Help Removing the Bottle from My 2 and 1Year Olds.....

I have had the same trouble with my son. My sister was using this Gerber Transition Cup and so I thought I would give it a try and it worked. It is actually called the GERBER Soft Transition Cup. It has double handles. I think the reason it has been successful is because the top of it is soft like a bottle. You can buy them at Walgreens or Kroger for about $5.50. Buy one see if it works and then buy another if it does work! Good luck!

Try buying the sippy cups with the bottle nipple. The transition to a soft sippy cup top. Then transition to a hard top sippy cup or a regular glass. My kids took a while to transition as well. They didn't like the hard tops on the sippy cup. They were harder to hold in their mouths and the nozzle inside of the cup made it hard to suck the juice out.

wow, you have a lot of responses on here! I tend to agree with the 'just take it away crowd.' My first three had their last bottle on their first birthday. With the baby, I worked evenings and hubby broke down and gave him an evening bottle an extra few days.
I did see a few posts saying to not offer anything but milk in the sippy cup for a whole day-the kids will get thirsty enough to drink, and that concerned me because milk does nothing for dehydration. Nutritionally speaking, milk is a solid, not a liquid, and should never be offered as a thirst quencher. If a person feels thirst, that is the body telling them they are beginning to be dehydrated and the person should drink WATER, nothing else to quench their thirst.

~good luck

Sounds like a security and control issue to me. I am a 56 year old, heartless wonder, grandmother.

A one year old with a bottle is fine, at two it is time to weed it away. Sounds like you are trying to rush the younger one.

Heartless as it sounds if there are no bottles in the house then they will have to give them up, won't they? If you want them to stop drinking milk out of a bottle then simply do not put milk in a bottle. The only time I would give a bottle to anyone would be at nap or bedtime and then it would be water anyway, not milk that would spoil especially if warmed up.

Believe me, if you refuse to allow yourself to be controlled now you are saving a lot of problems in the future. Children will drink their milk if it is the only beverage offered and if they are thirsty. Sippy cup, straw cup, water bottle with the pull up top, whatever dispenser it is in; and make that the only available drink. As for heating it up, if you are tired of doing so then lessen the amount of time it is heated by 5 seconds a day for the next week. Again, they will drink it if they are thirsty and it is the only available beverage.

My grandson didn't like milk after being breast fed so I learned to put a little flavoring in it, a little vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry flavoring, not syrup and he did well. Personally I prefer whole milk, which when I buy it at the store looks and tastes entirely different than the dairy milk I was raised on where the whole milk had cream that settled at the top and had to be shaken back into it when I and my children were growing up. I understand you can get the vitamins and minerals in milk from other sources but I think the advantages of getting these from the real product rather than a pill is the best way.

P. R

I just broke my daughter from the bottle (22 months.) All three of my kids had trouble going from bottle to sippy cup with just milk. We let her go the longest,,, maybe because she is our third lol. However, they would drink water or juice from a sippy cup, but not milk.
I gave milk to my daughter in a sippy cup 2 weeks ago,, she looked at it- giggled and put it on the counter. I have those Nuby cups that have a silicone top shaped like a sippy cup. She was hesitant but drank it. This was last week. Now she will take it out of a sippy cup,,, warmed still- but we are working on it! Hope this helps and Good Luck!

For one whole day, offer them nothing except for the cold milk in the sippy cups. Trust me, they will get thirsty and drink it. They are not in any danger by not drinking it for even the first 12 hours. I did this,and by that night my child drank it. Sure, she tried to throw little fits here and there, and I would just set the cup down on the floor and walk away. Well, as long as you don't cave, they will...

I have to agree it is time to put your foot down. If they want milk they will drink it from a cup and cold. Do not take this the wrong way, but by giving in you are being an enabler.

And make the only other option water. Going without juice for a while will not hurt them. And for the 2 year pediatricians now recommend 2% milk.

I hope this helps.

