When did you totally get rid of the bottles?

Hi Kelly, sorry for offending you on this topic but let's see if I can clarify my statement....it's the "I must 'cold turkey' them off their bottles by X date or age". I'm referring to the pre-calculated thought of thinking that my child MUST be off bottles by X date or X age so I will pull out the stops and hence "cold turkey" them. I think it's great that so many seem to have found this approach to have been a positive experience, but I still find the act of it unnecessary. I don't find it necessary to put these little ones through it. The ideal of it being a necessity is what I find ridiculous. Now, as I mentioned before, I am going to begin weening the night time bottle because I want to try to take care of those teeth that have driven me nuts coming in. At that point, all I'll be left with is a morning bottle that they may or may not REALLY desire now, but I still incorporate it at this time. This has been the result so far of other things just naturally taking the place of a bottle....sippie of milk or crystal light or water (they love ice water)...snacks....real food...lunch. They seem to really be enjoying breakfast foods now, so I'll probably be able to easily remove that bottle. My goal is to have mine fully off of bottles by age 2 because I, personally, find it more age appropriate at that point to be drinking from nothing but sippies and at that point, be working on open cups, but that's my take and my plan. Will it happen that way? I hope so but it won't be a real big thing if not. Again, I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong here....I don't think there is a "right" or "wrong". If it worked for you then I suppose it couldn't have been wrong for you (by "you" I mean the general population and not YOU per say", but I still don't agree and find the ocncern for the scheduled removal unnecessary and THAT concern for the scheduled removal is what I find ridiculous. If I still offend, well, I still apologize to you. We all, whether we have twins or not, have our child-rearing ideals and experiences and I'm sure that we all, regardless of the position you take regarding this or any other topic, are doing the best we can. Take care.

 

Mine were refusing bottles around 10.5/11 mo. so we switched to sippies.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but was it suggested that you go to 2% milk? My Pedi's have always told us whole milk from 1-2 yrs and then we can go to 2% at 2 yrs. Just curious...there's so many differences between Dr.'s out there.

 

Melissa (MLH) I don't know, the pedi. said that either one is fine. We were used to drinking skim or 1% as a family, so the 2% seemed like a good compromise.

Thanks to everyone for their advice on getting rid of bottles. I don't think we are going to hurry it. Mikayla will probably be off of them soon. Michael still cries for one and sucks it down like a mad man. Every time he sees a bottle he cries and wants one and wants it NOW!

Bridget

 

I'm one of the one's in "no hurry". My twins are tiny and when we tried a while back to get them off, they lost a little weight in a short time, so the doctor said don't worry about it for now. If that wasn't an issue, they'd be totally off them by now. They have been biting the nipples and hanging them in their mouths (which isn't good for their teeth). It seems like in the past few months we've had to buy a few too many new nipples. So I've decided to take them off. Their after breakfast bottle is now in sippy cups. They do great in sippy's, but not with their milk. They still have the night time bottle. I'll give it another week and a half, and that's it. I'm taking away all bottles. I would try to get them off asap. I know lots of people say don't rush, and I used to think that way, but it is only harder in the long run. The older they get the bigger the fight they will put up, at least most kids. Its your decision though, no matter what anyone says. The funny thing is my youngest drinks her milk better from the sippy. Maybe the twins will watch her and get the idea
Good luck!

 

We gave up the 2 or 3 daytime bottles around 23 months and then the bedtime one about 2 months later.

While I am really relieved to not wash them anymore, the girls really loved the comfort of them. One in particular was very attached. The other probably could have transitioned at closer to a year if not for her sister. Personally I'm glad that we waited, not that it is all said and done.

 

quote:
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!


Same here.

 

I got rid of the bottles at 13 months. Ainsley & Sierra still weren't drinking from sippies by then despite being introduced at 6 months old. We had to go cold turkey and I just got rid of the bottles and offered only sippies without valves. It was messy for a couple of days as they learned how to drink from them and there was some crying but Ainsley was doing well at the end of the first day and Sierra was a pro by about 3 days later.

