Getting 1-year-old off bottles

[Anonymous]

Our pediatrician has said that now is the time to get our 1-year-old son off of the bottle. Easier said than done, right?

He drinks out of a sippy cup all day long as long as there's water in it, but he'll only drink milk out of a bottle. Put milk into a sippy cup? Stiff arm. Put milk into an open cup? Stiff arm. Put milk into a sippy cup with a straw? Stiff arm. Give him a sippy cup of water? He'll chug it.

Ok, so we maybe ditch milk then? Wrong. He refuses to finish a meal without milk. He'll start eating a meal, but at some point, during the meal, if he doesn't get his bottle of milk he will cry and cry and cry. We've tried, for several hours, to only offer all the different options containing milk in lieu of a bottle. He just cries so hard until he gags. It's soul-crushing.

How do we get him off the bottle? He's having whole milk, happily, so getting him off formula wasn't an issue at all. He'll drink all the sippy cups with water. He just refuses milk out of a sippy cup.

We've tried:

- distracting him while giving sippy cup
- only offering sippy cup
- many different options of sippy cups and open cups
- the switch-a-roo where he's having a bottle of milk and when he stops for a breath we swap to a sippy cup

What worked for you guys for your LO's who had a difficult time getting off the bottle?

[Anonymous]

Pick one bottle a day to start with. I’d start with whichever he seems LEAST attached too, and for god sakes not the last one of the day. If he’s on one nap, I’d vote either breakfast or post nap so he won’t lose sleep with the crying. From now on, at that meal, he gets a sippy of milk and a sippy of water. For all other meals, he gets his bottle as always. No more pleading, negotiating, distracting, games, different cups, or even pressure. The two sippys are there, he can drink them or not. He cries for a bottle, he gets a neutral “Sorry sweetie, at lunch we only have milk in a cup.” If he does take a sip of milk, it’s like you don’t even notice.

He cries until he gags? Snuggle him, say, “I know it’s hard. Change can be hard.” But do. not. waver.

I bet if you don’t cave, you’re looking at extensive crying the first day, nearly consistently until dinner, the second day it starts out just as bad, but peters on and off, the third day he cries for 15 mins, day 4 he gives a single wail and then you’re done. He may or may not drink the milk out of the cup, but at this stage, it really doesn’t matter.

The first will be the worst. Give it two weeks of no tears, then do the next, and so on, until they’re all gone. And if you have another kid, start this process right at 12 months when they’re less stubborn.

Bottom line, you’re in a power struggle, and you’re losing. Set your boundaries and hold firm.

[Anonymous]

Just let him continue having bottles. He's only 1.

[Anonymous]

I’d let him stay on bottles. Maybe try making the nipple bigger with a needle so the flow on his bottles gets quicker and matches a sippy cup?

My 1 year old baby also will only drink water out of a sippy cup and never cow milk. No clue! Still breastfeeding though so I don’t know if she’d drink warm breastmilk in a sippy.

Don’t stress this though. Pediatricians just offer recommendations. Your baby will figure it out in time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pick one bottle a day to start with. I’d start with whichever he seems LEAST attached too, and for god sakes not the last one of the day. If he’s on one nap, I’d vote either breakfast or post nap so he won’t lose sleep with the crying. From now on, at that meal, he gets a sippy of milk and a sippy of water. For all other meals, he gets his bottle as always. No more pleading, negotiating, distracting, games, different cups, or even pressure. The two sippys are there, he can drink them or not. He cries for a bottle, he gets a neutral “Sorry sweetie, at lunch we only have milk in a cup.” If he does take a sip of milk, it’s like you don’t even notice.

He cries until he gags? Snuggle him, say, “I know it’s hard. Change can be hard.” But do. not. waver.

I bet if you don’t cave, you’re looking at extensive crying the first day, nearly consistently until dinner, the second day it starts out just as bad, but peters on and off, the third day he cries for 15 mins, day 4 he gives a single wail and then you’re done. He may or may not drink the milk out of the cup, but at this stage, it really doesn’t matter.

The first will be the worst. Give it two weeks of no tears, then do the next, and so on, until they’re all gone. And if you have another kid, start this process right at 12 months when they’re less stubborn.

Bottom line, you’re in a power struggle, and you’re losing. Set your boundaries and hold firm.

