when to stop the bottle - advise needed please

[millsa]

I remember reading somewhere that we should wean babies off the bottle around 12 months, and try to give them milk in a beaker instead. We tried a few times when our son was 12 months but he refused to drink from a beaker, and always looks at me as if he was saying: the beaker is for water, not for milk you silly woman. We gave in and have carried on with the bottle, mainly because we didn't want to break this nighttime routine - bath, bottle and sleep.

However he is 18 months and I really feel we should stop. He hasn't touched the beaker with milk since Fri which means he hasn't had any milk before the bed since Fri. Should I give in again and get back to the bottle - at least I will ensure he gets his milk... But on the other hand - is the milk still that crucial at 18 months? How much milk should he have now? He drinks 10oz from the bottle.

any advice appreciated Mums and Dads!

thanks

[Mellors]

I've just been through this with my second (now 16 months)

No 1 swapped from bottle to beaker at 12 months and didn't seem to notice.

No 2 however, was horrified when I took her bottle away, and threw the beaker out of the cot in disgust every time. We now seem to have cracked it though - basically I just persevered (in fact I just got rid of all the bottles so I couldn't give in). I think at this age its not really so important (she is eating 3 meals a day with lots of milk, yoghurt cheese etc so getting plenty of calcium elsewhere, and drinks plenty of water during the day so won't be dehydrated). After about 2 weeks of beaker throwing tantrums she clearly realised we weren't going back, so has now gone back to happily glugging the lot, the naughty little Madam!

I can't remember what age they stop bothering with milk much at all - I give her a full beaker morning and night, but my 3 year old only has one at night and doesn't often drink much of that? natural weaning I suppose

Persevere - chuck 'em out and be done with it ;)

[lorraineliyanage]

my 15-month old still needs the bottle to fall asleep, am a bit worried about her teeth as they get brushed at evening bathtime, but never after the bottle. she's not keen on beakers, she wants normal cups, but only wants her milk from a bottle or boob. argh!

[millsa]

at least I managed to wean him off the boob with no hassle - good luck Lorraine ;-)

thanks Mellors - there are no beaker tantrums (yet?), now he only stares at me and keeps making a sign for milk while pushing the beaker full of milk away. we will persevere this time though!

[melbourne groover]

I found with my daughter that a softer teat beaker like the NUK ones went down fine but the hard top ones were not so popular. It made a gentle change over and we had no issues. Am hoping for same smooth transition with my son!

[Mellors]

Ha ha!

My daughter also does the sign for "milk" furiously whist shouting at me and throwing the beaker away (despite knowing its full of milk). I'm afraid she has just had to learn its my way or the highway.....

Sometimes I wonder if baby signing is a good thing lol.

[chantelle]

my son is 18 months too and tbh i don't really care if he has one bottle a day. Is there any overwhelming evidence that it's such a bad thing? he will sometimes have a bit of milk in a soft or hard sip cup but those clearly hold none of the magic the bottle still has for him.

[Pickle]

I also still use bottles for my 19 month daughter - it was such a battle getting her to take the d*mn things I feel mean taking them off her! My son continued to have 1 bottle at night until he was over 2, at which point I switched to a cup and he then stopped having milk altogether. I'll do the same with no. 2. I think as long as you're careful about brushing their teeth, and don't let them chew away on the teat or dawdle too much over drinking the milk it doesn't do any harm.

[sb]

.

[Mellors]

I clean mines teeth before their milk, hence I was keen to get them off the bottle and onto the beaker. I have no idea what its done to their teeth though as the little beasts refuse to let the dentist look in their mouths whenever I take them!

[helena handbasket]

I weaned my son off the bottle at around 14 months (it was that or the dummy, something had to go!) and as some have mentioned, he looked at me and threw the sippy cup at the floor. But after a few days he got over it. I just decided that I didn't want to have to break every habit when he was two (and now that I know what kind of two year old he was I'm glad I did!) I replaced his night bottle with a "very special bedtime only" sippy cup (beaker I guess?) that I bought special for the occasion, think it had a turtle in it which you could only see as the milk got lower. Somehow that he went along with that. He still loves his milk, but he's not fussy about what it's in.

