Milk out of a sippie??

Question

Any suggestions on how to get my 18 month old preemie off of hte bottle? She has to have milk in a bottle and absolutely refuses to drink it out of a sippie. I have tried many sippie cups and she still won't do it. I even tried cutting the spout to make it a faster flow (thought that it could be the thickness of whole milk and that she has to suck harder out of a sippie than a bottle to get the milk out) and she still won't accept it. Any thoughts or suggestions??

The cut on the spout was a Nuby cup and it was only a slit through the holes to make it a faster flow.

Answer 1

when i took my daughter off her bottle, i bought her a sippie cup that had a straw. it made it more interesting for her. and i just threw out the bottles so she wouldn't see them anymore. it was a little struggle the first couple days. but it worked for her. but all kids are different. its worth a try. good luck!

Answer 2

That's the reason children should be OFF the bottle by 12 months or before. Anyways....it will be hard now. Try giving her her favorite drinks in a cup only and her least favorite drinks in a bottle. Let her have both at the same time....she will figure out that the good stuff is coming from a cup. Have you tried the Advent cups? I know a few babies who only liked those at first. It will take some time, but hopefully that works. It worked for us, but our daughter was 9 months old.

Question, what does being a preemie have to do with this situation? My friend had her son at 32 weeks along and after he left the hospital....there was no real difference in how she raised him. He had an oxygen thing for while he was sleeping because he had trouble that was it. He was still off his bottle completely by 10-11 months with no problems. Just curious why.

Answer 3

Being a preemie has nothing to do with it. By the time preemies are a year old they're basically caught up with full-term babies.

You need to take her off cold turkey. She'll be upset, she'll probably throw a sippy cup or two at you, but after a few days she'll be fine. She's not drinking out of a sippy cup because she knows if she waits long enough you'll just give her a bottle.

Offer her a sippy cup of milk. If she drinks it then great, if not she will eventually.

Answer 4

First, I want to say that being a preemie can have a lot to do with a lot of things--especially in the area of development. It can, in fact, affect them for a long time. Some more than others. I have an 18 month old preemie as well and we have a developmental specialist that works with us. Right now, we're trying to work on getting my son to drink from a regular cup. Depending on her level of development at this time, you could try that. Just skip the sippie cups all together. She might think it's cool to drink out of the same kind of cup that you do. Another thing she said about learning to drink out of the regular cup is to thicken liquid with something like applesauce (probably not milk though--yuck.) Believe me, I know how hard it is to get an 18 month old off the bottle (we're working on that, too). Good luck to you.

Answer 5

Try a small cup with a lid that has a built in straw. You may not find these in the baby aisle of your store, but probably in the housewares department where Rubbermaid and other plastic containers are kept. You can get round ones or rectangle ones in the shape similar to a juice box container. I have been a licensed daycare provider in my home for 20 years. I have cared for several children who just would not use a sippy cup and I found the built in straw cups to be to their liking. I have even had a few children who just drank out of a regular small plastic tumbler with no lid at all, even as young as your daughter. The sucking that is required to get liquid from a sippy cup is hard for some children. I have also removed the flow regulator inside the sippy cup for some children who have had a hard time getting anything out of the cup with it in.

Answer 6

with my 18 month old preemie we just cut them out entirly, I got sick of washing them when he was 16 months old and we threw them all ouot, everything related to them. He did great, he isn't traumatized or anything, he actually took to the cup nicely after he realized, no more. The first few days sucked, he was a bit crabby, but it's better for him, the bottle can do more damage to a preemie's teeth then a sippy cup (some preemies have underlying teeth issues as to how they grow in without even knowing until the damage has already been caused). GOOD LUCK

Answer 7

Toss all of the bottles. The very best way is to have never given milk in the bottle to begin with, but since you have, try a regular cup with just a finger width amount in the cup. Don't cave in and go back to the bottle. Bottles are horrible on teeth which is why doctors recommend having your kids off of bottles at 1 year. good luck

Answer 8

Take all her bottles and put them away.....Don't give her the option to drink from a bottle. I know it isn't easy, and she may refuse a few feedings, but let her know that the milk is still available to her in a different cup and eventually she's going to get hungry/thirsty and she will have no choice but to drink from a sippie or cup. YOU are the one that has to be strong here.

I wish you well!!

Answer 9

Cut a bigger hole in the nipple she will only take that bottle once or twice more before giving up on getting wet and not enjoying that bottle like she once did. It really works I know it sounds kind of bad but kids are creatures of habit and if the bottle always spills she will take that cup. I did this with my 2 yr old son who was 2.5 mos. early and it took about 2 days and then he figured it out.

Answer 10

I had this same issue and I used the NUBY cups. I put juice in it and started that way and then to milk. It worked after a couple of days. Take the bottles away and tell her they are all in the trash. Bye bottle let her throw one away and tell her what a big girl she is. good luck to you.