Hello everyone. I have been told by my daughter's daycare that she will be moving over to another class in a few weeks and will not be getting her bottle anymore. She will only get a sippy cup during lunch and regular cup the rest of the day. The problem is my daughter loves her bottle and hates the sippy cup. Plus, she doesn't really like to hold the bottle by herself, too (I guess I spoiled her). I tried switching to the sippy cup cold turkey this past weekend and failed miserably. After one day, all she got was 1oz of formula and she normally can't go beyond the morning without taking down 12oz. So I caved in and gave her the bottle that night. I still try to offer the sippy first, but she basically screams when I bring it close to her.
I was able to wean my son (now 5 yrs old) cold turkey in 1 weekend when he was almost 1 and it wasn't even that rough. What am I doing wrong this time? Could it be that she is still on the pacifier (my son didn't care for it)? Or is it that I am getting soft or my daughter is so much more stubborn than I thought? I would love to just let her decide on her own, but the daycare requires that she learns to use it soon (as most of the others do, too). Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. I also thought about giving her soy milk in the sippy because she may be associating formula with bottle. But, the soy milk does not have the required nutrients and fat content that the soy formula gives her right now. Plus, she is allergic to dairy and can't take regular whole milk.
Thank you for all of the advices. I called the assistant director of the school today and told her about my issue. Apparently, the teachers miscommunicated to me about the sippy cupy requirement. Most kids at this age are use to the sippy cup already and learning to use regular cups. And so the teachers told me that she can only get the sippy if needed during lunch. However, the Asst. Director told me that they do make exceptions and will give the bottle if they feel my daughter needs more liquids. She also said that I can still give the bottle at home if I am worried about her liquid intake. For this reason, I am a little less stressed. However, I know that I need to get her weaned eventually since she was an early teether and 10 little teeth have already sprouted out. There is a strong correlation with tooth decay and bottle feeding at a late age, as I have seen in some kids already. I will definitely try the soft spout sippy and hope its more successful. Thanks again for all of your suggestions.
I just weaned my daughter (12 month old) from the bottle to a sippy cup too. I used the Nuby sippy cups. They have the soft tops similar to the bottle and we didn't have any problem. Target has them cheaper than Walmart too. Good luck.
When it was time to transition my son we used the NUBY brand sippy cups. They have a soft like spout,kinda like a nipple. And it was easy for him to hold. Once he mastered holding the sippy cup,we moved on to another type of sippy cup. You can buy them at Wal-Mart or most anywhere.They are usually A clear cup,with a colored cap. and no handles. Another plus,they don't leak out all over the carpet when they discard them!
O-at first,I would treat the new cup like its a bottle. Hold your baby and even the new sippy cup,like a bottle the first one or two times. That way,its not a drastic big change for her. Hope this helps.
Juju
Here are a few things to try:
1. Experiment with different cups. Everyone I know loved the soft tip nubys - but my daughter hated them. I just bought sveral types of cups and we finally found one she liked (actually it is the hard spout nuby sold at walmart for $1 a piece). It doesn't have a handle -- and for some reason my daughter was willing to hold one that didn't have a handle (we had problems with her holding it too).
2. I would try putting something different in it. Ask your pedi if you can give her water or watered down juice. That is what we did -- we started with water in it and once she got the hang of it then we started putting milk in it.
3. Also, try to offer it to her after she has had some milk in her bottle. Maybe put half of what she normaly drinks in her bottle. The when she drinks that all down -- give her the cup and see if she will take it.
We transitioned my daughter from the bottle to the sippy at about 11 months and the whole process took about a month. So have patience. She'll get there ;-)
I totaly agree to take it cold turkey it will be very hard on both you and your family but all need to be on the same page with her.Every day her memory bank gets stronger and it will be harder for all.Make sure you take all the bottles in the house away and place in the attic if you are planning another child if not give to the needed babies.Keep her on her same formula its not what is in the bottle she will be upset about the comfort zone.
I am sorry, but I would not be ok with a day care telling me when to take my child off the bottle!! Here is the deal, they need her out of the infant room for numbers reasons. You can have more 1 year olds per teacher, than you can in the infant room. OK, I will really try not to get on a day care rant, but personally, they all rub me the wrong way! That said, I would actually not go cold turkey. This is what comforts your daughter, she will struggle to just give it up. So, maybe try giving her a bottle in the morning, and at night, and sippy cups during the day. The really want her to use a regular cup at 12 months...uhhh, insanity! If you are giving her bottles, than you can feel more confident about how much she is getting. All 4 of my kids were off the bottle by 13 months, but for some reason, trying too hard at 11 months did not seem to work. Around 12 months, they got it, and were fine. Oh, and try warming her milk for her sippy cup..my 15 month old still likes it warmed up!And, my best luck with a sippy cup has always been the playtex one with the handles..the sipster I think. It has a smaller, and softer spout,so it is easier to use. But honestly, the thing to remember is that all kids are different, obviously your daughter needs more 'comfort items' than your son did. It does not make her stubborn necessarily, nor does it make her "behind". It just makes her, well an individual. The hard thing about day care is that they cant treat the children like individuals, it is a very group centered dynamic. I wish you luck, this is a tough position to be in for sure!! ~A.~
I guess I'm not understanding, but since when does a daycare dictate when you wean your child from a bottle. I would just simply tell them that she is not ready for the sippy 100% of the time and that she will have to have her bottle in the new class, or simply stay in the one she's in. After she is used to the cup, and ready to move forward then they can move her to a different class. I don't think you are doing anything wrong, you've introduced the cup to her, she doesn't like it and thats that, you can try again later or you can keep trying, she will eventually get interested and take it, when she's ready. I'm not saying that you need to leave her on the bottle forever, in fact, probably not much longer, but it's YOUR decision when she is ready, not daycare, she's your child. You know her best. I can't beleive that most daycare's require you to wean your child when they see fit and not when you do. Guess thats what I get for not using one.
I would suggest using a soft-spouted sippy to start, it's more like a bottle nipple. I used the Munchkin brand, they are BPA free. At 11 months, I'm assuming she is getting a lot of solids, too? You shouldn't have a problem just giving her soy milk in the sippy, so as to avoid confusion. I had my son on whole milk right around 11 months, as he was getting a lot of his nutrition from a balanced diet of solids. He switched to a sippy at the same time, though the soft-spouted kind. He switched to the harder sippys around 12.5 months and hasn't looked back. :) Good luck!
We went cold turkey on his morning and lunch milks and it worked. My son will ONLY take the 9 month and up Playtex insulated sippy cups, even though he will be one on Sat. My son was not interested in formula or part formula/part whole milk (during the transition) out of the cup and would throw it. But for some reason the whole milk is enough for him! It took him a while the first day, but it has been three days and it is perfect. I am going to let him have his bottle in the evening for comfort until 15 months or sooner if he loses interest. Good luck!
