Getting My Son off the Bottle :)

Maybe I'm a wimp, but I did anything like this extremely gradually. With the bottle specifically, I weaned him down to two bottles a day, before nap time and before bed time. Then gradually, over time, I cut those two bottles down two ounces at a time - from 8 oz to 6 oz, then after a while from 6 oz to 4, until he was only getting two 2 oz bottles a day. At some point, we were cuddling before his nap time, and he fell asleep without his bottle. I think from that point on I just held him until he fell asleep without the bottle.

Good Luck!
B.

A friend told me she cut the nipples off and showed him the were broken. maybe he will get it . i dont know just a suggestion

Just a thought,maybe 21 months is too early to take the bottle away, might be better too try at 26 -28 months...Grandma B.

Throw out the bottles. All of them. Give him milk in a sippy cup (if he can help buy them then that would be great). Give him his sippy cup with meals. Offer water between meals. He will cry for a day or two. Stick with it. An almost 2 year old child does not need a bottle any more. He should be eating plenty of calcium rich foods (cheese, yoghurt, green vegetables etc..)

Promote him being a big boy and do not make a big deal over the sippy cup. Be matter of fact about it. If it is your expectation of him to drink from one and he will. If you are wavering then he will sense he has the power and will resist all the more.

My daughter was about this age when we cold turkeyed her. Took about 2 days for her to stop asking for the bottle and about 2 weeks for her to drink the same amount of milk per day as she had done with the bottle.

Good luck.

Use a different style bottle. I used Playtex nursers for my son. When I wanted him off the bottle, I gave him one of those generic bottles you can get at the grocery or drug store and he did not touch the bottle again after the first day.

The fit will only last a few days, they really do forget!

C., The first week or so will be the hardest but stick with it DO NOT cave! Once you have taken it away don't give it back or he will think you're not serious. The longer you wait to go through this process the harder it will be. The older they get the smarter they get. Have you tried telling your son that you are going to mail the bottle to Santa and he will get it and know that he is a big boy now and will bring him big boy presents? Just a thought. Good Luck!

Hi C.,

When I wheened my daughter off the bottle, I used the "cold turkey" techniqne. I threw out all the bottles. She used sippy cups. At night, when it was time to go to sleep, I would place her in the crib, play with her for a while and walk out. She would cry and cry and cry. It was very hard to hear her sob like that. First night, I would let her cry for 1/2 hour intervals. I've read that when you go in to check on them to not pick them up but to just lay them back down and sooth them. The next night, increase the intervals to an hour, so on and so forth. Eventually, they will learn to sooth themselves. I think it took about almost two weeks, if not more. I hope this will help you. Hang in there.

Hi C.,

I have a 4 and 2 year old, and all I did was give them sippy cups (take out the spill proof thing inside the cup so the juice or milk can flow freely until they get the hang of it) and I called it a "Big Boy/Girl cup". My kids had no problem with this transition!

Hope this helps!
Libby

This is the perfect time of year to do this. Tell him that we are going to leave the bottles out for Santa to get, and take them to the BABIES who need the bottles, or the snookie (pacifier). The babies are thirsty and need bottles and that's what Santa brings some babies for Christmas.

My mother did that with me and my sisters for our bottles and pacifiers and she said it worked quite well. I breast fed my youngest, he never had a bottle and the older two were weaned to a cup by the time they were one year old or there abouts. 2 year old kids throw tantrums. Your best bet is to remain calm and simply let it run it's course. If they know that you dom't react when they throw a tantrum, they will stop.

Of course the other thing is zero tolerance. I spent a lot of time taking kids home who threw tantrums because they were tired and needed to go home instead of stay at the bowling alley or whatever.

Hope that helps. My children are ages 19, 18, and 9, the oldest is in college now, I hope I raised them well enough. None of them are parents yet. YAY.

Try substituting the time spent together with other activities that are as special, as a warm bath and a book. Once your baby knows you are not punishing them with taking away their sacred time/bottle time/with you, and that you are still spending that quality time with them, the spell will be broken, and you both will move forward. It is the Mother that emotionally blocks the change, as it is easier to stay stuck...believe it or not. You are tired, or overwhelmed, and the bottle has been a life saver. It is time to get inspired, creative, and move forward.

