The Dreaded Bottle

I do not have any personal experience with this problem, but I do know someone who had the same problem. At this time she had a friend who was getting ready to have a baby. She asked her daughter to donate all of her bottles to the new baby because she didn't have any of her own. Her daughter loved the idea.

My daughter will be 2 next month and she has the same issue. Going to bed with a bottle. I have found that walmart has sippy cups with spouts about 1 inch long and you suck on it like a bottle but its not as harmful we have tried this and it's working great.

Boy do I know how you feel! My daughter was just a couple months younger than yours, when we finally were able to take the bottle away. BUT, she was only drinking water at the time out of it. Now I don't really have very good advice about how to get your daughter to give up the bottle, without her screaming that is. Unfortunately the screaming is pretty much inevitable. I do however know how we got our daughter to only take water from her bottle, so I might be able to help you there. What we did was we mixed the water with the milk. At first it was just a few onces of water, but more the milk. Then after a few days of that we increased the water. About half and half. A few days later we increased the water a couple of ounces. Then a few days later all the milk was really for was color. But once I thought my daughter was ready (and she pretty much never even noticed) I stopped putting the milk in completely. Now I know this sounds like a lengthy process. But you can speed it up or slow it down, depending on how you feel about it and how your daughter reacts.
Giving up the bottle is going to be difficult! She WILL infact be upset and more than likely scream. However I think it will only last a few days. It did with my daughter. SHe was very angry at first and then a couple of nights went by and she was fine. She would occasionally ask for it. And we always said "remember, you're a big girl now and you don't need it". Sometimes she would fuss a bit, but nothing we couldn't handle. My suggestion would be to take the bottle away from her starting on a weekend. That way you have all weekend to determine how she is going to react at night. Hope I was at least a little helpful! GOOD LUCK!!!
P.S. I would also suggest, you throw away ALL her bottles. AND take out the trash. Not onle to show her they are going to be gone for good. BUT to take away the temptation of giving it back to her if things get rough! ;)

M.,
Megan is a big sister now and needs to have the responsibility of showing her "baby" sisters how big girls drink out of a cup. Be a little dramatic with it. Whoopie look at the big girl. Reward her for being soooooo big. Oh how Lauren and Alexis wish they could drink out of a cup, but they are just little babies now, not a big girl like Megan........
She will be so swell headed about the big girl she is, daddy might not be able to pick her up that night.
Over and over again. It seems to be a form of brain wash but it's to your advantage.
Maybe allow her to feed the "babies" their bottles and she has a cup of juice while doing so. That way she still gets "an" interaction with the bottle while drinking out of a cup. At bed time tell her about the monsters called germs that live in our mouth and if we drink any thing besides water they can lay germ eggs on our teeth and turn them yellow and then black. That's what I told mine for brushing habbits and girl they brush........
Good luck

One of my friends told her son that once he turned 2 all of his pacifiers would break. I'm sure this will work with bottles too. That night before his birthday and after he went to sleep, she and her husband went through the whole house and cut the nipples off the pacifiers. When her son woke up, he found his "broken" pacifiers and he only cried for a little while. It was during the day so there wasn't a worry about him waking up his little brother.

Hi,

My daughter was 12 months when I took her off the bottle. What I did was bought some no spill sippy cups, and started giving them to her to drink out of when she was about 10 months in between the bottles. So on her 1st birthday I took all of her bottles and bagged them up and put them away and started giving her the cups @ nite when she woke up and wanted something to drink. To them it makes them feel as though they are still drinking out of the bottle but they are not. So try the sippy cups to see how they work for you. They have a different variety of cups you just have to find one that works for you her. All 3 of my girls were rid of there bottles at the age of 1.

GOOD LUCK!

I had a similar problem when I weaned my son (now 3 1/2) from breastfeeding and he latched onto the bottle without trying solid foods.

Try and make the bottle as unappealing as possible - I cut larger holes in the nipples, don't replace the old nipples with new ones, water down the milk... and make food as appealing as possible. It is hunger and habit that are getting her up at night. I resorted to putting lots of butter, chocolate syrup, jelly, etc on solid foods for my son to get him to try it, and after a while, he started eating more and drinking less.

Another idea is to let her pick out sippy cups that she likes (a favorite character, color...) there is even a cup that has a nipple like top to get her used to drinking faster.

Here's what worked for me. My daughter refused to give up the bottle at night. We began making a BIG deal about her 3rd birthday about 2 months before it was going occur. We talked about how big she was and that big girls don't take bottles at night and to celebrate her birthday, she was going to graduate from her bottle.

To help make this take, we planned a trip out of town and planned on taking BOTH my 3-year old and 1 year old off the bottle at the same time on the same night. We didn't bring any bottles with us. She knew that because I told her that we weren't going to bring any bottles on the trip and she watched me pack everything.

It went GREAT! No bottles since 2/17/05 for either one of them -- even after a little brother arrived 15 months later.

Good luck to you!

