When did you totally get rid of the bottles?

Ok, this is a harder question for me since I have been basically bfing my twins most of the time. We went to some bottles and some bfing when I went back to work full time in late August (I'm a teacher). Anyway, we have just switched them to 2% (in bottles)milk when I'm not bfing. They drink water in sippy cups and sometimes milk....but not often.

When did you totally get rid of the bottle? Was it harder for one twin, than the other? I'm afraid Michael will have fits!

Thanks,

Bridget

 

Ok, this is a harder question for me since I have been basically bfing my twins most of the time. We went to some bottles and some bfing when I went back to work full time in late August (I'm a teacher). Anyway, we have just switched them to 2% (in bottles)milk when I'm not bfing. They drink water in sippy cups and sometimes milk....but not often.

When did you totally get rid of the bottle? Was it harder for one twin, than the other? I'm afraid Michael will have fits!

Thanks,

Bridget

 

We went cold turkey just after one year. They were not laying still and drinking them...so we decided it was time to drop them. They won't drink much milk when you make the switch...but there are cheese/yogurt to substitute. You just have to decide when it is right for you and stick to your guns!

 

Bottle's went bye-bye at 12 1/2 months. I took them away cold-turkey one day.

 

13 mos. We went cold turkey too. They had a few rough feedings here and there, but overall it went smoothly. We still gave them milk, but just put it in a soft spout sippy (Nubys from Walmart). They got those sippies first thing in the morning, and then right before bedtime...just like their bottles.

We transitioned to milk JUST at meal times by 15 mos.

 

13 months we were done with them. We only ever gave them formula in the bottles. All water and milk was done in sippy cups. Once we ran out of formula.....they were off the bottle.

 

My boys still have them. I still don't understand the 'get rid of them at 12 months' rule. I've never heard that except here. My boys have bottles in the morning and at night. Sometimes during the day. They get sippies with meals. I will switch them gradually. I'm personally not in a big hurry.

Feel free to take your time with eliminating the bottles.

Holly

 

Definitely by 12 months because as pp mentioned, mine would just sip at it and then walk away. It was the happiest day of my life.

 

We still give 2 bottles a day at nearly 21 months. Before nap time and before bedtime. I was planning to give them up earlier, but then we had a visit from some European relatives with a 3 year old who still loved getting her bottle a couple of times a day and I started to wonder why Americans feel they must give them up early.

Elliot and Clarissa do drink milk out of sippies the rest of the day, but the bottles are part of our routine. They drink them downstairs, and then go upstairs to sleep, so I think we could probably get rid of them without too much fuss, but they really enjoy them.

We have an appt. with the pedi next week, so I'll ask about whether there are any legitimate reasons why we should give them up sooner rather than later.

-Rachel

 

I'm with Rachel. I held on for a long time. Joy still uses hers, she won't go to sleep with a sippy cup.

 

Our pedi recommended giving up bottles at 12 months. I believe his reasoning was that babies drink more milk from bottles than from sippies (given the flow and how they have to drink) and by 12 months they should be eating a fair amount of table food to get the right vitamins and minerals. If they drink too much milk, they will not want solids as much and will risk not getting the right nutrition.

I bf'ed for 9 months, so bottles only ever had formula or breastmilk. As per our pedi, sippies were for water or milk. At 12 months we went to sippies of milk at meals, with two bottles - one am and one pm. By 13 months, we had eliminated bottles altogether. Since then, they've had sippies of milk at meals and water all day inbetween.

-rosie

 

Count us in with the people who are in no hurry to give up bottles. Alyssa and Bryony gave up their bottles (one before bed, one in the morning) about 3 months ago, when they were about 3 years 4 months old, they now have their milk in a sippy cup. Naomi and Luke still have a bottle when they get up and one before bed, they are 2 years 9 months old.
I don't think you need to rush to give them up if you don't want to.

 

We were on strictly sippies at 10 1/2 months. Pedi wanted them off by 1 year.

Angela

 

We were of bottles by 11months 1week! Once they started the sippy cup, there was no need to confuse them and let them have the bottle again. They get pediasure and milk in their morning sippy, and juice and water throughout the day, (they need the calories from the juice) and they get pedisure and milk in a night sippy before bed. Also they get milk with meals.

It took us like 3 days cold turkey for them to take the cups and not want the bottle. HTH

 

I'm in the no hurry camp as well.

