by Tabitha M.
Member since:
January 27, 2008

Weaning baby off the bottle?

April 27, 2008 08:03 AM EDT
views: 1557 | rating: 10/10 (49 votes) | comments: 49
It's been 14 years since I had my daughter.  When she was born, we lived with my parents.  All I really remember is her turning a year old and my mother announcing "no more bottles".  Now that my son is approaching the 1-year mark, I'm wondering & worrying how I will wean him from the bottle.  He typically drinks 4 6-8 oz bottles a day (and eats meals with us and sometimes baby food in between).

When did you wean your baby off the bottle?  Any tips?

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Comments: 49

Janet Somewhere Up On The Mount Apr 27, 2008, 8:13am EDT
Good luck with it. I remember those days well.
I just get concerned if the parents take the baby off the bottle to soon then they do not get enough calcium.
My son threw his last fred flinstones baby botle out of the car window while I was driving. That was that for his bottles ; )
Have a nice day.
Rachel D. Apr 27, 2008, 8:44am EDT
My son didn't have a problem with transitioning to a sippy cup. It took a few days of offering, and we went through a few different sippy cups before it "clicked" - so, sign up for free sample sippy cups.
My daughter refused all bottles no matter what we did, so we didn't have that problem with her! LOL
j - Frugal Mom - r. Apr 27, 2008, 9:01am EDT
With my oldest son, I just started introducing a cup early on. I nursed with my youngest son, but it was still a transitioning thing when weaning.
LaRue B. Apr 27, 2008, 9:10am EDT
one year old
Susan R. Apr 27, 2008, 9:26am EDT
Janet, that sounds like EXACTLY what my boyfriend did! He threw his fred flinstones bottle out of a car window in Bellvue I believe. of course, he was way too old to have one anyways...LOL.

BOT, with Melina, she turned one and I just started giving her sippy cups instead of bottles. I would mix that baby rice into EVERYTHING and even throw in some powdered formula in some of her foods.
I was very bad. My now 15 yr old loved his bottle and had it till about 2. The dr. said no more and no more now and I had the most horrid weekend with him screaming that I should put that doctor in jail. He lived, as did I, and it was over.
LeeAnn D. Apr 27, 2008, 10:06am EDT
Our kids didn't have any problems with the transition, either. As soon as they were old enough to sit in a high chair and hold a sippy cup, we slowly introduced a sippy cup to them. Sure, it was a little messy, but in time they got the jist of what the cup was there for. It finally got to where they would prefer sippy cups over bottles and we would only give them bottles at nap/bedtime. They were actually totally off the bottle at 10 months. As long as the are eating a health, well balanced diet, cows milk can be giving instead of formula at this point. Altough, do check with your doctor first. He/she may want you to supplement a liquid vitamin if you take the formula away a little early and they are picky eaters.
Monica H. Apr 27, 2008, 10:39am EDT
My son is almost two and he is still wanting the bottle. The doctor said no more bottles. He drinks the sippy cup all day, but at night he still wants that bottle for some reason. We are working on it and he's throws fits.
Our daughter we transitioned her to sippy cups when she was one and it was alot easier than our son who is older.
One thing you can do is to put their favorite drinks in the sippy cup (juice, milk ect) and start putting water in the bottle. She will start wanting the sippy cup instead. Or you can start changing to the sippy cup instead of bottle during the day. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck!!
Monica H. Apr 27, 2008, 10:39am EDT
They can still get plenty of calcium through the sippy cups with MILK.
Chris E. Apr 27, 2008, 11:00am EDT
I am going through this right now. My oldest son was off the bottle at 6 months. He drank from a cup at six months and did not want the bottle again. My daughter at 1 year. Now my 11 month old who drinks from a cup just fine if it is juice or water will not drink from a cup in there is formula in it. I gave him a taste of milk in a cup to see if maybe it was just because he was use to having the formula in the bottle and he did the same thing he did with the formula threw the cup on the floor. I think once 1 year hits we will just go cold turkey. Since he can drink from a cup then if he is hungry or thirsty enough he will drink the milk in a cup. I don't really see any other way at this point for me at least to do it.
Vivian P. Apr 27, 2008, 11:45am EDT
That has been over 30 years ago My youngest is 33 now
I say each child is different some need to suckle longer than others
BTW My boys were breast feed
Suze P. Apr 27, 2008, 11:57am EDT
I don't have kids, so can't really help.. I do remember my mom just taking the bottle away .. .it was just gone. I think she said the bottle fairy came and took all the bottles or something like that.. :O)
Marilyn M. Apr 27, 2008, 12:01pm EDT
My son is 24, so it's been a long time. He nursed until he was 6 months old, then pushed me away. Nursing was too confining for him and he wanted more control. He continued on breast milk in the bottle for a while, though, because he seemed to b allergic to any and all formulas. We finally found one forumla he could use. During the day, he had some cups he used. They weren't sippy cups back then. There was a restaurant in town that gave every kid a drink thingey. They were in the shape of animals - monkeys, bears, etc. During the day, my son would drink from that. At night from the bottle. At about 2 1/2 he started using any ol' cup during the day, but insisted on having that cup with him at bedtime.
Ryan M. Apr 27, 2008, 12:08pm EDT
Start working sippy cups and other cups into their routine. I have 6 boys youngest is 2. He started drinking out of our grown up cups when he was one. Once you see they can get their drinks from somewhere besides a bottle cut them off cold turkey. It is quick and painless.
Amy H. Apr 27, 2008, 12:43pm EDT