Hi:
I too had the same problem and did the watering it down as in the previous suggestion and it worked. The tough part was then getting rid of the bottle completely, because until that happens removing that pullup probably won't happen either since she has to much liquid in her. If she is still in the crib and it converts to a toddler bed, let her see other children you might know that sleep in a big girl bed. And reinforce to her that when she sleeps in the big girl bed she can't take the bottle. My daughter was better when I stuck with talking about the big girl stuff, so although I did tell her and make sure she understood that with the big girl bed there would be no bottle, once I believed she got that point we talked up the big girl bed.
Also, if you think the twins could give up the bottle also. Just make a "Family Announcement" and say the Family doesn't need bottles anymore. It may be a little tougher for her seeing the twins have them, but they may be old enough to give it up since they have each other.
Good luck it's all tough!
S. Gallo
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NO LEAK SIPPY CUPS WORK GOOD. YOUR CHILD WILL STILL GIVE THE COMFORT OF SUCKING, BUT SECRETLY YOU ARE PULLING HER OFF THE BOTTLE, STEP BY STEP. I USED TO GIVE MY DAUGHTER MILK LATE, OUT OF A CUP, BRUSH HER TEETH, & IF SHE STILL WANTED COMFORT AT NIGHT, JUICE OR WATER IN A SIPPY. IF SHE INSIST ON MILK, REMEMBER, YOU ARE TAKING IT SLOWLY FOR HER, ONCE SHE GETS USED TO THAT, CHANGE THE FLUID, THEN YOU CAN START ONLY LETTING HER HAVE WATER OUT OF A REGULAR CUP BEFORE BED. GOOD LUCK!

M.,
My name is M. and I'm a mother of four. I've gone through what you are going through and believe me, I know how you feel! Don't worry about it, she will stop asking for the bottle when she is ready. Don't torture yourself or the twins. I would hate a glass of water at night if I'm hungry instead of milk. Wouldn't you?

You'll see, it will be just fine.

Take care and good luck.

M.,

p.s. by the way, my kids are now 21 yrs old, 19, 11 and 6. Three girls and a boy. They all had their milk in a bottle at night before sleeping till they were approx. 4 (with some rice cereal in it). They are all very healthy, have great teeth, and are not overweight.

Dear M.,

Your in the mexican standoff and this will require fortitude. Start cutting the bottle back. Tell her she has to eat before she gets her bottle and give her choices for eating. After she has had a full meal then give her the bottle. That is the first step to cutting down. Do that for a week before every bottle. she might have fits, but it is a start. At night try oatmeal or bananas before the bottle. One thing you have to keep in mind is that the bottle at night could rot her teeth, because the milk or formula is sitting in their mouth.

Ist week, food before bottle.
2nd week, cut out a bottle from the day. Try to use a sippy cup.
3rd week, start to have her drink the bottle before bed and then brush teeth before hse gets into bed. The trick is filling her up. She has gotten used to be comforted with the bottle so see if there is something else that comforts her, a baby doll or something.

Those are my ideas. I had a rought time with this also.

D.

I remeber having the same bottle issues. Mine were 18 months apart and I felt so bad because I knew I needed to take hers away, but he was still having one!! How do you explain THAT to a two year old. SO what I did was waited until my son was a little older (like 12 months) and the bottles just dissappeared one day. I went and put them all in the garbage can one morning right before the garbage men came so I absolutely couldt go back. And when my daughter requested her morning bottle, I told her that there were no more. I showed her the cubbords and all that cause she wanted proof!! Then I gave her juice in her new "big girl" cups. She actually took it really well and I knew there was no going back so I stood my ground. My son was really too young to care! He didnt seem fazed at all I think cause we got it away from him before he was too old to get attached. Now she's 3 1/3 and he's just two and neither of them have had a bottle in a year. Though now im fighting to get rid of the dang pacifier...

Wow! Three little girls? Lucky you. I have a 3 year old son, an 8 year old step-son and my hubby. I totally understand about you not wanting your 3 year old to wake up the twins!!! I am still potty training my son and trying to take the "paci" away, so don't feel bad!!! Tell her that she will have to go to the doctor/dentist if she drinks after she brushes her teeth!

Hello,
I had the same problem with my son. He was the same age as your daughter. When I was in the hospital having our newest baby, my mother in law took it away cold turkey. He was upset for about a week and when his baby sister came home, he understood that the baby needed the bottle, not him b/c he was a big boy. I think cold turkey is the way to do it, if you feel she is going to wake the twins, close their door and maybe you can sit w/ her, read a book, but whatever you do, don't give in! It will be hard the first week, but if you are strong she will be great! After he was over the bottle, my husband and I had a "date" night w/ him, he thought it was so cool!! Good luck, keep me posted on how it goes! M.

