Sippy Cup Help!!!

My pediatrician suggested that we transition as well but my daughter did not do well either. After discussing it with my pediatrician, I ended up just going cold turkey. I was prepared for her not consuming enough fluids for a few days and after about three days she was fine with her sippy cup. I am very glad that I stuck it out. THe older they get the more attached they become and I could not imagine putting off weaning. However, I truly believe you should trust your instincts and do what you think is best for your child! Good luck!

I may be wrong, but I strongly believe in following your child as much as you can. She's still young, so it wouldn't be "awful" if she still had a bottle. Maybe if you make it fun and let her decide, it won't be so hard for her. She'll do it when she's ready...good luck. Keep me posted!

I wouldn't know since my son never took the bottle. In all honesty, he started drinking from open faced cups (with us holding it for him of course) before he did the sippy cup.

I know with all matters of weening, (parent's bed to crib, crib to bed, bottle to cup, breast to cup...) there is always going to be a struggle in the beggining. But she will get used to it, children don't always like change. It may be tough for a week or so, but once the bottle is gone, she will take to the sippy cup and things will work out.

We still give our 14 month old a bottle morning and night because she won't take enough in her sippy cup. Have you tried different sippy cups? We use the Nuby with a straw and the gerber with the soft tip. Just be sure you are brushing the milk off her teeth before she goes to sleep. Good Luck!!!

I also had a problem transitioning my second to a sippy cup. I actually tried starting him at a year old to drink milk out of a cup and stopped giving in when he was 15 months old. He would drink water out of a cup all day but if I put milk in a sippy cup he would actually take the cup,throw it and walk away screaming. It took over a week of not giving him a bottle and he finally gave in and now drinks out of a cup no problem. I really had to bulk up on the calcium items like yogurt, cheese etc. during that time period. I say stick it out and don't give in. Good Luck

Hi H.,

I'd say if it's stressing you and your daughter out, let her have the bottle. I can't remember exactly when my son finally fully transitioned to the sippy, but it was pretty close to 2 if not soon after. At first I worried a lot about it and then my mother-in-law told me that she once thought that my sister-in-law would walk into kindergarten with a bottle in her mouth because it took her so long to give hers up. She said that I should just let my son go at his own pace and eventually he would take to the sippy cup as good as the bottle. She was 100% right about my son. When he was ready, there were no tears and we were able to pack up those bottles and never look back.

And in regards to my sister-in-law, she has perfectly straight teeth, never had braces, and she's a highly successful corporate financial and commercial real-estate attorney (she's 36 now). So it would seem keeping her on the bottle for as long as my mother-in-law did didn't seem to do her any harm at all. I mean some mothers breastfeed well into toddlerhood so what's the difference when it comes to a bottle? Each kiddo is different and they all go at their own pace. Good luck! :-)

I have a 20 month old that is still on full toddler formula, bottle in the morn, one (sometimes) in the aft, and one at night. I spoke to my ped and said that was fine as long as she was getting her calcium from milk or formula. She does drink water all day with sippy cups and juice sometimes. My ped. said kids go at their own pace and that his twins didn't let go of their bottle 'till they were 2 1/2 and he was fine with it. Save yourself the grief...Smiles L.

If she's not getting the required amount of liquid's due to not having her bottle, then let her have the bottle a little longer.
I have had 2 now that had the bottle until around 18 mths and they just seemed more ready to not have the bottle by 18 mths. It was just a more peaceful transition by then. : )
1 is still so young and it really will not hurt her at all to have it a little longer.
Just make sure she's still getting used to using the cup during the day.
I don't see anything wrong with using the bottle past 1 and every child eventually gets off the bottle!
I would just let her do it on her own time.
My pedi said at a year it really doesn't hurt them to have it past 1, they just recommend to start trying to get them off....slowly weaning them off.
I would give her a couple more months on it. Then it will be easier to do the cup full time.
Good luck to you!!

If she keeps one bottle a day for another couple months, she'll be fine. I have a friend whose daughter kept a night time bottle until she was 15 or 16 months old.

On the fluid intake -- she's fine. She's not drinking much from the sippy cup because she prefers the bottle and she's holding out for it! She's not in danger of dehydration as long as she's drinking that morning and evening bottle. When she's fully switched over to sippy cups, she will drink more form them because it's her only option. Sure, she may hold out for longer than you think she should (toddlers can be insanely willful, as I'm sure you remember from your first child!), but she will eventually "get it" and drink from the cup.

As far as the crankiness, if she really was attached to the bottle, you'll draw out the "withdrawal" and possibly increase her anxiety about it by gradually reducing the number of bottles. Cold turkey is probably the best way in that case. Also, right around the 1 yr birthday, they're getting molars. Those things really hurt and they are slower to come in than the other teeth. This could be the cause of her crankiness rather than the bottle issue.

I transitioned on our own schedule. I slowly started replacing formula with milk until his bottles were all milk. Then I started cutting out a bottle at a time. He didn't care for his morning bottle so I cut that one first. He just turned 15 months and I just cut out his afternoon bottle. And in another month or so I will cut his nighttime bottle. I made sure he was drinking through a sippy cup well enough before cutting out his afternoon bottle. Now is a little champ and loves his sippy cup. Do what you feel is best. There is no reason for you both to be miserable. If she isn't ready then so be it. I think my son is ready to stop his nighttime bottle but I'm not ready yet. I cherish that part of the day - when I get to cuddle him and help him relax to go to sleep. Good Luck!