[peaceful_mama]

So...we're working on this no-bottle thing. The thing is, he doesn't really drink milk that well from a cup. And I'm not talking a sippy, anymore those are glorified bottles, and he hates them anyway. I'm talking no lid cup.

The thing is, he doesn't take milk from a cup all that well. He will drink anything else from a cup. He will drink milk from a cup too, but maybe just a few sips, 2 oz. at most. RARELY will he drink a full 4 oz. (the amt. he would have in his bottle) from a cup, and usually for that to happen it's got to be chocolate.

He likes straws, but I've tried that with the milk too and it doesn't go much better.

I'm not thinking he's got to take some astronomical amount either, 8-12 oz. a day is all I'm asking for.

He takes it just fine in a bottle--will drink from a bottle what I had in a cup even. I think he just plain out does not want it in a cup.

I don't let him run with a bottle all day, I treat it like nursing.

Should I just chill out about it for awhile? After all, the plan had been to nurse till age 2...unfortunately I had him at a hospital that undermined everything I wanted.
His teeth appear to be fine, he doesn't have it all day, he absolutely does NOT have it in bed, never has. I just worry it's going to wreck his teeth.
the other thing is he's going through a rough patch getting his eye teeth in, so I'm kinda on hold with taking too much away for the moment--he's also got his binky which I've always tried to keep to naps and bedtime but once in awhile he just seems to need it for crankiness...
I've got the teething tablets, they seem to help some.

:

 

[13710]

My DS never really got in to milk after we stopped the bottle. He eats plenty of yogurt and loves cheese, so I don't worry about the calcium issue much. He's coming around and is starting to drink it periodically (usually when there are other kids around and that's what they're drinking).

I think you're smart to think about how much he can give up at once. I'm guessing that a bottle before bed isn't going to do much damange (but you do want to brush his teeth after the bottle, before actual bed) and, as my mom always says to me, he won't go to high school with a bottle in his mouth!

 

[LynnS6]

IMO, let it go. Your son sounds EXACTLY like our son. He would drink anything else in a cup, but not milk. Our son would take milk in a bottle, but not a cup. When we gave up the bottle at 2 1/2 or so, he quit drinking milk. (He gets calcium and fat in other ways.)

For our son, milk in bottle = comfort. If it's OK to nurse after 2, why isn't it OK to give a bottle then too? I know peds are pushing giving up the bottle at age one, because they don't want to see kids walking around with it. But for our son, he'd sit on our lap with a bottle (and it's about the only time he would!) Then we'd brush his teeth, and put him to bed.

If he drinks from a cup, but prefers the snuggle with you for the milk, enjoy your time with him.

 

[LynnS6]

P.S. Relax on the binky too. Our son held on to that until 4 1/2, when we lost the last one. We had a rough day and then he was fine. He found the missing one about two weeks later, tried it out, and tossed it back into the toy bin where it had been. He was clearly ready.

An almost 2 year old who has the binky mostly at nap and bedtimes, who's about to get a new sibling probably needs to hold on to it!

 

[AEZMama]

My ds just turned 16 mos and REFUSES to even LOOK at a sippy cup. I got to the point where I was able to sneak it up to his lips and that was it. No straws, no nothing. He is definitely one to do things in his own time, so I don't worry too much.

With his bottle, he gets additional cuddle time with me and it's definitely a comfort for him...and it makes me still feel like he's a 'baby' and not a toddler! I keep the sippy's out with some water in them, but he just shakes them around like a toy. Eventually...!

 

[Mama2OneLilBoy]

Yep. Sounds like my son. Will not take 'milk' (he is allergic to milk, but you get the point!) from a sippy...bottles=yummy! I am trying to gently wean but he keeps telling me he is NOT ready!

 

[crazydiamond]

Children don't need cow's milk. Period. They need calcium, though not nearly as much as the USDA recommends. There are plenty of other high calcium, non-dairy even, foods he can eat.

My DD pretty much drinks nothing but water. She nurses twice a day and that's it. She eats a wide variety of foods. I see no reason why she needs cows milk.

If you really just want to get rid of the bottle, wean him off of it slowly and gently, and don't worry about whether he drinks milk or not.

 

[Llyra]

I'm on the "let it go" side. My DD is 23 months old and drinks a bottle of milk at bedtime. I used to worry about it, because it seemed like "everybody" was saying she needed to give it up, but I've stopped caring. She's not carrying it around all day. She's not falling asleep with it, and I brush her teeth before she goes to sleep, so I'm not worried about her teeth. Any damage that was going to be done to her jaw development has already been done, and I don't think 10 minutes a day sucking on a bottle is going to make it worse. She derives comfort from it, and since she isn't nursing I won't take away her only source of sucking satisfaction.

I wouldn't worry about it, as long as you are brushing his teeth and he's not sleeping with it or walking around all day with it.

