Brady is going to be two-years old in two months and he still takes a bottle. I know a lot of people take it away at 12 months but he was just not at all ready at that point. At a year old he was still very much a baby and although he would drink water or juice out of a sippy, the milk needed to come from a bottle. Also, I didn’t really see the difference in bottle and sippy. Both were plastic containers with a removable nipple.
He gets a milk bottle three times a day – in the morning when he wakes up before he eats his breakfast, in the afternoon for nap, and when he goes to bed. Getting him to sleep without one is almost impossible but it is what relaxes him and soothes him. I would much rather him be a paci lover and soothe himself that way, but he never liked them.
Now that he’s rounding the bend to turning two I think its time to toss the bottle. We have all kinds of sippy cups but I went and bought one recommended to be the best transition cup, one that is as close to a bottle as possible. We filled it with milk, handed it to him, and he slammed it so hard on the floor it broke and spilled everywhere.
I know I’m probably going to end up being forced into a cold-turkey stop but I’d really rather not go that route. So, I’m asking for advice on weaning him off. And do you think it’s really that big of a deal to take a bottle at his age? Play nice. 🙂
Sher Bailey is a writer in the Midwest who believes the power of humor, Mod Podge, and grandkids can fix most problems in life. You can find her at SherBailey.com.
Heather says
We JUST did this last month when our daughter was 18 months old. She, like Brady, never really got into paci’s and relied on a bottle morning, noon, and night. It was definitely a comfort thing for her, as well.
We decided to go cold turkey…at the beginning we still did the morning bottle, but we quickly realized it was making it worse because she knew we still had them around. Day 4 we stopped all together and never looked back. It was a rough few days, but now, she doesn’t even ask anymore. Out of sight, out of mind!
My biggest advice is STAY STRONG and hang in there. We had a couple tantrums that were so bad we almost gave in…but I’m glad we didn’t because now it seems like a distant memory! Good luck. 🙂
ljohn says
I have read your blog for a while but never commented. Not even sure how I found it. But I have an 18 month old who is also still taking a bottle. She has 2 a day, nap and bedtime. She has drank out of a sippy since she was about 5 months old but refuses milk unless it’s in the bottle. I have never allowed to her carry it around and she has never taken it to bed with her. I still rock her and feed it to her and I will tell you I LOVE that time with her. She too must have it to go to sleep. Once the bottle is Finished I lay her in her crib and she will roll over and go straight to sleep. I’m thinking 2 will be our age that we will wean (hopefully). I swore I would have her off at 12 months just like I did with her older brothers who are now 12 & 9. She just wasn’t ready amd honestly neither was I. She is very active and about the only time she will lay in my arms is when I give her bottle and rock her. Such a special time to me (and her I’m sure) and we just take things one day at a time. It might be easier on you to wait til after the baby comes since that will be a transition period for Brady and it might be easier then. You could even tell him bottles are for your baby sister (unless you breast feed-I never did) and your a big boy/big brother now, let’s give all your bottles to sissy. Idk, just a suggestion but I wouldn’t stress about it too much. Even at 2 they are still our babies and he won’t take a bottle to kindergarten with him so do whatever you feel is best for your family. Bottle? Sippy? What’s the difference & who cares. Have an awesome day and enjoy your little man as much as you can. Oh, and get some rest before the baby. :0)
Sandi says
As you know Madison is the same age as Brady. We left the bottles behind when we left the formula/breast milk behind right around her first birthday. I that it would be easier for her. At first the only thing she wanted in a sippy was water, but I just kept with giving milk in a cup & eventually (not long at all) she took it. She was not a paci baby either, but she loves her thumb!