Okso i was just reading your responses and i have to disagree with laura's response. Your children are too young, they are going to understand if you sit them down. You have to wean them into drinking it from a sippy cup! Make it a game to drink from the sippy cup. My son would drink everything but milk from the sippy cup. I just took the bootle away except for at bed time or nap time and then he only got water in it. He hated drinking water so he got rid of the bottle after a few days. I used to put a little bit of milk inthe sippy cup and leave it out on the and when i thought he was getting thirsty i would offer it to him and he eventually drank it. And now I can not keep him from drinking milk! He loves milk any flavor any time of day, however i have to cut him off because of what too much milk does to him! So good luck and hope you get something to work for you!

Hi-
I had the same problem with my daugher, who is now 4. She never took to a pacifier when she was a baby & had a strong attachment to the bottle. She also would only drink milk out of the bottle. She was about 20 mths old when we started to remove milk from the bottle. I only put milk in a sippy cup & let her keep the bottle, but only put water in it or gave her a empty bottle just to slowly break the bottle habit. She would want the empty bottle when she was tired & we finally took it away after a few weeks. As for drinking milk in the cup...I added Hershey syrup. She didn't like it at first, but you have to give it time. Best of luck!
M.

We had this problem with our middle one. What I did was offer her water in the bottle, and milk in the cup, the way she liked it. It won't take them long to choose, and if they choose water from the bottle, it wont hurt them or rot thier teeth. You can offer other dairy items for them to get calcium if they end up rejecting milk.

We called it bottle boot camp. Don't warm it anymore and give it only in the sippy cup and if they don't drink it, who cares. They will eventually, and they will not be malnourished! Stick to your guns and it will work. A healthy child will not starve themselves of it, they will refuse it if they know you will eventually warm it for them. Do not

I had that exact problem with my daughter. The only way she would take milk is warm in a bottle before bed time. While I was in the hospital delivering my second child, my mother actually took the bottle away and gave it to her in a cup (she was 22 months). She didn't like it at first, but eventually took it. I think coming from someone else might help. She would cry and throw it if it came from me. Now she's 3 1/2 and will only drink chocolate milk. She gags at regular milk, but atleast it's not in a bottle.
Good luck!

They are still young. Let them have it for now.

A week or two without milk won't hurt them as long as you give them other forms of dairy (cheese, yogurt...). So, I'd just stop giving them bottles and try a sippy cup again in a few days.

if your children want the milk bad enough they will drink it from a sippy. you should sit them down and explain to them that they are toddlers now and bottles are for lil people/babies and throw the bottles in the garbage or a bad they think is going to the garbage and give them only the sippy the bottle is more comfort for the parent than the child. because we as parents feel bad if our children are not taking the drink but like anybody if you are thirsty and want it you will drink it. and as for the warming just slowly not warm it as much if you start it at 30 seconds then go down to 25 seconds and etc. evently the milk will be cold and they will be okay with it.

Try a gradual change, not 2 big ones at once. Put it in the sippy cup but warm it up. Over a week, slowly make it less warm each day. The bottle definately needs to go ASAP for both kids but there's no reason to rush off warmed milk other than it's a hassle. Many kids do not like the taste of whole milk - it's an aquired taste - so they sound normal. :-) My kids were breastfed and it took about 2 months for them to start to like cold whole milk after we first introduced milk at 12 months. I warmed it in sippy cups for them for about 2 weeks. After that, they would drink only a few sips at a time. But after a couple months they decided they liked it and would down the entire cup.

And if they don't ever really like it, so what?! Milk isn't a magic food or anything. The health benefits have been greatly exaggerated. Most people in the world do not drink any milk once they weaned from the bottle or breast. All the good stuff found in milk can be found in other sources - and are often healthier sources. This isnt' something to stress about! :-)

I know my daughter (1 yr old) will not take milk from a sippie because she is expecting juice. Sippies = juice; bottles = milk. I'm trying to have a special sippie designated to milk so we can transition from the bottle. Let me know what works!

I would wean them from the bottles gradually. Giving up the night time bottle last. Given no other alternative, they will take the sippy cups. There will be lots of drama, even worthy of an Academy Award, but don't hand out those statues too quickly and don't give in. Their little teeth will thank you in the end. It worked with my son, who is now bottle free at 15 months.

