I posted a concern/question months ago that my son is attached to an empty bottle (ok by our ped.) and he uses it in place of a paci. I was pretty much told that if it wasnt broke, then dont fix it and a lot of people that replied really didnt see a problem with this.
Months later and approaching his 1st birthday May 13th, my son is still attached to his empty bottle. He won't go to sleep unless he has this empty bottle in his mouth using it like a paci. When he gets nervous or scared, he puts this bottle in his mouth. We got a new car seat the other day, he has a bottle with formula in it for wherever we go and a lot of times, i will look back and he's just sucking on the nipple. How do I pry him away from this bottle? Our bedtime routine is rocking and feeding him and then when he gets sleepy he takes the bottle out and wants to be laid down. Some nights when we put him in his crib, he rolls right over and goes to sleep and some nights he holds his hands out and mouth open for his bottle while he half way sleeping.
The next issue is the problem with our sippy cup. we have introduced 5 to him. From hard, soft and straws and nothing compares to that empty bottle.
Any suggestions?
He's a baby. I wouldn't be worried about getting rid of his soothing mechanism just yet. You'll be creating unnecessary struggles and stress for everyone if you try to do it now.
He is a year old. What is the big rush. Would you want someone taking your morning coffee. I am not big on pulling bottles, packs just because the calendar says he is a year. It is comforting g to him. Let him be. Enjoy who he is rather than worrying about a bottle. He won't go to Kindergarten with it.
The way your post began, I thought oyu were going to say he's 6 and won't give it up. He's not even 1 year yet, still a baby. Relax. There is no need to push him to grow up faster than his natural pace.
he is a baby.. give him the bottle..
my daughter gave up her bottle at 2 on her own. when she was ready..
what is the big hurry for him to grow up and go off to college??
His empty bottle is his paci and should be treated as you would treat a paci. When ready to wean a child from a paci you can have the paci fairy come and bring the pacis to the babies and then the fairy leaves a toy. Your son is kind of young for that, so if your adamant to get rid of it, then you just have to take it away and suffer through the withdrawal that he will go through. I would just let him use it for comfort.
For the formula maybe start cutting back on when he has that anyway. He does not need formula in the car. That way he can start to differentiate between having food/drink to using the nipple as a paci. I would just switch out. Only put drinks in sippy cups and give him an empty bottle for comfort when he wants one. If hungry he will use a sippy cup once he figures out that it's the only place he will getting food. Oh did you try a sippy cup with a straw? If that does not work. Don't use a lid for a bit, just help him drink from a regular cup. Once he "gets" that drinks are in sippys and empty bottles are for comfort then you will be fine. Until your ready to get rid of the empty bottle that is ;)
If he's using the same way another child would use a pacifier, I wouldn't be concerned. I would just make sure the bottle is either empty and clean, or just holds water - so that way there's no milk or formula in there going sour or constantly coating his teeth. At his age, he should start transitioning to whole milk anyway. Then just have milk available in a sippy cup so that if he really wants milk, he needs to use the cup. It took our daughter a while to figure out the whole cup thing but by 20 months she was totally done with bottles and only had cups. She did use a pacifier, but only for sleeping, and very long rides in the car where she would probably end up falling asleep at some point. We got her off the pacifier completely just 2 months shy of her 3rd birthday.
If you really don't want him using the bottle as a pacifier, than you just need to decide to bite the bullet and take them away cold turkey. But like others have said, I don't what the big rush is.
is sucking the empty bottle causing him to swallow air and get an upset tummy? If not, I probably wouldn't worry too much just yet. Maybe when he's a little older if he still has/wants it, it can become a bedtime only type thing. I had to do this with my sons blankie because it was getting ruined and he NEEDED it to sleep, so when he was about 18 (or so) months old, we made the rule that the blankie was for bedtime only...he can hold/have it anytime he wants, but he had to go to his bed to do so. HTH!
I remember my sister running around at age 2 with an empty bottle in her mouth. She was addicted to that thing.
She's turning 40 this year and is perfectly healthy.
He's still a baby!! You don't have to wean him off the bottle yet. I get fairly incensed at this craze from WIC "experts" and others who demand that children transition to a cup at age one. Some children are ready, and some simply are not!
My first child had a bottle until she was two, including nighttime, and then she went to a sippy cup for about 8 months, and then she was done with the whole thing. There's not a thing wrong with her. My second child just gave up nursing (she's almost 3)...never had a bottle, never had a sippy cup...she's been using a straw cup and a regular cup since she was 9 months old. My point is that children are all different!
You don't need to pry him away from the bottle yet. I, too, though from your title that I was going to see that you had a 3 or 4 year old clinging to a bottle. You have a baby!
Does he have a Lovey?
Some stuffed animal or something to cuddle and bring around with him?
My son since 6 months old, had a stuffed cow lovey.
HE just gravitated toward it. It was his buddy.
And he'd suck its ears.
And yes, I would wash it too.
He's attached to the bottle because it has a "nipple" on it.
A nipple, is a natural instinctual, thing. It is "Mommy."
And he likes to hold it, too.
But sleeping with a full bottle of Formula, well that will degrade his teeth over time.
Will he just take it empty?
Or put water in it?????????????????
Instead.
Plus, doesn't a full bottle just leak all over the crib?
