How did you wean your baby/toddler off the bottle?

Question

I would love suggestions that have worked for you!
I am about to try to take my daughter off the bottle, and am unsure whether to wean her, or just stop the bottle altogether!

Answer 1

Stop the bottle. I have two kids ages 3 and 4. I took them off the bottle and started giving them a cup with a straw for juice, milk.I also gave them a sippy cup with water. It might take a while for her to get used to it but you have to throw all the bottles away in order for it to work because if you have a bottle around you are going to be tempted to give it to her. If you are feeding her regular food then she wont mind the fact that her bottle is gone...Good Luck

Answer 2

I think that the best is to give the bottle less and less. Sucking is very relaxing for babies and just stopping is kind of a shock to the nervous system. Encourage a tippy cup lots and assign times for the bottle. Try to ease the bottle away from sleepy time since it can become a crutch.

I can tell you a story about my horse and her two babies. The first has an Arabian sire. She is about the height of her mom. I weaned her slowly over a month or two. The second, a son, is huge. He got tall so fast he couldn't even nurse when he went down on his knees. He had to stop suddenly at a younger age than I would have weaned him. He is six and he still tries to get under there and see if the dairy is open! The daughter never missed it after being gradually weaned.

My own children I breastfed until they drank from cups and ate food. My preference is to be easy going and give a choice, but weight the choice toward the desired result.

Good luck with your little one!

Answer 3

Try out several different types of sippys not all kids like the same thing. My oldest daughter love the ones with the straws at first then she decided she hated them and wanted the regular ones. My youngest hates the idea all together but i finally found one shes ok with. Keep one bottle for emergencys and try to use it as little as possible. I went on vacation when my oldest was 1 and a half and just left the bottles at home. I figured what the heck she will be so busy looking at new stuff she wont even think about a bottle and I was right she gave it up right away. Different things work for different kids and parents do what feels right for you and your baby there really is no right or wrong way.You know your baby better than anyone!! Good Luck!!

Answer 4

With my son, we stopped the milk bottles cold turkey and let him take a bottle with water in it to bed for about a week and then if he asked for water after that we would give him a sippy cup. About once a week he'll still ask for one, but I think it's mostly because he's trying to stall going to bed, it's always full the next day. My boyfriend and I never really had a plan, we just went with what seemed to be the best idea at the time.

Answer 5

I removed my son off the bottle at 10 months by introducing a sippy cup . At first he didn't want it and would look for the bottle but I just let him play with the sippy cup till he got the hang of it. Gerber has some soft spout non spill sippy cup that make it easier for the baby to use get accustom to the sippy cup with no mess. Now at 13month my son is starting on regular cups. So just go cold turkey with the bottle and you'll see that when they really want some milk they'll drink it out of the sippy cup.

Hope this helps!

Answer 6

I did this with all 3 of my kids and had no problem stopping the bottle. At about 6 months I made bottle feedings seperate from baby food feedings. I started giving them a sippy cup with water in it every time I fed them their cereal or fruit and veggies. I took the plunger out of the cup so the water flowed easily - they loved to experiment with it and get the drinks themselves. When they got more skilled with the cup I put the plunger back in it and put formula in it. It didn't take long at all before the bottle was no longer necessary.

Answer 7

Recently I weaned my 22 month old son off the bottle. One he started showing signs of not wanting the bottle like chewing the nipples off and pouring the liquid out. Before he started chewing the nipples off I would give him the starter sippy cups the ones with soft rubbery sippers on them. He started chewing those so I went to the hard sippers and now he is fully off the bottle. The soft sippers are good trainers for kids also you may want to just put water in her bottles and milk or juice in cups so she sees that the good stuff is in the cup. Good luck!

Answer 8

Well, mine still doesn't want to come off it. She's almost 2. She will drink out of a sippy cup, and a regular cup, or water bottle, but she likes the darn bottle. I would just stop it immediately. I wouldn't ween her off. I stopped it for about a week, and it was hell for about the first 8 hours but she didn't care after that. But I have a 6 month old, and she managed to sneak his bottle when he was done with it, and I just said forget it. She will stop this when he starts drinking out of sippy cups too. So I don't care, because I know she's not stupid and can't drink out of a cup, she just doesn't want too.

Answer 9

With all 3 of my kids I just threw the bottle away and began giving them a cup. They did not mind at all. Of coarse I did this first thing in the morning so they never got a bottle at all that day. Should have no problem as long as she is ready , for example throws her bottle down when she sees your cup/glass; reaches for your glass; etc. Good Luck.

Answer 10

I wouldn't worry too much about it, with my daughter and a lot of kids I know it wasn't as hard as you think to wean them off. I would suggest reducing bottles per day... and then rewarding them with a sticker or something when ever a sippy is used.