+1
This lady moms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pick one bottle a day to start with. I’d start with whichever he seems LEAST attached too, and for god sakes not the last one of the day. If he’s on one nap, I’d vote either breakfast or post nap so he won’t lose sleep with the crying. From now on, at that meal, he gets a sippy of milk and a sippy of water. For all other meals, he gets his bottle as always. No more pleading, negotiating, distracting, games, different cups, or even pressure. The two sippys are there, he can drink them or not. He cries for a bottle, he gets a neutral “Sorry sweetie, at lunch we only have milk in a cup.” If he does take a sip of milk, it’s like you don’t even notice.

He cries until he gags? Snuggle him, say, “I know it’s hard. Change can be hard.” But do. not. waver.

I bet if you don’t cave, you’re looking at extensive crying the first day, nearly consistently until dinner, the second day it starts out just as bad, but peters on and off, the third day he cries for 15 mins, day 4 he gives a single wail and then you’re done. He may or may not drink the milk out of the cup, but at this stage, it really doesn’t matter.

The first will be the worst. Give it two weeks of no tears, then do the next, and so on, until they’re all gone. And if you have another kid, start this process right at 12 months when they’re less stubborn.

Bottom line, you’re in a power struggle, and you’re losing. Set your boundaries and hold firm.

This right here. Life is going to be full of disappointments and adjustments and having to do things we don't want to do. Protecting our kids from all of these things so that they don't cry ever isn't helpful to them or society. Comfort your son but setting these boundaries is good for him.

[Anonymous]

Does he eat yogurt, cheese, a smoothie? If he eats other calcium rich food he doesn’t need milk from a cow. Skip it all together. My now 10yo never had cows milk ( she does eat dairy)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick one bottle a day to start with. I’d start with whichever he seems LEAST attached too, and for god sakes not the last one of the day. If he’s on one nap, I’d vote either breakfast or post nap so he won’t lose sleep with the crying. From now on, at that meal, he gets a sippy of milk and a sippy of water. For all other meals, he gets his bottle as always. No more pleading, negotiating, distracting, games, different cups, or even pressure. The two sippys are there, he can drink them or not. He cries for a bottle, he gets a neutral “Sorry sweetie, at lunch we only have milk in a cup.” If he does take a sip of milk, it’s like you don’t even notice.

He cries until he gags? Snuggle him, say, “I know it’s hard. Change can be hard.” But do. not. waver.

I bet if you don’t cave, you’re looking at extensive crying the first day, nearly consistently until dinner, the second day it starts out just as bad, but peters on and off, the third day he cries for 15 mins, day 4 he gives a single wail and then you’re done. He may or may not drink the milk out of the cup, but at this stage, it really doesn’t matter.

The first will be the worst. Give it two weeks of no tears, then do the next, and so on, until they’re all gone. And if you have another kid, start this process right at 12 months when they’re less stubborn.

Bottom line, you’re in a power struggle, and you’re losing. Set your boundaries and hold firm.

This right here. Life is going to be full of disappointments and adjustments and having to do things we don't want to do. Protecting our kids from all of these things so that they don't cry ever isn't helpful to them or society. Comfort your son but setting these boundaries is good for him.

Bad advice. Children need love and compassion to grow into well adjusted adults. No need to torture your children to teach them that life is hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous[b wrote:]Our pediatrician has said that now is the time [/b]to get our 1-year-old son off of the bottle. Easier said than done, right?

He drinks out of a sippy cup all day long as long as there's water in it, but he'll only drink milk out of a bottle. Put milk into a sippy cup? Stiff arm. Put milk into an open cup? Stiff arm. Put milk into a sippy cup with a straw? Stiff arm. Give him a sippy cup of water? He'll chug it.

Ok, so we maybe ditch milk then? Wrong. He refuses to finish a meal without milk. He'll start eating a meal, but at some point, during the meal, if he doesn't get his bottle of milk he will cry and cry and cry. We've tried, for several hours, to only offer all the different options containing milk in lieu of a bottle. He just cries so hard until he gags. It's soul-crushing.

How do we get him off the bottle? He's having whole milk, happily, so getting him off formula wasn't an issue at all. He'll drink all the sippy cups with water. He just refuses milk out of a sippy cup.

