When to Quit the Bottle....

I know a great amatuer photographer that lives in Cabot. Photos by Simone. She's on here for local buisness reviews. Babies should take a bottle with formula until their first birthday.

I breastfeed so I don't know about the bottle thing. But, at 18 months, my son is eating with spoon but it is still messy, but I know thats how he is going to learn. It is so fun to see my baby becoming independent!

I have found that many of the people who are always giving unsolicited advice...well, they often had no rhyme or reason for how they did things, yet they want to impose 'their way' on everyone else.

Since you asked ; )... With my five, they were all different.
You are the mom. That's the #1 rule. #2 is all babies are different. Just as when they are older they advance at different rates, when they are babies, they do, too.

Unless your baby reaches a ridiculous age and is still sucking a bottle, I personally wouldn't worry one bit about it.

...And on that note, the ridiculous age is up to you.
Tell your buddy thanks, but you and baby are doing fine ; )
Keep up the good work! If you're worried about it you're a good mommy!

Blessings!
H.

Hi C.,
I can't honestly say exactly when my son quit the bottle but we made an effort after his first birthday to only give him a sippy cup of milk during the day and only the bottle at night. And we did this at the urging of our Dr. I finally found a sippy cup that I liked that seemed a good transition from bottle to cup. I eventually gave him that at bedtime. For us, his bottle was his key to sleep so it was a hard transition. It may be more difficult for yours to adjust because of daycare and seeing others with a bottle during the day but if he already uses a sippy cup... just quit sending a bottle! ;) He may be completly ready for the change. I think just a bottle at night is a good way to go.

As for the food mess, Luke is 20 months old and still makes a little mess, but it's the way they learn. He'll start getting more in his mouth then the floor soon. At least you have dogs to clean up! That's my dogs favorite time!

If you lived in Enid, Ok I'd take your pictures! I'm doing a wedding for a friend in Oct. Good luck finding someone!

Sounds like your son is starting to wean himself off the bottle - which is wonderful. My children were weaned off the bottle around 12 months. Don't worry about what other people say, trust your instincts about your own children.
Now, if your son is trying to spoon feed himself - let him. It takes practice to get food from the bowl to the mouth so it is going to be messy - just get ready for it. You will figure out from watching your son when you can sneak bites into his mouth or when he wants you to take over.
Can't help with the picture question.
Good luck to you!

8 months is NOT too old for a bottle! I wouldn't even think of even trying to start weaning the baby from the bottle until after their 1st birthday, or later (my baby is the same age as yours). Babies need most of their nutrition from formula or breast milk until age 1, and it seems to me that when drinking from a sippy cup, they just "sip" and don't down the whole thing like they would from a bottle. It is important that they get all the milk/formula they can get at this stage because pretty soon they won't be getting those nutrients (if you stop feeding formula or breastmilk at age 1, which a lot of people do). But some people don't wean them completely off the bottle until around age 2. I see nothing wrong with that either.

Who ever told you that at 8 months they need to be off of the bottle they are crazy! He is still a baby, let him be one! you arent going to get those days back.. my daughter is almost 13 months and she still has her bottle, well, that's because she refuses to drink out of a sippy cup! i was trying at 1 year but she didnt do it.. If he wants to drink out of a cup let him at meals or if he only wants to the cup let him have it.. Don't force the bottle it might stick and then you won't be able to transition.. i would just say at 1 if he will let it go! im sorry i dont have an answer for you on the spoon question i don't let my daughter use it yet.. scary! haha. well good luck if you don't have a problem taking it away and he doesnt want it i dont see a problem with it..

If he is willing to give up the bottle for a sippy cup you should encourage that. If he holds on to that bottle for too long it'll be harder to get him off of it. But, he's still using formula or breastmilk for nutrition, if he'll take the same amount from a cup that would work well but if you feel he needs it you could use the bottle before bed.
As for the feeding himself, instead of fighting over the spoon get two and let him have one to 'practice' with and you feed him with the other. You can also try the chunky spoons made for self feeding, he wouldn't be able to get too much on that kind of spoon. It's a very messy time, but if he's feeding himself well by 12 mos its worth the mess. It'll get smaller as he gets bigger...at least the mealtime messes, theres all kinds of other messes that are bigger! LOL
Good Luck! and God Bless!

