I am in the middle of transitioning my 2 year old from the bottle to sippy cups. I haven't gone cold turkey yet. But it's pretty close. No bottle during the day. Only one bottle a day, which is an hour before bed.
We're in day 6 and she still refuses the cup. She even gets mad at it. She'll ask for milk and/or a drink throughout the day. But when I hand her a sippy cup she gets angry or upset. She's so stubborn that she's decided she'd rather go without a drink than succumb to a sippy cup.
I've tried the advice about letting her pick out the cup at the store. Didn't work. I've tried all types of sippy cups -from Nuby with the nipple-like spout to the disposable sippies that some toddlers prefer. I also tried skipping the sippy cup and going to a straw cup. Nothing works. She finds comfort in her bottle and doesn't want to give it up.
I'm thinking of going cold turkey starting tonight. But, honestly, I'm dreading it.
I feel as if I've been holding my breath these past few days hoping and praying that she will just take to the cup and make us ALL happy.
If I knew there was a definite end to this (in a few days) I can grit my teeth and bear it. But what if she refuses a cup even after another 6 days? Should I keep at it or give up?
If there are any mommies, daddies, grandmas, or child care providers out there with good tips relative to my situation, please help. And if there are any survivors and/or veterans of The Battle of the Sippy Cup, please pipe in!
Note: I tried weaning her gradually off and on since she was 9 months old. She wasn't having it then and she's not having it now.
I'd appreciate any positive input and advice out there.
I thank many of you for your thoughtful tips and advice. Just before I was going to throw down the gauntlet, Babygirl took to the cup. Not a sippy cup, but a regular cup. Like one of the mothers mentioned, I give her an inch or two at a time. At first she kept sticking her tongue into the cup to lap it like a dog. But after a day she's doing better. I'd still like her to befriend a sippy cup, so that when we go on car rides she'll have a drink available. However, I will continue to train her in drinking from a regular cup until she's a pro.
Most of my problem is resolved. However, I am still allowing her one bottle an hour before bed. One thing I noticed in the many responses is that each child and each mom is different in their own way. Mine is like a grumpy old man. She likes what she likes. And hates what she dislikes...or has never tried before.
The only liquid she will drink is milk. She hates juice, water, and even ice cream. So I typically have to sneak her water into her milk. She likes to drink a full 8 oz of milk an hour before bed. So for now, I've picked the battle worth winning and have decided okay, the bottle before bed. BUT, I believe within one to two weeks she'll be able to drink it out of a cup on her own. So at that time we'll start with a cup of milk an hour before bed, then brush teeth, story time, then night-night!
Again, thank you for your help and support.
There should be no "Battle of the Sippy Cup". lol. Take those bottles and throw ALL of them away. It makes it easier for you because you cant give in and give it to her. The first few days she may cry for her bottle and drank very little from her sippy cup. But after several days, she will drank from it like a pro.
What you did wrong was start at 9 months to "gradually" wean her off and then give in time and time again. You've created a tiny person who knows you will cave. This will haunt you forever.
Since she's 2.... you're going to have to swap out how she soothes herself. The bottle has become emotional. So you have to teach her another means of comfort.
Tell her - no more bottles. Throw them away. Or box them up and give them away. Then she gets sippy cup. But you're going to have the weather the tantrum and NOT get emotional and give in.
Good Luck
This isn't about her not giving it up, it's about you not taking away. OF COURSE, she will take it, if you let her! Of course, she will make it an issue, because you will give it back!! She KNOWS this!
Take it away. It will be tough, at first. She will learn and accept, that it's not coming back. Do NOT give in. If you do, you will go through this cycle every single time. Throw the bottles OUT, do NOT give in.
I agree with Bug. It's like a child who holds their BMs until you give them the diaper. They know you are EVENTUALLY going to give it to them... and they'll just choose to wait you out.
Just toss them. Give her her bottle tonight if you want to, and then bag them all up when she's asleep and put them in the trunk of the car to go donate. Tell her, no more bottles, you lost them. (My dentist told us we should have done it closer to 12 months old, but we were already at 15, so we did it pretty quick after that dental visit-- it CAN affect the growth in their mouths if they are using bottles still).
Once she realizes that you are NOT going to be giving her the "bedtime" bottle, she will drink when she is thirsty. She may not like it, but she will know it isn't just a matter of holding out until bedtime. You have been doing the "maybe, maybe not" game with her for over a year now ("...since she was 9 months old...")... so be prepared for her to expect YOU to break, again. She is going to be mad. But she'll figure out that you mean it, when you actually do.