 

[pixielinds]

we were rid of the bottle well before 1, and now are on sippy cups working towards "big boy" cups. i just refused him the bottle until he realized that if he wanted something, he had to use his sippy cup

 

[captain crunchy]

Quote:

i just refused him the bottle until he realized that if he wanted something, he had to use his sippy cup

That strikes me as so sad.

I don't get what is wrong?? I think you should let it go. Our daughter is 14 months and she is still on the bottle and I have no plans on changing that soon. I wanted SO desperately to nurse, and when in the end I couldn't, literally physically could not -- I was determined to make our bottle feeding relationship as close to a nursing relationship as possible --- skin to skin, eye contact, NO propping, NO ONE else fed her for the first 6 months of her life but me, stuff like that....

She is on solids but I wouldn't take her bottle away. She comfort "nurses", and "nurses" to sleep and things of that nature. She is great with cups and the like any other time and only drinks water 99% of the time except for her bottle --- and like you, we treat it like nursing... she doesn't walk around with her bottle or even hold it when we are "nursing" (even though she is able to hold it).

I would let it go personally.

 

[Rivka5]

My daughter wouldn't take milk from a sippy cup either. She'd drink water from a sippy cup, but not in large amounts. Then a friend recommended Nuby cups (http://www.netkidswear.com/12oznunogrcu.html), which have a soft silicone spout similar to a bottle nipple.

As soon as I introduced the Nuby cup, she started drinking *much* more water. She drank milk from it just fine, too, so I switched cold turkey from the bottle to the Nuby. For the first couple of days, she drank the same amount of milk as usual, but gradually her interest in having milk at bedtime dropped away. She went from taking an 8oz bottle to just a couple of sips from the Nuby, without any apparent stress or complaint. I guess that the Nuby was just different enough to break the association with prolonged sucking at night, without being different enough to upset her.

Now she drinks good quantities of milk from an open-topped cup at meals, and we keep the Nuby cups just for water. They really made the transition away from the bottle painless! You might give them a try.

 

[AEZMama]

Thanks for that link Rivka! That looks like just what would help to make the transition for us!

 

[peaceful_mama]

We tried the Nubys. my friend's kids use them, and I thought that's what would make it 'cool' to my son--nope. (they're his best friends

) He wouldn't drink much from it, and now he just takes theirs to them, doesn't steal a drink, nothing.

This morning he brought me a cup and asked for milk in it. AND he drank it. 2 oz maybe but he drank it.

I wouldn't worry about the calcium thing except that I haven't tried yogurt again since the last time he got sick after eating it (about 13 months-ish) He does OK with cheese though. Has to have goat's milk.

I think I am just going to let it go. binky too. A bottle 1-2 times a day isn't going to hurt him...

 

[Imogen]

If I remember correctly, ds stopped having his bottle at around 18 months old. Not because I took it away, he simply lost interest in it and stopped drinking it. Now he only takes water to bed with him and he doesn't seem that interested in that either, prefers to just hug his cup to himself while falling asleep.

 

[**guest**]

Starting a week before ds's first birthday, I told him that when he turns 1 yr old, he's going to get to use the wonderful big kids cup all the time and that he can say bye bye to his bottles.
I would talk about it like he was just soooo lucky to have this opportunity. LOL.

Well, he woke up on his birthday and I told him he's one yr old today! Then, for his morning milk, I told him we're saying bye to bottles and HELLO to his very own cups!

He was excited and didn't have any trouble with it! Phew!

 

[lnitti]

my dd took a bottle 1-2 times per day up until a few months ago when it dropped to just one before naps (which was most days, but not everyday). About a month and a half ago, she gave up the nap one. She is now 29 months old. If I was nursing, she would probably still be nursing, so I wasn't concerned.

But I didn't want to replace the milk/formula she was getting in the bottle with milk in a cup. I don't want her to drink alot of milk. I only give her milk if she asks for it. I always offer water instead.

If you are trying to avoid sippy's that are like bottles, I would suggest the first years tumblers with the snap on lids. The tumblers are perfect size for drinking from an open cup. The cups are not spill proof, but also don't pour out when held upside either and don't require sucking to drink (although the liquid comes out better if you suck at least a little bit). The will spill if your child shakes it upside down. We love those. dd never got the hange of sippys that required you to suck. We have some of those too, and just took the valves out so she could use them (and they are not spill proof without the valve). She also lover her playtex and evenflo straw cups too.

 

[RainCoastMama]

I'd say relax a little. My DD got rid of her bottles at 2. She also stopped drinking milk almost completely

(We have her on soy now and she has yog, cheese, lentils, etc.)

If you're carful about the teeth thing, there really is no reason to stop bottles at 1 - heck, I BFd until 19 months - I didn't one day decide on no more boob and only feed her EBM out of a cup. It's comforting. They're still babies at that age.

At 2, we made a big ceremony for her with candle and cake, and a 'big girl' present. She got her bottles and threw them away in the garbage can (rescued for DD #2 by us later

) and got to call grandma and tell her what a big girl she was. She told everyone for months later. She hasn't looked back since.

HTH