21-month-old DD's obsession with her bottle driving me nuts!

[bean612]

So we weaned her on to milk from a beaker at 18 months - took a few days of protests but after that she was (and still is) very happy to drink her milk from a beaker or cup, also water or juice from a beaker at mealtimes and when we are out.

However, we got in to the habit of giving her a little bottle (ie. baby bottle) of water first thing in the mornings, partly because she wakes so early (between 5 and 5.30 most days), and it was a nice way to ease her and us into the day.

BUT - she has become more and more obsessed with her bottle. It's okay if we're out, but if we're at home, especially in the morning, it's just a continuous round of 'Drink! Like some drink! Baby bottle, like some baby bottle! Want some baby bottle!' over and over. She'll go off and play for a bit, or we'll read stories, or whatever, but after 15 mins or so it's back to the 'baby bottle' demand.

Obviously it's good that she's drinking plenty of water, and I don't mind her having a bottle per se (she only ever gets water in it, so no risk of tooth decay, and initially I worried about speech development etc, but she speaks pretty clearly, and regularly comes out with 5- or 6-word sentences, so I don't think that's really an issue). It's just that apart from the practical issues, like having to change her nappy every blooming hour cos it's soaked, and nappies aren't cheap ), I'm totally fed up of the 'want some drink' mantra - sometimes I can distract her with other things, but often she gets furious and hurls herself on the floor if I say no.

So - just wondering if anyone else has ever experienced this kind of thing, and how to deal with it? I guess the ultimate solution is just to phase out the bottle altogether. But it gives her comfort... And it's a real buffer between night and (reluctant) day at 5am, especially with winter and dark mornings coming...

My 24 month old is drinking from a bottle as we speak. His speaking is quite good, so that's not an issue for us either. Over the past year or so I've amassed a collection of cups, drinking bottles and beakers in my despair to get him to drink out of something other than his beloved Nuk bottles. The label on these saw 0-6 months!

Earlier this year I did a bottle cold turkey but he ended up getting a bit dehydrated (dry nappies, cranky) so I gave him back his bottles.

I even bought those cups in Mothercare that look like Pinky Ponk juice bottles from In The Night Garden!

Does she go to groups or nursery? My DS has taken an interest in a certain type of cup with handle (Tommy Tippee weaning cup for 4 month olds, which was one of the few I didn't have!). since stalking other kids at toddler groups. I give that to him when we're out and about, but admit to having a bottle stashed away for when he's being stubborn and irritable from near dehydration.

Hi seaturtle - nice to know I'm not alone! She does go to groups, and started at nursery a month ago, and I think she's fine using whatever receptacle she gets there (have seen her happily drinking from the Tommy Tippees at groups, and I don't think nursery even have bottles as they only take children 18 months and over).

I too have a wide selection of cups/beakers/water-bottle-type things (we had one of those Mothercare bottles too, till it got dropped underneath a train!), and she's fine using any of these when we're out and about. Sigh...

IMO there's not an issue if you give her the bottle maybe put less water in it! you can also introduce the potty and suggest she uses it (if she's in a dress and no nappies it might work) some DCs are dry in the day at 21 mths.

The older women among my friends reassure me as long as he's ditched the bottle by the time he starts school, he'll be fine! My friend has 5 year old twins that were still going to bed with them aged 4.

Just don't tell your HV. Mine gave me a sippy cup at his 6 month check and told me if he didn't drink from this cup, he'd have speech delay. He definitely doesn't have speech delay! By the way my HV is wonderful in other ways. Just adding that as HVs seem to get a bit of stick on here.

ppeatfruit - yep, have tried putting less in it, she just asks for more as soon as she's finished. I think potty training is a separate issue, tbh, but I appreciate the thought. (She does have a potty and likes to pretend to wee in it - she also LOVES sitting on the loo , but she doesn't seem ready to start potty training proper yet).

seaturtle - that's reassuring re your friend's twins, thank you. In fact she doesn't expect (or get) the bottle at bedtime (though she has recently started asking for it occasionally ...sigh...), so at least we don't have the battle at bedtime, just in the morning.

I haven't seen my HV for about a year actually - oops. Should I have? Mine is also wonderful - she was my saviour in the early weeks and again last summer when DD WOULD NOT SLEEP, though she wasn't much of a fan of BLW and recommended I give DD purees on top of the bits of 'real' food she was flinging around the kitchen. I never did, and last time I checked, DD was 97th percentile in height and 91st in weight (or something like that), so I don't think it affected her too badly...

I never heard that one seaturtle! It's not true IME at all (my dd2 drank bottles of water at night I put one in her cot from one yr old) for about 6 months and she spoke well.

I hadn't heard it either! My older friends said it was normal "in their days" to keep the bottle until they were 3/4. I suppose it's similar to someone BF until that age (which is common where I come from!). It was said in a way to put the fear of God into me, but I didn't believe her. DS is speaking very well.

Bean- I think HVs leave us to it after the 2 year check. I hid bottles and dummies in the bottom of my bag for that.