And I have to admit, I was having some guilt issues around the whole bottle thing.

My girls were 18 months and I was still giving them bottles but it wasn't them. It was me. It was convenient and I felt like it was a soothing technique. Then, one day I got really sick of washing them and seeing a sink full of those things (we used Dr. Brown's) everyday! lol

So, I dropped all bottles a few weeks ago except their morning bottle which is the one they do like. I got rid of all but two bottles in the house. It's working out great and they had no issues.

I'll drop the morning bottle when I feel they're ready.

 

We have just successfully completed 1 week with no bottles. Last Sat I took all their bottles and put them downstairs and were only given their sippies. The first night was rough, but after that we had no problems. It was actually easier than I thought it was going to be. Good luck to you!!

 

I am another one that is in no hurry.

They get one bottle of milk at night, as part of our night time routine. They will sit in our lap and listen to a story while they drink the milk. They do not wander around with them, and even if they did, as long as they drank the milk I wouldn't mind.

The rest of the day they have water in sippys. They eat three meals a day (with milk offered), have two snacks a day, and drink ALOT of water.

I do not see anything wrong with this; they still find it comforting, and we (DH and I) love how it brings out the "getting ready for bed snuggles". And I want that to last for all of us as long as possible!

 

We were on sippy cups at 10 months. The boys did not care. As long as they were getting their milk, they did and do not care how they are getting it.

 

We were off of bottles at one year. Now - we are back to bottles. Why?? B/c they can figure out how to open every type of sippy cup we have tried. At least with the bottles I don't have milk all over the living room.

Actually for the last couple of days, we have been using only sippy cups. They only get water if they take them out of the kitchen.

 

Well, it wasn't that I was planning or trying to get rid of bottles, but my girls actually refused bottles at 11 1/2 mos and we moved on to sippy cups (with straws). I thought my DH would cry since he missed being able to hold one each morning for the am feeding. I don't think you have to hurry, but I personally don't quite understand a child at 2 1/2 or 3 carrying around a bottle as I don't see the difference in just going ahead and giving them a sippy cup. That's just my opinion and not an attack or any medical statements to back it up.

 

We still give the boys 2 bottles a day - 1 at morning and 1 as part of their bedtime routine. Like Wendy's DH, we still love holding them during this time because they just grow up too fast!

We'll probably drop the morning bottle first but the evening one will take a while because they go right to sleep after having their teeth brushed.

 

11-12 months. They only had one bottle a day (except when I was working). I started transitioning to whole milk in cups around 11 months and they were weaned from bf-ing one week after their first birthday. We went right to the cup.

 

We went off the bottles at just before 12 months, and did it kind of cold turkey. Basically IIRC (and honestly, I don't really remember for sure -- that's how easy it was!), they were getting 4 bottles a day, and we cut out the bedtime bottle first, mostly because they were were struggling with being held/cuddled then and were pretty much refused it, so we were just like, OK! Then a few days later we switched to sippies in the morning to no objections, and then I told our daycare provider to switch them off one of the bottles, but she misunderstood and dropped both of them at once, and that was it!

One of the main reason I wanted to switch was that they were getting moremobile and didn't want to sit still to drink them -- sippies they could drink in their high chairs, but bottles were a pain in the hgh chairs because they sat up straight and needed to tilt their heads back for the bottles. And if they weren't in their high chairs, then bottles are way more messy than sippies. And for me I had no real attachment to the bottles other than the cuddle-time factor, but they were totally over that by 11 months -- they were WAY to busy to be stuck getting cuddled by Mommy and Daddy! LOL! So to me there was no positive side of keeping the bottles.

Also my pedi recommended cutting them out around 12 months, ostly because if you wait later than that the babies are more set in their ways and stubborn, so it will more likely be a bigger deal to give them up because they'll be more attached. At 12 months they are still pretty pliable and open to new things and not in the lovely willfullness of the 18-30 month range.

 

My boys still get a bottle when they wake up and before bed. I really do want them off them soon but they really dont seem ready to give them up yet. During the day they get only sippies with water.

 

17mo. after much agonizing with the decision. They had only been getting one at bedtime since 13months though.

 

my girls turned two yesterday and we're just going to drop the morning bottle tomorrow. that will be jus t2 bottles a day - before nap and before bedtime.

