Pretty embarrassed to be asking this... - Page 2

[Mal85]

If it makes you feel any better, my niece will be 4 in June and they just got her off the bottle. She took it before nap and bed and it was a must for her. She would. not. settle into sleep without her woah (her word for bottle).

[peaceful_mama]

My first was bottle-nursed because we never got the nursing thing down. He had a bottle, in-arms cuddled only, until just past 2.

My second started a bedtime bottle around 16 months-ish due to a pregnancy-related supply drop at bedtime that really upset her. (I tried to avoid it but it was the only thing that calmed her, she was NOT satisfied with nursing and little/no milk at bedtime.)

She ended the bottle last summer when we 'forgot' to bring it on vacation. She was 2 1/2. She also used it in-arms.

16 months DS is without a bottle and I don't forsee him going to one even when my supply drops this pregnancy (I'm sure it will). He *loves* his thumb, so the sucking I'm sure he'll switch over to that. He even occasionally now will nurse and then flop over and suck his thumb to sleep.

oh and *none* of my children have used any sort of "sippy" or spouted cup. DS1 went to straw cup, the other two have used open cups mostly.

[amma_mama]

DD was on the bottle until she was 2.5yo. We tried all sorts of sippy and straw cups and she just did not like it at all, so a bottle it was! Then finally one day, DH gave her a sippy cup, saying the bottles were all dirty (he would have washed one, of course, if she refused the cup). She gulped down her milk and never turned back. She was ready when she was ready, and not a day sooner.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

I didn't read all the responses, but I just wanted to admit that my DS1 was also drinking from a bottle at home until almost 2! DS2 is 16 months, and still drinks from a bottle about 98% of the time. Especially for going to bed, as thats what helps him get to sleep.

Try not to be embarrassed. Your doing what works, right?

PS, DS1 still SUCKS on a bink. Yes, hes 2.5 and SUCKS on it. Some children have a need to suck well into childhood years. My sister did until she was 4. I only allow him to do it at home, but there it is.

[Catwmandu]

Try not to be embarrassed (easier said.. because I feel it too). My DD is 2.5 and she still gets one before bed. We eliminated the morning one about a month or so ago with a "big girl sippie" and yes she was not happy. Plus she still gets a binky at nap and bed. Otherwise she sucks her thumb. There are times that it's hard to see her (front teeth now messed and all) sucking and not want to change it... but it comforts her and what right do I have to eliminate something that comforts her until she is ready.

Some kids have the need to suck more than others. But in some children sucking in some form can be seen until ages 7 or so. I actually remember that I used to suck on cloth and the sucking need would come back in stressful times.

I hope that I've helped you not to feel embarrassed for doing what works and what you are comfortable with.

[Megan73]

On the one hand, I really don't see the difference between a sippy and a bottle. If you both enjoy reconnecting over a bottle, who cares? If you offer water in an open cup with meals - which can't hurt your carpet, surely - he'll eventually learn to use it well enough to have his milk that way.
BUT - and I say this as a person who cringes at mess, too, and the mother of a 20-month-old - we may have to just get over it. Toddlers are messy!
Could you install some inexpensive laminate for the toddler years?

[joynsyde]

I don't see anything wrong with drinking from a bottle. Heck, I still like the feeling of drinking from a bottle sometimes!
Don't let cultural pressures try to dictate your parenting. Do what works, ignore anyone who would judge you.

[sapphire_chan]

If you look at nature, there's a biological need to suckle until a range of age 2 to 7. Based on when the closest primates wean and so forth.

[ainh]

I let my first use a bottle any time he wanted for as long as he wanted. He did use straw cups and sippy cups at times, but I never fretted about the bottle. By age 2.5 he picked a bottle at most once a week and then I guess he just stopped at some point . As he gets older he'll be interested in picking out his own cool sippy from Target or something (one that has characters all over it and is totally ugly and offends every sensibility in your soul, if he's like mine!). Also, restaurants are a good place to start using straw cups...it's like a treat, not a chore to use them there somehow...

[pbjmama]

I agree that using a bottle at this age is acceptable. It is comforting and it meets his needs. Children have a suck need. That is okay.

If the issue is control over mess, that is something you need to work on. Babies make messes. That is how they learn, they have sensory experiences, cause and effect, etc. When my children make a mess, they help clean it up. It teaches them to be responsible.

In addition, at 19 months he can drink out of straw. Here is a good link
http://www.mother-2-mother.com/cups-older.htm
Scroll down to How Can I Get My Baby to Drink from a Straw?
I use the take and toss cups for my kiddos, they are top rack dishwasher safe. My kids have been using them from 9+ months.

[calebsmommy25]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

I never realized that my dd can kiss already because she knows how to drink from a straw. With kids who do know how to kiss it's a way to teach them how to suck like that, but clearly that won't work for you.

if you snuggle then . Part of why nursing until a long time is good is that it creates times of closeness in the midst of a busy toddler life. Don't see any reason why bottle nursing should be different than nursing at the breast and I certainly don't pop one of mine off for Lina to wander around with.

To the bold text:

My ds still nurses, but when is away from me drinks bm from a bottle. He doesn't care to have it too much anymore when away from me, but figure that he will wean himself off the bottle when (or before) he weans himself off the breast, and I feel that is okay.

I wouldn't worry about the bottle use, and by all means cuddle that baby up as long as you can. Our children will reach a point when they will be too big for our laps...cherish every last minute of it, for both of you.

[slvsquared]

My oldest used a bottle until 2, maybe older. She was old enough to understand when we packed the bottles up and told her we wouldn't be using them anymore - she just waved bye bye and switched to a cup. I don't think it would have been that easy if we hadn't waited until she knew what we were doing when we explained.

[yogamonkeyjo]

Originally Posted by daniturtle

I dunno, my (almost 18 months old) daughter does not like sippy cups. She seems to regard them as means to get water all over the place, anywhere but her mouth. But she happily drinks from actual cups, with help. She will also drink from straws, which she more or less figured out by herself. For awhile when we were out eating I would get a straw and feed her tiny bits of juice or water from my glass by covering the top of the straw with my finger and putting the bottom of the straw in her mouth and then releasing- she would kind of suck/chew on the bottom of the straw and get the liquid. Then she would try putting the top of the straw in her mouth-- for weeks nothing happened. And then one day- she sucked and drank the water she sucked up! Presto! So if you want to "teach" your son to drink from a straw, you could try that.

I wouldn't worry too much about the bottle though. I'm a big believer in doing what works. Slowly introducing more sippy cup or straw drinking should get him there in time. Be patient with him and try not to be so hard on yourself!

this is exactly what i was going to say. my DS is not quite 17 mos. and we use bottles almost exclusively. he hates spout tops, hard straw tops, etc. but will drink out of a regular disposable straw or cup with no straw with supervision. seeing as how he drinks tons of juices, smoothies, etc. nonstop throughout the house and car, i see no problem with letting him keep to mostly bottles that won't spill when he sets them down on their side.