Bottle Weaning and Formula Switching HELP ME!!

Updated on February 18, 2011
E.A. asks from El Paso, TX
4 answers

i dnt know how or what to do... she is super attached to th bottle uses it as pacifier sometimes and needs it most of the time tofall asleep.. im not a fan of crying it out i need help advice tips on how to make this process the least stressful for her and me as well.. she doesnt lik sippy cups at all ive been trying them since she was 5 months she just will drink one or two sips then gets mad and will not have it she will cry till she gets her bottle. my pedi nurse said to swith her completely to whole milk in asippy cup and no more formula but she wont drink in a cup do i give it to her in her bottle or let her go without milk until she drinks it straight from her up and only her cup? im so confused!!!!! please any help is super appreciated ill try anything... btw she just turned 1 yesterday. should i wait it out let her give up the bottle up on her own? =/

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So What Happened?

so great news sam finally drank whole milk =) i mixed with formula then decreased then just gave her warm whole milk and no more formula. as far as the bottle goes i switched from bottle to a nuby sippy cup that has 3 stages one it looks like a bottle then you add the handles then u switch the plastic nipple looking thing to a more sippy cup spout wish me luck!!! thank you all for your great advice

More Answers

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I am going to say we let the kids have their bottles until they were done with time on their own. J was not ready until he was not ready until after he was 2. We told the Pediatric Dentist and he was okay with that as long as he didn't sleep with it in his mouth. He brought it to us one day and said he was done and wanted a cup. He never looked back. It can be a fight but why? Why fight and fight over something that is really no big deal? Having a bottle until they are ready is what older moms tend to do because they know that it's not a big deal and that it will eventually work itself out.

With my older daughter I took the bottle away after an injury to her top teeth. She started sucking her fingers and ruined her mouth and hands.

If your child needs to suck they will find something to suck.

As for the milk you have to transition them from formula to the milk gradually.

Start adding 2 oz. of whole vitamin D milk to the bottle then adding 6 oz. formula. Do this for about a week at most then go half and half. Then after at least a few days of her doing really well and taking it all the time then go to 6 oz. milk to 2 oz. formula. If she does really well with this let her stay on it for a few days then go to while milk all the time. Her little tummy cannot take the cold turkey of stopping formula and going whole milk all the way.It is not very fun for the person changing the diapers.

As for forcing your child to go from one thing to another and "Making" them do it just seems like your asking for a hard fight.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

... many babies don't take milk from a sippy, because by instinct, they 'know' that milk comes from a 'nipple.'

You either just go cold turkey... and then she gets dehydrated. Or, you try different sippy cups with different spouts... hard or soft.

having her sleep with it in her mouth and with milk in it, will lead to decay. Some say it does, some say it does not.

Regardless, take it out of her mouth, when she is done drinking.
OR, give her the bottle, BEFORE she sleeps. Not IN the crib. Start a new 'habit' of it.

Or give her a pacifier.

Or just put water in the bottle.

Give her a Lovey to sleep with.

Also, sippy cups and bottles, require a different 'sucking' of it... to get the milk out. Sippy's, need more suction. Bottles, are easier and just by gravity.

If she does not take milk, then you have to transition her slowly, mixing Formula AND milk.... then GRADUALLY, increase the proportion of whole milk in it, as she gets used to it.

MANY toddlers, drink Formula, still, for various reasons. There is no right or wrong. There is even Toddler Formula.

Or try a straw cup. Some kids have an easier time with that.

MAIN thing is that she does not get dehydrated, and gets adequate intake.

1 mom found this helpful
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R.P.

answers from Cleveland on

What i did was slowly (over two days) wean the formula to milk by doing 2oz milk and 4oz formula then the next day 4oz milk 2 oz formula and then the next day all milk and just do the bottle at night after a couple days EVERYTHING ELSE in a cup and do not give in at all

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A.J.

answers from Killeen on

I agree with Gamma G, and I'm a young mom =)
My older daughter was about 18 mo. before she gave up the bottle. She had the flu and was unable to drink formula for a few days, and since she didn't really cry for the bottle, we decided to take it away and she never missed it =)
My younger daughter was 2 when we took her bottle away. She was just using it at naptime and bedtime and had just been through some major changes for a child so young, and I felt it would be too hard for her to have to give up her bottle at the same time (her dad going off to school for the Army for 6 months, then his return, then a move!). We let her pick out sippy cups from the store, and I made sure I bought some of the Nuby brand with the soft tops on them. Those were her favorites for a long time b/c they are almost like a bottle nipple, but a very good transition between bottle and regular sippy cup. She also liked the ones with the straw. Anyway when she turned 2 we told her she wasn't a baby anymore and that it was time to say good-bye to the bottles. She fussed a little the first couple days, but I had completely gotten rid of all the bottles, so I just had to tell her they were all gone and that she could pick which sippy to use.
Please don't feel you need to rush this milestone...1 isn't some magical age when all babies are ready to give up the bottle. Actually, most European mothers nurse their babies until age 2, so I don't see why we American moms try to take bottles away when babies are so little!

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