I fully acknowledge my BIG mistake.

I should have weaned him from the bottle a long time ago when he couldn't have cared less about the bottle...when DH said we should have (he'd love to hear that right now).

But *I* didn't want to take it away and said I would wean him at two. He only has one bottle before bed and that's it but boy does he love that bottle now.

I can see now that he is far less flexible at this age than he was a few months ago...this is not going to go over well. But I have no one to blame but myself. Plus now he "helps" me make his bottle so it's a fun little game for him and a ritual that we do every night.

He drinks milk out of a cup at daycare but he won't do it for me. I don't want to start with chocolate or strawberry milks just yet.

It's only one bottle so I plan to go cold turkey.

So two questions:

1. How much milk do they really need at this age? Because I know he's not going to drink it out of a cup at night. He's probably going to wail it at my face.

2. Any tips? He's going to hate me.

Re: I fully acknowledge my BIG mistake.

At Sarah's 2 year appt they told me 16 oz. a day.

Good luck!

Re: I fully acknowledge my BIG mistake.

Only tip is to come up with a better, more fun nighttime ritual quick.

Maybe he can help make lunch for you & DH for the next day?

Re: I fully acknowledge my BIG mistake.

Alex was very resistant when we transitioned her to the sippy - so much so that she simply refused to drink any milk for a good 2 months or so. I talked to my pediatrician and asked him if it was more important that she drink milk, or that she give up the bottle - he said that weaning from the bottle was more important, and that she could get dairy and calcium from other means. So, per the instructions from our pediatric nutritionist, we are supposed to give Alex 2-3 servings of Dairy per day, so during that time, we gave her yogurt in the AM, a few slices of cheese throughout the day, and more yogurt at the end.

So, my point is, don't worry too much about the milk intake as long as you are supplementing with other dairy sources, so if Jake goes on a milk strike during this phase, don't stress.

As for the transition, I've noticed that Alex adapts best when she observes us doing something. So, to get her to brush her teeth, I would brush my teeth in front of her. Within a day or two, she started brushing her teeth on a daily basis. Maybe for Jake you can make a new nightly ritual - tell him Mommy is going to have her "cup" of milk now, and drink from a cup. Within a few days, he'll probably want to imitate you.

I didn't do that with Alex at the time because I didn't understand her quite as well when we weaned her from the bottle, so for us, we just did it cold turkey, and it took a month or two before she adapted.

Good luck!

Re: I fully acknowledge my BIG mistake.

Why not get a nuby cup with a silicone spout, that might remind him of his botttle...

Re: I fully acknowledge my BIG mistake.

We went cold turkey with Sydney. She wouldnt drink milk for us for two days...I think she thought if she held out we'd give it back but we didnt , and she did drink out of the cup at daycare.

Re: I fully acknowledge my BIG mistake.

Can you have the "bottle fairy" come and take the bottles for a new little baby to use, or something? Put them in a bag, and then have the fairy give ds a surprise in their place?

Re: I fully acknowledge my BIG mistake.

oh I really feel your pain....

last week I went out and bough those Nuby cups. I was all excited I took him to the kitchen I let him watch pour the milk in. I explained to him what we were doing and all that fun stuff.

I handed it over to him and he just threw it on the floor, walked over to the dishwasher and said milk.

What is even harder now is that he knows where the bottles are.

That night he would not let go of his bottle he held it till he went to bed.

Oh well I'll try again in a month.

Re: I fully acknowledge my BIG mistake.

Aly at 16 mths old gets 2 of the tall Nubys a day with milk (breakfast and dinner/before bedtime).

She will drink it all or leave some left over.

We went cold turkey when she was sick.

Maybe if you hide the bottles and he thinks they don't exist anymore? Outta sight, outta mind?