Recent Doctor Visit

I agree completely, first 20 oz. is plenty of milk because he should be getting full on food not just milk. As well you shhould have started the cup at 9 months, but I would start ASAP, and the reason for both cup and No milk at night is Milk Rought, (sp?) Anyways his teeth will all need to be capped if he keep's drinking milk from a bottle especially at night, when the milk sits on the teeth. I have seen this so many times. Good Luck again. There are a ton of different types of cups out there.

C.,

I was told the same thing with my daughter at her 18 month visit. My daughter has a thin frame and the reason my pediatrician told me to try and wean down the milk a bit (she was drinking almost 60-100 oz a day as opposed to the 25-30 he wanted her at) was that the milk will make her so full she would not want to even try eating. Once we curbed her milk intake a bit, she would eat meals with the family and try new things.
Couldnt begin to tell you if the milk causes anemia - except that anemia is an iron deficiency..
When we got rid of formula, the bottles were thrown away. Trust me it is soo much easier to transition to a sippy cup anyway.. bottles are smelly and time consuming.
My daughter is 3 now, and still gets milk at bedtime.. I just dont allow her to fall asleep with milk in her mouth, as that can lead to dental problems down the road. Maybe give half the amount and sit with your son and read a book or calm him at night, and take the cup as soon as he is finished. Just some thoughts.

Good Luck!

Hey C....
I never heard that too much milk can cause Anemia..interesting one to look up I guess. As for the sippy, it's pretty common practice nowadays to get rid of the bottle at 12months. As for the amount of milk..really after the age of 1 really they only need milk at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Give more water and juice for inbetween meals. If he still needs something at night then give him a sippy of water a little bit before bed. At this age they need to be able to go to bed without any aid of a bottle. In the long run getting rid of that bottle asap will be your best bet, especially the one at night. milk at night contains sugars which decay teeth. Plus the bottle also causes harm to his teeth which are being established.Any problems with tooth decay and movement in the teeth now will impact their teeth later on as well. I know it's hard to get rid of them bottles but it's something we all gotta do. Just go slowly about the transition. Good luck to you!

My doctor told me the same thing when my daughter was 2, and I listened but did it gradually on our own terms. I don't think that you need to make a drastic overnight change, but start limiting to 3 bottles a day, then 2..and so on. You could also use smaller bottles several times a day. Also, don't take away the nighttime bottle, just limit the daytime and supplement with diluded juice or water! Sometimes all they want is to suck on something. Maybe wait until 18 months for the sippy cup, because that's when my daughter was ready and it didn't seem to matter.It'll work out, don't worry when it happens because sooner or later it will:)

hi C...

I think your Dr is full of it! For anyone to say to you that you give your baby to much milk is a horrible feeling ( I was told that too, not by the dr though) Anyway, I told his dr.

1. He's not interested in the sippy, he said no biggie...i liked that answer.
2. I said, he's not big into table food..the dr told me the same thing....
He said, you need to remember, your son is still a baby, if he wants the bottle, give it to him. You cant make your your baby do what you want!!

Then the dr said, dont worry about it....when he's ready he will do it....no matter what that might be! I love his dr. It's not about what we are do 'wrong', it's about what we do that is right...So if your not comfy with doing what your dr said, DONT! Always remember your the mom and you know what is best! =] Hang in there C....its about people telling you, "yout doing this wrong".....I say, your dont know my children, I DO!!

Good Luck Girl your going to need it!!

I just wanted to let you know how this much calcium (not milk) can cause anemia - possibly.

Both calcium and iron need stomach acid to process properly and become absorbed. If you give this much calcium to your child it is possible that the iron your child gets will not get absorbed -- as the two nutrients cannot be absorbed at the same time.