You have to do what you think is right for Brady though, no matter what anyone else thinks. Trust me, I got crap from my mom for getting rid of the bottle at such an early age, but when I explained why I was doing it she was fine (for the ease of doing it)
Good luck in this transition.
erin - mutterings of eringirl says
Our best transitional cup was the tall Nuk. We just quit the bottle a few weeks before 18 mo. I started offering milk in a sippy cup first and would only put in the bottle after they tried the cup first. I also tried to change the situation we gave them the milk in- instead of getting bottle of milk in the morning upstairs, I started giving it to them in the sippy downstairs. It was tough, but he can do it (and so can you!)
Juan and Kim says
We had a hard time taking away the bedtime bottle from my twins. They were more or less okay with drinking from straw sippy cups the rest of the day. When they were close to 2 years old, we made a big special deal one night about giving them a warm glass of milk at bedtime instead of the bottle. We used mommy and daddy’s juice glasses (under very close supervision), so they felt like special big kids. They loved it and the bottles were a thing of the past.
Missy F says
I agree with previous poster about the nuk cups..the nuk cup has a silicone “nipple” just like a bottle but it is shaped more flat like a regular sippy. When my little guy was 12 months old he stopped wanting the nap bottle so I tried the cup at bedtime one night and that was it. (I wasnt ready for him quit, I cried! LOL) I think too that talking it up about how he is a big boy & babies drink from bottles…baby sister is coming soon and she needs them etc. *maybe* could help- my son will be 2 next month & is VERY in to being a big boy right now : ) Good Luck!
Lindsey says
Connor’s first birthday I took the bottle from him. Not because I felt pressured to because of his age, but because I knew it would be easier to do it at a younger age. Plus, let’s face it, a child with a milk protein sensitivity is expensive drinking organic soy milk or hypoallergenic formula. I will say, though, that my brother-in-law who is an ENT really pushes getting rid of the bottle as soon as you can. There is a difference in bottles and sippy cups with the way kids drink and put pressure in their ears, etc. Kids who have issues with ear infections he pushes parents to get rid of the bottle first to see if it helps. If not, then it goes on to the tubes route.
I agree with a previous commenter, the Nuk active cups are great transition cups. They are about $7 and can be found at Wal-Mart, Target, etc. Connor still uses his!
Good luck. I would recommend getting the paci and bottle finished before baby #2 arrives, because once he sees Paityn with both, it may be much harder to get rid of.
Andrea says
We started weaning our little guy off the bottle after he turned one. We started by taking the bottles during the day away first. After a week or so we stopped the morning one and then a week later we stopped the night time one. The night time was the hardest but after 3 nights he never looked back. You have to do whatever is best for you and your family. You have a baby coming soon and that will be a big change. We used this sippy cup because if you squeeze it, the milk will come up. Good luck!
http://www.target.com/p/PLYTX-CUP-1P-PLAYTEX-CUP-1PK-LG-STR/-/A-13985549#?lnk=sc_qi_detailbutton
Cindy says
When my son was a little over a year old, we noticed he loved straws, so we got 2 cups with straws (this one – http://www.orble.com/images/cups9637hdr1straw1.jpg) and he loved it. he’d take anything from it. I think drinking from a sippy and not having bottles all day helped him eat more too. But he still takes a bottle for nap and bedtime, and he’ll be 2 in july. We’re waiting until he understands “you’re a big boy and don’t need a bottle” (at least I think that’s how long we’re waiting). I know the ped is against it, but whatever. He won’t drink from a bottle forever, and he doesn’t get ear infections hardly at all. and he doesn’t fall asleep with it in his mouth. and that’s the ONLY way he’ll get to sleep (unless of course he falls asleep in the car). So, in my opinion? Whatever. he won’t drink from a bottle forever 🙂
Christy says
I took my son’s bottle away shortly after one. We did it cold turkey when he started milk. I would recommend NOT getting the Nuby sippy cups because they leak really bad. My son had a Munchkin one that helped and pretty soon he was able to switch to regular sippy cups. The only thing I would caution is make sure to brush his teeth after the nighttime bottle because bottles at bedtime are really bad for his teeth. Good luck!