Eight months is still young to force into giving up the "bottlee" as my niece used to call hers.{:^D} Doctors like to get babies off at 1 year because of their teeth and the tendency to be put to bed with a bottle. Meanwhile, let him have his bottlee, let the floors get messy (put down a drop cloth) and let the dogs have their treats. Let him explore foods the way a baby should! Tell those folks who are telling you when your child should be off a bottle that you appreciate their opinions and do what your son is ready for and what your pediatrician advises.

breast/formula is your major nutrient until AT LEAST age 1. This depends on weight, health, premature birth etc. I would discuss this with my pediatrican. As for bottle vs. sippy cup. I would definetely give him formula in a sippy cup, to introduce the cup. But as far as getting him off the bottle I would wait until closer to a year. This may sound crazy but purchase a farmers almanac at the store. There is a section on weaning babies from the bottle. We have weaned our babies this way for 3 generations and it never fails. During the appropriate time for your baby ( depending on birth day ). You give them their last bottle of the night. You say, This is your last bottle. Starting tomorrow you will drink out of your cup. After you put them down you make sure all of your bottles are put out of sight for good and that is the end of that!. Good luck.
THe fight over the spoon is normal. Give him one and you have one. He is exploring, developing and trying to figure out how things work. As frustrating as it may be, Be blessed that he is reaching normal developmental milestones and has a curiosity about his environment. AS for the photographer thing, It isn't the way I would go. I would call TCC or TTC and ask for a proffessor in photography, Ask them if they have a student that is just starting their business that can do weddings. I would let them develop them as many use digital now and even those that use film, use a professional developer or even do it themselves and can many times get you cheaper prints at a higher quality. !

Your kid is fine on the bottle. Most experts say around 12 months is the time to wean, but the real concern is at night. (drinking a bedtime bottle, without brushing teeth). It is important to get that calcium in their growing bodies and becomes much harder when they are off the bottle.

Spoons - you BOTH need one. He will wave his around wildly, sometimes actually getting food on it and into his mouth. Meanwhile you are scooping up bites and slipping them in. You both win. He thinks he is feeding himself (and he is). You're making sure that some of the food actually ends up on the inside of him. And the dogs still get to lick the floor!

First Of all don't worry what every body is telling you about your eight month baby not off the bottle. your baby will get ready to get off from it in a few months to a year old.when you start to notice that your baby is slowing down on drinking to much from the bottle cetch it as it is happening and give him the sippy cup as it happens you will see the change, baby's sometimes don't stop until they are a year a little over a year, I'm babysitting a little girl sense she was about six weeks old and she just turned a year last month and she started slowing down herself off the bottle around 9 months,when she turned a year old me and her parents started taking it away when she takes a nap that was the only time when she needed it so now shes broke completely off from the bottle.And far as fighting over the food of your baby taken the spoon away from you. ya i know that feeling, See if she or he will help you feed her or him by both holding the spoon and food and if that doesn't work than show the baby that you have give it to her or her and till she learns,thats the problem she is learning to try to feed herself. and you have to let the baby your the boss not her because there will be a lot that you will be fighting over if you don't let the baby know that you as parents is the ruler. and i wish i can help you on the photographer (SMILE...)

dr. want them off by 1 year for sure.
my son was off 100% by 10mths but my daughter she still gets one at night and if my husband can get her to chill he wll give her one, (not cool) i say start now

I don't know about the bottle issue -- the movers lost all the bottles in one of our many moves (well, at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!).

As to the spoon issue -- I fed my son very thick oatmeal or cream of wheat, so that, even if the spoon was upside down, when he finally found his mouth, there was still something on it. And, as to the dogs, isn't that what they're for? Eight months seems early, but your son is probably more co-ordinated than my child was.

M.

