When did you wean DC off the bottle?

My mom and I disagree on this. Now that DD is 1 I wanted to start phasing out the bottle and introduce the cup more.

She thinks that 1 is too young. She claims babies need to feed off a nipple for a certain amount of time. She think closer to 18 months is more appropriate, when DC can understand more that there is no more bottle.

So when did you do it and how?

She only gets 3 bottles now. One when she wakes, one in mid afternoon and one before bed.

Even my daycare thinks I'm depriving her of the bottle during the day. They think I should continue giving her 4 bottles, 2 during the day.

DD is the youngest in her daycare class and they are all getting 2 a day. Apparently she freaks out when she sees them get the bottle and she doesn't have one. She's fine at home though.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

I have the same question...we have Jacob's 1 year appointment this weekend and we are going to discuss it with the doctor.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

This is becoming an issue in my household as well. My boys are 15 months.

They only get 3 bottles a day just like you Charly. My doctor said as long as they are having 24ozs of milk a day that is good. So the boys drink three 8oz bottles a day. I think you can add another if she drinks less then 8ozs at a feeding.

I have tried and tried and tried to introduce my kids to a sippy cup (every possible type) and nothing is working. They scream bloody murder when it comes near their mouths or they play and throw it around. They refuse to drink out of it and DH and I are at our wits end...so I just said I will just try it every weekend until they want it. I can't give them something they won't take. So frustrating...especially when i see kids that are months younger then them drinking from sippy cups.

Message edited 11/27/2007 8:25:26 AM.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

I began weaning around 1 year old as well, so I agree with you (as did my pediatrician).

I had already begun introducing regular cups and sippy cups though around 6 or 7 months, so I just started using them more and more and I never ever put anything besides milk in the bottle.

When DS was down to 3 bottles of milk a day, I just started replacing one at a time with a sippy. By 14 months he was off them completely, even at night before bed if he wants milk, he takes it in the sippy cup.

I think it is normal for your daughter to want a bottle when she sees the other kids with one, but I do not agree that is a good reason to keep giving her one if you don't want to so I wouldn't allow the daycare to use that logic to bully you into giving her a bottle if you don't want to. Kids will always want what they see others have (which is probably why she is fine at home about it). Just the other day DS saw another baby with a bottle and grabbed it, but he didn't really want to drink out of it, he was just sort of swinging it around...

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

Both DC were about the same age. DD started using a straw cup as soon as she could crawl and steal her brother's cup... I think she was totally off the bottle somewhere around 1 year, give or take. She liked the straw cup better than the bottle, so it was an easy transition.

They don't "need" to feed off a nipple at all. They only need to get food/formula/liquid in their bodies. It doesn't matter if it's through a nipple, straw, cup, sippy cup, or if they are doing funnels and shots....

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

1 sounds very young to me. At 15 mos my ped told me to take away the bottle and use a cup 100% only!! I did it cold turkey and it worked! Good luck!!

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

My almost 2 year old drinks from cups in the daytime and at bedtime, he has a bottle. He likes it, and it doesn't bother me. He probably started with sippies at around 12 months ish.

I think if she likes a bottle, there isn't any rush to take it away. I don't think there is a problem with an 18 month old drinking out of a bottle...

edited to say...if everyone else is having a bottle and she wants one, IMO she should have one. Its torture for her to watch the other kids with their bottles!!! Give the kid another bottle!

