Weaning from the Bottle at 15 Months Old.

Tell him it's time to give the bottles to the new babies. Make a big deal out of putting them in a box and "mailing" them. Then get rid of them. Trust me, when he is thirsty, he'll drink. Also, I would strongly suggest replacing the bottle part of winding down with something much more attractive. A special songtime, a backrub, a new soft and awesome blankie, a special new book. He will be less likely to protest the loss of bottle if you have something he wants more.
Good luck! It won't last too long.

Sorry if this answer is a little late--we do milk at naptime and night time. However, I transitioned from bottle to Nuby sippy cup around this age. It has a soft top like a bottle. I just brish my son's teeth after he has his milk at bedtme, then read stories, have a snuggle, and put him in his crib. You may be able to do this and still keep your routine.

I had tried once when my son was 12 months old to stop cold turkey and I gave up weakly when he protested.

At 13 months he was ready and so was I. I just one day stopped and only offered the sippy cup to him. I did it with meals and before naps and bed time and he took it. He also sometimes consumes a large amount of milk from the sippy. He did not notice the change.

Good luck.

Just keep offering a sippy cup. My oldest was probably 18 mos before we completely got him off the bottle. We ended up giving him chocolate milk and he was all over it. The dr was ok with that too.

we just did this with our son and i used the same method with our daughter. i started to give sippy cups of milk 4x a day, when we first get up, breakfast, lunch and dinner. i first took the 2 nap bottles away and substituted with water in the sippy and i read a couple of extra books. then about a week later i took the bedtime bottle away and again added the books. good luck. i found doing it in steps was easier on me and the babies.

I honestly think that from the sound of it,your son is well adjusted and doesnt have a bottle "issue"....with that being said, I think so what if he has the bottle to get his milk vs a sippy cup. Frankly, the sippy cups are just not as soothing to a baby..... he still SUPER LITTLE.....it's also probably easier for him to hold, less messy for you..... that's just my opinion....for regular drinks, use the sippy cup and he may just drop the bottle on his own.... He could have it until he's two and no big deal. I think if it helps him sleep and eat and feel comfort , let him have it.

My son was born at 28 weeks gestation (12 weeks early). I took the bottle from him at 11 months (actual age) & only used a sippy cup (cold turkey). He was mad for the 1st day, then he was thristy enough to take the sippy cup & never had a problem after that.
Try a sippy cup that has a soft spout. I know there are some at resemble a bottle nipple & are soft.
I hope your preemie is dong well otherwise! Mine is almost 8 1/2 y/o. It's amazing how time drags in the NICU & then it flies when baby is home!

God bless!

My daughter never took bottles, so at 12 months old when I went back to work we moved right from the breast to sippy cups with milk. She wouldn't take pumped milk in anything. I guess she figured mommies milk only came from one place. It was never a problem. You should be fine just to trash the bottles and move to sippy cups. Doesn't sound like he's attached to the bottle in any way so other than maybe a couple of days of complaining he'll probably move on just fine.

All three of my children were allowed to use a bottle until they were three
and I think it was very comforting at times. They are happy,well-adjusted kids of 27,19 and 15 and there were no ill effects. I am a mom-baby nurse
and I believe moms should make their own choices about decisions like this.
Many doctors lack baby-raising experience and are quoting you a point
of view from a textbook. Do what feels right and trust your mothering.
R.H.

what's the reason to wean from bottle at 15 months? what damage does a bottle at nap and bedtime do?

I highly suggest cold turkey and hiding the bottles...worked for both of my kiddos (now 2.5 yo and 16 mos) at the 12-13 month time frame. There was some dissent from my 2.5 yo daughter but for a few days we offered the milk first every time in the sippy then water if rejected, switched to rocking/prayer/song before nap and bed (very short 2 minute routine), etc. It is the easiest way in my opinion because then they are "gone" so there is no confusion over -- "well, we get one at bed, but not at the other times"....

Good luck!
A. F.
Local Childcare Coordinator- Cultural Care Au Pair
(and FTWM to 2 kiddos under 3)
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http://aferrini.aupairnews.com

I transitioned from the bottle to a NUBY sippy cup. It has the soft nipple like a bottle but looks like a sippy cup. The hard plastic on traditional sippy cups are very different feeling then drinking from a bottle, so the NUBY helped bridge the gap for us. Good luck.

I read a great idea when my oldest daughter was a toddler (20 years ago!) The article suggested that you put all bottles in a bag and put them out of sight. Then, when your little one asks for a bottle, offer a cup instead-- like you never heard the bottle request or didn't understand it. This kid was a dedicated (water only) bottle drinker at almost two, so I gave it a try. Every time she asked for "baba," I would say, "Oh, you're thirsty?" and give her a cup. At first she looked at me like I was an idiot or speaking a foreign language and fussed a bit. But after a couple of days, she just stopped asking. Then, about two weeks later, someone knocked the bottle bag over in the garage and all the bottles came pouring out with tons of noise. I thought for sure all the progress would be undone by her seeing the bottles, but she just shrugged and didn't even care. It might not work for everyone, but it worked for us. Good luck!

I think one issue the Dr. may have is the naptime and bedtime bottles have been shown to cause problems with the teeth and mouth. You don't indicate that he goes to sleep with the bottle in his mouth, which is good, but he still goes to sleep with milk still in his mouth which can start tooth decay.
I would try to eliminate the bottle at one of these times by substituting some other winding down factor. For that I suggest quiet music, a story, simply you sitting beside him until he goes to sleep, or perhaps even a back rub or patting him on the back. It will most likely work out best if you start with naptime, though the bedtime bottle is likely the most important to eliminate. I just think your child may respond easier if you start with eliminating the naptime bottle rather than the bedtime one. Once the naptime bottle is successfully eliminated, start doing the same with the bedtime bottle. My guess is that the whole process will take about two weeks. It may seem like forever, but if you are consistent, you will get through it. The main thing is to simply be calm and firm about what you are doing. When he whines for the bottle, just keep on doing whatever you've decided for a calming method and try as much as possible to ignore the whining. The less you respond about the bottle, the easier it will be for him to give it up.