When did you stop giving the morning bottle?

Question

Hi there. I have twins and at 13 months I'm still giving a morning and night-time bottle. When did you wean them from the morning bottle? Mine sleep beautifully but get pretty pissed when that bottle isn't warm for them w/in minutes of waking up! Any success stories welcome!

Sarina

The kids are no longer on forumula, only whole milk. THey're up at 6 am for the bottle and finally get back to sleep about 8 am. Up at 9:00 that's when I give them a bit of breakfast. They're not picky eaters and love any kind of grain or fruit.

If you think they should be weaned off a morning bottle about now, why? Why earlier than later?

Answer 1

Why the rush? Gradually start to eliminate morning bottles at 2yrs of age, thats when breast feeding moms usually ween. And replace that bottle with a sippy cup full of warm milk. I breast fed, until my child was two, I hope you don't mind me butting in, but if I were bottle feeding this is how I would do it. I took my first child off the bottle too early due to pressure from busy body relatatives and sorrowfully regretted it, when I had my second child I chose to breast feed and ignored the same people who pressured me into taking the bottle away from my first one too early.

Answer 2

First of all are they off of formula? If not I'd talk to the Dr. about taking them off, as a general rule of thumb they're take off the formula at 1yr old. That said If they're still on formula I'd gradually(like once every 4 days) increase the amt of water that you use(instead of using 4 scoops of dry formula mix to 8 oz. of water use 3 scoops, and then go to 2 and so on) until you're giving plain water. Once it gets too watered down they usually aren't interested in it. By the same token if your using milk, I'd put 6 oz. of milk 2 oz. of water then 4 and 4 and so on. Also I'd try offering some warm cereal first thing, like maybe some baby cereal or if that doesn't work I'd find some oatmeal that they like and offer that along with a sippy cup of full strength milk.

Answer 3

my son is currently 10.5 months. I was advised to give bottles ( the sippy cup variety if possible) at naptime, waking, going to sleep etc--and saving milk for meal time. I limit his intake of milk to 20 oz a day. He also usually gets a 4 0z bottle of juice (either with his cereal, or mid-afternoon). Eventually, I hope to wean him off the "bottle for sleep", but not yet!

Answer 4

I would continue the morning bottle that is like breakfest for them.

I did not take the bottle away from my middle daughter (the only one who had a bottle) untill she was 18m old. By then she was ready.

Answer 5

You need to stop with the bottle as soon as your children develop their first teeth!

This is because the sucking motion can - and will eventually damage the teeth causing them to 'buck' and stick out, appearing 'goofy-like'.

I know it's easier to keep them quite with a bottle, but they'll thank you for it when they're teenagers...

Answer 6

when my son was 11 months he began to reject the bottle. so we packed them up and never looked back. he wanted cereal in the morning not just formula. you can now give your little ones whole cow milk. feed the cereal with fruit instead of the milk. they will adjust. throw them away

Answer 7

i started giving my daughter sippy cups with silicone nipple at a yr old. good starter. cheap too. $1.50/cup at walmart and walgreens. she's 3 1/2 and drinks from reg cup and sippy cups sometimes.