I dont see the point of rushing to sippy cups. there's just as many parts to clean.

so, probably over the next month or so I'll drop them. Dont plan on potty training until they're 2.5 so I see no need to drop the night time bottle until then. (you know, trying not to give them liquids close to bedtime)

 

Hi

I got rid of the twins bottle during the day and gave them cups from around 13 mths

The girls are 2 1/2 yrs now and have a bottle of milk to go to bed with...but im finding now that most nights they dont really want it so im thinking of stopping the night bottles soon.



Leah & ellie born at 33 weeks 44 mins apart

Leah 4lb 8oz Ellie 4lb 10oz

xxxx

 

I tried cold turkey several times and it was horible so I waited.. then one day took them at about 23-24 months and that was that.

 

We were done at 13 months. Mine were down to a morning and evening bottle, and were also wandering around with them, dropping them, sipping here and there, so it's not like they were real attached to the bottles or it soothed them. We did it cold turkey one day and they didn't seem to notice or care.
I also switched from having the morning bottle(sippy) first, then breakfast 30 min later, to putting them right in their chairs with a sippy of milk while I make breakfast.

I say do whatever works for you. Our dr recommended at least attempting to give up bottles by 18 months, but it just so happened that we did it earlier.

 

we went to all nuby sippies at 9 months(they have soft tops) I'm now working on breaking them to hard spouts.

 

Alright so hopefully I don't offend anyone because that is not my intent but here goes...I think it's ridiculous to "cold turkey" bottles at or around or before 12 months. And I asked my pedi about this at their 15 month appt and guess what....he even told me that there is no real big deal about this having a bottle and it's not a milestone to be off of the bottle but is more of a convenience thing for the parents. I agree. I'd love to not have to deal with bottles at all but the only ones they take right now are a morning and bedtime bottle and the bedtime bottle I'm trying to start weening ONLY because I don't want the milk on their teeth all night long. Of course the nurse practioner in his office wants them off bottles yada yada yada which just goes to show you that there is no real rule of thumb here as it is school of thought. She also told me that she didn't want me alternating motrin and tylenol last week when the girls were running 103 temps. School of thought. I nodded and smiled on that one as I did on her thoughts of the bottle and even then she just focused on that bedtime bottle since they've got almost all their teeth now and is concerned about the milk on the teeth all night. The morning bottle we could probably do away with as well easily since there are so many breakfast foods they like but it's not hurting anything for them to have that bottle and they still enjoy it so why force them to drop it? I'm not downing anyone who has done this but mostly expressing my lack of understanding the thought behind it. It's just not hurting anything by them having it. Anyway, my 2 cents...take it or leave it. Thanks for allowing me to express it.

P.S. the Nubys have just never worked for us because they can't get anything out ( be it milk, water, juice) as fast as they'd like.

 

We got completely rid of theirs a week after their birthday. They didn't have a hard time at all giving them up, they never looked back.

My SIL's little on turned one in August, and is still on the bottle, but they haven't made an effort to give them up, it is lazziness on her part.

 

Our boy girl twins gave theirs up at around 12 months. Formula was only given in bottles and whole milk or water were only given in sippy cups.

According to our pediatrician stopping the bottle at around age 1 is the best time because the longer they keep it the more attached they grow to it and the older they get the harder it becomes to take it away. At age 1 they really aren't going to remember it at all!

Just as it was with our now 6 year old they just didn't miss it. One night they got their last one, we took pictures of DH and I cuddling them and the next night we just put them to bed without it. They didn't fuss at all and never seemed to miss it.

Good Luck!

 

29 months and still bottle loving.

Dh keeps wanting to get rid of the bottles. I keep ignoring him

My older dd had a nightly bottle until she was 4.

I just can't let go of my babies.

 

quote:
Originally posted by cabonnell:
Alright so hopefully I don't offend anyone because that is not my intent but here goes...I think it's ridiculous to "cold turkey" bottles at or around or before 12 months.


What if your babies don't seem to care about their bottles? I did do it cold turkey at 13 months. It was actually an accident, as I had siwtched the morning bottle to a sippy, and since DH usually preps the evening bottle, he thought I was changing that as well. Since he already had the sippy cups ready, I thought, let's give it a shot. They honestly did not care. They kind of looked at the cups like "ok, guess we have a cup" and still drank their milk. If they had balked at the sippies, I would have done it more gradually.

I'm normally not one to take offense at things, but I was offended. My babies were not screaming and crying because I gave them a sippy instead of a bottle. So who was hurt in this? Why is what I did ridiculous?