Melissa @ A Dozen Years Later says
As long as he isn’t being put to bed in his crib with a bottle I don’t think it’s an issue. My daughter took a bottle of milk til almost three simply because she wouldn’t take milk out of a cup. Once she stopped the bottle she stopped drinking mill.
Courtney says
We transitioned with the taller NUK cup. It was the only cup Brady would take. We slowly took the bottles away. He was stuck at just having one when he first woke up. We eventually cut that one out after about a week or so.
Unknown says
My daughter will be two next month and still takes her bottle for bed and what we found that worked was watering down her bottles a little more as each week goes so by the last week she is on just water and if she is still on the bottle that’s fine because she will of been weaned off the milk bottle. I have tried the cold turkey method and that’s just torture for you and him.
Amanda says
Hi Liz, Love reading your blog and am a first time commenter. My little girl,Madi is just a month younger than your Brady. We axed the bottles at about 20 months. I would’ve done it sooner, but like your kiddo, she refused milk from a cup. At 20 months, I decided she was done and we went cold turkey. (She was only taking a bedtime bottle by then). We just found we needed to switch up her routine a little so she wasn’t expecting a bottle at a certain point for bedtime and she was good. And, probably by the next week, she was chugging milk out of a straw cup. Now, she only drinks 2 cups of milk a day, but I don’t think the quantity of milk is that improtant by this age if they are eating a well balanced diet.
Whatever you choose, I wish you the best of luck! I don’t judge what any mama ever does because we all do what works for us. All I’ve found is that every tricky transition like this has been harder on me than her! I need to start giving her more credit!
Kristen says
I think I took the bottle away from both boys shortly after they turned 1yr old. I saw where someone else commented about the ear infections, and that was part of the reason because both boys had bad ears. We went the cold turkey route, same with giving up paci’s, and honestly it wasn’t as bad as it sounds! Bottles and paci’s were just gone one day. Logan never even noticed, Riley it took a couple of days (if that) but he got over it quickly! Good luck with however you decide to do it!
Crystal Renee says
Hey Liz. This was a hard decision for me. With Summer (oldest), she refused to take a bottle after 9 months. She felt like she was a “big girl” with her sippy cup.. which I used the munchkin ones that changed color when something cold went in there.. to her that was neat. With the twins, I can’t lie.. they were almost 2 years old. I waited until THEY were ready. I just could not take it away. I tried, but it became a battle.. “Baba mama peeeeez” was all I would here. Sleepless nights turned to me giving in. Once I started telling them that babies drunk bottles, it got better.
I agree with the Previous where she stated that once the baby comes you can incorporate it for him to think that it’s for the baby! I think that might help the transition better. Is he in a toddler bed? I would make it about him becoming a BIG BOY! 🙂
KNOTS.baby says
My little Londyn will be 2 in September and we just tackled this. I felt that Londyn needed the milk, so taking the bottle away was hard because she didn’t want milk in any other cup. And then I read that your toddler will get the nutrients they need from the food they eat, and not NEED the milk… so i’ve started to make sure that Londyn is offered cheese and yogurt more than usual.
So with all that I read and knowing Londyn I took my new knowledge to the store and Londyn and I shopped for a “special” cup to replace her bottle. And she picked out her “special Cinderella” cup! At first she was resisting and didn’t want the milk, and after a nap and a bedtime with very little milk in her system, she decided the following day that she’d drink it, because she wanted it in her tummy. We’ve changed our bedtime routine just slightly, so that way we are still soothed and calm for sleeping since the bottle isn’t there to soothe her. And she’s been doing GREAT!!! she’ll drink her Cinderella milk while I rock and read to her and then she’ll drink a little more when I”m done reading and then she lays down! I was totally surprised at how quick she adjusted! and it was actually my husband who had a harder time letting go of the bottle time, he felt that she needed it…when really she doesn’t.
And now Londyn is a MUCH BETTER eater!!! she eats more meat at mealtime, eats vegetables without a fight and just more all around because she’s not full of milk!
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