still bottle fed at 1 year 7 months

Hi Mommies,

I still give my twins the bottle for their morning and evening milk intake. Is that ok?

when it comes to water, they drink it from strawcup and at times from cup. However, since they drink their milk when they are in their bed early in the morning or before sleeping at night, I can't see other ways than to use the bottles.

I appreciate any pertinent advice or an alternative to bottles especially that now they require more milk quantity than the maximum of the bottles.

Thanks a bunch.

 

I think you need to switch up the routine. Take them to the table and give them milk sippies with breakfast. And let them have milk sippies on the couch or something at night. They definitely should not be drinking a bottle of milk and then going to sleep without brushing teeth. And they shouldn't really need a before bed sippy anyway. Just give them milk with dinner. Personally, I think they are too old for bottles and would switch them to straw sippies for everything. But at the very least I'd get the milk out of the bed.

 

I agree with Rachael, I would switch up the routine.. maybe give them their milk after getting dressed and before breakfast, during breakfast or after breakfast...the night time milk you can give right after dinner but before bedtime. Good luck!

 

I'd stop giving them the bottles. If nothing else, I'd put water in the bottles so they aren't going to bed with milk. My girls were in the habit of going to sleep with a sippy cup at night, so we made a rule that they could only have ice water in their beds.

 

I agree with Aimee. The bottle transition might be a hard one for them since the older the get the more attached to things they get. If it is hard for them, I would put water in the bottle for the first few days, then just drop it cold turkey. I agree with no sippies before bed or in bed - it's really bad for their teeth and they are too old to be on bottles. They should have milk now at meal times only in a cup.

 

I agree with the other ladies too, it's going to get harder and harder to take away those bottles the older they get, they get more attached to them, so it's probably time to ditch them permanently.

As for milk, I also agree they no longer need that morning/nighttime bottle, however if they want milk in a sippy cup that's fine, they just don't need it for nutrition, they should be getting plenty of calories from their daytime eating

 

Well I'm going to (mostly) disagree with everyone else. I think it is OK. If you are happy giving them bottles, and they are also learning to use normal cups, I don't see anything wrong with them using a bottle for milk at certain times.

I do agree that it's not good for them to have a bottle in their crib and then go straight to sleep. The milk will be sitting on their teeth all night and causing tooth decay. That is the only part of what you're doing that I'd change (I'm assuming you brush their teeth in the morning, either when they get up or after breakfast, so the morning bottle shouldn't be a problem). I would still let them have the bottle of milk in the evening, but give it to them before putting them in their beds, maybe cuddle up in your bed or on the couch and read them stories while they drink, then brush their teeth last of all.
It's my understanding that most sippy cups are no better for their teeth than bottles anyway, so I really don't see why you would need to switch to giving milk in a sippy.

Also I wanted to say that I have not found it to be the case that letting them have bottles later means it will be horrible when you eventually take them away. All my lot had bottles, morning and evening and then just evening, for a (comparatively) long time. Naomi and Luke had a bedtime bottle until they were around 2 1/2 and a bedtime drink of milk until they were a little over 3. Alyssa and Bryony had a bedtime bottle until 3 1/2 and still have a bedtime drink of milk now. Eleanor and Ethan still both have a morning and bedtime bottle. None of the twins made any more fuss (and less than some) about giving up their bottles than I've heard described by many people here who took the bottles away at around a year. We just explained to them that they didn't need the bottles any more and if they wanted some milk they could have it in a cup. There was a week or so of transition when they didn't really drink much milk and then they were back to drinking as much as normal. We had no crying/screaming/demanding the bottles back or anything.

I'm curious though why you think they need more milk than can fit in a bottle? At the age they are they should be getting enough nutrition from their food that the milk is just an extra thing. Do you mean that they finish a bottle and then ask for more? If they are consistently doing that I would assume they're hungry and try to increase their food intake, maybe give them a small snack about an hour before bedtime.

I hope you can figure out something that's right for your family. If you are happy with bottles, stick to bottles!

 

We have a different routine than what I usually read as being popular here. We do not give milk at any meal other than breakfast and usually that is just what is left over from their morning cup. I usually give them OJ with breakfast. Mine were on bottles (morning and night only) until they were 18 months.

When we dropped those bottles we replaced them with a milk cup. So they get up in the morning and have a cup of milk and then we have breakfast after they've been up for about an hour. At night they get a cup of milk before bedtime and we brush teeth after they finish and then head to bed. At lunch and dinner we serve water, juice and sometimes (gasp) tea.

For the longest time we had a milk cup when they woke from their afternoon nap. We don't always have milk at this snack time anymore. Sometimes it is water or juice and if it is close to dinner we skip this snack occasionally now. I've just found that having milk separate from meals helps DS eat better. If I offer him milk at meal time he just tanks the milk and then kills his appetite and won't eat much food.

