Help Weaning from Bottle

S.,
When my son who is now a teenager was being weaned from the bottle I did this. I kept one bottle for him and pulled the trash can to the counter. I got all his bottles except his favorite one and had him throw them away. As he did I said "look no more bottle for the BIG boy" everytime he threw one in the garbage. He used his favorite one only in the car when we went on errands. He used the sippy cup at home. At first he wanted the bottle and would throw fits, but he learned that the sippy cup was all he would get he started using it. As for that last bottle. When I moved back here in 1993 coming back from Oklahoma. I had opened the windows down half way because it was a nice day and not to hot. As I was driving down the highway I heard him say "all gone gone." I asked him what was all gone gone and looked over to see him throwing his bottle out the window. I said "yep all gone gone and I am not stopping to pick it up." That was the end of bottles for him. Hope this helps.

I only had a problem with my youngest. We were out riding one day and I ask her for her bottle and then just pitched it out the window. I know this is littering, but drive by a friends house and pitch it in their yard notifying them a head of time that you are doing this. When she wanted a bottle, I reminded her that we had thrown it out the window. A few crying times, but she decided if she wanted milk or other beverages, she would use a glass or sippy cup. Do the same with baby food, let him see you throw it in the trash and when he gets hungry he will eat from the table.

Hello S., the onething I found out to be true is that all three of my children were different when it came to weaning them off the bottle. I weaned my god son off his bottle over the weekend. He was still on formulas because of the same reasons, but I would only give him the cup each time he wanted something to drink. I had to listen to his cries but after a while he realized no one was going to get him a bottle. I placed his cup on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator and made a game out him going to get the cup and after while he realized that it was okay to drink like the other children. Food was no problem, because we talked about big children food and little children food, since he was growing up he needed to eat what we ate. It worked, good luck with trying but do not give up. G.

When my girls were that age, I took them to the store and let them pick out their own sippy cups. They were always excited about using the cup they picked out.

My doctor suggested diluting the formula like 3 scoops instead of 4 and then 2 scoops instead of 4 and then 1 scoop instead of 4. When we got down to 1 to 4, he started requesting it more. Then I went back to 2 scoops instead of 4. My son was almost 2 when he quit drinking from the bottle. He got down to fewer and fewer a day. Within a month, he no longer wanted it. Meanwhile, I kept offering him a straw style sippy cup with water in it to keep him hydrated. I offered the water to him when he was hot and thirsty from playing outside, etc. I modeled drinking from it a lot. Finally he tried it one day. His little eyes lit up whe he got some water.
There are other ways to get the dairy nutrition in your child, so it is not imperative that he switch over to milk. Just work the formula out of the diet and give him water to drink.
As for baby food. Let him feed himself. Give him the jar with a spoon and a plate of niblets. It is easier to eat with your fingers than a spoon, so hopefully he will choose the niblets.
If he has a milk allergy, does he have any other allergies? Maybe he is resistant to table food due to an allergy.

I would not try to make both changes at once. Pick one and work on it. When you have gotten where you want to be with that one, then work on the other. I would start with the bottle first, because it is easier to travel with baby food jars than it is to clean bottles on the go.
Good luck and have fun on your trip. Remember change is hard for us. It is hard for them, too. He has used a bottle as long as he can remember. It may be hard to let it go.

My boys were never fond of sippy cups and I tried numerous types and brands. Finally went to just a regular cup/glass and they mastered that just fine. Try a little bit of liquid in a small cup and let your son get some practice in as he will probably get more on himself than in his mouth at first. Once he is comfortable with the cup, he will be ready for learning about straws!

Part one, bottle issue:
Time to get rid of the bottle. At night you can give it to him, just fill it with water. All pediatric dentists agree to never let baby with teeth go to bed with milk. If he needs the rubber to soothe him to sleep ok, but just at bed and only water! Have you tried the sippy cup with the rubber spout...more like a nipple (Gerber makes a soft spout cup). It does sound like he is getting too many calories with the formula so I would cut back. Try giving him soy milk and back off the formula. Don't give him a bottle until after meal times, that should help free up his tummy for real food.

Barring a physical disorder (tongue tiedness for example) it is high time that your toddler do what you want him to when it comes to solid food. I wish you guys were going on your trip sooner...I actually find that times of turmoil or change are the best time to introduce new things like "forgetting the baby food." Your son is way too old not to be eating table foods and Maybe go out to eat a few times and "forget" to bring baby food. Give him fries, pieces of unbreaded chicken, cut up peeled hot dogs, peeled and quartered grapes...if he won't eat them, tell him ok, no food, sorry.

Good luck to you both.

i would 1st put him on soy milk and off the formula ,just dont have a bottle to give him he will get thirsty and drink from the cup ,put juice in it first if you are feeding him straight from the jar STOP,and just put food on a small plat he'll eat you have to teach him not the other way around
L.

In regards to breaking the bottle at bedtime, try water instead of milk. Once he knows he's not getting the "good stuff", he'll eventually quit. Not to mention its a risk factor letting him go down with one. Choking hazard and all.
My daughter is the same with sippy cups. Juice is fine from them, but milk has to be in the bottle. I've already started only giving her the bottle in the morning and at night, but during the day she doesn't get it and i've put her milk in a new bottle/sippy. You can find it at Babies R Us...it's a yellow bottle with small handles near the top and it comes with two different nipples: 1 is like a regular nipple to get baby used to the idea of a different bottle..the 2nd is a softer "sippy cup" style square nipple. This is the ONLY one she'll take milk from so try to find it.. hopefully it'll help you like it did me. It's a Nuby i believe. If you can't find it in Babies R Us, ask the clerks and describe what I've written. There are only a couple that come with the two nipples, but find the yellow one.
Good luck!

