Taking Away the Bottle

Can you switch to water instead of milk? He probably shouldnt be having the milk before bed. Maybe having water instead of milk will make him lose interest.

If it makes you feel any better...my daughter, also 22 months, is still on the bottle when she is with us. At the sitter she has a cup all day but the second I pick her up she starts asking for the bottle. She throws a major fit when she doesn't get it. We have held out before but the crying doesn't stop. I have tried all kinds of cups for her just trying to entice her into it at home and nothing seems to work. So....hopefully you get some good advise that we could both use.

P. A

Hi - we were in the exact same situation until just a few weeks ago. I went to my daughters 2 year appointment and the dr told me it was time to get rid bottles. She too was fine with sippys during the day and only had a bottle in the AM & PM. After being lectured on why it was bad, I decided to go home and get rid of the bottles. Be sure to put the bottles out of sight, my daughter looked for them at first and was fine when she realized they were gone. She definitely drinks more milk and is done much faster than she did with a bottle. Her favorite sippy is the Born free kind.

We were also concerned about what to do in the middle of the night for the rare times when only a warm bottle will get her back to sleep but so far a sip of water (from a sippy of course!!!) has done the trick.

I really wish I hadnt stressed so much about making the transition away from the bottles and had done it ages ago, it was no big deal.

Hope this helps!

I had a simular problem with my son. He was still drinking from a bottle at bedtime and in the morning until he was 18 months. It was more for my husband and me then for our son, since he drank from a sippy cup the rest of the day. We found that going cold turkey worked the best. We replaced the bottle time with brushing his teeth. We had a few days when he wanted the bottle, but he soon started loving brushing his teeth and forgot about the bottle. Now when he wakes up in the morning he runs to the bathroom to brush his teeth. The same things goes at night! Best of luck! You can do it!! :)

My son was off all bottles except the bedtime one at 15 mos. I tried sooner than that but he was not ready. 15 mos seemed to be the best time for him.
You have to start slow if he has 5 bottles a day then you slowly start with 4 a day and so on. The last 2 to go are the first am and the bedtime ones. It was actually pretty easy for us to get rid of all the bottles and even the first am one but the bedtime one is another story! He is almost 18 months and still has a bedtime one. I tried last week to take it away and the first night he went to sleep ok but then woke up in the middle of the night and had a very hard time going back to sleep (took hours) the next day he ended up with a cold (not a good time to take the bottle away). So we will try again very soon once this cold is gone. I will let you know how that goes. I guess the key is to go gradually don't take every bottle away cold turkey!!!! Like I said take one away a week until you are at only the bedtime one. Also does he use a pacifier? That helped my son get through it a little better. I only let my son have the pacifier at bedtime and naps though.
Good luck! Also for the first am bottle when you try taking that away give him milk in a sippy (it will take a while, he may only take one or two sips and that is it. But don't worry he will eventually drink the whole thing).

Hey Jen, I myself have a son (second child) who still drinks from the bottle, he is 19 months old. like your son, he likes it warm and especially morning and night. Ya know what, my opinion is this, --- he won't go to school with it. when he is ready I'm sure he will let me know. I have pondered this issue and have realized that because he is my last baby, I am probably the one who is reluctant to having him grow out of this stage. So I do not pressure him and I think we both will be better off just relaxing and enjoying each moment with him as it comes. L. C.

I tend to agree with the cold turkey method. My first child never liked the bottle and we just stopped it at 11mo old. But my 2nd child, never had a paci, so WE kept her with the bottle longer. She was about 15mo old, she was on a sippee cup all day and 1 bottle at night. I just cold turkey threw out all but one emergency (LOL) bottle, and just stopped them and replaced the nightime routine with a warm sippee cup of milk. Surprisingly, she didnt mind at all, and never asked or looked for a bottle!!! Try it out. p.s. I did throw out that last bottle!!
Best of Luck

I took my sons bottle away cold turkey. It was rough a day or two but he started drinking from a cup when he realized I wasn't goign to give him a bottle.
I know lots of moms who still gave their 2 year old sbottles even when the kids drank from a cup. I'ld try to fit in some extra snuggle time in the morning and night when he seems to need the comfort. I also let my son pick out a new sippy cup with a straw in it(prevents spills)

My son was the same way and I feared ending the bottle! I read to get rid of the bottles in order of least importance. We dropped the one at naptime first, then the one at bedtime last. At naptime, he was OK. At night, we switched to milk from a sippy cup in his room, then the sippy cup in the kitchen before going to his bedroom, etc. Eventually, he disconnected the bottle from going to sleep. Getting rid of the bottle is big. The sucking/nipple is very comforting. Make sure you keep the other night time rituals in place to distract him-- like cuddling, reading, rocking, etc. Once we moved to milk in a sippy cup, our little guy eventually lost interest. We also kept a water bottle on his night stand in case he woke and wanted something to drink.

