Help with Transition from Bottle

S.,

I understand the challenge. I have a 17 month old. He refused the sippy cups. A friend who has two grown girls recommended trying straws. The sucking action is the same as a bottle. It took a little practice, but my son got it. And it has been wonderful. It isn't messy and he holds the straw cups himself. So give it a try. Good luck.
S.

Hi S.. It might still be a little early to get your little girl to drink from a sippy cup. I didn't start until my son was two years old. The best way for us was to really go cold turkey on the bottle. One day I just put them away and let him go to the store with me and pick out some cups that he liked. He was unhappy a few times over not having the bottle, but once he realized that cups were the only thing he was going to get, he pretty much forgot about them. So I would wait a little while longer. Hope this helps!

My daughter had the same problem @ that age. It took lots and lots and lots of patience. And boy, it will be tested. I let my daughter cry all night cuz she wanted her bottle. It really helped! It will break your heart, but very effective. She stopped crying after the 3rd night. Never asked for bottle after that.

Its ok. Shde will eventually take it. You just have to keep offering it to her. She knows if she hold out and cries about it, she will get a bottle. Offer it to her more. Maybe add a little juice into the water. My son was 14 months when he got off his bottle and I was ok with that. Good Luck, its so hard to say No. J.

I know this might sound harsh, but when she gets thirsty enough she'll drink out of it. Here's what we did - My daughter never held her own bottle so up until almost 11 months old we were holding her bottle. She goes to a babysitter who keeps a few kids at her own home and up until about 10 months she was the only baby there. Then my babysitter got a new baby and she just didn't have the time to hold Sienna's bottle for her. She started giving her formula in her sippy (we had been offering it to her, but she would only occasionally drink juice out of it). Sure enough when she got thristy she would drink from the sippy! We went through a week or so days of her being a little fussy and not drinking quite as much, but pretty soon she was drinking out of her sippy all day! I still gave her a bottle at bedtimem, but a few weeks ago she started refusing that and just wanted the cup. She still likes for me to hold her while she's drinking though - and that's fine with me! Good luck. It will be a challenge, but I think the key is to just put the bottle up and not give in. Also, wanted to say we used the Nuk soft nipples to begin with and the cups have handles so it's easier for her to hold.

I had this same problem w/my now 19 mo old daughter. This may not be the answer you're looking for, but my advice is to just keep offering the sippy and encouraging her to drink from it. My daughter refused to really drink from a sippy & I was so disappinted (and frustrated) because I wanted her weaned by a year old. Then one day out of the blue, right around 13 mos, she started refusing her bottle. I gave her a sippy & she's never had a bottle since. It could be the same way w/your daughter. Just hang in there & keep doing what you're doing. She'll probably come around very soon!

Hi S.,

I have been where you are :)
My dr. recommended switching at around 1 year old. The longer you wait the harder it is!
I started by just switching one of his daytime bottles to a sippy cup. He refused it, but I just let it sit there. I didn't give in and give him a bottle. He would eventually get hungry enough and cranky enough he would drink it. At first it was just a few sips from the sippy cup, but after a few days he realized I wasn't giving in, he would drink from it. I would leave it where he could get to it and not give him anything else. Took about a week to switch one feeding. Once he was comfortable with that, then I would switch another. The night bottle was the LAST to go and that one was hard.
Trick is just to not give in. I did use soft tipped sippy cups vs. the harder kind.
Good Luck

My husband and I went through this same stuggle with our son right around a year. Our pediatrician told us the best method is to go cold turkey with the bottle. She told us it may make for a couple difficult days, but in the end it would be the fastest transition. My son turned a year at the beginning of Nov. and we waited until Thanksgiving time when both my husband and I would be home for 5 days. We started it at bedtime by only offering the sippy cup. The first night was rough, but by the end of the first whole day with no bottle offered or visible our son had adjusted. I have to admit we were very skeptical, but amazed and how quickly the transition happened. Good luck!

Don't stress if she doesn't transition right away, but do keep trying!! (my sister in law has her 18 month old drinking cow;s milk out of a bottle still! It drives me bananas, but that's another story!) You're doing good by trying to get her to drink out of the sippy cup. Keep formula in the bottle ONLY! Don't put milk or juice or other stuff in there. At a year old and when you and your doctor feel it's right, transition her off of formula onto cow's milk. You could do it cold turkey or gradual mix formula and milk till she's adjusted to all milk. But if you do, do it in a sippy cup, not the bottle. Once she's off of formula don't give her anything but milk and water to drink. If she doesn't drink the milk, offer her other dairy items and vitamin D products to make sure she gets all her daily nutrients. Keep trying and don't give up, or give in! Good luck.

A. B

I too bought every sippy cup known to man and had no luck. I finally tried giving my son a cup with a straw. At first I held the cup for him, put breastmilk in it (because he loves mommymilk) and put the straw in his mouth. He figured out how to drink from it pretty quickly and started holding it for himself in a couple of days. It was hard to get him to give up his bottle before bed so before bed, I held him just like I was about to give him a bottle but instead I held the cup and put the straw in his mouth. As long as I was cuddling him like usual, and giving him his usual mommy milk, he did much better. Eventually, he stopped needing me to hold him when he drank milk before bed and now he is learning how to drink from a regular cup (no lid).

Be patient. Keep offering the sippy and let her explore it. She's has had a bottle her whole life and that is all she knows. My boys slowly transitioned to the sippy cup. One of them would have a bottle first thing in the morning and then drink from a sippy cup the rest of the day. She'll eventually give up the bottle on her own. Good luck!

I'm a mom and gma.I have found over the yrs, that children are ready at dif times. Give her a little longer, and keep giving her water in the sippy.

S., this is what I did with all three of my children....after you wash each bottle with nipples and caps....pack them in a box and put them in the attic. Yes it will be a strain and the crying will go for about 2 days, but it will be worth it in the long run. Once she realizes that the bottles are gone bye, bye, she'll accept whatever you put in the sippy cups. I guarantee it does not cause mental anguish, I just asked my 13 yr old, and advise you try this on a weekend so you do not have to get up early the next morning....Good luck and stay with it, it's tough love from here on out!!!

Have you tried the cups with straws instead of the regular spouts? Mine wouldn't take a sippy cup either, but one day at a restaurant he saw me drinking my water with a straw and wanted to do that, so I gave him drinks from my straw by holding my finger over it and letting him suck the water ut. He loved it so I went out and got him the straw kind. They say they are for older kids, but there is no reason littler babies can't use them as long as they can figure them out. I use the Munchkin ones, you can get them at Target and sometimes Walmart. All the parts can go in the dishwasher if you have one of those baskets, and there are no yucky valves to deal with.

Maybe since she is doing water in the sippy, it has something to do with how thick the liquid is. Sippies are hard work for them, and formula is a lot thicker than water. There are Take N Toss cups that are pretty cheap, and they have no valves. So the liquid is easier to get out. But they will leak. But maybe that would be an easier transition cup, at least until she is on whole milk and not formula,then you can go to the other kind.

Good luck!

dont give her formula. she should be eating solid food now and does not need formula. and she doesnt really need milk either. humans are the only animal that drink milk after they are weaned. dont freak out about it water is best as long as shes eating well

Hi! My daughter, now 3, had the exact same problem. I made her warm cocoa in the mornings. I bought Nestle cocoa and put in 1/4 of a teaspoon with whole milk, just enough to change the taste a little. It worked really well. Soon after, I just gave her warm milk for a few months. It did take her a long time to drink it cold. By the way, we weren't finished w/the nightime bottle until she was almost 18 months old. Don't put so much pressure on yourself to do everything by the book.