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Cyndi B. Apr 27, 2008, 12:55pm EDT
I wish I could offer some advice, but my son never took to a bottle. He is breastfed, and is still nursing at 16 months. I am trying to wean him down to one or two feedings a day, but sometimes he wants only to nurse and will not eat solids.

He has been drinking from a cup or a straw since he was around 10 months
Mary Ann S. Apr 27, 2008, 1:36pm EDT
I undeerstand you are trying to get points, so here is a comment tbhat i hope helps.
Steph A. Apr 27, 2008, 1:40pm EDT
We just started the sippy cup, and it seemed pretty easy for them to transition over to just sippy cup. It was much worse when my milk dried up and they had to transition to a bottle...
Sandy (back in Ohio...blah!) Apr 27, 2008, 1:59pm EDT
Buy a sippy cup and encourage him to drink out it. They have plenty of no spill sippy cups out now.

The more he drinks from the sippy cup. The less he will drink from the bottle.
Sharon P. Apr 27, 2008, 3:12pm EDT
Bobby was easy, he tossed his bottle out the window, and we said, okay, no more.
He went to a sippy cup very happily.

He was my brother's kid.
heather "chickenlips" g. Apr 27, 2008, 4:17pm EDT
Thankfully, both of our boys were easy. My oldest was done (on his own) with the bottle at 10 months...never looked back :)

My youngest, we just quit cold turkey the day after his first birthday. He did really well going to a sippy.

Good luck!
Nancy S. Apr 27, 2008, 5:03pm EDT
I didn't have sippy cups so they ke[t the bottle until about 14 months. Then they only had it at night for a couple more months. I found if I read to them or sang songs they usually went to sleep before they missed it.
Lisa (I love loons) C. Apr 27, 2008, 8:20pm EDT
Oh gosh, I don't remember - It was at least 16 years ago! Sorry hon.
Carol Lloyd Apr 27, 2008, 10:19pm EDT
Good luck with it.
Kate S. Apr 28, 2008, 8:09am EDT
We never used a bottle - Audrey was breastfed for 15 months and then I decided I had had enough as she was biting more than nursing - which I realized meant she was telling me she was done too. I offered her yogurt when she asked to nurse in the morning and then that afternoon when she asked again I offered to snuggle on the bed and read books, that way she got the two things she got from nursing - food and comfort. I have no idea what they say about bottles but I know that the WHO suggests breastfeeding for over a year to get the most benefit nutritionally and for their immune systems. Since we never used formula I never investigated any of that.