I didnt read all the answers so not sure if you heard this one, or if you do x-mas. But have him put it under the tree for Santa, and Santa will bring him a present. Then the next day when he asks for it, you dont have it Santa does. This worked for my daughter at that age, but I had to wait a little longer for my son as he didnt understand Santa yet. You could also try putting more water than milk/formula add more each day and he will start to not like it.
And yes it does only take about 3 days or so of fits.
Good luck

Hi everyone -

I am having the same problem with my 13 month old. The thing is, the pedicatrician told us last week that she should be getting 12-18 oz of milk a day but if we don't give her the bottle at all during the day, she doesn't get ANY milk. I was trying to wean slowly by only giving the bottle in the am and right before bed, but maybe I should just go sippy cup all the way? How do ensure nutrition needs are being met then?

Thanks!
K.

I had the same problem with my son at 24 months and someone suggested that I rub raw garlic on the nipple of the bottle and give it to him. I did, not really thinking it would work and the moment he put it in his mouth he threw it across the room and never asked for it again! Good luck :)

don't worry about it...just let'm have it,..when he gets older he'll go threw a period where he wants to be a 'big boy' like mommy & daddy...and assuming you don't drink from a bottle, you'll have him wanting to drink from a cup like you guys...

I don't know too many 5 year olds with bottles...so I wouldn't worry too much about it...just limit him to morning and night...make it a 'in bed thing'

If you really want him off, take him off. Throw away all bottles. Let him watch them go. He will stop crying eventually but you just build him up because he is now a big boy. (just remember, you are bigger than him, makes you the boss.)

Try watering down the milk. He will not like it and may wean himself. I had the same problem and one day told my daughter there were no more bottles. She has not drank milk for 10 months! She thinks it only goes on a bottle. Orange Juice replaced milk and she occasionally will drink chocolate milk.

Sippie cups!!! My son was almost 3 by the time he got off the bottle which was my husbands fault cause he would rather give him what he wanted than listen to him cry..But my daughter on the other hand when she turned 1 I took her off the bottle and formula..And gave her sippie cups..Take all the bottles outta sight and give him sippies..They have some really good no leak ones at wal-mart..Dont give in and if he wants the comfort of the bottle he will take the sippie..Good luck

Hi C.,

I remember with both my kids to get them off the bottle what i did on the end of the nipple i put slightly something spicy...like a dash..of course they cant aquire that taste but i would put paprinka or taco bell hot sauce, mild..after that they never wanted the bottle afterwards. If you find that to harsh what you can do is have a sippy cup next to them but make sure you throw all the bottles away so you do not give in. they tend to cry but after awhile they'll realize that there is no bottle on site and they have no choice but to drink from a sippy cup. It will be hard for a few days but be firm. I hope that helps.

I would suggest making this a big boy event. Go to the store and buy a really cool cup and let him know that he is a big boy now and doesn't need a baby bottle. The secret is being consistent. It might be tough for a day or two but it will get better. Just don't give in because that will let him know that throwing a fit works.... and if it works, why not do it again and again. Good luck!!!!

It may be rough for a few days, but just offer him a sippy cup and not the bottle. Eventually he will get the idea.:)

Give him the bottle with water in it. Or take a week and gradually water down the milk/formula until it's just water.

Stay strong. If you want him off the bottle, then you cannot give in. Your little guy is smart and he knows that throwing a fit results in him getting what he wants. If he wants milk, then he needs to drink out of a cup and you have to make that the only option. It is the cup or nothing. My sister had to throw away the bottles that way she wasn't tempted to give in.

Get rid of the bottles, end of story. Throw them out, put them up and away, get them out of the house. He will throw tantrums, but if there are no bottles in the house for him to see and want or you to give him, he will transition over to cups more quickly.
If he doesn't know how to use a cup by now, then that's a bigger issue that you'll have to deal with.
The sooner you get it over with, the better it will be for everyone. He will cry, but it will be okay - all parent's go through this, but know that the transition will be much more dramatic for your son because you have waited too long, and he now has a very strong will of his own.
You're the parent, and you make the rules, period. It will not traumatize him, and having tantrums over the loss of the bottle is just one of those things - he cannot be a baby forever. So just get it over and done with.

Yes throw all the bottles away.. Get him to drink outta a sippie... and u will have a rough few days... I broke my first daughter from the bottle at 18 months old and I thought it was h*ll... Just when u r tryin to wean dont give in to the screaming.. when he cries try a sippy.. or maybe a regular cup...

Try getting him a special "big boy" cup that can replace his bottle. Let him pick it out and make it a big deal; and tell him that only big boys get to pick out special cups to replace their bottles.

Above all, remember that this too shall pass.

Good Luck!

