Need to Break My 2 Year Old from the Bottle

when my daughter was 2 I told her it was time to get rid of her bottles that she was a big girl now and big girls didn't need bottles, they were yucky! Then I asked her if she wanted to throw them away and told her that she would never have them again. I then stood with her at the trash can and handed her the bottles, she threw each one away herself and with each bottle we said "Bye, bye bottle!" When bedtime came and she asked for her bottle, I reminded her of what she had done, she said bye bye bottle and we never talked about it again. She understood they were gone because she threw then away.

J.,
My son was 2 1/2 before we could break him of the bottle because we also have twins. He regressed and stopped potty training and using sippy cups.
What we did was give him only water in the bottle at night for a week and then cut it off and exchanged the sippy in its place if he needed it. He would have it in bed with him, so he could just grab it when needed. Now he only uses a sippy to fall asleep with. It took us four days to break him of the bottle this way.
Good luck.
K.

Hi J. - I can sympathize...it's so hard with two little ones that you want to do just about anything to get them to stop crying and start sleeping.

Here's my suggestion - Cold turkey. You know it's not good for their teeth...and they don't NEED the nutrition and they both need to learn to calm themselves down. I would just eliminate it completely - no weaning - just remove it. It'll be a really hard week - but I'm sure they'll both be fine.

You'll want to do this before #3 comes - you'll be soooo happy once you do!!

CONGRATS on the new baby-to-be! Hang in there - you can do this!

Fill it with water! My sons hated when I gave them sippycups with water to take to bed. When they're at dad's house, their dad gives them a sippycup of milk to take to bed and it has created a very bad habit. But they only get water with me and throw it out of their cribs and after a few whiny minutes, end up falling asleep without it. I make sure they drink a cup of milk prior to bath time because after getting dressed and storytime it's lights off, so they have had their tummies settled with milk and don't need it while they fall asleep. Good luck!

Hi J., It is my understanding that going to bed with bottles can contribute to tooth decay. Try only putting water in the bottle, (maybe 2-3 ounces). Usually will grow disinterested eventually. At first, will be upset, probably. But tell him or her that's all that you will put in the bottle, for bedtime. He or she will learn that you mean business, if you stick to your 'guns'. ha. Tell him or her, it is bad for his teeth. And that's it. Kids will always have the 'upper hand', if you allow them to, right? J. C.

When we were switching from a bottle to a sippy cup the doctor recommended we fill the bottle with water and the sippy cup with milk....that way, the child still has the option of the bottle. Ours took a few sips on the bottle, tested the sippy cup and liked the milk. Then he went back to the bottle for a few sips, but decided he really wanted the milk. He switched to the sippy cup for good.

So, I recommend that you fill her bottle with water - that way, she can still have the bottle if she wants for comfort. But chances are, she'll ditch that pretty quickly.

I agree with the "cold turkey". It seems harsh and yes she WILL cry AND scream! It is rough at first but that's how I broke all my kids. My son was over 3 (blush) when we got rid of his. I let my kids watch me throw the bottles away and we said goodbye to them and tied the trash bag up and took it out. And actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. They do cry at first and ask for it but it usually only lasted a few days, a week at the most. Don't give in, be strong and it will work. Good luck! And congrats on the baby to be. :)

I don't know if it's much help, but have you tried a sippy cup. My son was broke from the bottle by the time he was one year old. As soon as he was able to use a sippy cup he wanted nothing to do with a bottle. As he gets older he uses the sippy less and less at night. Another way is to just not give it to her. She might cry for the first few nights but she'll get used to not having it. This is what I had to do to break my son from the passy.

Good Luck
A.

When you say they go to bed with a bottle, do you mean they have the bottle in bed with them? If so, both children should be weaned from this as soon as possible. It can be very damaging to the teeth(due to acids and sugars sitting on the teeth too long), and can pose a choking hazard. The two-year-old will likely be the harder of the two to break of the habit. So I would start with the nine-month-old.

Try giving the nine-month-old the final bottle of the night, just before bedtime, while still up. Then just put the baby to bed, and let the fireworks fly. I know that this will make for some unpleasant evenings for a few nights. But it will pass. It would be a bit easier if the pacifier was an option. But, perhaps you can try offering a security object. My son slept with a bunny hand puppet until he was 3 and a half. And I bet he would still if he had not lost it. When bunny got lost, we had about 4-5 nights of difficulty getting him to bed. But, in the end, they WILL sleep.

Now, with the two-year-old, it might be a bit more difficult. Is she drinking from a cup during the day? If so, that's a good start. Only allow a bottle before putting her down for nap and bedtime. After a week of getting this routine down, take away the nap bottle, and replace it with offering a cup of something to drink before going to take a nap. Then, after about another week, take away the bottle all together. It's best to not even make the bottle an option after taking it away from her. This will bring some very big, and likely loud, protests. I wish there were an easier way. But, as stressful as this will be for you, it is about the only way to get through it.

My advice to you is , just put water in it.It won't hurt their teeth and eventually they won't want "just water" in it.I'm assuming you give milk in it?

I have a 1 year old son and I got his bottle away by putting nothing but water in it. my first son I had to give him a snack before bed oatmeal was his favorite he always woke up hungry

Water only in a nubby brand (with the silicone nipply thingy) sippy cup.