I need to get my 22 mo old daughter off the bottle. Should I wean her off slowly or quit cold turkey?

Answer 1

At almost 2 years old I would advise cold turkey if you have the heart and strength. It will not be easy and I am sure a lot of screaming. If you want to make it a little easier on both of you wain her but do it a little on the fast track. Is she on one all day or just certain times? cause that will matter in getting rid of it totally.
Good luck

Answer 2

I think you should try replacing bottles with sippy cups gradually. For example, if your daughter gets 3 bottles a day I would start by replacing one for a few days or so and then two of them over the next few days, etc. My pediatrician suggested putting only water in the bottle, but milk in the sippy. This shouldmake your daughter have more interest in the sippy. It will not be easy, but she really doesn't need the bottle anymore. I took my son's bottle away at 13 months and luckily, it was before he really knew what was going on (same with the pacifier). We tried all sorts of sippy cups, but I find the best ones are the first years "take and toss" kind. They have very small holes, they don't have all those crazy rubber valves to worry about, and they are perfect for transitioning from a bottle.They don't really leak, either. They are actually very durable and last a long time. You can put them in the dishwasher, too, and if you lose a few it's no biggie. We have a whole bunch and we mix and match the colors. They have Elmo and Dora ones at Target. Good luck.

Answer 3

OMG! she's goign to have horrible dental problems and bottle rot! They should begin to drink from sippy cups at 12 months and should not be on bottles at her age any more! If you don't take those bottles away now, she'll be walking around in underwear soon and carrying a bottle to the potty with her!
They make sippy cups that are formed to feel like a bottle...that is a good way to wean her. I would switch to those immediately and tell her that the bottles had to go away. She might be upset but she is big enough to understand. After she adjusts to the sippy cup that is shaped like a bottle, switch her to the regular lid sippy cups. If she were in the school where I work, she would be having her lunch with regular cups of milk and she would have cups of water available by the sink at that age that she could get by herself. She is TOO BIG for that bottle!
And I'm guessing she's probably sucking on a passy too...you better start to wean that as well..she won't be talking as much as she should w/ that thing hanging out of her mouth and she will also have dental problems from that!

Answer 4

I had the same drama with one of my boys, I thought that the cold turkey thing was a little harsh as they are not even two yet and don't understand, so what I opted to do was buy a spill proof cup and one with a hard spout not a soft. I think that the bottle at nearly two is just a comfort thing so by having the cup I was not denying him the drink but he didn't find the comfort that he got from the teet of the bottle. It took a day or two for him to use the cup, but we named it the "specail cup" he is now over that too.

Answer 5

You probably know that babies are supposed to be off the bottle by 15 months. But now you will just have a tougher time of it. Wean her off by giving her two bottles a day (morning and bedtime) and then milk in a sippy cup the rest of the day. Then, cut out the bottle that is least important to her. Usually the bedtime bottle is the most important, so keep the impt. one for an extra few weeks, then stop that one,too.Good luck.

Answer 6

my girl is nearly 2 and a half and she still has the bottle but only once a day that at nite time before bed during the day i only let her have a cup. I would wean her off slowly and i would also look at the amount of food she eats during the day if she eats a good amount then yes start weaning her but if not i would leave her so she is getting the amount shes needs my girl is a picky eater that why she still gets one a day. GOOD LUCK

Answer 7

The way I broke my daughter from bottle & pacificer(all at one time) was when I dropped her off at babysitters house,she did not realize that the bottle was inside the diaper bag instead of on the end. So she didn't have a bottle all day. When I got off work I showed my sister(the sitter) where the bottle was, but decided that since she went all day w/o it we'd break her. I refused to give her anything but a sippycup. This was on Friday. By Monday she was broke off the bottle. So we did it cold turkey!

Answer 8

at 22months she should have been off already but she is not so if you can handle the cring go cold turkey if not wean her off, if you go cold turkey make sure all bottles are out of site or you can try putting something her bottle that you know she will not like such as pickle or lemon juice and keep it in all bottles laying around so when she picks up one and drinks it she will learn that there nothing good in it and she will break her self...

Answer 9

I bought the sippy cups with the soft tops. Start each week by taking one bottle away and replacing it with the sippy, until you're down to no bottle. It worked for my daughter, but she was only 12 mos. If she's thirsty, she'll drink from it. Good Luck!

Answer 10

Is she able to hold her own cup? Try adding baby food to her diet while reducing the number of bottles you give her. Since she still needs to take in milk and other liquids, if she can't yet hold a cup, you will need to give her a bottle occasionally. Don't be surprised if she resists giving up the bottle, but getting her onto solids will help the process.