18 month old still taking bottles....Just wondering?!?!?

Question

My 18 month old is still taking bottles, He CAN and WILL drink from sippy cups, And we give them to him during the day, But @ night he still wants his bottle of milk, I know they say it will ruin their teeth and what not, But I just can't rationalize taking it away from him, It's something that comforts him at night and helps him to fall asleep, My question is - Any parents out there, Let their child decide when they were TOTALLY done w/the bottle? And how old were they?

I also have another little one on the way (She's due 11/12) and I feel like that is going to be a BIG change for him, And right now isn't the best time to even attempt taking the bottle from him, As he'll see the new baby with her bottle, and 'steal' it...

But I'm tired of going out in public and hearing 'Wow, Such a big boy, You don't need that ol' stinky bottle, You're a big boy now'...(My son is tall for his age, He looks like he's 2 instead of 18 months)..

What to do, what to do!?!?

He does indeed sleep with a snuggli at night, He has a TY Beanie Buddy Lion that has a soft furry mane, He rubs the lions hair (as well as his own) to sleep. Thank you so much for the tips thus far, I think tonight will be the first night of trying something new, I'm going to give him a warm bottle of water, And see how he takes that..And hopefully (like mentioned) when his sister comes along, And 'steals' her bottle the first time, And tastes the nasty formula, He'll think twice about stealing it again! Lol...

I'm also thinking that the telling him how big of a boy he is thing will work as well, He absolutely LOVES being told what a big boy he is, When he does something a 'big boy' would do, i.e. putting something in the trashcan, Or putting a toy back, We clap for him and tell him what a big boy he's becoming, And he claps along with us, And will repeat said action a couple more times!

Again, Thank you all for the tips thus far! :-)

Answer 1

I know that for a while it may inconvenient, but when my daughter was 18 months and I had another on the way, I knew I couldn't have 2 babies on the bottle. Since she drank from a sippy cup during the day, I would just put on next to the bed. When she woke and whined for her bottle, I would get up and give her the cup and let her drink a few sips until she didn't want anymore. The first week or so it was hard, but that is what weaned her from the bottle, and it preserved her teeth. She has a BEAUTIFUL smile. When my son was weaning, I was more lazy. Instead I gave him a water only bottle at night. He could have a bottle, but no milk or juice, only water. He then turned to his pacifier for comfort in the night. Once again, I didn't ruin his teeth. Giving a bottle at night can SERIOUSLY rot their teeth. It doesn't really show until the are like from age 4-6 yrs old, then there is nothing to do but wait for those teeth to fall out and take better care of their permanent teeth. My step daughter had rotten teeth....there is NOTHING that takes away from a beauitiful smile like a mouth full of rotten teeth. And it is a bad reflection on the parent because everyone know it isn't the kids fault.

Answer 2

I agree with the posts on here that you need to get rid of the bottle.

This is a trick that worked for my cousins toddler.

Since he takes sippy cups during the day this should be fairly easy. After encouraging him that he is a big boy let him "throw away" the bottles during the day when he is not depending on them. When bed time arrives and he may not even ask for his bottle, if he does remind him that he helped you throw them away. I wouldn't worry too much about the bottles you will give to the new baby since they will be filled with formula and not milk he will most likely take one sip and give it back to the baby. Formula is nasty once you get used to real milk. If you try this DO NOT give in and pull out a bottle you may have stashed, or pulled back out and saved for the new baby. It may be rough the first night but he will know that he threw them away and that they are gone.

Answer 3

Aaaaaaaah......reading this brought back the pain of my 1st child and his d@ng bottle. What I did finally at 21 months, was stopped putting milk in his bottle completely....he quickly learned (after chucking the bottle quite a few times at my head) that all he was getting out of the bottle was water, but he was free to have milk, juice, or water from his sippy cup. Eventually, since he really did associate milk with bedtime, I would give him milk from a "big boy" cup ( a real cup) so he would have some milk in his tummy for the night. And then down he went with the bottle.
Took a few nights, but never having my mother-in-law ask how things were going with weaning was worth the frustration.
My 2nd child was breastfed- but she was still a bottle stealer.....so I think that toddlers steal bottles no matter what the motive- I think they do it just because they can. :D Good luck!

Answer 4

I had a similar problem with pacifiers...My daughter stopped using hers shortly after her 4th b day, her brother is 2. I took their bottles away from them @ 1 yr old, I just quit giving it to them. I found a sippie cup that had a soft mouthpiece and gave that to them when transitioning to bigger sippie cups. Also giving them anything except water to sleep with at night is not good. I found out the hard way. I just spent $500 to fix 2 teeth for my daughter, I still have 6 more to go. You do the math on that one. They will all be about the same. If you look at what it will cost you in the end, it may be worth a few headaches now. I know it is really hard, my two are 18 months apart and we were potty training at that time too......what fun. Good luck, I hope this little tip helps you.

Answer 5

i had this problem with my little boy when he was about that age. he would take a sippy cup all day but at night he wanted his bottle. i happened to be in babysrus and saw a new toddler cup by avent. it has a longer spout than the regular sippy cup. i gave it to my little boy and after that he would not even take a bottle. you could try it if it doesn't work then maybe you could try putting water in his bottle at night instead of milk. then offer him a sippy cup with milk . maybe he'll make a transition

Answer 6

For each of my kids I stopped giving them the bottle the day they turned 1. The day before their first birthday is the last time the got a bottle. I even did it with my middle child who was 11 months old when his little brother was born. My middle child had no problem giving up the bottle, especially when he associated bottle with babies and he did not want to be a baby anymore.
The sooner you can get the bottle from him the better!!!

Answer 7

After switching my children to sippy cups I made sure (at night) they had a liquid right before going to bed. I had to reassure them it was the 'big boy/girl' thing to do. It took some time but I never 'gave in' and before long they were OK with it. I also made sure they were the one to throw the bottle into the garbage - once they do this they know that's it.

Answer 8

My daughter just decided she didn't care one way or the other after she got used to sippys. However my cousin had to wean her daughter right before she has a second child as well. She told D1 that she had to give up the bottle because she was the BIG sister now and it was time to pass it on to the "tiny baby". I hope that helps. : )

Answer 9

I know what you are going through - but he HAS to lose the bottle now. Here's what I did with my son - he was used to going to sleep with a bottle every night. I stopped giving him milk and would put 4 ounces of juice and 4 ounces of water - he cried the first night that he wanted milk but I told him no. The next night he took the half juice half water without complaining. The next night he was given 2 ounces juice and 6 ounces water, he complained but took it. The following night he was given a bottle of water and he had a fit but I stood my ground and he went to sleep. After 2 nights of nothing but water he decided he didn't need the bottle anymore and now has a "Big Boy" cup with water on the night stand. Good Luck!

Answer 10

I'm surprised your son still wants something at night? Have you tried giving him a pasaphire at night instead?

Well, there are sippy cups that look like bottles, my son uses those. They sell them at walmart, they are fat and tall, and the topper is soft like a bottle nipple, but shaped in the form of a sippy cup.

It is gonna be tough though, if you take it away he'll probably get jealous that baby has a bottle.