As the mother of a daughter who went to bed with a bottle until she was four, I feel your pain. I did, however, limit it to water. No juice or milk. I found that she really never drank anything from the bottle, but just needed it for comfort to get to sleep--it was full the next morning. As her fourth birthday approached and she was looking forward to a certain toy, I announced that she was not going to be able to be four and get the toy because "you can't be four and suck a bottle, so you have to choose". She opted to be four and never asked for it again. Your daughter is younger and I think you are just going to have to bite the bullet and give her only water. I think your comment about "always giving in" says a lot. Who is in control????? Wouldn't you like it to be you???Perhaps give her some milk before brushing her teeth, but after she has brushed, only water. It might be hard, but sounds like it needs to be done.

I TOTALLY disagree with the "let her have the bottle" suggestion. At 1 year it is suggested the bottle be taken away, though we as mothers have to do what we feel comfortable with. Most importantly is the rotting and placement of teeth. Every child's mouth grows/teeth come in differently and you could be affecting your child's teeth and teeth alignment for the rest of her life. I know this from suffering the pacifier with my son. My first son it did not affect, but for my second, we noticed the shape of his teeth moved a lot earlier and we did something immediately. We did a "bye-bye" party. You daughter should already be on sippy cups and big-girl cups at this stage, so maybe take her out and have her pick out her favorite as a present. Have her be a part of the process and if she is kicking and screaming, at least observe you throwing away the bottles (temporarily if you are planning to have more children of course). The bottle keeps her still as a baby, which she is not. She needs to feel she has special big-girl things and get her comfort from other sources. It is suggested that between 6-8 months even a breastfeeding mother should stop the middle-of-the-night feedings. Unfortunately, the longer you wait, the less control you will feel you have and more drama your child will show. This goes for anything. You just have to do it and she'll eventually just accept it, kicking and screaming. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent the scene and probably the waking of the twins, but it will not last long. Perhaps have her go to bed first and get any scene out of the way before putting the twins to bed. You never know what is going to work until you try and different things work for different children. We as parents give in so as to not have one situation affect another, but then who exactly is in charge. I fight this battle every day with myself and my 3 - 5, 3 and 20 months. If you're lucky, you will be able to, as I said, get her alternate bedtime comfort/ritual - a new stuffed animal maybe, but something she picks out as a big girl. I've been fighting this for potty training. We tried pressuring our first son, gave up and then one day he woke up and that was that and NO accidents. Now my second we've been pressuring for months because he cannot go to school if he's not and he does not want to do it. Part of the problem is that I waited too long. 3 is too long to start the idea! They say 18 months is a great age to change/add behaviors and now I've decided to start the potty training with my daughter. It can be as simple as just letting your child go with you and observe and helpig flush and sitting on it after a meal - familiarity and not being afraid is the key I've found for this(and not waiting too long). The longer you wait to do anything, the more independant your child is and makes his or her own mind up on how to do things. Will against will! Good luck - I sympathize with you, but I know that you will get through this and so will your daughter!

Let her have the BOTTLE! In time she will grow out of it. She probably see's the twins with a bottle and still needs the security of a bottle. Dont sweat the small stuff, they grow up so fast! Enjoy your babies and dont worry what the experts say! You have your hands full with three little ones do whatever you have need to do to get through the day!!!
XOXOX,
N.
MOM of a 11 year old and 7 year old!

M.,

There is a book titled Sleeping Through the Night: How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night's Sleep. The author is Jodi A. Mindell. The book doesn't specifically address bottle weaning, but it does talk about bedtime routines and it sounds like Megan is clinging to a routine that makes her comfortable. The book might help you figure out a way to change her routine to something that doesn't involve consuming a beverage at all.

My son is only 11 months old and this book helped me get him into a routine that helps him sleep through the night. It could possibly help with all three of your children.

Good luck. I'm sorry I don't have more specific advice.

-T. Q

Hi there -

Bless your heart...I know how hard it can be to break a child from the bottle. I have two young children, and when both of them were one, my mother (who was taking care of them while I was at work) insisted that we introduce them to sippie cups. I thought, "Great! This should be easy enough!" but it was harder than we thought. It took about a week of whining, crying, and sometimes screaming well into the night before my kids actually grew accustomed to the idea of drinking from a sippie cup. It should be noted that while we didn't have twin babies to worry about waking up, we had a house full of working adults, who were definitely not happy with the thought of being awoken by tyrades of tears. Talk about will power...we, as a family, just agreed that this goal had to happen and we stuck to it until it did. It was the same thing when we broke our children of their pacifier usage. Breaking the bottle doesn't have to be all about tears and anger...part of the trick to it is to figure out which cartoon character your child likes best, and buy that sippie cup. Make it a big deal, and don't show any signs of fatigue or frustration with your child, or she will pick up on it and do the contrary thing you want her to do - they're so smart!

Above all, it's about WILL POWER, which you can draw upon by keeping your child's best interests at heart. Trust me, I grew up in the Philippines where children were left on the bottle way into their fifth year of life! As a result, they had rotten teeth, which fell out way before they should have. Also, those kids who went to sleep drinking the bottle had vicious ear infections because they were lying down and drinking. Sippie cups are definitely healthier at your daughter's age, and easier to work with especially if you're potty training her now.

Good luck!