I went strictly by what my pediatrician said when it came to my sons eating habits. I would suggest you go by what your doctor says because one childs nutrition may not be the same for the other child. FOr instance, I got so sick of my family and some friends who were way to opinionated trying to force me to put cereal in my sons formula. I meant that the first time he had baby cereal it was going to be from the spoon and i was not going to fill him up with a cereal filled bottle just to get him to go to sleep at night either. I have a friend who had her som the same day as mine and for her, the pediatrician told her to do this because her baby was a very big spit upper and my child was not so my doctor told me not to do it, that they needed the nurtrients in the formula more than they needed the cereal. Of course you are past this point, but I thought I would give you the example. My doctor told me not to start giving him whole milk until he was one year old. I continued with the formula, in a sippy cup or bottle it did not matter as long as he was off the bottle altoghter at a year old as well. I had already started introducing sippy cups at 8 months old and bought a ton of them until we found the right one for my son. When he turned one year old we did what the doctor said and started diluting the formula with whole milk until we got fully on milk. He stayed on whole milk for one year then the doctor told us to move to 2%. When we diluted the 6-8 oz formula bottles we did it an ounce at a time for a few days between and had no problem. Plus we added a little bit of Nesquick Strawberry powder milk to help along with getting him use to the sippy cups. Our doctor is a very notable pediatrician in our area who has been doing this for over 35 years so he has seen a lot of babies in his time. I stuck with the one year taking bottle completely away and it worked. With the spoon I was the same way, my dogs loved the food on the floor and I just had to let go a few times and let him get messy with the spoon. Dylan would get so impatient not getting enough food on his spoon though, that I spoon fed him for a long time just to get the food in his tummy at the hghchair during dinner. At the same time he would have fun dipping or beating his spoon all over the bowl. Whatever you decide, do not let anyone tell you what your child should or should not be doing. When I started moving him from baby food to table food I thought I was in Heaven because he was eating all the veggies, baked chicken, turkey, and the best foods you could imagine. People we amazed because he loved all kinds of fruit cups and veg-all as well. Then one day all of the I will eat anything my mommy puts in front of me ended. The food he could not get enough of stopped and he became the most finickie eater I know. Of course, I have seen worse so I am thankful that he does still like blueberries, strawberries, bananas, apple sauce, and other nutritous foods. The chicken went from baked to must having it with a crust. Now he is getting to the point of not even liking that unless it is from McDonalds or a plan Krystal chick with no bun. I always said i would not be a short order cook, but I am not going to force feed him salmon cakes, tacos, talapi, or some of the things my husbband and I eat. I am on the fence about all of that. I guess because I remember being a child when Mommy Dearest came out and being forced to eat my pasta before I got up from the table. If I did not eat it than it came back the next meal. To this day I can not stand pasta dishes, even if they look good. I will not eat it.
Other thing, congrats to you about getting married. My wedding day is a novel in itself. I would have as many family members around you who own digital cameras to take as many pictures as possible. Be sure to write down the main pictures you want like, of family members lined up certain ways, those with you and you hubby to be with your son, and so many more that way you know that you got the shots you want. Think about where you are getting married and all the picture ops you can get, even some before hand incase the weather or something goes wrong. I took my son for his 2 1/2 year pictures to the local park and let him run all over and took about 160 pictures. Some people thought they were professional shots since that is what a lot of the photographers do with children. Speaking of 3 years olds, mine is having a melt down. You can e-mail me back at home if you like ____@____.com

Good Luck,
R.

I wouldn't even worry about that bottle until he is atleast one and maybe even two. Babies need to nurse and need that nutrition until atleast one year old. I've raised 4 kids and they've all been on the bottle well past one.

Any doctor or nurse will tell you that the baby should stay on formula until he is a year old, that is when i weaned off all of mine, my kids used sippy cups for other drinks, such as juice but i always put the formula in the bottle. kind of an association thing. i wouldn't worry about what other people say you should do. yes listen to the advice but it is ultamatly your decision. i hope this helps.

Dear C.
Do what is right for you. At 8 months he is still a baby. In my opionion people try to take babies off their bottle too early. Let's let them be babies. In this world there is so much pressure to grow up too fast. I have 3 children 3,7 and 9 and one was off the bottle at 12 months and the other two 14 months. It is not going to hurt to let him have his bottle a little longer. I am 32 and when people my age and older were babies our momas let us have a bottle till we were 2 years old. Sounds to me like you are doing everything right. Keep it going!
Sincerely,
H. S.