Click here to join the green team
suey v. Apr 29, 2008, 8:29pm EDT
I can't remember exactly when. They were between a year and year and a half. Did it gradually until only a bottle at bed time. Worked for me.
Linda T. Apr 30, 2008, 1:49am EDT
Each child is different but by the age of one year most of their nutritional needs should be met through the intake of solid food. At this point the bottle becomes more of a security blanket. With my grandson the toughest bottle to do away with was the early morning one. Once he understood that he would be fed cereal upon waking up he stopped asking for the bottle altogether. Good Luck!
Holly G. May 1, 2008, 11:19pm EDT
I had an extremly hard time weening my son off the bottle. He was born with 2 teeth, and he got a lot of his teeth in early, so the docotrs said that I had to ween him off the bottle so his teeth wouldn't rot. It was sooooo hard! I finally had to just throw every bottle I had in the garbage...otherwise he would probably still be using one, lol! (he's ten...just a little joke!)
Jill~Sexy Back~ V. May 2, 2008, 1:58am EDT
if I remember right, we did it at around the 1 yr mark too. I don't remember it being an issue though. Good luck!
Erin P. May 2, 2008, 10:44am EDT
Hmmmm ... I don't really remember that part of it with either of my kids ... so it must not have been a trial to do. I remember letting them pick out sippy cups at the store and them physically trading in the bottles for sippy cups. Maybe that would do the trick?
Rae M. May 5, 2008, 10:12pm EDT
A little after a year. I didn't take the bottle away right away, like first thing in the morning I would give the bottle, but I started introducing the cup. The bottles began to disappear gradually and the cups started to come out more often.
Connie C. May 8, 2008, 3:40pm EDT
Sorry, I can't help you. I breast fed both our daughters. Good luck
Kelly M. May 8, 2008, 6:46pm EDT
We weaned at about a year. We started putting flavored milk in the sippy cups - they wanted that more, than just ditched the bottles cold turkey
Susan S. May 9, 2008, 3:57pm EDT
i have no idea, no kids for me yet, good luck to ya!
T Cheri P. May 9, 2008, 4:17pm EDT
When my boys turned a year old, I told them that the bottle fairy needed all their bottles for the new baby's. We packaged them up and took them to Salvation Army. And that was that. I started them the day of their birthday on sippy cups (the ones with the soft sip part) and gradually worked up to the hard sips, then to the straw cups and then right off sippys all together.
It worked for us, but all kids are different.

Good luck!
juley g. May 9, 2008, 4:21pm EDT
One year for both of my kids too!
Tiffany G. May 9, 2008, 4:27pm EDT
The day of their first bday was the last day for a bottle!

They was not fans of the baby food so they ate real food which was much cheaper and just as healthy...

I would buy a few different kinds of sippy cups to see what he likes best.. I have noticed my kids like some and hate some..
Mary S. May 9, 2008, 4:29pm EDT
First birthday time with all 4 of mine. Plus, I started introducing the sippy cups when they were 6 or 7 months old, to get them used to the cups.
debra g. May 9, 2008, 5:56pm EDT
You got great advice from all but when you take it away do not give it back!If you give it back you will have a harder time taking it again.
Mary Ann S. May 9, 2008, 5:57pm EDT
I can't help you. I don't have children.
samantha b. May 10, 2008, 11:31am EDT
my boys weaned theirselves off....so i don't know sorry...good luck!
Carl J. May 10, 2008, 11:40am EDT
We don't have kids yet, but the best of luck to you.
Jerri H. May 12, 2008, 10:20pm EDT
We moved to sipper cups....I am still trying to get her to get off of those
Wanda H. May 13, 2008, 2:02am EDT
Sippy cups work the best for the transition. Using a bottle for bed is harder to break them from. It takes work, while you let them get to sleep without it.
Good luck. All I can say is that the kids live through it and most of the time so do the mothers. LOL
Sue D. May 13, 2008, 2:15am EDT
I introduced the tippy cups and got them used to them before a year old. Around a year old I just threw out the bottles. It was hard for the first few days, but they adjusted.
Heather C. May 14, 2008, 8:40am EDT
My son was horrible with the bottle and pacifiers. My daughter on the other hand didn't want a thing to do with a bottle after 8 months! And never a pacifier. Good luck with the weaning, we are practicing safe sex in this household this week! Yours sounds easier!
strongthrufight E. May 23, 2008, 8:09am EDT
I introduced the sippy cup at 6mo though it took her a couple of months more to wean off the nap time and night time bottles...she took to sippy easily..I had one of those 3 steps, bottle with handle,cup with handle, and then cup - she loved it!
fatima k. May 23, 2008, 8:19am EDT
every child is different doesn't mean you second baby will stop @ age 1.But i cant wait for my daughter too to get a year old and then will try it at that age too.good luck to you
April H. May 27, 2008, 5:51pm EDT
We took our daughter off of the bottle when we started offering solid food at 6 months. We didn't do it on purpose, it just happened. We would give her water in a sippy cup after she ate, and we just started using them exclusively!

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