[littleEDfamily]

I'm convinced the whole cows' milk thing is a conspiracy!

Most kids get so much calcium through cheese and yoghurt, not to mention milk on cereal and babychinos (and that's if you believe dairy is a good way to get calcium, and there is considerable evidence that it isn't), if you can break the bottle habit without too much drama, I say be done with the milk routine altogether!

I agree a bottle definitely helpful as part of the night-time routine, but if you have all the other elements still intact (bath, story etc), it may not be too disruptive to drop one of them. And although I' not qualified to say really, I can't see at 18 months he'd be losing out in any way nutritionally.

PS A friend who is a speech pathologist seems to believe continuing with the 'sucking' thing (whether bottle or beaker with soft teat) can have a negative impact on their speech development. I can grill her for details next time I see her.

[Sanne Panne]

My daughter also refused to drink milk from the beaker but was completely happy to switch to a straw cup. The only one that I've found that's of any decent quality is the Bibi one (the straw actually reaches the bottom of the cup and the child doesn't need to chew and suck on it like there was no tomorrow - it's just a normal durable silicon type straw tip). It's also BPA free in case that's relevant to you.

Just google "bibi straw" and make sure not to just buy the straw attachment or the sports cup as they also sell loose parts and other bottles. It should be about ?9 - ?10. Expensive I know... but they work for us for all drinks, we don't even use the "sippy cup" anymore.

Here's an example http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/bibi-STRAW-BABY-BOTTLE-350ml-BPA-FREE-Green-Blue-BNIB_W0QQitemZ400089756479QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=&rvr_id=&cguid=ce18b29511c0a0e203a46764ff9abdd8

[helena handbasket]

I really like the Bibi cup, and they can use it for years. Think I'll get one myself.

And love that it's BPA free.

Does it leak much if full of water and in your kid gear bag?

[Fuschia]

Son no 1 still has milk before bed, in one of these to prevent spillage!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermos-Beaker-Asstd-Orange-Blackcurrant/dp/B0001MQ7ZY

[Sanne Panne]

helena handbasket Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I really like the Bibi cup, and they can use it

> for years. Think I'll get one myself.

> And love that it's BPA free.

> Does it leak much if full of water and in your kid

> gear bag?

No leakage really as the sliding cap that covers the straw tip fits pretty tightly (the blue bit in the picture is a sliding cap). And since the straw nearly touches the bottom of the cup not much water can come out when the cap is not covering the straw tip, even when your toddler shakes the cup while holding it upside down. The only accidents I get are when I don't screw the cap on straight (and that's my fault rather than a design fault).

Millsa, about when to stop milk, I'm not sure what's right but I give my daughter this Bibi cup with warm semi skimmed milk after her bath - after which she will play another 15-20 minutes before going to bed which gives me time to brush her teeth (and as an added benefit you disconnect the milk-sleep association). I'm not really giving it for the calories but for the liquid volume as she doesn't drink huge amounts of water during the day (maybe the evening milk actually causes that). The calcium never hurts but I give semi skimmed as I'm sure she gets plenty of fats from the olive oil, cheese and yogurt in her daily diet. Sorry, I know, that's not really an asnwer.

[lorraineliyanage]

I think I'll try out that Bibi cup, Sanne Panne. Am definitely getting worried by the lack of teeth brushing and the bottle/sleep association. Another hurdle to figure out!

I'm not worried about the calcium intake as my daughter eats plenty of cheese and yoghurt in her diet.

[gwod]

Avent make a rubbery sippy-cup teat to adapt their bottles which can provide an interim between bottle and cup. Their milk still looks as they would expect, but you get to cunningly move them forward with the adaptor. It has the advantage of being able to drink while lying down just like a bottle so that you dont have to change too much of the bedtime routine at once.

Good Luck!

(also, I doubt that there is much harm in drinking from a bottle for a while in the long run so dont forget to relax about it as well!!!)