Ending Bottles for 13 Mo Old?

My little gal is 22 months old and takes a bottle at bed time and sometimes in the middle of the night. I recently asked my pediatrician if I should stop giving that to her and he said if it comforts her at bed time it is fine. He said I should not give her a bottle in the night because it promotes tooth decay. I think what he meant by this is we shouldn't put the bottle in bed with her because they chew on the nipple and milk or juice or what have you pools in the mouth. My sister told me at 12 months I needed to get the bottle away from my little gal. I didn't feel the need because besides at bed time she drinks out of everything, a sippy cup, a straw, a water bottle, an open cup, what have you. She is an independent and seems to want to do what all of the adults are doing.

I was also worried about taking the bottle away from my now 20 month old daughter. She was only having a bottle before bed after 12 months, but I thought it was going to be hard for her to fall asleep without it, so I was nervous to stop it. When she was 17 months old I just stopped giving it to her at night and gave her the sippy cup instead and she didn't even notice the change (it didn't seem like). She didn't mind it at all.

The longer you wait the harder it will be. I went cold turkey with my daughter with the last milk of the day and it was hard for a few nights but then she was fine. Remember too that Milk isn't the only source of calcium. There's cheese and yogurt too.

A.,

Trust me I've had four kids. When you take the bottle away they start drinking a lot more from the sippy cup. It might take a day or two but they eventually get it.
My mom gave all of us kids a bottle until we were two years old. I was the only one out of six kids to get "nursing bottle syndrom". This syndrom is when the acid from the milk or juice literally rotts the enamel off your teeth. I had rotten teeth until I finally lost all of my baby teeth. I also had a lot of trouble with bad breath, toothachs,absesses and a number of other dental problems growing up.
The teasing I received from other kids and siblings was unmerciful. It really affected me a lot for years to come.
Please take your child off that bottle especially if you are giving it to him at bedtime. He doesn't need it anymore and I personally think it just causes more habits that will need to be broken sooner than later.

Chris B

his meals or anytime you think about it.

The closer you lose the bottle to age1 the easier it is and the less likely your child will have dental problems like cavaties and decay.

Either start taking a bottle away to where she has 2 a day and then 1 a day or do it cold turkey but do it NOW!

Hi A.,
We found with our son, if we gave him milk in a sippy cup when he most wanted milk, he weaned himself from the bottle. For example, he would get a bottle in the morning when he woke up (which is the time he really wanted it), therefore at that time, we gave him milk in a sippy cup instead and after a couple of days he did not want the bottle anymore. This then carried over to milk before bedtime. We did not give him milk before naps and then stopped milk before bed due to the possibilities of cavities since the milk had sugar in it and then it pools in your child's mouth during sleeping time. Then around when he was a year old, he did not want milk anymore before bed. I too was concerned about the milk intake, but our pedeatrician informed us that they only need about 8 oz of milk a day to get the calcium and other nutrients they need from milk because they are getting other nutrients from the solid foods they are eating. I hope this makes sense and helps.

When my daughter was 9 months old I just took the bottle away and used a sippy cup. I have seen many moms use a bottle until their child(ren) were as old as 3-4. Just remember that it is bad for their teeth to be using a bottle at that age especially since majority if not all their baby teeth are in.

Right now you are just fine with the few bottle feedings throughout the day. I do suggest that no more bottle feeding right before bed though. Also make sure that when they are using a bottle or sippy cup it is at the table and not being used all day long. All day long tends to have the sugar from juice on their teeth and that's not good either.

Take it slowly if you have to but I suggest taking the bottle away and going straight to the sippy cup. If he doesn't want a sippy cup then you are going to have to give it to him anyway. When he is thirsty he will drink it no matter if it is in the bottle or sippy cup. Do what works best for you and your son. I hope this helps.

I ended the bottles when my daughter quit nursing at 11 mo's. I would have liked her to go a year, but she would have NOTHING to do with bottles or nipples anymore. At daycare, they did sippy cups. For the older babies, they did tiny amounts (like a tablespoon) in a cup with no top to give the kids the chance to learn to drink from a cup. My daughter was nipple/sippy free by 16 months or maybe even a little earlier. I know it was WELL before she was 2. It's ok to move to cup or sippy if he's willing. And, just offer it to him alot.

With my kids I just put the bottles away when they were 1 and all they had were sippy cups. If you are giving it to him at his meals you could not put the valve in so the flow is better and he'll like it more. Also be sure to keep sippy cups of water around so he can practice during the day. If he isn't drinking all of his milk then take the lid off and use it like a regular cup to finish it off.
The quicker you get rid of them the better because they can become a bad habit.
I always cringe when I see TomKat's daughter Suri. She's almost 2 I think, and still lugging around a bottle. If she happens to be special needs then I understand, which she could be. One of my girls is special needs and you'd never know it by looking at her.
Best Wishes, I think these things are harder on Mom's than they are on kids :o)
J.
Mom to 4, soon to be 5 through another adoption.

We went cold turkey and our son was not happy about it. He went on a milk strike for at least a month if not longer. I talked to his ped. and he said that it's fine if they aren't drinking milk - just make sure they are getting plenty of other dairy products - i.e. cottage cheese with a high milk fat, add extra milk to mac n cheese, eat cheese, etc. Eventually my son gave up on his milk strike and now loves to drink milk out of sippy cups.

Good luck!

We took our baby off her bottle at 12 months. As soon as we started milk...we only gave it to her in a sippy so she didn't ever get it in a bottle. It worked like a charm. And, like Chris B., it took a day or two but she totally started drinking more from the sippy cup.

-K. G.

Unfortunately, if you follow all of the "book's advice," you were supposed to have taken him off of the bottle before he was 1. After one, they get more independent and it is harder to break children of any habit (ex. pacifiers). Also, once your child goes past one, they don't need as much milk as before. They really should only be having about 2 full glasses (16 oz) a day anyway. If they get more than this, they tend to fill up on milk (or juice) and don't eat as much, and then don't get all of the nutrition that they need. I would recommend taking him off of the bottle now (except for maybe at bed time, at first). Don't worry. He'll soon get the hang of the sippy cup!

I didn't read ALL the responses, so sorry if this repeat, but I'm going through the same thing right now and it's not going very well. My trouble is going from breast to sippy, but ANYWAY, with my first son who took a bottle, it helped to hold him in the position I fed him a bottle (during those sleepy feedings) and of course use a sippy without a stopper so it flowed easily. After about 3 months we were able to do it without the routine.

Are you using a sippy cup with a no-spill valve? Those can be very difficult to drink from and need more suction than drinking from a bottle or nursing. You can try to drink from it yourself and see if you think it's just too hard for your son to drink from. I usually removed those valves from our sippy cups and just restricted the cups to the kitchen if they had anything other than water in them.

A.,

The doctor's answer is 12 months. If it continues too long after that there can be dental issues. But babies can handle a sippy cup as early as 6 months so just have him keep practicing. Get him transitioned gradually as soon as you can.

Good luck,
S.

I just weaned my 13-month-old from his bottle and it went surprisingly well!
You can either go cold turkey or gradually. We went cold turkey but he was only getting 4 ounces of water before naps and bedtime.
If you want to go gradually, start by putting only water in the bottle, reducing the amount he gets each time. Next, swap the bottle for a water sippy for naps first, then bedtime.
Both of my boys started drinking more milk after the bottles were gone. It might take a little while but he'll adjust. My baby now chugs his milk at meal times. It's kind of funny! =) If he's thirsty, he'll drink. Just make sure you have a sippy of milk or water handy at all times during the day.
Good luck!