All three of my kids used their bottles until they were at least one yr. old...give or take a week into being one yr. old. It just depends on what you, as a mother, want to do! I don't see anything wrong w/what you are doing right now and I don't see anything wrong w/how you will want to wean him and when. If it is at a yr. or a little older, so be it. Too many people (though well-meaning) give out their advice whether it fits us or our lifestyle/parenting style or not! You will know. It just takes time. The spoonfeeding will come in time too...he should be getting introduced to the spoon, or a baby spoon so he will eventually know what to do w/it but don't freak out if he doesn't know what to do w/it yet or even when he starts that he doesn't grip it just right and spills all his peas out on the floor so to speak. As long as you are offering it to him, he'll use it in time. :)
AS for pics...here is a name/number/email of someone I know personally...I don't know his costs, but I do know he is a person of integrity that will not rip you off. You may use my name as a reference. Good Luck! Let me know how it goes!
-----Bailey's Portrait Studio, Inc.------
www.PortraitsBy JTB.com
###-###-####
The Galleria of Tuscaloosa
1653 McFarland Blvd. N., Suite G-4
Tusc, Al.

*I just realize you said amatuer...but it never hurts to ask...he may still be able to help you or know someone else as well!

He's not too young to be on the bottle, but he's not too young to be using other cups/sippi cups. Most kids do best when changes are gradual. Slowly decrease the use of the bottle (and you feeding him), and increase the use of cups and letting him use the spoon/forks. My daughter hated being spoonfed at that age and loved finger foods. Take your time and remember that he's always growing up every day.

when hes ready. do not feel pressured with other people. you know your baby more than others does. he is only 8 months old. i know most of babies wean the bottle 12m to 18m sometimes 24m. he is just a baby.

Do you mean weaned from milk (breastmilk or formula) or just from drinking it from a cup (yet still getting it from cup)? I *think* he should still be getting most of his nutrients from milk (breasmilk or formula). 8 months sounds really young to be weaned to me. Personal opinion, if I could go ahead and transition to a sippy cup I would do so, but I wouldn't sweat it either way. My baby is not quite 8 months yet and she's just starting on some table food, little bits here and there. I can't imagine trying to wean her this quickly. The only spoon I would let her have is one that she can "play" with (because you know the odds of actually getting food in her mouth is nil), if I want her to actually eat, I'll spoonfeed her ;)

T.

C.,

It is amazing how much input people have for everyone elses kids. Please ignore all the input & watch your kid to see if he is ready. 8 months is very young to completely remove the bottles, but some kids are ok with it.
Check for signs like does he still suckle in his sleep. Sucking actually has purposes related to speech development & so many moms feel pressured to remove bottles too young.

Sorry, can't help with photographer.
Good luck

1) I was just at the pediatrician for my son's 1-year check-up. (He's 13 months now, but we moved to a new city when he should have had his checkup.) He should be weaned from the bottle by 15 (fifteen) months. Given that many children breastfeed until they are at least 12 months, and that infants still need most of their nutrition from breast milk or formula until 12 months, weaning from a bottle at 8 months is unreasonable. Our son weaned himself from the breast at 11 months because he preferred sitting up and looking around while eating. We fed him formula for the last month, and then weaned him from the bottle within about a week after his first birthday. He doesn't use a sippy cup; we help him drink from regular household plastic cups (not disposables). (Every kid is different, though; some kids may find it harder to transition, which is why you have a three month window between 12 and 15 months.)

2) If he wants to learn how to use a spoon, encourage him! Yes it's messy, but he'll only learn how to feed himself by trial and error. My son hasn't shown much interest in feeding himself. He used to grab the spoon and chew on it, or wave it around, and then he'd give it back so I could feed him more. Now he sometimes puts a spoon or fork of food in his mouth, but generally prefers to eat with his hands or let me spoon feed him (because it's quicker). So, while it's not a problem at this stage that my son is not wanting to use a spoon, it would still be good for him to learn the skill. Which is why I say, let your kid learn how to do it, despite the mess. I keep a vinyl tablecloth under the high chair to protect the floor, wiping it off when it gets messy and disposing it when it gets TOO messy. I generally need to replace them about once a month; and they only cost about $4-$5 (I got a bunch on sale last month for $2-$3).

3) Congratulations on your wedding! If you know anyone at your church, you might ask them about it. That's how my husband and I got our engagement photos done, and how my baby shower was photographed. We had sufficient amateur photographers in our extended family that they brought their cameras to our reception and then mailed CDs of the photos after the event, free. Good luck!