Your doctor should have told you how he came to this conclusion though, instead of just saying it matter of fact.

starting the sippy cup is a good idea, for the purpose of his tooth develpoment. he should be seeing a dentist by 1, and they will say the same thing. it's bad for the teeth if they are still on a bottle at 1, or beyond. the ONLY sippy cup that worked with my daughter was the "Nubby". it is clear plastic, with a silicone spout, that is soft like a nipple, but shaped like a sippy spout. it is spill-proof, just like the rest. they usually run about 2 or 3 bucks for a 2 pack. too much milk MAY (NOT DEFINATE!) cause anemia, if you continue to give him this much milk. try to cut back, or dilute it. 2 parts water, 1 part milk. he should be getting most of his nutrients from solid foods at this point, and right now he is mostly getting milk.... not very nutritionally sound. talk to your ped about starting him on a multi-vitamin supplement while you are trying to wean him off the milk. this way he is getting the nutrients he needs, and you don't need to worry too much about weaning him so fast. also, try to get him to drink more water during the day, so that he gets used to it, and won't have such a hard time drinking it at bedtime. if that doesn't work, dilute the milk as much as you can (as much as he will tolerate) and make sure to brush his teeth FIRST THING in the morning. i had alot of the same issues with my daughter at this age, and now she is 4 years old, very well developed, very smart, and has never had probs with her teeth.

I don't know about milk causing anemia, but I do know that too much milk causes constipation. I too, think that is too much milk. My kids got at most, 4 4oz sippy cups the entire day (most of the time, I gave them 2 sippy cups a day of 4 oz). The rest of the day, they got water or watered down apple juice to prevent constipation.
As for the sippy cup thing, I think that is up to the preference of the child. My son flat out refused to be transferred to a sippy cup. Thankfully, I was able to find some transition cups that were sippy tops with bottle bottoms and that got him interested. It definitely doesn't hurt to get him off of bottles.
As for the bedtime routine...I know it seems scary, but having a bottle to sleep with isn't the best idea, though it's a great easy fix for bedtime issues. I just weaned my son off of bottles at night (I learned from that and never gave them to my daughter once I had her) with giving him less milk and then water and then nothing. He may cry for a bit, but he'll go to sleep. They really shouldn't be going to bed with anything to drink.

Hi there!
I have two boys...5yrs and 3yrs. I can say that we stopped giving bottles between 12-14 months old. As soon as they were done with formula, we were done with bottles. We did this by giving less and less milk in each bottle and moving to sippy cups during the day only. When we got down to two ounces of milk before bed, I stopped bottles. It may be rough for the first couple days, but he will get used to it; consistency is the key. Also, you can try mixing a very small amount of milk with more water and weening him that way at night. I do agree with the doctor that 4-6 bottles a day is too much for a 12 month old. He should be eating more solids so as not to need as much milk (does that make sense?) Is your son on formula or are you just giving him cows milk? I do know milk at bedtime is not good for his teeth, especially if he is going to sleep with a bottle. It can cause tooth rot, you can try giving him just a little bit of milk and more water as I mentioned before. hopefully that will help him wean a little easier.

I hope this helps a little. Its been a while since I had babies and bottles, but I do remember clearly that we were done with bottles by their first birthday and it was all sippy cups. You can also try just giving him a sippy cup with water at bedtime. It won't hurt his teeth and it may help in weening him (hopefully less screaming But just remember to be consistent!

Take care
S.

My twin boys just turned 2 on 7/8 and they went off the bottle at 10.5 months. Our doctor also said no bottle after 1 yr of age. My guys love the Gerber sippy cus that change color. They come in 2 sizes. Try starting with the smaller cup...mine use that for milk at lunch/dinner and then they use the big ones for juice in the AM and water throughout the day!
As for no milk at bed...I stopped that at about 10 months too....just buy a seperate cup for the crib (I use the larger Gerber cup) keep it in the crib for water...as long as they are hydrated that's all that matters. Do you play lullabyes in his room at night to lull him to sleep?
I play a cd continuously through the night and it helps them fall asleep!!
Hope this helps!!!

Milk is not as important as parents think. Fresh fruits and vegetables are more important. We are the only country that emphasizes milk as an important part of our children's diet. Milk is a meal in itself because of the amount of fat and calories. If you are feeding your child that much milk than your child won't be hungry for food. A child should be taken off a bottle and pacifier ASAP because of potential tooth decay and improper tooth development. A child needs to learn to fall asleep without liquid. Try lying down with your child at bedtime instead. Here are a few resources that might help you:

http://www.askdrsears...
http://www.notmilk.co...
http://members.tripod...
http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/fn1.asp
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t040600.asp

First off- YOU'RE the MOM, he's the doctor! Listen to his advice, but do what feels right to YOU and your son's father.

