Weening Twins from Their Bottles?

I weened my babies off the bottle at a year. I think it is a good time and it went very smoothly. Neither ever "missed" the bottle. I also think it is good that you hold them while they have the bottle. I heard somewhere that if you always hold your baby when you give them the bottle, they will be attached to you, not the bottle. (Weening from the bottle was very easy for us, don't know if it is because of that or not).

Mine had 4 bottles a day, 3 with meals, 1 just before bed. We dropped 1 bottle at a time, starting with the "easiest" (I think that was the lunchtime bottle for us) and replaced it with a sippy cup with milk. Then 5 days (or so) later, dropped another bottle. The bedtime bottle was last, and I think I gave them a sippy cup with water for a little bit. We also read a book together at that time, so we continued with the book and the bottle was never missed.

I recommend the Nuby sippy cups for water - they leak so I don't put anything else in them. But they are a lot like a bottle, so I think it may help with the transition in the beginning.

It won't be so bad. I'm sure it will go just fine! :) Good luck!

I am a 51 year old mom of 2-1/2 y.o. twin girls also not working outside of home for the first time in my life! Yes - what a change and a blessing! The guidebook for raising children (is there really one?) recommends weening babies from bottles at 12 mos. of age. We did exactly what the instruction book said to do! 1 month prior we started them on watered down juice from sippie cups, then transitioned their milk into the sippie cups. Immediately on their 1st b-day; bottles no more. We didn't have a problem at all. I believe the difference is that I've done this before (also have a 30 y.o. & 25 y.o.) and I can either baby the babies or help them transistion. When my daughters asked for their bottles I just said "no, we don't drink from bottles any more because we are a big girl, we drink from our new sippie cups". It worked for us. I have learned quickly changing the subject (distraction) helps me whenever I have a "challenge" on my hands. Didn't know that trick years ago but it's sure come in handy with my red head! :O) Good luck!!

Time for sippy cups!

Well, technically you have a choice between sippy and straw cups. Both come in non-spillable versions. Sippy cups you can still use for bedtime, since they can be drunk laying down. Straw cups though have the universal sucking motion. So it's really up to you. We all have our "favorites". For us it was playtex insulated ...in large part because we could take the inner valve and harpoon it on the spikes in the dishwasher to wash them, but like I said... personal favorites.

Now is definitely a good time to get them off the bottle :) Our pediatrician recommended to start weaning from the bottle around 12 months (although, our daughter ended up NEVER taking a bottle, lol) but I think you're timing is perfect! You might want to start with a cup that has a soft (rubber) spout. Either a straw cup or a "regular sippy cup" with the rubber spout. Just go with your gut feeling on which type of cup they will like best and start with that (after all - you know them best!). If it doesn't work out, try a different type. Eventually you will find a cup they like! It's usually a fairly easy transition for most children, so you should be fine!! :)

i started my daughter on the nuby soft spout cups. it took her about 1 month of playing with them to actually drink (but she was 6 months when i introduced the cup). on the day she turned 7 months she drank from it and 3 days later no more bottles. after a month with the soft spout cups i got a couple hard spout ones. i got a variety of cups (gerber, playtex and nuby) my daughter isnt picky with them but i like the platex cups because they valves are better and dont get knocked out like the gerber ones do when the cup is thrown. nuby also makes like a sipper bottle cup thats resembles a bottle a little bit. just try a cup for a while and see what happens. good luck!

I guess it depends on what your objective is... If you want your boys to ingest large quantities of liquids, then the bottle is best. They will drink less when you switch to cups. Also, it will definitely not make life "easier." Bottles are infinitely easier and it is more comforting to suck. They are likely to be more clingy when Daddy goes back to work after being used to having him around. If there is any way to get some help, either hired, or family, or neighbors, etc., please do that for your boys and yourself. The next two years of their lives are going to involve a crazy amount of work. Best of luck!

Making it fun is key with the transition! Introduce sippy cups like a game also including you - hold a sippy and drink from it just like you want them to do. Say yum-yum and so on. Our kids usually want to mimic us, and this worked for me. You'll find that as soon as your little-ones think this is important to you they will resist more, so be relaxed with it. Also take your time and don't expect this to happen over night. All kids are diffetent, so be in tuned with how they are doing. Giving up the bottle or breast isn't easy!

I am at home full time as well. It is nothing but a blessing and I'm so grateful for the time (night & day!) with my precious children.

P.S. Another thing you can do is take them to the store and let them pick out their own sippy cups!

Hi J.! Sounds like you're doing fine. Keep trusting your motherly instincts. I also have twins boys that are now 23 months old.

This is what I remember doing with mine: around 1yr I would sometimes hold them because it's comfort for them and for me. But most of the time, I would prop them up (vertical) on pillows so they can feed themselves. I got rid of the bottles when they were confident with holding them on their own. Then I gave them disposable sippy cups, but I always put them in their high chairs to develop the habit of sitting with their drinks. The key is to allow them to master one skill at a time to build healthy self-esteem and encourage autonomy.

My boys now are practicing with reg cups, but I do it outside and with water. Anyways, I hope this helps!

I have twin boys - 2-1/2 now. The day they turned a year old I just never gave them another bottle. It was so easy they didn't even miss it. I feel the longer you wait the harder it will be. Good luck!

J. M

If your boys are holding on to cups with double handles then you can let them drink from a sippie cup. You are home for the most important time of your boys life, they will learn much from you now. Leave the sippie cups for the boys to play with and show them how to use them while they play, kind of like a little "tea party" while playing. It sounds silly, but it will introduce the cups to the boys as something that is more of a curiosity than something to be afraid of. I just gave my three children a sippie cup and if they were ready to use it they would use it, I didn't really know since they were so inquisitive.