GL! It was actually quite easy to ditch the bottles when we finally decided it was time. They were likely more ready than we were!

 

Thank you ladies. Appreciate a lot your valuable replies. Honestly, I am convinced that I should make them switch to sippies and I'll definitely try that from now on whenever I can. Yesterday I went buying them new sippies, however the lady there told me they won't necessary accept straight away to drink milk from sippies, so I ended up buying 4 new bottles and just 2 new sippies . But I'll definitely try giving them milk in sippies from now on...

 

I have to disagree with Twin Nanny. Bottles after a certain age can be harmful for tooth development. This is why the recommendation is to get rid of the bottles between 12-18 months. I would definitely agree with getting the milk out of the bed if nothing else. After teeth are brushed at night there should be nothing but water. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for some major dental decay.

As far as milk intake goes, kids this age need 16-24 oz of milk a day. Any more than this and it can cause decrease in food intake and anemia. When we switched to sippies we started offering milk at meals and they get only water other times. Juice is nothing but sugar and empty calories with a little vitamin C and I would much rather them get their vitamins from fruit. Drinking something sweet every time they are thirsty just serves as a gateway to koolaid and soda later in life. I can't tell you how many kids in my practice told me that they hated the taste of water and HAD to drink something flavored. Its no wonder I was seeing 60 lb 3 year olds and 120 lb 6 year olds!!!

 

I transitioned my girls from a bottle at 11 months. It was a great decision for us at the time. The girls wouldn't sit still long enough to drink a bottle so they weren't getting enough milk. Now, we do two 9oz straw cups a day. One is right after they wake up, and the other is right before their night time bath.

From your post, you sound ready to transition them. If you aren't, I would wait. I agree that you should try to eliminate the bottle in bed to try to promote healthy teeth, but if you brush their teeth after their milk bottle, you can give them a water bottle in bed. Your kids aren't going to need a bottle to go to bed when they are 18 so no need to stress about it too much

 

Our boys are 19-months-old and we still give them a bottle in the morning. They use sippy cups the rest of the day, and that transition went fairly smoothly, even giving up the nighttime bottle. But the morning bottle, they're really attached to. A few times we've tried to give them sippies in the morning and they just cry and wail and scream, and I haven't had the resolve (yet) to force the issue. But I know I need to one of these days. They clearly *can* drink from a sippy (and they drink enough milk throughout the day that I'm not worried if they refuse to drink milk in the morning for a little bit). But it also breaks my heart to try to take away this simple comfort from them. Any ideas?

 

I just want to say that, juice in moderation isn't a big deal, especially if you buy sugar free juice. My 8 and 4 yr old still drink their juice half with water, and the only time they've ever had soda or koolaid is when we are at someone else's house and there is nothing else available I'm more about keeping my kids hydrated, especially when it's 100 in the summertime, than worrying over a splash of juice mixed into their water cups Just my opinion!

 

For ease sake, I'd say get rid of the bottles! if you're already offering water or otherwise in sippy cups, then switching their milk to sippies is one less type of cup/bottle to have. You mentioned that you need more milk than the bottles can hold, I have heard that part of too much milk will take away from the kids actually eating more nutritious food. too much milk is basically just giving one type of food for nutrition and we need more variety.

as for water or juice/other drinks. I LOVE that ours love water. Water is perfect for hydration, and water is available everywhere, you don't have to worry if they have the special kind of juice you offer etc. Also the pediatric dentist said that the best way to avoid cavities is to only offer the milk/juice during meals, and then offer water at all other times. that way their mouths will remain neutral and not have all the sugars etc running in their mouths that can contribute to cavities.

And definitely brush their teeth before bed and don't offer anything but water after that.

good luck! ours finally got the hang of sippies around 15 months. you may have to try several different kinds.

 

When you do switch, you will see a big decrease in intake of milk. That is OK! It will last 2-3 weeks, and you can just offer lots of yogurt and cheese in the meantime. Once they get used to the switch, they will start drinking more. For them, it's learning that milk is no longer a food, but a beverage and I think that's a bit of a tough transition for them. But drinking from a cup will help them.

Here's the thing, the longer you wait to take away something (be it a bottle, pacifier etc), I think it just gets harder because they get more attached. If you can stick to your guns now, it will be much easier than if you wait 6 months. An acquaintance has a 3.5 year old who still drinks from bottles, and I know the mom hates it, but now it's become a HUGE power struggle in the house.

 

I am planning on switching at 18 months cold turkey. I know it's going to be hard for a couple of days but hearing all the encouragement on this thread made me sure that it's a right step.