How to transition away from bottle? ISO sippy cup rec!

amother

Beige

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 1:31 am

Baby just turned 1. I want to avoid the same mistake I made with my first who still uses a bottle at 2.5

I give my baby a bottle in the morning - he wakes up CRYING with hunger. He downs the bottle so fast.

Should I bring him a sippy cup of milk?

Also...what sippy cup should I use? I've bought so many cups over the last year and my big guy hates them all.

How do I stop with the big one? just cold turkey? cup instead of bottle?

All tips welcome.

heidi

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 3:15 am

My oldest went straight from nursing to a non spill sippy cup at age one. It took me years to realize that the non spill sippy cup was really a bottle for all intents and purposes. He needed to suck to get the liquid out and was addicted to the sippy cup till he was almost 5. I would suggest a bottle till age 2 and then transitioning to a real cup. When their need for sucking is pretty much gone and the need to drink is just for the actual liquid.

nicole81

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 6:17 am

I weaned my toddler from a bottle a bit after she turned two. She was obsessed with elmo and I ordered sesame street sippy cups. She only got a bottle morning and night, so when they came, before her bedtime bottle, I told her we had to pack away all the bottles because they're for babies. I showed her the new cups which really excited her, and she helped me put all the bottles and parts into a drawer as we kept saying "bye bye bottles." BH that was it. When she asked for a bottle the next morning, I reminded her that we put them away and now she has the cup and she said oh ok.

amother

Chocolate

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 8:42 am

So unfair to little baby to take away bottle.... since I didn’t nurse and after the first few weeks my babies didn’t use pacifiers, I was very happy that my kids had the security of a bottle to suck. At some point they all gave it up on their own. After age two, I would pour them small drinks in a cup sometimes I would have a sippy cup near their seat when they ate or in the car.... but when they need a full bottle, not just a few sips I never forced them to give up the bottle. What do you gain? My kids didn’t fall asleep with a bottle in their mouths, they would drink and fall asleep afterwards. Sure, some of my 3 year olds were using a bottle for comfort to help them fall asleep but by that age none of them were walking around with bottles during the day and they drank fine from a regular cup too. I have a bunch of kids... at this point my youngest is 5 and there are no bottles in the house. Each child gave it up on his/her own and I’m happy they had their bottle for as long as they each needed.
A one year old is a baby! Please don’t take away his bottle. Introduce a sippy cup during the day by meal times if you want but don’t get rid of the one of the only comforts he knows.

amother

Beige

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 1:53 pm

Wow...This is such an interesting turn of events.

In a previous thread earlier this year, I got bashed over the head for allowing my 2yo to still have a bottle. I thought I had to take it away from the baby early because of that...

Okay...so if I let my baby drink from the bottle...what do I do with my 2 year old? He's almost 2.5 and he is ADDICTED to the bottle. I feel like it's unfair for baby to have a bottle and him not. He will not get that he's a big boy and his brother is a baby.

Also..the baby isn't so attached to his bottle yet, so maybe I should just give him his morning bottle and do away with the others? He also knows how to drink from a straw, so I could give him milk in a straw cup during the day.

amother

Burgundy

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 2:10 pm

It is a good idea to get them away from bottles- especially if he has any ear infections as the bottles don’t help with that (which u Ddnt say if he does it doesn’t)
Many sippy cups are like bottles in what your child needs to do in order to get out the liquid so it doesn’t help much.
The 360 cups are supposed to be great.
I tried easing my baby (around 16 months) out of bottles slowly into sippy cups- it Ddnt work until one day I just stopped the bottles cold turkey. Wasn’t easy but some of my kids do have a history of constant ear infections.... Ddnt want to have to go there with him.
Took a few days but now he’s completely fine.

amother

Chocolate

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 8:04 pm

simcha2 wrote:

If he wakes hungry why not offer food before offering milk? That way milk is for thirst and not hunger and much easier to wean the bottle.

Because her baby is only a year!
I’m sure he eats food too but why do you care if he also drinks a bottle of milk???? Babies need this!

simcha2

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 8:16 pm

amother wrote:

Because her baby is only a year!
I’m sure he eats food too but why do you care if he also drinks a bottle of milk???? Babies need this!

Of course she can do what she likes and what she feels is right for her child. But by 12 months food not milk should be the main source of nutrition. Too much milk is the leading cause of anemia in young children. Babies (or rather toddlers), don't need excessive bottles or milk.

(Also, why amother to criticize?)

amother

Amber

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 8:28 pm

amother wrote:

The time to transition from a bottle to a sippy cup is between 1 and 2. Really at 1 they should be using both.

So at 2 - yes, too old for a bottle.

amother

Apricot

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 8:34 pm

At around 2 I would slowly get them used to a bottle only in the crib, meaning at bedtime and in the morning (& nap time). All other times they drink from a cup. And after couple of months weaned the bottle all together.

amother

Magenta

Wed, Jul 18 2018, 4:57 pm

Straw cups are the best! They overcome many of the disadvantages of bottles and have additional benefits. They are more like sucking a bottle than a sippy cup would be (which makes the transition easier for some), the liquid bypasses the teeth straight to the back of the mouth for the most part which reduces tooth decay and ear infection risk, straws are much better for strengthening the muscles used in speech, and more.

We love the straw cups that were weighted, so our kiddo could drink from any angle (I.e., lying down if that's helpful). Our favorites weighted straw cups were the Zoli Bot straw cup and the B.Box straw cup. There are other good straw cups too, if you don't need weighted, we really like the Munchkin straw cups.

amother

Beige

Wed, Jul 18 2018, 11:53 pm

OP here....so my 2.5 year old CAN drink from a regular cup...he just won't. He refuses. He'll spill and tantrum. He has associated the bottle with comfort. He loves to curl up with a bottle and a blankie on the couch or on the bed in his room (he sleeps in a crib). He's never drunken a bottle in the crib.

My 1 yo actually CAN drink from a straw cup. I've tried putting milk into a straw cup and he's not so into it. But I don't want him to grow so attached to the bottle like his older brother.

And right now, when one has a bottle, the other one wants it too.