They do this because they know they can. My dd is 15 mos. She was bf until she weaned herself at 11 mos. Since then she has been on whole milk. I give her warm chocolate milk in the AM in a sippy. The rest of the milk I give her is cold from the fridge and "white." Our babysitter says that she won't drink milk for her that isn't warm. I tell her, she drinks it fine at home. DD knows that the babysitter will cave and warm the milk and Mommy won't. They know the ways to manipulate you and get what they want. If you don't want them to have bottles, get rid of the bottles, just don't let it even be an option. It sounds tough but, "You're the mommy and you said so!"

I don't mean to sound harsh or insensitive but you must take control. Right now, they are controlling you on this issue. Simply put, throw the bottles away and do not give them anything in a bottle anymore. If they want milk they will eventually drink it from a cup. I have 3 children and the day they turned 1 we took the bottle away cold turkey. It was not easy. They were cranky and out of sorts but after 3 or 4 days they were fine and drank it willingly out of a sippie cup. Hope this helps and good luck.

If you take it away and don't offer it they'll get used to it not being there. Both of my boys were off the bottle at 1 year. They may not drink milk for a couple days but it won't last forever. Out of sight, out of mind.

I agree with Noel - see responses. This is what worked for us. My son was 6 months and I gave him a sippy cup simply not knowing when babies start on a sippy cup. He took right to it once he realized it was the same drink he got from a bottle. My daughter was a little bit stubborn about it but, like Noel said, that's what mommy gave her so she eventually took to it. It wasn't a negative thing at all. It did not scar her for life. You have to establish, at a young age, who's "running the show" -who's the boss, you or the child? Otherwise, your kids will be able to manipulate you. Better to start now than wait! I honestly wouldn't do the flavors or adding syrup. I'd rather them not get that taste for sugary drinks or obviously, that's what they'll want. They'll get plenty of sugar later in life!

If you just keep giving them milk in the sippy, they'll eventually get that this is where their milk comes from. You MUST be persistent and consistent. Don't worry if they won't drink milk for a few days, they WILL survive. My son has a severe milk allergy, and can't have any dairy at all (cheese, milk, ice cream, etc). He is doing just great without it! There are plenty of other ways to supplement calcium and fat, including calcium enriched foods such as bread and juice. You son will probably have a harder time with the switch, so you may have some simple explaining to do. Get rid of the bottles now, for your 1 year old, you'll be glad you did!
HTH! Good luck~

Hi! This is a problem we all go through! I'll just tell you how I did it maybe you can pick up some pointers. I let my daughter go way to long with the bottle, I kept using the excuse "there's just to many life changes right now, lets wait" Well her father and I decided we were done on her second birthday! And we stuck to it. I bought her a few of those three step sippy's. They have a nipple just like a bottle, then the same type of nipple just in a sippy cup form. There is also the handles they can take off it if you want. I threw out the bottle nipple immediatly! I forgot to mention I let my daughter pick the colors of her new cups. Then we went home and we got all of her bottles (which were only two at this point) and I told her it's time to be a big girl, and big girls use sippy cups. Lets take your bottles and throw them away, and you can have your new sippies!! I made it very exciting and made a huge deal over the new sippy cups and how neat and how big of a girl she would be. I also explained that being a big girl and taking this huge step is going to open a world of oppurtunity for her. And showed her some tricycles and big girl toys we had bought in the summertime. So she walked in the kitchen and gave the bottles a kiss and tossed them into trash can, and asked for her new cup! She was so excited. Of course that night she wanted her bottle, but we poured milk into her cup and gave it to her and reminded her that the bottles are gone in the trash. She fought me for a day or two and she finally just gave up on the bottles. About the warm milk, warm up the milk in the sippy... or in a pyrex cup or something and then pour it in... warm milk isn't a big deal. Try room tempature instead of warm. Try easing them off of it. Also make it a big sibling deal. Your sissy/bubby is going to do it with you. Or maybe let the oldest one do it first, then let the second one do it a few weeks later (might be a little easier on you too!) I hope some of this helps you!