And you won't go 6 days.
only you can change this....
forget trying all different cups, forget about letting her help pick....
this is all about your child knowing that you will cave....
I wish you Peace, Serenity, & the Strength to make it thru this challenge.
Yep, time to get rid of the bottles for good. She is holding out because of that night bottle.
I'm so sorry. It's going to be tough. But you must have resolve in the matter and put all the bottles away where they are hard to get at (for you!), and don't let her see you do it.
Tonight, when she asks for a bottle, tell her that the bottles are all gone. No matter how she fusses, just shrug your shoulders and tell her that they are all gone. Nothing else.
She will get used to it.
Buy some little plastic cups with a thin "lip" and try those. Offer it to her in her high chair when she is hungry. Put an inch of milk in it while you're getting her food together. She might be so ready to eat that she gives in and drinks it. She also might like the plain cup better than the sippy part. The sippy part reminds her too much of the nipple and she doesn't like the slight difference. Drinking from a real cup is different enough that she might transition better to IT than from a bottle to a sippy.
Meanwhile, offer her foods higher in calcium, wet foods that will help her hydrate, etc. You could make a fruit smoothie for YOU and be willing to share it with her from your cup. If she is sharing from your cup, it's a bit of reverse psychology - your drink, not hers. (My mom did that with ice chips when I was in the hospital and didn't feel like eating or drinking anything.)
If you don't mind me saying so, with the next baby, take the bottle away all at once between a year and 18 months. It's far easier to go cold turkey than to fight with this for a year and 3 months!!!
Good luck!
Dawn
Our pediatrician told us it was past time to say "bye bye" to bottles at 13 months, (her concerns were a malformed jaw and teeth and speech problems when they take it after 12 months) so that night my guy went cold turkey. Not only did he stop his bottles, he stopped taking a pacifier as well because I couldn't find it at bedtime. (She had said the same about the paci, I was going to get him off the bottle then the paci in a week or so...didn't work that way.) He cried and fussed the first night, I stayed with him and comforted him until he relaxed and went to sleep, he fussed the second night but not as much, he asked for them the 3rd night and I reminded him they were gone, he looked sad and went to sleep. And he was done, never asked for them again. In hindsight he had a much bigger problem in giving up the paci, not the bottle.
I would toss them all out, at a trash bin you drive to so you're not tempted to dig them out of your trash, and when she asks for a drink say, "Of course, would you like the red or pink sippy?" and smile. If she refuses them tell her she can use a regular cup (some kids prefer them) and that she drinks from a cup now.
Like our pediatrician says, they won't starve or dehydrate themselves, their bodies tell them what they need when they need it. Yes she's stubborn, you as the parent have to be more so.
Hang in there, she'll have a few rough days and then she'll be done ツ
She's attached to the "nipple." That is why. In kids, the "nipple" is where milk comes from and it is a instinctual "comforting" thing, for babies/ kids.
Try telling her, that Santa needs the bottles to help the other kids.
Then, with her, gather it all up in a bag, to "mail" to Santa.
That is what we did, with my son, per his Binkies.
THIS is what worked.
So try that with her bottles.
But alas... she will not go to Kindergarten with it.
A child, at a certain age... will get more self-conscious about it... ie: they don't want others to see them being a "baby." And they will stop.
What is she drinking in her bottle? Milk? Or all liquids????
She by this age, should know HOW to drink from a REGULAR cup. Or use a Toddler Straw Cup for her. You find these in the kid/baby aisle at stores. It has a lid on it, that you can put the straw in.
Just get rid of ALL the bottles... don't keep any around, because you KNOW you will give in and give it to her.
She may not want milk in a sippy... don't worry about it...... she doesn't really need the milk if she is getting enough calcium from other sources (cheese, yogurt, etc.).
Put her favorite juice in a sippy cup and just put it there.. no begging, no pleading.
Yes, she will throw a fit... she has seen you cave in before, and she will try again.
But..... open the cabinet where you usually keep the bottles and tell her.. "See? The bottles are all gone...... I can't give you a bottle."
Just do it.
I am sorry but I cannot be positive about this.
6 Days without more than 8oz of fluid, in this heat?????? She should be drinking at least 4 oz. of water or some fluids per hour.
This is what I am going to say, it is not to be mean or cruel.... If she has not had any more than one 8 oz of liquid per day for even 3 days she is at risk of health issues. You live in a hot dry environment. She is at risk of dehydration and other illnesses for not getting her fluids.