 

My boys are 19 months and i have tried also tryingto break them from the bottle. I have them currently on Nubs bottles and they are only getting 3 bottles a day. (1 milk in the morning, juice for lunch, milk for dinner) I have tried switching them to sippt cups but they cant seem to figure that you. but with me reading trying it without the valves is a good idea I am going to be trying that idea this week.

I talked to the Ped and she told me to get them off the bottles first before i start potty training the boys.

 

They were off ALL bottles by 15 months. We kept holding onto that before bedtime bottle, more for our sake.

 

13 months.

 

We got totally rid of the bottles at age 1. We went right to sippies like it was a reward for turning 1, and we've never looked back. We didn't have a hard time at all. I just had to find a sippy that they were able to hold really good. I know everybody loves those Fisher Price cups, but I tried a funny shaped Nuby cup that was smaller in the middle where they were able to grasp it better and even hold it with one hand like they did the bottles. It went fine. Now ask me about the pacifier and that's a whole different story. That took several tries, but we eventually let them go, too.

 

Around 19 months. It took that long only because they kept fighting the sippies, wouldn't drink anything from them for awhile. It took forever to find a sippy they were actually happy with. Hurray for Playtex!

 

Up until about 2 1/2 years we were having morning and evening bottles. It really wasn't a problem giving them up, we just told them we were giving them to the "babies" and they just asked a couple of times and that woz it. I used to love them sitting with me and having their bottle (so maybe a lot of it woz me not letting go too)


amanda (jorja and jessica 3)

 

I took the bottles away a little bit gradually. I gave 2 of the milk feedings in bottles and the others in sippy cups at about 12 months. Then by 14 months I quite the bottles all together. My boys didn't drink a lot out of the sippy cups at first, but they adjusted and did great with them soon after. I was glad to be finished with bottles.
Good luck to you!

 

Right after 11 months, Addison starting refusing a bottle and Chloe followed suit very quickly. It wasn't something I had thought about or planned, but they seemed to be done with it and our pedi said that was fine. SO, we switched to whole milk in sippies then and they did fine.

 

2 1/2 years

 

We're in the "no hurry" camp. My girls get three bottles a day and all of them are given while being held and cuddled-they never walk around with their bottles. Only the sippy of water is allowed to be carried around and given outside of meals. We give bottles first thing in the morning, after the first nap, and before bed. We brush their teeth every night, so milk left on the teeth is not an issue for us. DH and I tried several kinds of sippy cups before we found one they could drink from successfully. The mid-day sippy is probably the one they will give up easiest, so we will start that transition soon.

BTW-our ped has no problem with giving bottles at this age as long as they still drink from sippies or cups as well and eat enough solids. Though he did say he'd like to see them down to 2 bottles a day when we go in at 15 months!

Angela

 

Once I found a sippy cup that they liked, the bottles were gone. This was around 11 mths. I did this also with my first set of twins too.
Christine

 

At around 1 year, we switched to sippys for all meals except the bedtime bottle that we kept until around 15 months. Our girls never really cared whether they had a bottle or a cup. They never cried and never seemed to even notice when we stopped the bottles. I decided to switch to cups at 1 year for several reasons: (1) teeth - DH & I both have many cavities and I want to do whatever possible to maintain healthy teeth for my girls. My reading indicates that bottles are not good for their teeth, so I wanted to stop them as soon as possible. (We brushed their teeth after the bedtime bottle.) (2) nutrition - My girls drank more milk than they needed out of bottles than cups. IMO, the switch to cups was healthier for them because they did not need to drink so much milk. (3) Easier to transition at earlier ages - At 1 year and 15 months, my girls never missed their bottles. They never cried, and never asked for a bottle. At their current age, I believe they would have a much harder time getting rid of bottles. They are much more attached to comfort items and their routine. I do not know how things would go in the future, but it was an easy transition for them at that time.