We've tried:

- distracting him while giving sippy cup
- only offering sippy cup
- many different options of sippy cups and open cups
- the switch-a-roo where he's having a bottle of milk and when he stops for a breath we swap to a sippy cup

What worked for you guys for your LO's who had a difficult time getting off the bottle?

\
I think this is key "now is the time meaning you try and start it but, it is a process and the pediatrician can't expect an overnight turn around. Your child is still a baby and personally this is not a hill I would die on. The doctor is making suggestions and you are working on it but not at the expense of your child.

How many bottles does he drink? Maybe you could in decrease the number of bottles, and start giving him less in addition to yogurt cheese etc.

Good luck! It will work out and you can tell the doc that you are "working on it" which is true. Maybe by not forcing it will happen more naturally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick one bottle a day to start with. I’d start with whichever he seems LEAST attached too, and for god sakes not the last one of the day. If he’s on one nap, I’d vote either breakfast or post nap so he won’t lose sleep with the crying. From now on, at that meal, he gets a sippy of milk and a sippy of water. For all other meals, he gets his bottle as always. No more pleading, negotiating, distracting, games, different cups, or even pressure. The two sippys are there, he can drink them or not. He cries for a bottle, he gets a neutral “Sorry sweetie, at lunch we only have milk in a cup.” If he does take a sip of milk, it’s like you don’t even notice.

He cries until he gags? Snuggle him, say, “I know it’s hard. Change can be hard.” But do. not. waver.

I bet if you don’t cave, you’re looking at extensive crying the first day, nearly consistently until dinner, the second day it starts out just as bad, but peters on and off, the third day he cries for 15 mins, day 4 he gives a single wail and then you’re done. He may or may not drink the milk out of the cup, but at this stage, it really doesn’t matter.

The first will be the worst. Give it two weeks of no tears, then do the next, and so on, until they’re all gone. And if you have another kid, start this process right at 12 months when they’re less stubborn.

Bottom line, you’re in a power struggle, and you’re losing. Set your boundaries and hold firm.

This right here. Life is going to be full of disappointments and adjustments and having to do things we don't want to do. Protecting our kids from all of these things so that they don't cry ever isn't helpful to them or society. Comfort your son but setting these boundaries is good for him.

Bad advice. Children need love and compassion to grow into well adjusted adults. No need to torture your children to teach them that life is hard.

Snort. Only in America is offering milk in a non-preferred cup that a child is perfectly capable of drinking out of considered “torture.”

[Anonymous]

Cup with straw?

[Anonymous]

Keep him on the bottle. He is only 1.

I respect pediatricians but they are not the end all be all of answers. You go to another one tomorrow and he’ll tell you it’s OK to keep them on the bottle. Do you need to do what’s best for your own baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pick one bottle a day to start with. I’d start with whichever he seems LEAST attached too, and for god sakes not the last one of the day. If he’s on one nap, I’d vote either breakfast or post nap so he won’t lose sleep with the crying. From now on, at that meal, he gets a sippy of milk and a sippy of water. For all other meals, he gets his bottle as always. No more pleading, negotiating, distracting, games, different cups, or even pressure. The two sippys are there, he can drink them or not. He cries for a bottle, he gets a neutral “Sorry sweetie, at lunch we only have milk in a cup.” If he does take a sip of milk, it’s like you don’t even notice.

He cries until he gags? Snuggle him, say, “I know it’s hard. Change can be hard.” But do. not. waver.

I bet if you don’t cave, you’re looking at extensive crying the first day, nearly consistently until dinner, the second day it starts out just as bad, but peters on and off, the third day he cries for 15 mins, day 4 he gives a single wail and then you’re done. He may or may not drink the milk out of the cup, but at this stage, it really doesn’t matter.

The first will be the worst. Give it two weeks of no tears, then do the next, and so on, until they’re all gone. And if you have another kid, start this process right at 12 months when they’re less stubborn.

Bottom line, you’re in a power struggle, and you’re losing. Set your boundaries and hold firm.

This is excellent advice, although I would probably stop with cups entirely for a solid month before following it. Baby might be happier to transition off the bottle when they're not currently stressed about it.

[Anonymous]

My DD was like this. We held firm. She never drank milk again. If I could do it over, I’d let her continue with milk in a bottle.

[Anonymous]

I can't help, but I do know that for both my kids, the end of bottles meant the end of milk. They never drank it again. I'm fine with that, though.