Obviously she is not ready to give it up. There is absolutely no reason she must give it up yet. It will not hurt her teeth if she is not holding the bottle in her mouth with the milk dripping on them all night. Having a bottle of milk is NO different than drinking that same milk out of a cup. Think about it. There is no magic wand that makes the milk in the cup any different on the teeth than the milk in the bottle. She needs to suck. Better a bottle than her fingers or thumb.
I will suggest you stop this for now and wait until the weather cools off. If she chooses to go another "6" days without fluids in the fall or even winter months it won't be so detrimental to her health.
I know you love your baby but this is a battle that you don't have to fight. Especially in the heat of summer when she needs all the fluids you can get in her.
She is the child, you are the parent. She is old enough to understand "no more bottles". With my youngest, I told him "tomorrow the bottle fairy is coming to take the bottles to babies". After he went to bed, I cut all the nipples up (so I wouldn't give in) and I bagged all the bottles in a separate bag, and threw them away. I couldn't give in if I wanted to.
When you take her and show her that there are no bottles in the regular bottle spot, she'll have to eventually give in. You may have a few rough nights, but it will pass.
skip the sippy cup and give her an inch of milk etc in a regular glass. and in the bottle nothing but water. period. she will be done with the bottle. and yes going cold turkey will be done in a day if you just throw them away. let her scream. if she goes to any kind of preschool this year they will not use sippy cups with lids it is all regular dixie type cups no lids
make a sippy cup with her favorite drink milk or juice etc. (but DON'T let her see you make it) then put it somewhere she can see it & reach for it
maybe the coffee table don't look at the cup or say anything about the cup pretend it's not there.... wait for her to pick it up & drink it
my mom gave me a little tip for this.... she put a drop or two of vanilla extract in the milk (sippy cup) it was a huge hit!!
Hi my daughter is 2 1/2 and she just recently got off the baby bottle but she still Ask for it and I give it to her if we're at home. When she turned 2 I bought the nubby cups that came with 2 different nipples one like a bottle nipple) (and one like a cup) when I took the baby bottle away but then she got attached to those.. So finally I gave them to a friend and when she asked I would let her look in cabinet and see there was no bottles, even tho there was baby bottles in there bc I have home daycare and keep an infant but I tell her those are Gage's (the infant) so then she would choose a cup..
But she has always gone to bed with a bottle (worst habit ever I know) and still gos with her sippy cup and still gets up during night wanting apple juice...(this is what I'm trying to stop) but she's my last so I really don't care if she wants bottle every now and then (at home) . She takes cups to her mothers day out class with no problem..., so it's all up to you.. But I think getting rid of bottles and showing her there's no more helps... And maybe let her help pick what she wants to drink and help you pour it or hold cup kinzi has to help me... Very stubborn child and demands a lot... So I pick my battles and don't sweat small stuff... Trust me i know how hard it is listening them scream and cry for bottle my daughter does it about everything... I mean everything from food to iPad to watching barney and being able to do it her self.... So good luck and pick ur battles... I have a 2,5&11 yr old so I have learned a lot about picking battles...
Is she still refusing a cup during the day or just at bed time? If it's just at bed time, I don't know, maybe just let it go. If it's all day then I say go cold turkey on the bottle....but start tomorrow, you already have anxiety over it! Or, you could tell her in a few days (pick a day even though she has no concept of time) the bottle will be gone. Remind her each day, throughout the day and let her know that on X day the bottle is gone. You can make it Monday...give yourself one final peaceful weekend! ;) But to be honest, she really doesn't need that night time milk anymore. If she really likes it and you're convinced it helps then by all means keep it up, but maybe it's just easier to just get rid of that milk feeding all together.
Also, maybe you should just go to a regular cup. My kids started using regular cups about 2. My daughter was just before 2, she was really into it, and my son was a little after 2. She has the coordination to do it, but of course the first few weeks will involve lots of spills. Personally, that's what I'd do.
I guess I failed this battle. I just let my kids give up the bottle when they were ready. After about 18-24 months they were served drinks in sippy cups during the day (kid could drink it or not) and got offered a bottle at nap and bedtime. Between 2 and 2.5 I stopped offering and just gave the bottle if asked for it. This worked fine for my older one. My younger one is 3 and has a fit for her 1 bottle of milk. I tried to make her give it up but she cried until 1 am. I decided I wasn't worth the battle. One thing both my kids like is having a personalized water bottle with a sports top. A 2 year old should be able to use one with a bit of practice.
