Should my 15 month old still be taking bottles?

[monkey-lamb]

I work outside the home, and my 15 month old still drinks 15 ounces of breast milk a day from a bottle. I am fine with the amount of breast milk she is drinking and don't plan to introduce any other type of milk anytime soon, but I am curious if she should still be drinking it from bottles. I have a friend who always brags about how her DD, who is 3 weeks older than mine, is down to one bottle of rice milk a day and drinks all her other milk from a cup by now.

Should my DD be drinking milk from a cup when she is not getting it from nursing? I think my situation is different from my friend's since my DD is drinking breast milk. On the weekends, my DD nurses exclusively, and she nurses every 2 or 3 hours all night long. She is an excellent solid food eater, too, and her weight is perfect.

[diamond lil]

Hi!

My daughter is also 15 months old and I provide around 10 to 12 ounces of pumped breastmilk for her 5 days a week while she is in daycare. She no longer takes bottles. She drinks out of a sippy cup now. I don't think there is anything wrong with bottles. I think we transitioned her to sippy cups around 12 months or so. My daycare provider helped me alot with this since this is my first child and I had no idea when would be a good time to start offering cups. She also drinks rice milk in the cup at home when she does not breastfeed. She also loves to drink through a straw.

I don't think it would hurt to offer her a sippy cup and see how she takes it. You can buy some that have a super soft nipple like a bottle to start out with.

Good luck!

[madeleines_mom]

It's really a personal decision.

I don't see anything wrong with a child having bottles until they're 2 or 3 y/o. I feel that some babies need the comfort of sucking on a bottle that they just don't get from a sippy cup or a regular cup. And there's nothing wrong with that. All the doctors here say it's best to start weaning from the bottle right at 12 months but I don't really fully understand that logic.

That being said, drinking from a bottle is different from breastfeeding in many ways but an important one is that they can get baby bottle tooth decay if you're putting them to bed with a bottle. So just make sure you're not doing that. All milk should be out of their mouth when being put to sleep.

[monkey-lamb]

She sometimes takes a bottle before her nap, but usually an hour or so passes between the bottle and her nap. What about nursing before bed and through the night? Does anyone really brush baby's teeth after these nursings? Is it only a problem if the milk comes from a bottle?

She will drink milk from a sippy cup, or a straw cup is what we have been using actually, but she drinks less and more slowly than with a bottle. I believe I could get her to take all her milk from a cup, but I am not in any hurry without a good reason. She is growing up so quickly as it is! Her nanny loves giving her a bottle. It is the only times she is guaranteed some snuggle time from my very active DD.

My friend quotes a source that talks about how it is important to get baby off a liquid diet because it prevents them from developing an interest in solids, but my DD eats solids well. I am talking real solids - baked chicken, steamed broccoli, grean beans, etc. She has been feeding herself since she was about 10 months old and has never eaten commercial baby food. I would say she eats solids better than a lot of kids her age that are completely weaned.

[madeleines_mom]

Sounds like you're doing just fine. Some people feel very strong in their parenting beliefs and that's how your friend is. Just because she's doing something that works for her and her child, she's pushing you to do exactly the same. While she's kind of right about the transition from milk to solids, they can still have milk (in bottles) and a variety of solid foods as well. Breastmilk is still very beneficial for your child to be drinking, so I wouldn't cut it out completely! And children still need the fat in milk, so if they're getting it from a bottle or breast or cup, I don't think there's a big deal until they're older than about 3.

I'm a dental hygienist. Breastfeeding is different from bottle feeding in that the nipple of a breast goes far back in a baby's mouth and there's really not much of an issue with milk just pooling in the front of their mouth and causing cavities. The kids who get baby bottle decay are ones being put to bed with a bottle of milk or juice, and who fall asleep with the liquid pooling in their mouths on their teeth. There's no need to brush their teeth everytime they have a bottle in the night or in the day. Just make sure you're brushing them twice a day, morning and night, and removing as much plaque as you can. Without plaque, the sugar in the milk can't cause damage because there is no bacteria to feed on that sugar (which is what causes cavities.)

[spirit4ever]

Originally Posted by madeleines_mom

It's really a personal decision.

I don't see anything wrong with a child having bottles until they're 2 or 3 y/o. I feel that some babies need the comfort of sucking on a bottle that they just don't get from a sippy cup or a regular cup. And there's nothing wrong with that..

Thats how I feel too! You could keep the most important bottle and try a sippy, but there's no rush!

AS a daycare provider though I do offer my lo's a cup at lunch with all the other kids, and i put bm in the toddlers cup (just a little) so that they start gettting used to the cup. By about 2 most of my lo's don't want the bottle at daycare anymore!

[Megan73]

I don't see any difference between a bottle and a sippy
I think it's fabulous that your nanny enjoys snuggling with your LO, though!

[Baby_Cakes]

DD started being able to drink out of a sippy cup at around 11-12 mo. At 14.5 mo, she still has one bottle during the day while I'm away. We sort of kept the most important bottle (naptime) but give her all her other liquids in sippy form. She gets water (all that she wants) and some soymilk in another on days that I work.

It's really up to you. Don't compare your situation to someone who weaned at 12 months, or formula fed and took away all bottles after 1 year. Their situations are different. If you're still nursing, your LO still suckles milk, so taking away the bottle doesn't really mean much. I only say that b/c I was really confused at first as to why so many places online say to get rid of bottles at a year -- they really mean wean at a year.

[monkey-lamb]

Thank you all for your replies! It is so nice to have support for the decisions that feel right to me. I am not going to rush my DD. She already knows how to use a cup because she drinks water in it with her meals, so I will let her keep drinking her milk from a bottle or mama.

[LilMomma83]

Looks like you have it all figured out

Just adding...

My 2.5yo still takes bottles here and there, and still nurses. To me they go hand it hand and I don't personally feel right about taking bottles away from him because I wouldn't take the boob away from him either, you know? To me that is how he "nurses" when he is away from me. He feels more secure when I drop him off at daycare in the morning with a bottle of milk in his hand...and I wouldn't want to take that away from him. He has recently started asking for a cup of milk here and there and will drink milk in a cup at lunch when he is at daycare...but, he still drinks a bottle each morning when I drop him off and a bottle on the nights I work. We have been gently reducing both breast and bottle over the past year (very gently) and I am guessing he will be all done by this time next year and I really won't be upset if he isn't.