Message edited 11/27/2007 8:49:35 AM.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

I'm still in the process at 18 months. DS only has a bottle at night, more because I want to make sure he's getting enough milk and he won't drink it in a cup. I'll probably take that away sometime this month.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

dh took the bottle away from our 6 yr old when we moved into the house she was 15mths old and he didnt wean he just packed them up and that was that
I put the bottles in the closet waiting for her to freak out and then I would give her one but she never did she was content to have the cup

this time around I will be doing the same thing between 12-15mths and see how it goes

I have to say that I think that once they get to a certain age it may be harder to wean them off the bottle because they get so attatched

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

My dd is 8 months, I hope to have her weaned by 1 year. I try to give her a sippy cup with water to get her used to it but she is not so crazy about it yet. I do offer her the sippy cup every day though

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

At 1 yr the ped wanted me to get rid of the bottle completely - I thought he was nuts and was like yeah right. But now at 15 months we're off it unless he sees it. I kept him on it at bedtime for awhile to make sure he was getting enough milk, but now he'll take it in his sippy at bedtime. It took forever though, we started weaning at 11 mo so it took 6 months total.

My mom said the same thing, that it was too young, but I disagree w/her and think my ped knows better. Plus I don't miss washing all those bottles!

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

I didn't wean...we just went cold turkey. At her 1 year appointment, the doctor told us to switch to whole milk. I was prepared for a battle (since reading everyones stories on this website ). Instead of putting the milk in a bottle, I put it in a sippy cup (with a straw...that's the only kind she will drink from) and gave her the sippy with her lunch. I did the same for dinner. The bedtime bottle that she used to get...I just didn't give it at all. After dinner, we did our regular routine...bath, playtime, book, I just left out the bottle part...she didn't cry, didn't look for it, nothing. The next day, I did the same thing...I gave her milk in a sippy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and water throughout the day. She never looked for the bottle or cried for it or anything. I had kept a few in the cabinet for a few weeks thinking that she would miss them. But, she never did. I threw them all out about a month later.

My mom said she did the same thing with us...she told us that they were broken at 1 year old and gave us cups...we never put up a fight about it and just took the cups.

Like I said...I was prepared for a battle from all the stories I read here, but for us, it was a very simple transition.

Good luck

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

My DS was BF, but was on sippy cup by 11 months.

My DD was bottle fed and she was off the bottle at her first birthday.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

I agree with your mom Jodi. She is still a baby.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

Well DS is nearly 14 months old and still has a bottle of milk in the morning and a bottle in the evening.. (sometimes one around naptime, but that isn't consistent..)

It's only recently that he's gotten really good about drinking his water from the sippy cup throughout the day as it is, so I just don't feel like he is ready to give up his bottles of milk. He loves his bottles and it's ok with me for now, so I am not bothering to push the issue just yet..

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

DD is definitely not bottle dependent which makes me think I should do it now but I do think 12 months is young...I mean they just learned how to say Baba like 4 months ago...LOL
I think I am going to introduce milk again.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

This is my view...If you can get her off of it now, then go ahead! As long as she gets her milk.

I don't see any end in sight with Steven and his bottles. He also gets 3 bottles and a sippy with water all day, so he will drink from the sippy. But when it's nap and bed time, he WANTS that baba. And he yells at me until I give it.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

Done by 1st birthday, and she did not miss it like I thought she would.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

18 months. We just took it away, she asked for it ONCE. It was a really easy transition for us.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

Cold turkey at 22 months.

I knew he wouldn't drink as much milk once he was off the bottle. So I kept him on it as long as I felt he needed the additional milk - and I always knew I'd wean by 2.

I did what *I* felt was right. My pediatrician didn't feel strongly about it either way as long as he wasn't going to bed with the bottle, which he wasn't.

My SILs pediatrician wanted her DD off the bottle BY one.

I personally don't feel 1 yr old is too young to wean off the bottle as long as the child is getting proper nutrition without the bottle.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

Around 15 months.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

We went cold turkey right after he trun 1. After a few days he got the hang of it and has been using the sippy cup every since.

Re: When did you wean DC off the bottle?

DS is 13mths and is now off the Dr. Brown's bottles. He uses the nubby hour glass cups with handles. He had no issues transitioning. After he figured out the bottles leaked when he turned them upside down I took them away. He was "milk finger painting" on the floors

He gets 8oz of milk 3x's a day.