I would take him to Target or the place of your choice and have him pick out a cup with a theme of his choice. If shopping with him is too much, you can pick one out. Give him the cup and tell him it's his "big boy cup". Gather all the bottles(really, don't save any!!!),put them in a bag for him to throw away and tell him he is a big boy and does not need those "baby" things. You might have a couple of days of trantrums but you saving your child from tooth decay. You can't give in or he will not believe you whenever you need to move him along ie:potty training. Good luck! Also, when he has a trantrum, don't react. Don't make eye contact- just go about whatever you were doing. When he doesn't get the attention, he will get bored and stop.

Get him a "big boy" sippy cup and start incorporating that. Tell everyone that comes over that he is drinking out of his "big boy" cup and have people make a big deal out of it. Make sure you get a cup with a theme that he loves. He should switch over as soon as he realizes that people's reaction is a big positive one.

You just have to ignore the tantrums. All my kids were totally off their bottles at 12 months and as long as you have plenty of sippy cups with lids you shouldn't have any problem. At first put something in them he really likes and he gets used to them and shouldn't have an issue. But tantruming is a way to control Mom because if throwing a fit works to get the bottle back and you give in, then anytime he wants something he'll throw a fit to get it. Not something you want to start regularly I don't imagine.

Throw them away and don't buy any new ones. That's pretty much it. It's hard, but you're the parent and you're bigger than he is - at least I hope so otherwise you probably have a really big toddler! Good luck and stock up on headache medicine for you the first few days. As for the recommended amounts of milk that is just for the calcium and fluid. If he refuses to drink milk from a cup give him other things that contain calcium - yogurt, cheese, calcium fortified juices, sardines (hard for kids) with the bones (they are tiny), collard greens, spinach, blackstrap molasses (check with your doctor on this and the sardines), most dark leafy greens, broccoli, almonds (but you might want to wait on those until after he's 2). There are a lot of options for the calcium. If it's fluid, just offer more water. Good luck!

Ah, those things of our past we want to hold on to! I have several suggestions. Although none of them are perfect by any means, they work! You can just NOT give it to him and the tantrums will eventually go away. They will I promise! But if that's too harsh, you can try to come up with something else that he likes that he can do first thing in the morning. Dancing, TV (I'm probably going to get nasty replies for that one!), or a special breakfast. Even giving him a big boy cup might be good incentive. You can also try a sippy cup first thing in the morning. Put some juice in it to entice him. You can always cut the juice later (add water) until the juice is gone.

And lastly, just something to think about. Why can't he have the bottle? If he's just doing it at home, what's he hurting? He may just give it up on his own in the next couple of months.

Personally, after my daughter learned how to use a cup, I got her used to the idea of the bottles going bye bye forever soon. Then one day they were gone. A couple tantrums but it was over quick because she expected it.

I was thinking that you might take out the morning bottle first for a week or two then take out the night bottle and throw or give away all the bottles in the house. Just make sure you explain what is going to happen because I think that they respond better when they know what to expect.

Hope this helps

This transition can be really hard, and you might have to try three or four things until one clicks with your child - but what worked for my son was accidental - we were at a mall one day and my son saw a mom feeding an infant with the same bottle he used. I noticed it and pointed out that the baby had the same bottle that had. I saw an opening and jumped on it! I said, "yes, that's a baby and she has to bring from a bottle, but you're not a baby anymore are you?" he proudly said "no" and I told him that since he wasn't a baby anymore, maybe we should get him a 'big boy cup.' That got him very excited so then we went to Target and I let him pick out his own sippy cups. We went home and I had him say good bye to his old bottles and he threw them out - he never looked back! Maybe this will work for you as well... good Luck!

I am having the same problem! I tried taking him to pick out his own sippy cup and it did not work. Any advice you get I would love to hear too!

You know I am having the same problem...My daughter is 2 1/2 years old and she loves her bottle! My pediatrician told me to just take it away cold turkey, but I have had a real problem doing this. All I can say is if you get any good advice please send it my way!!! :-)

I have two girls and they both loved thier bottles. I Introduced the sipy cup at about 6-8 months. During the day they were not allowed the bottle. The only time they could have the bottle was at bedtime. They threw a fit at first but that only lasted about 2 days. Then, when they turned a year old I threw all the bottles away. I allowed them to help and told them they were big girls now. Babies drink from a bottle and big girls drink from a cup. They had all the character cups and allowing them to pick out thier own "big girl cups" was a big help. Both girls had a fit at first but it only last 2 or 3 days. They were allowed the cup at bedtime for about a month and then it had to stay on the kitchen counter. The longer you wait to take the bottle away the longer the harder it will be.

hello i tried giving my little girl a cup with a sealed lid filled with a limited amount of milk. it worked good she didnt want the bottle anymore. i know its switching one habit for another so now i am slowly taking away the cup at bedtime.

hopefully this will help.