid brand..

Answer 9

I breastfed all mine past a year and had to start giving them bottles to get them off me! So then I had to tackle the bottle. It's hard for them to give up their naptime/bedtime bottle, it's a source of comfort for them and she is only a year old still.

So I suggest instead of bottles, see if she will drink out of these:
http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=54995&catid=26965&trx=PLST-0-SEARCH&trxp1=26965&trxp2=54995&trxp3=1&trxp4=0&btrx=BUY-PLST-0-SEARCH

That way at least she has to actively strongly suck to get milk out because it has a valve. Basically, it's a sippy cup that looks like a bottle. I wouldn't worry as much about her drinking those and they are very sturdy, colorful and durable. My kids still drink out of them (less mess!) and they are 2 and 6.

If you really want to get rid of those too, you can always just stick tem all in a bag in a closet somewhere and tell her they are gone. It's kinda sad because they look really bummed out, but if things get really bad you can always "find" one again, and try again the next day!

Mine never liked whole milk and they love juice so I try to at least give them watered down juice fortified with vit C and calcium. And to get them to drink milk I sometimes try Ovaltine although they will eat whole milk yogurt, which is great.

Answer 10

i took my daughter off the bottle when she was 12 months.....i just stopped giving it to her..it was hard for about 2 days...then she just stopped wanting it