How did you start taking away the bottles?

DD will be 16 months. My goal was to start taking away her bottles this summer. Right now she has 3 a day. Morning, afternoon around 3:30, and before bed. I was thinking I should start with that afternoon bottle. If I put the milk in a sippy I can't see her just sucking it down the same way. She's not the best eater either, but she does eat yogurt every day and a slice of cheese.
So how did you girls do it?

Re: How did you start taking away the bottles?

I just started giving him his milk in his sippy cup (the straw kind) for his morning and afternoon drink. Yes, he took longer to finish it, but he eventually did. It won't be the same 'ritual' as a bottle, but they adapt pretty quickly

You could also try giving it with breakfast, or an afternoon snack as well.

Message edited 7/16/2013 1:59:06 PM.

How did you start taking away the bottles?

I had introduced the cups early on (well, as soon as he could move he went and would drink water from his brother's cup) and started to do milk here and there at 12 months. Right after 15 months I took them away - he was starting to get addicted and was drinking a ton of milk. I started giving him cups and he didn't drink as fast or much at bedtime but, he did drink them and doesn't seem to miss the bottles.

ETA - My intention wasn't to do it all cold turkey but, that's what worked for us. DS 1 was on bottles for a long time so I wanted to stop earlier this time around.

Message edited 7/16/2013 2:04:46 PM.

Re: How did you start taking away the bottles?

Message edited 7/16/2013 2:21:08 PM.

Re: How did you start taking away the bottles?

Introduced a cup at 7 months, by 8 months she got a cup with a little water everyday. Once she drank water out of it very well, I put milk in it (BM is precious, formula is expensive, didn't want to waste it!) - this was about 10 months, I never gave a bottle again.

I think I got lucky though

ETA: we used a sippy cup first, then a straw cup.

Message edited 7/16/2013 2:18:14 PM.

How did you start taking away the bottles?

I use Straw Sippy Cups - the ones from Playtex. I started with the afternoon bottle and then a week later added breakfast. Bedtime bottle was the last to go.

Re: How did you start taking away the bottles?

Message edited 7/16/2013 3:38:44 PM.

Re: How did you start taking away the bottles?

Start as early as you can. The longer you wait, the harder it is. We had to go cold turkey because we waited too long. We told him that the Shape Bandit from Team Umizoomi stole his bottles and now he had to use the big boy bottles. He was very mad at the Shape Bandit for a while after that. He would yell at the TV when the character came onscreen.

How did you start taking away the bottles?

I used the playtex straw cups. found they were the easiest to suck out of. DS had three bottles a day too so I started with the afternoon one in a straw cup one day and he drank from it. a few days later I started with the morning one and then a few days after that did the night one. he transitioned a lot easier then I thought he would. he had been drinking water out of the straw cups since 6 months old though. he was off the bottle the week before his first birthday. I am keeping my fingers crossed that dd2 is just as easy to get off the bottles

Message edited 7/16/2013 4:36:02 PM.

Re: How did you start taking away the bottles?

Re: How did you start taking away the bottles?

Cold turkey at 12 months old. Put milk into his straw sippy cup and he never drank milk again
I plan on doing the same with my DD who just turned 12 months last week. I will do it next week when we come home from vacation though.

Re: How did you start taking away the bottles?

Cold turkey. Took them all away at 17 months, put her milk in a sippy cup, and called it a day. She was pi$$sed but got over it in a day or two.

I wasn't a fan of transitioning her slowly because it seemed so arbitrary to say, "You can have a bottle at night but not in the morning". KWIM? I just felt it was easier and less confusing to do away with them all at once.

Re: How did you start taking away the bottles?

Posted by Superkat

Start as early as you can. The longer you wait, the harder it is. We had to go cold turkey because we waited too long. We told him that the Shape Bandit from Team Umizoomi stole his bottles and now he had to use the big boy bottles. He was very mad at the Shape Bandit for a while after that. He would yell at the TV when the character came onscreen.

How did you start taking away the bottles?

I "lucked out" and we all caught a stomach virus. LOL We spent 3 days crazy sick and by the time it was over it had been 3 days with no bottles. So I threw them all away.

How did you start taking away the bottles?

Cold turkey. Last bottle given was 5 days after turning 1 yr old only because the breast milk was already in the bottle, he was thirsty and I was talking with my mom and a friend so DS had the bottle sitting on my lap.

How did you start taking away the bottles?

I tried cold turkey with my twins but one of them had meltdown so now they only get bottle before bed. It's not been a problem since

Re: How did you start taking away the bottles?

DS was very resistant to sippy cups, and he was moving up to the toddler class in daycare at 14 mts and bottles weren't allowed

Born Free sells different kinds of covers for their cups. These saved us! They make these soft covers that feel like bottle nipples but are curved more like a sippy cup. They look like sippies, so that covered the daycare situation, and they were soft and rubbery for DS. You can then gradually get harder rubber covers that they sell and slowly transition to a more authentic sippy cup feel.

This was the only thing that worked for us!

Re: How did you start taking away the bottles?

Posted by AMLMT1

Cold turkey at 12 months old. Put milk into his straw sippy cup and he never drank milk again
I plan on doing the same with my DD who just turned 12 months last week. I will do it next week when we come home from vacation though.