My son was drinking about a half gallon a day at one point... before he even TURNED 2. I was still BFing him until 18 months, and when the BFing stopped, it took 2-3 9oz cups of milk to get him to sleep... TWICE a DAY! even at just 2, that's still 36oz, BEFORE including meals. My ped said to try to increase the dairy rich foods in exchange for the milk, but not to stress about it at his age. He also advised to "thin" the milk with water for bed/nap and transition him to water only that way. DIDN'T WORK!! I could give him about 90% water, 10% milk, but straight water was a no go! It wasn't until about 27m that he would except 1 cup of milk, followed by water. (He's now 2y 7m) My ped also told me that getting him off a bottle is not as important at this age if you are still bfing. (Don't know if you did/are.)

You might try putting REAL milk in a sippy and plain water in a bottle to see if he's willing to switch. Please, DON'T add any flavor sauces to it, as you will be making your life misserable later with the extra sugar it adds. Another trick that MIGHT work is going back to the 6oz bottles. Many times they keep drinking it BECAUSE they have it, not because they need it.

In the end, you need to be the judge of what's right for your child. The doctor's job is to tell you what "pediatric guidelines" suggest. SUGGEST!!! Not REQUIRE, SUGGEST! BTW~ I've never heard of it causing Anemia, but if so, ask about an iorn suplement.

I hope I've put you at ease. I'm sure you're a great Mom~ J.

The reason you don't want to give your child too much milk is because there is not enough iron in it. Enfamil has a "Next Step" formula for 9 to 24-month-old babies. The reason for no milk at bed time is because milk has a lot of sugar in it. It will take no time at all for you child to develop tooth decay on his baby teeth (that can effect his permanent teeth) if the milk from a bottle pools around his teeth at night. Babies will continue to get up at night for more milk if it's offered. I give my baby a bottle of water to take to bed. If he wakes up, he knows he's got something, but nothing worth getting up over. Also, it won't spoil during the night if it's in there for hours. I have been giving my baby a sippy cut since he was 6-months-old, but I don't know if he'll give his bottles up at age 1. I'm thinking the earlier we try to get rid of the bottle, the less of an attachment they will have to it if we let them have it another year. If you think it's hard to stop now, just think of how hard it will be at age 2! Maybe just slowly reduce the number of bottles per day, so it's easier on both of you.

Don't you hate it when a doctor tells you to do something, but doesn't bother with a reason why or how!!!!!!!!
Almost all doctors now recommend your baby be off the bottle at one year. The most important reason as to why you should listen is when you give the baby a bottle at bedtime it ruins their teeth. It is possible that their teeth come in rotten. Another reason to give sippy cups instead of bottles is it gets them off of the habit of the bottle now, instead of when their 5. (My sister and Aunt both had a bottle until 5 years of age) Also the sippy cup teaches him to be a big boy, and not use the bottle with the extra calories in it and carry it around the day. the cup is for when you are sitting down and drinking. I got a really cool water sipper for my daugther at the grocery store for less then $2 and it attched to any bottle of water and that's what she gets when we leave the house (she's 7 months and breastfed).
There are many ways of getting him to sleep, you're probaly going to have to let him cry it out, but that's better now then later when he can get out of his crib when he's mad that you're trying to wean him. :)
With all that said, again my sister and Aunt had a bottle until they were 5 and started school. I think it's stilly, but they have all their teeth and are realtively responsible adults :)

Don't stress too much. I agree that too much milk will lessen his nutrition from "real" foods - thereby leading to Anemia??? that may be a stretch, but try to get him to eat real food instead of drinking so much milk. I let both of my kids drink from a bottle until 2 - I think that is a cultural thing. In Europe, the kids drink from bottles until they are four. Do what feels right for you. Milk at bedtime... I broke the rule on this one, too, BUT, the tooth decay thing does come into play. I started giving milk earlier than bedtime, and brush teeth before putting them down. His teeth are an increasing concern as he gets more of them!!

I say do what feels right for you. But also know this - kids are pretty resilient, and after the initial protest (and there will be a very long loud protest) whenever you change something, they get over it! Really, they do. Just stick to your guns with whatever decision you make and don't waver. It is WAY more important for your son to know that when you say no, you mean NO. That will (in the long run) help him to understand the rules and lead a happy, secure childhood.