It has always been my experience that quitting cold turkey is the easiest way for children. You said that you are worried about the time that he's looking for that comfort - remember, you provide him with the comfort, not the bottle. Replace the bottle with extra hugs, an extra bedtime story, more 1:1 time with you. I have 3 children and cold turkey always worked best. The first day or two were tough, but then they got over it and moved on. Good luck!

Dear J.,

What has worked for us for any major transition is to do it gradually. I found a sippy cup that my son finally liked (Playtex soft spout) and I would put all his milk in it and offer it with his food. Whatever he didn't finish in the cup would go in a bottle (he would see me do this) and then I would give it to him. Eventually he started drinking more form the cup than from the bottle and one morning he didn't ask or look for the bottle so we didn't offer it. When that happened for two days in a row I put away all the bottles. We didn't ask if he wanted it either...
This all took about 2 months. You could also after a few weeks change the nipple in the bottle to a slower flow. That was our backup plan.

Good luck,
A.

hi J.,
my son nursed at night (still does!) and developed horribly cavities - similar to kids falling asleep with bottle... the sugars in the milk break down, etc etc. Long story short was very traumatic for me and challenging for our son who had dental surgery at 3 years old, one tooth removed and many fillings. they have to do it in the hospital under anesthesia this young. So not to scare you, but brush brush brush!! Even after he falls asleep. Institute a special Water-Only bottle that he drinks from (we use a regular water bottle kept next to the bed) after having his milk- even this little thing can help swish his mouth somewhat cleaner... at least this was our dentist's advice (also to brush with wet washcloth on their teeth if they are asleep)... anything to not have milk in his mouth be the last thing before falling asleep. it is still challenging to me since my son still nurses. but good luck.

Yes. You should absolutely do cold turkey and just deal with the tantrums that might occur. If your child responds better to warnings and prep, then you can say today is the last day for the bottle - we're going to send them to the babies that need them - or however you'd word it. That way the reminder can be - "remember, we sent all the bottles to the babies that needed them... they are so happy that you shared (or something like that)... " and then just provide a cup or nothing. His choice. Guaranteed if he really wants the milk, he'll take it from the cup. The longer you wait, the harder he'll take it - and not to mention the DRASTIC harm it can do to his mouth formation and palate structure - thereby affecting his speech production - and possibly effective chewing/swallowing patterns as an older child and adult. I'm a speech-language pathologist and I see the effects ALL the time when people allow prolonged usage of bottles, pacifiers, and thumb sucking (which is harder to control of course). Good luck - YOU CAN DO IT!

Does he have a luvie or special stuffed toy now? If not get him into one, it will help. Ex: My son loves Magenta from Blues Clues so Magenta goes with us EVERYWHERE. If he is upset or gets hurt on the playground, he give Magenta a "special hug" to make HER feel better. (because obviously if he fell, she fell too) It helps! Good Luck to you.

Eh..my daughter had a bottle until after her 2nd bday...well after. We went cold turkey and that seemed to be the best approach. We also got her play bottles for her baby doll which seemed to help. I think its harder on us then the child b/c we expect a major breakdown from the child- that really didnt happen with us.
Good luck!
S

My daughter was still on the bottle for nap/bedtime at 22 months too. she drank out of a cup during the day. i think it was a comfort thing too. i ended up taking the bottle away and giving her a nuby (walmart) with her drink in it and after 2 month switched to all cups. i slowly took it away during nap then worked at bedtime. by 2 years old she was totally off the bottle. im not the type to go cold turkey because i tried it once with her and it killed me to see her cry like that. everyone is different though.

also it is really not a good idea to give juice/milk before going to sleep. we also gave water.

i also bought her a taggie blanket and she rubs it while she's trying to fall asleep and that is her comfort item now.

btw how does you baby go to sleep at daycare, do they give him a bottle at nap?

I think yes, he should be on a cup all the time.. He doesn't need a cup of milk before bed either.. at this point, 3 cups of milk and either water or juice for snack should cover it. Hugs and special toys should be his comfort now.. it's habit now more than anything else.. good luck