Hi S.!
Hi! With both my 3 and 18 month old boys on there first birthdays I broke the bottle by replacing them with a Sippy cup but with the soft tops. It worked with my 3 year old but the 18 month old was a little longer but soon I just got rid of them and he was just fine. I would have to say my daughter was probably hardest to break anything. My 18 month old is now finding every paci and this is hard to break but getting better. Hope this helps just let me know if u need and more ideas.

TTYS
S.

I'm not sure which nuby sippy you are using, but i found that the ones w/ the colored soft rubber lids...i think they come in blue, green and red...they are closer to a bottle than the others. my little guy took that, but wouldnt take the other nuby bottles. i would start diluting his milk more and more at night until you eventually just have all water. my little guy was ATTACHED to this sippy, then one day just quit taking it...i immediately threw them away and now he just takes a sippy or big boy cup at meals.....

good luck

Your trip is the perfect time to make the change. Both of my little ones did it this way. I even planned it. I just didn't bring any bottles, only sippy cups. Will he drink from a straw? If yes, then buy the sporty sippy cups instead, if you want. The only problem I find with the sippy straws is you need to buy the pipe cleaners in the "smoking" section of the store and wrap two of them together to get one "fat" pipe cleaner. Do not use the arts & crafts cleaners, they are not put together as well and will leave fuzz in the straw. They work for getting the holes in the sippy cups unclogged, too.

Maybe try the same thing with the food. Don't bring any baby food. He won't let himself starve, even though he will try to take control of the situation by refusing at first. Don't make an issue of it. Just put a few bites on his plate when you sit down to eat, don't mention that you don't have "his" food. If he doesn't eat don't try to force him. This is not a "battle" you want to start. If he tries the food, say that's a good "...", isn't? If he doesn't even try it, just have him sit until everyone's done, don't make an issue of trying the food. He'll get the hang of it. I had this problem with my son. He's 5 now and is becoming an adventurous eater now.

You could try Born Free sippy cups. I have 10 month old twins and they currently use these. They transitioned to these sippy cups from a bottle at 9 months with no fight. I had tried before with other sippy cups and they screamed. You can get these at Babies r us or newbornfree.com. To wean the bottle in bed try giving him one before bed and then lay him down. You could put water in it instead of formula and that might be less appealing to him. Good luck!

I would quit the bottle cold turkey. He may cry it out at night for a couple of nights but he will get over it. Also, I wouldn't worry about his milk intake so much anymore. At 18 months, they don't need that much milk and it just fills them up when they should be eating the table food. I don't know about the baby food thing, except some kids are very texture sensitive, so you may give a new texture with something he already likes. Good luck.

Hi S.,
I know this may seem harsh,but let him cry it out or begin diluting it with water! We just went through this same exact thing ( a sippy cup) with our 5 year old son. He has lots of tooth decay and is undergoing numerous visits to the dentist. The assistant is the one who suggested adding water to it a little each night. His was a comfort thing and I'm happy to say after about a month of really working with him, he is off of milk at night!!
Good luck and I know this will be hard, just hang in there and don't give up, you always the faithful MOM's of mamasource!
K.

We just started my 9 month old grandson on a 'thinkbaby' sippy cup. It has handles and the drink spout is shaped like the one on a sippy cup but it feels just like a bottle nipple. I think this is a good transition cup. The one bad thing about it is that it is not spill proof.

As far as the bedtime bottle goes, you may want to put water in it instead of milk or formula. He will probably kick the habit himself since it doesn't have the milk. If he doesn't give it up, at least his teeth won't rot.

Hi S.-

I don't know if this will help or not (you may already be trying this) but my daughter had a hard time giving up the bottle as well. In the end, we just tried to do it gradually. We still allowed her the bottle first thing in the morning and right before bed because these seemed to be her fussiest times and the hardest habits to get away from. During the day I did not give her a bottle. It was hard, but she did get it eventually. She always did better with the cup if it was something other than milk (or formula). Juice or water she was ok with being in a cup, but milk had to be in a bottle. Have you given your son water in a cup? Maybe if it's not his formula, he'll be more open to trying it. Once she was off the bottle during the day, we did away with the morning bottle and then quickly did away with the night time bottle as well.

The table food problem I don't have any experience with. Does he eat the baby food that has more texture, or is he only eating the really smooth baby food? If you haven't already, try the textured baby food. He probably will adjust in his own time. If he doesn't seem to be moving on to table foods, you can take him to a therapist who will work with him. Some kids just have a sensory issues with different textures and have trouble eating a variety of foods.

Good Luck,
K.

Some children you simply have to take the bottle from. You may go through a few hard nights but it will be well worth it to his little teeth in the long run. Give him a sippy before bed he will drink or not when he starts crying hand the sippy back to him. You will have to be consistant but after a few nights he will become adjusted to his new routine. Keep his little sippy setting on the dresser where he can see it is there when he wakes, you ay have to get up a time or so at night but this will break him. Good Luck. B. mother of 3 granmother of 10

hi
try giving him table food from a jar reduce bottle milk that is filling him up. offer table food first.

Forget the sippy cups. Teach him to drink from a straw. He will think it is fun. My kids did. First, put your finger on one end holding the liquid in and put the other end in his mouth and let a little out - giving him the idea. Then, once he's got the idea...don't let any out and make him suck. Once he has that down, then let him suck from the straw from the cup. Once you know he can, then only offer him his milk and juices that way during the day at least. You could still give him a bottle in the evening for now. Don't let him snack on anything either until he's finished his milk, etc. He'll get hungry enough...you will know that he is able to and therefore not hindering him...he will eat eventually. They have great "sippy" cups with straws if that's what you're wanting. But, even better, he'll be able to use any cup anywhere that offer straws, which is just about every place.